April 18
Events
Up to 1900
1506 - The cornerstone for the present Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome is laid.
1518 - Bona Sforza is crowned Queen of Poland.
1521 - The trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms.
1689 - Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.
1738 - Madrid's Royal Academy of History is founded.
1775 - American Revolution: Paul Revere's ride, to warn the countryside of troop movements.
1797 - France defeats Austria in the Battle of Neuwied.
1807 - A ferry capsizes in the port of Harwich, Essex, England, killing between 60 and 90 people.
1831 - The University of Alabama is founded.
1848 - An American victory at the Battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for the invasion of Mexico in the Mexican-American War.
1880 - A tornado in Marshfield, Missouri, kills 99 people.
1881 - Billy the Kid escapes from Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
1888 - British passenger steamer State of Florida sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean after a collision with a sailing ship, killing 130 people.
1897 - The Greco-Turkish War is declared.
1901 2000
1902 - Quetzaltenango, Guatemala is destroyed by an earthquake.
1906 - 1906 San Francisco earthquake: San Francisco, California is largely destroyed by a major earthquake, and subsequent fires. Estimates suggest that 3,000 people have died, some of them after Mayor Eugene Schmitz orders a shoot-to-kill policy against looters. Operatic tenor Enrico Caruso, who was in the city at the time, fled, never to return.
1909 - Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.
1912 - Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic sinking to New York City.
1915 - French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
1923 - The Yankee Stadium opens in New York City.
1924 - Simon & Schuster publishes the first crossword puzzle book.
1930 - BBC Radio announces that there is no news for that day.
1941 - Vichy France announces its withdrawal from the League of Nations.
1942 - Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.
1945 - World War II: 1,000 bombers attack the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.
1946 - The International Court of Justice meets for the first time in The Hague.
1954 - Gamal Abdel Nasser takes power in Egypt.
1955 - World-famous physicist Albert Einstein dies aged 76.
1955 - Representatives of 29 nations meet in Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.
1958 - A US Federal Court rules that controversial poet Ezra Pound can be released from an insane asylum.
1974 - Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto opens Lahore's Dry Port.
1980 - The Republic of Zimbabwe becomes independent from the UK, with Canaan Banana as its first President. Robert Mugabe becomes Prime Minister, assuming the presidency in 1987.
1981 - The longest-ever game of professional baseball begins in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1983 - The US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is hit by a suicide bomber, killing 63 people.
1988 - The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian forces in the Iran-Iraq War.
1992 - General Abdul Rashid Dostum revolts against President Mohammed Najibullah in Afghanistan.
1996 - At least 106 civilians in Lebanon are killed when Israeli Defense Forces shell a UN compound in Qana.
1996 - Islamic fundamentalists carry out a terror attack on a hotel in Cairo, killing 18 Greek tourists, who they mistook for Israelis.
From 2001
2002 - A light aircraft crashes into the Pirelli building in Milan.
2002 - Thor Heyerdahl, who became world-famous for his Kon-Tiki expedition, dies at the age of 87.
2004 - Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero orders the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq.
2005 - Start of the Conclave to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II; Joseph Alois Ratzinger is chosen the next day and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
2007 - 198 people are killed in a series of bombings across Baghdad.
2007 - UEFA Euro 2012 is announced as being hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine.
2008 - Cricket: The first season of the Indian Premier League begins.
2013 - A suicide bombing at a cafe in Baghdad kills 27 people and injures 63.
2014 - An avalanche on Mount Everest kills 12 people.
2015 - A terrorist attack in the city of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, kills at least 33 people.
2017 - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May calls for an early general election for June 8.
2018 - Saudi Arabia's cinemas open for the first time since 1983.
2018 - NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is launched.
2019 - Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee is shot and killed during rioting in the city of Londonderry.
