History of Today in India – 18 May

Explore the history of today 18 May in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 18 May 2026, 09:10 AM

📜 Important Events on 18 May in World History

• 18 May 2019: United States presidential election: Joe Biden launches his presidential campaign. Read more
• 18 May 2018: A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills ten people. Read more
• 18 May 2018: Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes in Santiago de las Vegas after takeoff from José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, killing 112 of the 113 people on board. Read more
• 18 May 2015: At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar. Read more
• 18 May 2009: The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides. Read more
• 18 May 2006: The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country. Read more
• 18 May 2005: A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra. Read more
• 18 May 1994: Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern. Read more
• 18 May 1993: Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators. Read more
• 18 May 1991: Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland. Read more
• 18 May 1990: In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph). Read more
• 18 May 1980: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage. Read more
• 18 May 1980: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. Read more
• 18 May 1980: Rioting spreads to Miami's mostly African-American neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City following the previous day's courthouse protests. Read more
• 18 May 1977: Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. Read more
• 18 May 1974: Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so. Read more
• 18 May 1973: Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker's bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board. Read more
• 18 May 1972: During approach to Kharkiv International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 1491 crashes near Ruska Lozova, killing all 112 aboard. Read more
• 18 May 1969: Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched. Read more
• 18 May 1965: Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria. Read more
• 18 May 1962: The French government and representatives of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic reach a settlement to end the Algerian war in the Évian Accords. Read more
• 18 May 1955: Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends. Read more
• 18 May 1953: Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier. Read more
• 18 May 1948: The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking. Read more
• 18 May 1944: World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino. Read more
• 18 May 1944: Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union. Read more
• 18 May 1933: New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority. Read more
• 18 May 1927: The Bath School disaster: Forty-five people, including many children, are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Bath Township, Michigan. Read more
• 18 May 1927: After being founded for 20 years, the Nationalist government approves Tongji University to be among the its first national universities. Read more
• 18 May 1926: Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in Venice, California. Read more
• 18 May 1922: Seamus Woods leads an Irish Republican Army attack on the headquarters of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Belfast. Read more
• 18 May 1917: World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription. Read more
• 18 May 1912: The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai. Read more
• 18 May 1900: The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga. Read more
• 18 May 1896: The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional. Read more
• 18 May 1896: Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people. Read more
• 18 May 1863: American Civil War: Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant begin the Siege of Vicksburg during the Vicksburg campaign in order to take full control of the Mississippi River. Read more
• 18 May 1860: United States presidential election: Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State. Read more
• 18 May 1848: Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany. Read more
• 18 May 1843: The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland. Read more
• 18 May 1812: John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. Read more
• 18 May 1811: Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas. Read more
• 18 May 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate. Read more
• 18 May 1803: Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 18 May in World History

• 18 May 2009: Hala Finley, American actress Hala Finley is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in Man with a Plan (2016–2020) as Emme Burns and in We Can Be Heroes (2020) as Ojo. Read more
• 18 May 2003: Travis Hunter, American football player Travis Hunter Jr. is an American professional football cornerback and wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Jackson State Tigers and Colorado Buffaloes, winning the Heisman Trophy with the latter in 2024. Known for his two-way playing ability, Hunter is the only player in college football history to win both the Chuck Bednarik and Fred Biletnikoff Awards. He was selected by the Jaguars second overall in the 2025 NFL draft. Read more
• 18 May 2002: Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater Alina Ilnazovna Zagitova is a Russian former competitive figure skater. She is the 2018 Olympic champion, the 2019 World champion, the 2018 European champion, 2017–18 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 2018 Russian national champion. She also won a silver medal in the team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Earlier in her career, she won gold at the 2017 World Junior Championships and at the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final. Read more
