- 310 St Eusebius begins his reign as Catholic Pope.,
- 387 Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptizes Augustinus.
Today in History April 18: What Happened on This Date?
- 1025 Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland
- 1552 Mauritius of Saksen occupies Linz
- 1663 Osman declares war on Austria
- 1666 Peace of Kleef: Netherlands & bishop Von Galen of Munster
- 1676 Sudbury, Massachusetts, attacked by Indians
- 1688 “Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery”: Francis Daniel Pastorius authors 1st formal written protest against African-American slavery in English colonies in Germantown, Pennsylvania
- 1738 Real Academia de la Historia (“Royal Academy of History”) founded in Madrid
- 1783 Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day when it began
- 1797 France & Austria sign ceasefire
- 1809 First run of 2,000 guineas horse race at Newmarket, England
- 1848 American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico
- 1856 Russian Chancellor Count Nesselrode resigns
- 1862 Battle of Fort Jackson, Fort St Philip & New Orlean’s, Louisiana
- 1864 Battle of Poison Springs, Arkansas (Camden Expedition)
- 1864 Battle of Dybbøl: Denmark is defeated by Prussian and Austrian forces storming Dybbol fort in the deciding battle of the Second Schleswig War
- 1868 San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals formed
- 1869 1st international cricket match, held in San Francisco, won by California
- 1876 Daniel O’Leary completes a 500 mile walk in 139 hrs 32 min
- 1879 Trial of Standing Bear-Crook on indians citizen rights begins
- 1880 An F4 tornado strikes Marshfield, Missouri, killing 99 people and injuring 100.
- 1881 Natural History Museum opens in South Kensington, England
- 1890 NY Commission of Emigration ends, closing Castle Clinton
- 1898 2nd Boston Marathon won by Canadian Ron McDonald in race record 2:42:00
- 1899 John McGraw, at 36, has his managerial debut as Oriole manager
- 1904 L’Humanité, under Jean Jaurès begins publishing
- 1904 8th Boston Marathon won by Michael Spring in 2:38:04.4
- 1906 Calvinist Reformed Union in Neth Church forms in Utrecht
- 1906 The Los Angeles Times story on the Azusa Street Revival launches Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement
- 1907 Augustus Thomas’ “Witching Hour” premieres in NYC
- 1907 Fairmont Hotel opens in San Francisco
- 1910 14th Boston Marathon won by Canadian Fred Cameron in 2:28:52.4
- 1912 Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City
- 1912 Tripolitan War: in continuing hostilities, Turkey closes the Dardanelles Straits after an Italian naval bombardment of the coastline
- 1915 French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
- 1916 US Secretary of State Warns Germany that the USA may break diplomatic relations unless torpedo attacks on unarmed ships stop
- 1921 Junior Achievement incorporated in Colorado Spring
- 1921 Philip James Barry’s “Punch for Judy” premieres in NYC
- 1921 25th Boston Marathon won by Frank Zuna in race record 2:18:57.6
- 1922 Netherlands soccer team defeats Denmark 2-0
- 1923 74,000 (62,281 paid) on hand for opening of Yankee Stadium
- 1923 Poland annexes Central Lithuania
- 1924 1st crossword puzzle book published by Simon & Schuster
- 1925 World’s Fair opens in Chicago
- 1926 Rhein Stadium opens in Dusseldorf, Germany
- 1935 Gen Sarazen’s double eagle on 15th, wins him his 2nd Masters
- 1935 Netherlands election (Musserts NSB wins 8% of vote)
- 1936 Pan-Am Clipper begins regular passenger flights from San Francisco to Honolulu
- 1938 Headless Mad Butcher victim found in Cleveland
- 1938 42nd Boston Marathon won by Leslie Pawson in 2:35:34.8; his second victory in the event
- 1939 Hubert Pierlot forms Belgian government
- 1942 “Stars & Stripes” paper for US armed forces starts
- 1944 Leonard Bernstein & Jerome Robbins’ ballet “Fancy Free” premieres in NYC
- 1945 1 armed outfielder, St Louis Brown Pete Gray, 1st game he goes 1 for 4
- 1945 Epe freed (by corporal G van Aken)
- 1945 Clandestine Radio 1212, after broadcasting pro-nazi propaganda for months used their influence to trap 350,000 German army group B troops
- 1945 Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Bolivia established
- 1946 Rome, Auerbach and Horwitt’s musical “Call Me Mister” opens at National Theater NYC for 734 performances
- 1948 International Court of Justice opens at The Hague Netherlands
- 1949 Republic of Ireland withdraws from British Commonwealth
- 1949 53rd Boston Marathon won by Gösta Leandersson of Sweden in 2:31:50.8
- 1950 1st opening night-game, Cards beat Pirates, 4-2
- 1950 Polish Catholic church & government sign accord over relations
- 1950 Sam Jethroe is 1st African American to play for Boston Braves
- 1950 Yankees win 15-10 after trailing Red Sox 9-0 in 6th
- 1951 “Make a Wish” opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 102 performances
- 1951 Dutch Antilles government of Da Costa Gomez forms
- 1951 France, West Germany & Benelux form European Steel & Coal Community
- 1953 “Pal Joey” closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 542 performances