Births
Up to 1900
359 - Gratian, Roman Emperor (d. 383)
1115 - Gertrud of Supplingenburg, Saxon noblewoman (d. 1143)
1480 - Lucrezia Borgia, Florentine ruler (d. 1519)
1580 - Thomas Middleton, English dramatist (d. 1621)
1590 - Ahmed I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1617)
1605 - Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (d. 1674)
1647 - Elias Brenner, Finnish-Swedish artist (d. 1717)
1772 - David Ricardo, English political economist (d. 1823)
1782 - Georg August Goldfuss, German palaeontologist and zoologist (d. 1848)
1797 - Adolphe Thiers, 2nd President of France (d. 1877)
1813 - James McCune Smith, American physician and author (d. 1865)
1819 - Carlos Cespedes, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1874)
1838 - Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French chemist (d. 1912)
1857 - Clarence Darrow, American lawyer (d. 1938)
1857 - Alexander Shirvanzade, Armenian playwright and novelist (d. 1935)
1858 - Dhondo Keshav Karve, Indian social reformer (d. 1962)
1858 - Alexander Shirvanzade, Armenian playwright and novelist (d. 1935)
1863 - Leopold Graf Berchtold, Austrian-Hungarian foreign minister (d. 1942)
1863 - Linton Hope, English architect and sailor (d. 1920)
1864 - Richard Harding Davis, American writer (d. 1916)
1874 - Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, German writer (d. 1941)
1877 - Vicente Sotto, Filipino patriot and writer (d. 1950)
1879 - Korneli Kekelidze, Georgian philologist (d. 1962)
1880 - Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach and umpire (d. 1968)
1882 - Leopold Stokowski, Polish conductor (d. 1977)
1882 - Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian ruler and writer (d. 1964)
1884 - Jaan Anvelt, Estonian Communist revolutionary and writer (d. 1937)
1889 - Jessie Street, American activist (d. 1970)
1890 - Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, Russian royal (d. 1958)
1893 - Violette Morris, French shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1944)
1896 - Ha Hye-sok, Korean poet, feminist, writer, painter, educator and journalist (d. 1948)
1897 - Ardito Desio, Italian topographer (d. 2001)
1897 - Per-Erik Hedlund, Swedish cross-country skier (d. 1975)
1901 1950
1901 - Al Lewis, American lyricist (d. 1967)
1901 - Elene Akhvlediani, Georgian artist (d. 1975)
1902 - Giuseppe Pella, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1981)
1905 - George H. Hitchings, American scientist (d. 1998)
1907 - Miklos Rozsa, Hungarian composer (d. 1995)
1911 - Maurice Goldhaber, Austrian-American physicist (d. 2011)
1914 - Claire Martin, Canadian writer (d. 2014)
1917 - Frederika of Hanover, Queen Consort of Greece (d. 1981)
1918 - Gabriel Axel, Danish movie director, screenwriter and actor (d. 2014)
1918 - Harry Firth, Australian racing driver (d. 2014)
1918 - Shinobu Hashimoto, Japanese screenwriter (d. 2018)
1918 - Andre Bazin, French critic and theorist (d. 1958)
1919 - Vondell Darr, American actress (d. 2012)
1921 - Jean Richard, French actor (d. 2001)
1922 - Barbara Hale, American actress (d. 2017)
1924 - Clarence Gatemouth Brown, American blues guitarist (d. 2005)
1924 - Roy Mason, British politician (d. 2015)
1925 - Bob Hastings, American actor (d. 2014)
1926 - Harry Volkman, American meteorologist (d. 2015)
1927 - Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Polish writer, journalist and politician (d. 2013)
1927 - Charles Pasqua, French politician (d. 2015)
1927 - Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist (d. 2008)
1928 - Otto Piene, German artist (d. 2014)
1928 - Karl Josef Becker, German theologian and cardinal (d. 2015)
1929 - Mario Francesco Pompedda, Italian cardinal (d. 2006)
1930 - Jean Guillou, French composer and organist
1931 - Klas Lestander, Swedish biathlete
1933 - Enrico Crispolti, Italian art critic, curator and art historian (d. 2018)
1934 - James Drury, American actor
1934 - Pedro Tenorio, Governor of the Northern Marianas (d. 2018)
1936 - Tarcisio Gitti, Italian politician (d. 2018)
1937 - Jan Kaplicky, Czech-British architect (d. 2009)
1937 - Teddy Taylor, British politician (d. 2017)
1940 - Joseph L. Goldstein, American scientist
1940 - Mike Vickers, British musician and composer
1940 - Ira von Furstenberg, Italian socialite, actress and jewellery designer