• 18 May 2001: Emma Navarro, American tennis player Emma Navarro is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of No. 8 by the WTA, achieved on September 9, 2024, and a doubles ranking of No. 93, achieved on August 12, 2024. Navarro has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached a major semifinal at the 2024 US Open. Read more
• 18 May 2000: Ryan Sessegnon, English footballer Kouassi Ryan Sessegnon is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back, left midfielder, or left winger for Premier League club Fulham. Read more
• 18 May 2000: Steven Sessegnon, English footballer Zeze Steven Sessegnon is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for
  EFL League One club Wigan Athletic. Read more
• 18 May 1999: Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter Laura Omloop is a Belgian pop singer who represented her country in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Kyiv, Ukraine, finishing in fourth place. Omloop sang the song "Zo verliefd", which contains yodeling. This was Belgium's best result in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Read more
• 18 May 1998: Polina Edmunds, American figure skater Polina Edmunds Bast is a retired American figure skater. She is the 2015 Four Continents champion, the 2014 CS U.S. Classic champion, and a two-time U.S. national silver medalist. She represented the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, finishing 9th. Read more
• 18 May 1993: Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player Stuart Percy is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for HC Vítkovice Ridera in the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He was selected 25th overall in the 2011 NHL entry draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Read more
• 18 May 1993: Jessica Watson, Australian sailor Jessica Rose Watson is an Australian sailor who attempted a solo circumnavigation at the age of 16 from 18 October 2009 to 15 May 2010. Although she circled the planet, she did it in a narrow range of latitudes relatively far from the equator that resulted in her voyage falling short of the distance criterion of 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 km) for a circumnavigation – the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth at the equator – by nearly 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km); Watson was nevertheless named 2011 Young Australian of the Year and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012 for "…service to sailing and to youth through the achievement of sailing solo and unassisted around the world, and as a role model for young Australians". As of November 2022, she resides in Melbourne. Netflix produced a film, True Spirit (2023), about Watson's voyage. Read more
• 18 May 1992: Adwoa Aboah, British fashion model Adwoa Caitlin Maria Aboah is a British fashion model and actress. In December 2017 she appeared on the cover of British Vogue. She has also been on the cover of American Vogue, Vogue Italia, Vogue Poland, and i-D. In 2017, the fashion industry voted her as Model of the Year for models.com. She is the founder of Gurls Talk, a platform that provides resources and a safe space for young women and girls to discuss Mental Health. Read more
• 18 May 1990: Dimitri Daeseleire, Belgian footballer Dimitri Daeseleire is a retired Belgian football player who played as a right back. He is currently manager of Londerzeel in the Belgian Division 3. Read more
• 18 May 1990: Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer Yuya Osako is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Read more
• 18 May 1990: Josh Starling, Australian rugby league player Josh Starling is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and his position was prop. Read more
• 18 May 1988: Taeyang, South Korean singer Dong Young-bae, better known by his stage name Taeyang or SOL, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He made his debut in 2006 as a member of the South Korean boy band BigBang. Following the release of several albums and extended plays with his group, Taeyang pursued a solo career in 2008, releasing his first extended play, Hot. The EP was acclaimed by critics and went to win the award for Best R&B & Soul Album at the 6th Korean Music Awards. Hot was followed by his first full-length studio album Solar (2010), which was released in July 2010 and peaked atop the Gaon Album Chart. Read more
• 18 May 1986: Kevin Anderson, South African tennis player Kevin Michael Anderson is a South African former professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking of world No. 5 on 16 July 2018. He was the first South African to be ranked in the top 5 since Kevin Curren was No. 5 on 23 September 1985. Read more
• 18 May 1985: Oliver Sin, Hungarian painter Oliver Sin is a Hungarian artist. Read more
• 18 May 1985: Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer Henrique Sereno Fonseca, known as Sereno, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Read more
• 18 May 1984: Ivet Lalova, Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Miroslavova Lalova-Collio, née Lalova, is a retired Bulgarian athlete who specialised in the 100 metres and 200 metres sprint events. She is the 13th-fastest woman in the history of the 100 metres. She finished fourth in the 100 metres and fifth in the 200 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her career was interrupted for two years between June 2005 and May 2007 due to a leg injury sustained in a collision with another athlete. In June 2012 she won gold at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in the Women's 100 metres. In July 2016 she won two silver medals at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in both the Women's 100 and 200 metres. She has participated in five editions of the Olympic Games. Read more