- 1954 Egyptian Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power and appoints himself Prime Minister
- 1955 “Ankles Aweigh” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 176 performances
- 1955 1st “Walk”/”Don’t Walk” lighted street signals installed
- 1955 1st Bandoeng Conference – Afro-Asian conference opens
- 1955 59th Boston Marathon won by Hideo Hamamura of Japan in 2:18:22
- 1956 Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire
- 1958 Government troops reconquer Padang, Middle-Sumatra Indonesia
- 1958 NL single-game record of 78,682, Giants lose to Dogers 6-5, in LA
- 1959 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens’ 4th straight title; beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 for a 4-1 series win
- 1960 64th Boston Marathon won by Paavo Kotila of Finland in 2:20:54
- 1961 CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule
- 1962 16th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3
- 1963 Dr James Campbell performed the 1st human nerve transplant
- 1963 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs go back-to-back with a 3-1 Game 5 win over Detroit Red Wings for a 4-1 series victory
- 1964 “Cafe Crown” closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 3 performances
- 1964 “Foxy” closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 72 performances
- 1964 Artisans strike in Belgium ends
- 1968 178,000 employees of US Bell Telephone System go on strike
- 1968 1st ABA basketball championship began
- 1968 Dutch Department of Amnesty International forms
- 1968 London Bridge is sold to US oil company (to be erected in Arizona)
- 1968 Mart Crowley’s “Boys in the Band” premieres in NYC
- 1968 Peter Luke’s “Hadrian VII” premieres in London
- 1968 San Francisco’s Old Hall of Justice demolished
- 1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1969 Greek actress and activist Melina Mercouri establishes Greek Aid Fund
- 1970 France beats England, 35-13 at Stade Colombes, Paris to earn a share of the Five Nations Rugby Championship with Wales
- 1977 Pulitzer prize awarded to Michael Cristofer for “Shadow Box”
- 1978 Senate votes to turn Panama Canal over to Panama on Dec 31, 1999
- 1979 “Real People” premieres on NBC TV
- 1979 Major Haddad declares South-Lebanon independent
- 1980 Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) declares independence from UK
- 1981 Longest game in Professional Baseball: Pawtucket Red Sox tie Rochester Red Wings 2-2 in 32 innings (game resumed 23rd June)
- 1982 Atlanta Braves win record 11th straight opening game (beat Astros)
- 1982 Canada Constitution Act replaces British North America Act
- 1982 Zimbabwean capital Salisbury renamed Harare
- 1983 87th Boston Marathon: American double; Greg Meyer men’s champion in 2:09:00; Joan Benoit takes women’s race in 2:22:43; her 2nd event title
- 1984 Space Shuttle Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly Air Force Base
- 1984 Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)
- 1985 Wham become the first western pop act to release an album in China
- 1986 IBM produces 1st megabit-chip
- 1986 Robert M Gates becomes deputy director of CIA
- 1986 Titan rocket explodes seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB
- 1987 Bob Land wins his 6th straight Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race
- 1987 Pat Knauff, France sets 1-leg downhill ski speed record (115.012 mph)
- 1987 Gregory Robertson does 200-mph free fall to save unconscious skydiver near Coolidge, Arizona
- 1988 92nd Boston Marathon: Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya wins men’s race in 2:08:43; Rosa Mota of Portugal repeats as women’s champion in 2:24:30
- 1990 Bankruptcy court forces Frank Lorenzo to give up Eastern Airlines
- 1990 Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF
- 1990 Supreme Court rules states could make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one’s home
- 1991 US Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census
- 1991 Congress ends railroad worker 1 day strike
- 1999 PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Allen Doyle wins first of 4 Senior PGA major titles with a 2 stroke margin over runner-up Vicente Fernández of Argentina
- 2004 50th British Academy Television Awards: “Little Britain” Best Comedy, “Buried” Best Drama
- 2005 109th Boston Marathon: Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia claims men’s section in 2:11:44; Catherine Ndereba of Kenya wins back-to-back races and 4th overall women’s title in 2:25:12
- 2007 The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision
- 2008 NBA owners give approval of a potential Seattle SuperSonics’ relocation to Oklahoma City in a 28–2 vote by the Board of Governors
- 2011 115th Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Geoffrey Mutai wins men’s race in record 2:03:02; Caroline Kilel takes women’s section in 2:22:36
- 2012 The Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples begins burning artworks after cultural institution budget cuts
- 2013 27 people are killed and 65 are injured in a cafe bombing in Baghdad, Iraq
- 2013 Two earth-like planets are discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62