1941 - Michael D. Higgins, 9th President of Ireland
1942 - Jochen Rindt, Austrian racecar driver (d. 1970)
1943 - Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (d. 2015)
1944 - Albin Planinc, Yugoslavian chess player (d. 2008)
1944 - Robert Hanssen, American double agent
1944 - Frances D'Souza, Baroness D'Souza, English academic and politician
1945 - Margaret Hassan, Irish aid worker (d. 2004)
1946 - Hayley Mills, British actress
1946 - Irene Fernandez, Malaysian activist (d. 2014)
1946 - Janet Kagan, American writer (d. 2008)
1947 - Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor and director
1947 - Moses Blah, Liberian politician (d. 2013)
1947 - Cindy Pickett, American actress
1947 - James Woods, American actor
1947 - Herbert Mullin, American serial killer
1950 - Kenny Ortega, American director, producer and choreographer
1951 1975
1953 - Rick Moranis, Canadian-American actor, singer and screenwriter
1956 - Eric Roberts, American actor
1956 - Melody Thomas Scott, American actress
1956 - Roberto Calderoli, Italian politician
1958 - Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian cricketer
1959 - Frank Mulholland, Scottish lawyer
1960 - Neo Rauch, German artist
1960 - J. Christopher Stevens, American diplomat (d. 2012)
1961 - Jane Leeves, British actress
1961 - Steve Lombardi, American professional wrestler
1963 - Eric McCormack, Canadian actor
1963 - Conan O'Brien, American comedian
1963 - Universo 2000, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 2018)
1964 - Niall Ferguson, British historian
1964 - Rithy Panh, Cambodian documentary moviemaker
1966 - Valeri Kamensky, Russian ice hockey player
1966 - Trine Hattestad, Norwegian javelin thrower
1966 - Camille Coduri, English actress
1967 - Maria Bello, American actress
1968 - David Hewlett, English-Canadian actor
1969 - Princess Sayako of Japan
1970 - Esther Schweins, German actress
1970 - Saad Hariri, Lebanese Prime Minister
1971 - Samantha Cameron, wife of David Cameron
1971 - David Tennant, Scottish actor
1971 - Oleg Petrov, Russian ice hockey player
1972 - Rosa Clemente, American journalist and activist
1972 - Eli Roth, American director
1972 - Lars Christiansen, Danish handball player
1973 - Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian runner
1973 - Arnaud Beltrame, French gendarme (d. 2018)
1974 - Mark Tremonti, American musician
1974 - Edgar Wright, English director and writer
From 1976
1976 - Melissa Joan Hart, American actress
1976 - Rodrigo de la Serna, Argentine actor
1976 - Sean Maguire, English actor
1977 - Hassan El Fakri, Norwegian footballer
1977 - Jonathan Rowson, Scottish chess player
1979 - Matthew Upson, English footballer
1979 - Kourtney Kardashian, American reality TV personality
1979 - Anthony Davidson, British racing driver
1980 - Rabiu Afolabi, Nigerian footballer
1980 - Carolina Crescentini, Italian actress
1980 - Robyn Regehr, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 - Milan Jovanovic, Serbian footballer
1982 - Simone Farina, Italian footballer
1983 - Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player
1983 - Hernan Rengifo, Peruvian footballer
1984 - America Ferrera, American actress
1985 - Lukasz Fabianski, Polish footballer
1985 - Rachel Smith, American model
1986 - Maurice Edu, American soccer player
1986 - Mateusz Rutkowski, Polish ski jupmer
1987 - Danny Guthrie, English footballer
1987 - Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, British model and actress
1987 - Samantha Jade, Australian singer-songwriter
1987 - Cara Maria Wayans, American actress
1988 - Anagabriela Espinoza, Mexican model
1989 - Hannah Wang, Australian actress
1989 - Jessica, Korean-American actress, model and singer (Girls' Generation)
1990 - Wojciech Szczesny, Polish footballer
1990 - Britt Robertson, American actress
1992 - Chloe Bennet, American actress and singer
1993 - Nathan Sykes, British singer (The Wanted)
1995 - Divock Origi, Belgian footballer
1996 - Ski Mask the Slump God, American rapper and songwriter
2007 - Hayah bint Hamzah, Princess of Jordan
Deaths
Up to 1900
1143 - Gertrud of Supplingenburg, Saxon noblewoman (b. 1115)
1161 - Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury
1556 - Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (b. 1495)
1567 - Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer (b. 1503)