• 18 May 1984: Simon Pagenaud, French race car driver Simon Pierre Michel Pagenaud is a French former professional racing driver, who last drove the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class championship title in the 2010 American Le Mans Series, he moved to the Indycar Series where he became the 2016 IndyCar champion and the 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner, becoming the first driver born in France to win the Indianapolis 500 since Gaston Chevrolet in 1920 and the first polesitter to have won the race since Helio Castroneves in 2009. Read more
• 18 May 1984: Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player Darius Šilinskis is a former professional Lithuanian basketball center, who last played for NKL's JAZZ-Diremta. He is 2.16 m tall and weights 118 kg. In his early professional career he had couple stints with Žalgiris Kaunas. Read more
• 18 May 1984: Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player Joakim Agustín Soria Ramos is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays from 2007 to 2021. Read more
• 18 May 1984: Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist Niki Terpstra is a Dutch former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2022 for six different teams. He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Mike Terpstra. He is the third Dutch cyclist to have won both of the cobbled Monument spring classics, Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, after Jan Raas and Hennie Kuiper. Read more
• 18 May 1983: Gary O'Neil, English footballer Gary Paul O'Neil is an English football manager and former player who is the head coach of Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. Read more
• 18 May 1983: Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player Luis Enrique Terrero Gomez is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago White Sox, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Read more
• 18 May 1983: Vince Young, American football player Vincent Paul Young Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, winning the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, and Manning awards in 2005 en route to a victory in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Young was selected by the Titans third overall in the 2006 NFL draft. Read more
• 18 May 1982: Jason Brown, English footballer Jason Roy Brown is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career at Gillingham where he made over 100 appearances, before joining up with Premier League side Blackburn Rovers in 2006. Born in England, was capped three times for Wales after making his debut in 2006. Read more
• 18 May 1982: Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player Marie-Ève Pelletier is a Canadian former professional tennis player. She reached career-high rankings by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) of 106 in singles and 54 in doubles. Read more
• 18 May 1981: Mahamadou Diarra, Malian international footballer Mahamadou Diarra is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He served as captain for the Mali national team. Read more
• 18 May 1981: Ashley Harrison, Australian rugby league player Ashley Harrison is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a lock in the 2000s and 2010s. Read more
• 18 May 1980: Reggie Evans, American basketball player Reginald Jamaal Evans is an American former professional basketball player who last played in the Big3 League. A Power forward, Evans played 13 seasons in the NBA with seven teams. Evans was known for his rebounding, tenacity and hustle on the defensive end. Read more
• 18 May 1980: Michaël Llodra, French tennis player Michaël Llodra is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 3 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), winning 26 career doubles titles, including three majors and an Olympic silver medal. Llodra also had success in singles, winning five career titles and with victories over Novak Djokovic, Juan Martín del Potro, Tomáš Berdych, Robin Söderling, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko, Janko Tipsarević and John Isner. Llodra has been called "the best volleyer on tour." Read more
• 18 May 1980: Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer Diego Fernando Pérez Aguado, nicknamed "Ruso", is a Uruguayan football manager and former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He has played 89 matches for the Uruguay national football team, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2011 editions of the Copa América. He is currently the manager of Uruguay A' and Uruguay under-18 national teams. Read more
• 18 May 1979: Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft Jens Peder Bergensten, known professionally as Jeb, is a Swedish video game programmer and designer. He is best known as the lead designer of Minecraft, and is the chief creative officer of Mojang Studios. In 2013, he, along with Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, was named as one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world. As an employee of Mojang Studios, he had been co-developing Minecraft with Persson since 2010, became the lead designer in 2011, and assumed full control in 2014, when Persson left the company after its acquisition. Read more
• 18 May 1979: Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer Mariusz Lewandowski is a Polish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently in charge of Polish I liga club Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza. Read more
• 18 May 1979: Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist Michal Martikán is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has been competing at the international level since 1994. In 1996 he became the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for Slovakia since the country gained independence in 1993. In total he won 5 Olympic medals, which is the most among all slalom paddlers. He has also won the World Championship title in the C1 individual category four times. Read more
• 18 May 1979: Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer Milivoje Novaković is a Slovenian retired footballer who played as a forward. Read more
• 18 May 1979: Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer Julián Maria Speroni is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
• 18 May 1978: Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho is a Portuguese football coach and former player who is assistant head coach of the Portugal national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation. Read more
• 18 May 1978: Marcus Giles, American baseball player Marcus William Giles is an American former Major League Baseball player. He was a second baseman and batted right-handed. His older brother, Brian Giles, was an outfielder who also played in the Major Leagues. Marcus and Brian played together on the 2007 San Diego Padres. Read more
• 18 May 1978: Charles Kamathi, Kenyan runner Charles Wawerū Kamathi is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is best known for winning the 10,000 metres distance at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton. Read more
• 18 May 1977: Lee Hendrie, English footballer Lee Andrew Hendrie is an English former professional footballer and pundit for Sky Sports. Read more
• 18 May 1977: Danny Mills, English footballer and sportscaster Daniel John Mills is an English former professional footballer, his main position was right-back, though he could also play as a centre-back. Read more
• 18 May 1977: Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager Li Tie is a Chinese former professional football coach and player. Read more
• 18 May 1976: Ron Mercer, American basketball player Ronald Eugene Mercer is an American former professional basketball player. After his career at the University of Kentucky, Mercer played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he ended his career with the New Jersey Nets in 2005. Read more
• 18 May 1976: Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer Marko Tomasović is a Croatian composer and songwriter. He has composed and written more than 300 songs. His work has covered various genres. Marko is a member of Croatian Composers' Society, and he was listed as one of the 10 most performed authors in Croatia in 2004. Read more
• 18 May 1976: Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player Oleg Fedorovych Tverdovsky is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played professionally from 1994 to 2013. He was selected 2nd overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1994 NHL entry draft, playing 713 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, and Los Angeles Kings. He won 2 Stanley Cups with the Devils in 2003, and the Hurricanes in 2006. Read more
• 18 May 1975: Jem, Welsh singer-songwriter and producer Jemma Gwynne Griffiths, known by her stage name Jem, is a Welsh singer, songwriter, and record producer. Read more
• 18 May 1975: John Higgins, Scottish snooker player John Higgins is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners. He has won four World Championships, three UK Championships and two Masters titles, for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, behind only four players. He first entered the top 16 in the 1995–96 world rankings and remained there continuously for over 29 years until September 2024, setting a record for the longest uninterrupted tenure as a top-16 player. He reached the world number one position four times. Read more
• 18 May 1975: Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Jack Hody Johnson is an American singer-songwriter. He plays a variety of styles including pop, rock, acoustic, folk, and surf rock. Read more
• 18 May 1975: Ingvild Kjerkol, Norwegian politician Ingvild Kjerkol is a Norwegian politician. A member of Labour Party, she was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Nord-Trøndelag first time in 2013, and re-elected in 2017 and 2021. She has been a member of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications, and of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services. From 2021 to 2024, she served as minister of health and care services. Read more
• 18 May 1974: Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player and sportscaster Nelson Figueroa is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, and Houston Astros. Figueroa also played for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. He featured a fastball topping out at 91 mph, slider, curveball, changeup, and a splitter. He has also worked as a post-game studio analyst for Mets broadcasts. Read more
• 18 May 1973: Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach Donyell Lamar Marshall is an American basketball coach and former professional player. Drafted with the fourth pick in the 1994 NBA draft, he played for eight different teams during his National Basketball Association (NBA) career which lasted until 2009. In 2005, he hit a then-record 12 three-pointers in a single game. Read more
• 18 May 1973: Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (died 2011) Aleksandr Olerski was a football forward from Estonia. His last club was FC Puuma Tallinn. Read more
• 18 May 1972: Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Turner Ladd Stevenson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. He won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003. Read more
• 18 May 1971: Brad Friedel, American international soccer player, manager and sportscaster Bradley Howard Friedel is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
• 18 May 1971: Mark Menzies, Scottish politician Mark Andrew Menzies is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Fylde in Lancashire from 2010 to 2024. As a member of the Conservative Party, he was the parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Charles Hendry, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, before both were removed in the 2012 British cabinet reshuffle. Read more