1674 - John Graunt, English statistician (b. 1620)
1794 - Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714)
1796 - Johan Wilcke, Swedish physicist (b. 1732)
1802 - Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist (b. 1731)
1832 - Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet, French painter (b. 1761)
1859 - Tatya Tope, Indian general (b. 1814)
1864 - Juris Alunans, Latvian philologist (b. 1832)
1873 - Justus von Liebig, German scientist (b. 1803)
1898 - Gustave Moreau, French painter (b. 1826)
1901 2000
1905 - Juan Valera, Spanish writer, diplomat and politician (b. 1824)
1906 - Luis Martin, Spanish Superior-General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1846)
1936 - Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer (b. 1879)
1941 - Alexandros Koryzis, Prime minister of Greece (b. 1885)
1942 - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American sculptor and art collector (b. 1875)
1943 - Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (b. 1884)
1945 - John Ambrose Fleming, English physicist and engineer (b. 1849)
1945 - Ernie Pyle, American journalist (b. 1900)
1945 - William, Prince of Albania (b. 1876)
1947 - Jozef Tiso, Slovakian politician (b. 1887)
1949 - Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
1951 - Antonio Oscar Carmona, Portuguese politician (b. 1869)
1955 - Albert Einstein, German physicist and Nobel laureate (b. 1879)
1957 - Ben W. Hooper, 33rd Governor of Tennessee (b. 1870)
1958 - Maurice Gamelin, French general (b. 1872)
1964 - Ben Hecht, American director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1894)
1965 - Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena, Mexican inventor and engineer (b. 1917)
1974 - Marcel Pagnol, French writer and movie maker (b. 1895)
1976 - Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (b. 1911)
1988 - Pierre Desproges, French journalist, comedian and actor (b. 1939)
1991 - Gabriel Celaya, Spanish poet (b. 1911)
1992 - Frankie Howerd, English comedian and actor (b. 1917)
1993 - Masahiko Kimura, Japanese judoka (b. 1917)
1995 - Arturo Frondizi, President of Argentina (b. 1908)
1996 - Piet Hein, Danish scientist, mathematician and inventor (b. 1905)
1998 - Terry Sanford, 65th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1917)
From 2001
2002 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer, ethnographer, zoologist and writer (b. 1914)
2004 - Kamisese Mara, first Prime Minister of Fiji (b. 1920)
2007 - Iccho Itoh, Japanese politician, Mayor of Nagasaki (b. 1945)
2008 - Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist (b. 1907)
2011 - Pietro Ferrero Jr., Italian businessman (b. 1963)
2011 - William Donald Schaefer, American politician (b. 1921)
2012 - Dick Clark, American radio and television host, and producer (b. 1929)
2013 - Storm Thorgerson, British graphic designer (b. 1944)
2014 - Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer (b. 1994)
2014 - Brian Priestman, British maestro and conductor (b. 1927)
2014 - Derek Cooper, British broadcaster and food naturalist (b. 1925)
2014 - Andrew Sessler, American physicist (b. 1928)
2015 - Mario Pirani, Italian journalist (b. 1925)
2015 - Erwin Waldner, German footballer (b. 1933)
2016 - Yuri Bychkov, Russian art historian (b. 1931)
2016 - Cox Habbema, Dutch actress (b. 1944)
2016 - Eva Henning, Swedish actress (b. 1920)
2016 - Sir John Leslie, 4th Baronet, Irish aristocrat and media personality (b. 1916)
2016 - Johan van Minnen, Dutch journalist and politician (b. 1932)
2017 - Yvonne Monlaur, French actress (b. 1939)
2017 - Jaak Panksepp, Estonian-American neuroscientist (b. 1943)
2018 - Luisa Pastor Lillo, Spanish politician (b. 1948)
2018 - Bruno Sammartino, Italian-American professional wrestler (b. 1935)
2018 - Henk Schouten, Dutch footballer (b. 1932)
2018 - Jeanne Wilson, American swimmer (b. 1926)
2018 - Dale Winton, English television presenter (b. 1955)
2019 - Jameel Jalibi, Pakistani linguist, writer and academic (b. 1929)
2019 - Con de Lange, South African-Scottish cricketer (b. 1981)
2019 - Lyra McKee, Northern Irish journalist (b. 1990)
2019 - Lorraine Warren, American paranormal investigator (b. 1927)
Observances
Independence Day (Zimbabwe)
Invention Day (Japan)
International Day of Monuments and Sites
Army Day (Iran)
Days of the year