• 18 May 1971: Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver Nobuteru 'NOB' Taniguchi is a Japanese racing driver and drifting driver who currently competes in the Super GT racing series. Taniguchi is commonly nicknamed "NOB" or "The Pimp" as a reference to his S15 Silvia which he is best known for. Read more
• 18 May 1970: Javier Cárdenas, Spanish singer, television and radio presenter Francisco Javier Cárdenas Pérez is a Spanish singer, television presenter, and radio presenter. Read more
• 18 May 1970: Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received numerous accolades, including ten Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and a Tony Award. She appeared on the Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2007 and 2009 and was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2010. Read more
• 18 May 1970: Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster Tim Horan is an Australian rugby union commentator and former player. He played for the Queensland Reds in the Super 12, and represented Australia. He was one of the best centres in the world throughout the 1990s due to his attacking prowess, formidable defence and playmaking ability. He became one of only 43 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions. Read more
• 18 May 1970: Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer William L. Howerdel is an American musician, best known as a founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle, as well as for his former solo project, Ashes Divide. Howerdel has recorded six studio albums across his career: four with A Perfect Circle, one under the moniker Ashes Divide, and one under his own name. Read more
• 18 May 1970: Vicky Sunohara, Canadian former ice hockey player Vicky Sunohara is a Canadian ice hockey coach, former ice hockey player, and three-time Olympic medallist. She has been described as "the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey" and is recognized as a trailblazer and pioneer for the sport. In 2020, Sunohara was named to "TSN Hockey’s All-Time Women’s Team Canada," in recognition of her status as one of Canada’s best female hockey players of all time. She was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2025. Read more
• 18 May 1969: Troy Cassar-Daley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist Troy Cassar-Daley is an Australian country music songwriter and entertainer of Aboriginal heritage. He released his first single, "Dream Out Loud", in 1994, followed by his debut album, Beyond the Dancing, in 1995, and has continued to release music since then, including the platinum-selling The Great Country Songbook (2013) with Adam Harvey. Throughout his career he has received many awards, including ARIA Music Awards, Golden Guitars, Deadly Awards, Country Music Association of Australia Entertainer of the Year awards, and National Indigenous Music Awards. Read more
• 18 May 1969: Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress Marta Marrero, better known professionally as Martika, is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence as an actress, playing the role of Gloria in the television program Kids Incorporated between 1984 and 1986. Following her appearance in the show, Martika signed a recording contract with Columbia Records, and in October 1988 released her self titled debut album to critical acclaim. It spawned the internationally successful single "Toy Soldiers", which peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. It received similar commercial success in other international territories, and received a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Other singles released from the album, like "More Than You Know", "I Feel the Earth Move" and "Water", also achieved commercial success. The album itself sold over three million copies worldwide. Read more
• 18 May 1969: Antônio Carlos Zago, Brazilian footballer and manager Antônio Carlos Zago, sometimes known as just Antônio Carlos or simply Zago, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a centre back. Read more
• 18 May 1968: Philippe Benetton, French rugby player Philippe Benetton is a former French rugby union footballer and currently head coach of Tournon d'Agenais. He played as a flanker. Read more
• 18 May 1968: Ralf Kelleners, German race car driver Ralf Kelleners is a racing driver from Germany. Kelleners won the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans in class alongside Guy Martinoelle and Bruno Eichmann. Read more
• 18 May 1967: Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author Nina Björk is a Swedish writer and a feminist activist. She is most well known for Under det rosa täcket , a feminist book written in 1996. Read more
• 18 May 1967: Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1994 to 2003. Frentzen was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1997 with Williams, and won three Grands Prix across 10 seasons. Read more
• 18 May 1967: Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films Nancy Juvonen is an American film producer. She and Drew Barrymore own the production company Flower Films. Read more
• 18 May 1967: Mimi Macpherson, Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity Mimi Macpherson is an Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity. Read more
• 18 May 1966: Renata Nielsen, Polish-Danish long jumper and coach Renata Pytelewska-Nielsen, née Renata Pytelewska, is a Polish-born former Danish long jumper. Read more
• 18 May 1966: Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer Michael DeWayne Tait is an American singer. He was active in contemporary Christian music from 1987 to early 2025 as the vocalist for DC Talk, Tait, and Newsboys. Read more
• 18 May 1964: Ignasi Guardans, Spanish academic and politician Ignasi Guardans i Cambó is a Spanish former politician, currently an independent figure still present in the Spanish media and public opinion. He is one of the 14 grandsons of Francesc Cambó. Read more
• 18 May 1963: Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Martin James McSorley is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he could play both the forward and defense positions. He was also head coach of the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League from 2002 to 2004. He was a valued teammate of Wayne Gretzky when they played together for the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, serving as an enforcer. Read more
• 18 May 1963: Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach James Samuel Vincent is an American former professional basketball player, and coach. He currently works as a defensive coach for MBB of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Vincent was Mr. Basketball of Michigan in 1981, before playing with Michigan State, and turned professional after four years of college basketball. He became an NBA champion in 1986 with the Boston Celtics. Vincent began a coaching career in Europe after his retirement. Read more
• 18 May 1961: Russell Senior, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Russell Senior is a British musician, record producer, and playwright. He is best known as the former guitarist and violinist of Pulp and Venini as well as for his production work with The Long Blondes and Art Brut. Read more
• 18 May 1960: Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Brent Kenneth Ashton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 14 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1979 and 1993. Despite being a fine goalscoring winger, he was known during his career for being the most-traded player in the history of the NHL, a record since tied by Mike Sillinger. Read more
• 18 May 1960: Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager Jari Pekka Kurri is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1980, he played right wing for five National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Edmonton Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Rangers, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and the Colorado Avalanche. Prior to his NHL career, Kurri excelled for Jokerit in the SM-liiga and he rose from playing in the Finnish junior ice hockey team to the the country's national hockey team in two years. He was drafted as the fourth round of the 1980 NHL draft by the Oilers and immediately played for the team that year. Read more
• 18 May 1960: Yannick Noah, French tennis player Yannick Noah is a French former professional tennis player and singer, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. Noah won the French Open in 1983, and is a former captain of both France's Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup teams. During his nearly two-decade career, Noah captured 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 3 in July 1986 and attaining the world No. 1 doubles ranking the following month. Since his retirement from the game, Noah has remained in the public eye as a popular music performer and as the co-founder, with his mother, of a charity organization for underprivileged children. He is commemorated each year at Roland-Garros with Yannick Noah's Day. Noah is also the father of former NBA player Joakim Noah. Read more
• 18 May 1959: Graham Dilley, English cricketer and coach (died 2011) Graham Roy Dilley was an English international cricketer, whose main role was as a fast bowler. He played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club and Worcestershire County Cricket Clubs, and appeared in 41 Test matches and 36 One Day International (ODIs) for the England cricket team. Read more
• 18 May 1959: Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Gordon Jay Wells is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He was nicknamed "The Hammer" for his tough, physical style of play. Read more
• 18 May 1958: Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach Rubén Omar Romano Cachía is an Argentine former footballer and current manager. Read more
• 18 May 1958: Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress Toyah Ann Willcox is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released more than 20 albums, written two books, appeared in more than 40 stage plays and 10 feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows. Read more
• 18 May 1957: Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer Michael Cretu is a Romanian-German musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He gained worldwide fame as the founder and musician behind the musical project Enigma, which he formed in 1990. Read more
• 18 May 1957: Henrietta Moore, English anthropologist and academic Professor Dame Henrietta L. Moore, is a British social anthropologist and leading global thinker on prosperity. She is Founder and Director of the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, part of the Bartlett, UCL's Faculty of the Built Environment, and holds Chair in Culture, Philosophy and Design at University College, London. Read more
• 18 May 1956: Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter Catherine Corsini is a French film director, screenwriter, and actress. Her film Replay was entered into the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Her 2012 film Three Worlds competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Read more
• 18 May 1956: John Godber, English playwright and screenwriter John Harry Godber is an English playwright, known mainly for observational comedies. The Plays and Players Yearbook of 1993 rated him the third most performed playwright in the UK after William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn. He has been creative director of the Theatre Royal Wakefield since 2011. Read more
• 18 May 1956: Jim Moginie, Australian guitarist and songwriter James 'Jim' Moginie is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he was a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and leading songwriter. Read more
• 18 May 1955: Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter Chow Yun-fat SBS, previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker. In a film career spanning more than forty-five years, Chow has appeared in over 100 television drama series and films. Known for his versatility, encompassing action and melodrama, comedy and historical drama, his accolades include three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor. Read more
• 18 May 1954: Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Eric Goulden, known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock and new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single "Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time. It was also acclaimed as one of the "top 40 singles of the alternative era 1975–2000". Read more
• 18 May 1954: Eric Gerets, Belgian footballer and manager Eric Maria Gerets (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːrɪk ˈxeːrəts]; born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian former professional football manager and player. Nicknamed "The Lion (of Flanders)", he was regarded as one of the top right-backs in Europe at his peak and is considered one of the greatest players in Belgian football history. Read more
• 18 May 1953: Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (died 2015) Alan Kupperberg was an American comics artist known for working in both comic books and newspaper strips. Read more
• 18 May 1952: Diane Duane, American author and screenwriter Diane Duane is an American science fiction and fantasy author, long based in Ireland. Her works include the Young Wizards young adult fantasy series and the Rihannsu Star Trek novels. Read more
• 18 May 1952: David Leakey, English general and politician Lieutenant General Arundell David Leakey, is a former British Army officer. He was Director General of the European Union Military Staff in the Council of the European Union, Brussels. In 2010 he was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, a role he held until February 2018. Read more
• 18 May 1952: George Strait, American singer, guitarist and producer George Harvey Strait Sr. is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, music producer, and rancher. Strait has sold tens of millions of records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Read more
• 18 May 1952: Jeana Yeager, American pilot Jeana Lee Yeager is an American aviator. She co-piloted, along with Dick Rutan, the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft from December 14 to 23, 1986. The flight took 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds and covered 24,986 miles (40,211 km), almost doubling the old distance record set by a Boeing B-52 strategic bomber in 1962. Read more
• 18 May 1951: Richard Clapton, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Clapton is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are "Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and "I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top 20 on the related albums chart with Goodbye Tiger (1977), Hearts on the Nightline (1979), The Great Escape (1982) and The Very Best of Richard Clapton (1982). Clapton's highest-charting album, Music Is Love (1966–1970), peaked at number 3 on the ARIA Chart. Read more
• 18 May 1951: Jim Sundberg, American baseball player and sportscaster James Howard Sundberg is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst, and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989, most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers where he established himself as one of the top defensive catchers of his era. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg won six consecutive Gold Glove Awards during his tenure with the Rangers. Later in his career, he won a World Series championship as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 1985. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs. Sundberg was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2003. Read more
• 18 May 1951: Angela Voigt, German long jumper (died 2013) Angela Voigt, née Schmalfeld was an East German long jumper. Read more
• 18 May 1950: Rod Milburn, American hurdler and coach (died 1997) Rodney Milburn Jr. was an American hurdler who won gold at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich in the 110 m hurdles. Read more
• 18 May 1950: Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter and painter Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer and artist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose "Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US in 1980, peaking at No. 14, and which has since maintained a cult following. Mothersbaugh was one of the primary composers of Devo's music. Read more
• 18 May 1949: Walter Hawkins, American gospel music singer and pastor (died 2010) Walter Lee Hawkins was an American gospel singer, songwriter, composer, and pastor. An influential figure in urban contemporary gospel music, his career spanned more than four decades. Hawkins won one Grammy from a sum of eight nominations. Read more
• 18 May 1949: Rick Wakeman, English progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboardist and composer best known for his multiple tenures in the progressive rock band Yes and for his prolific solo career, which has spanned six decades. His most successful and acclaimed albums are his first three progressive rock concept albums–The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973), the UK number-one Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974), and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975). AllMusic describes Wakeman as a "classically trained keyboardist extraordinaire who plied his trade with Yes and developed his own brand of live spectacular in a solo act." Read more
• 18 May 1948: Joe Bonsall, American country/gospel singer (died 2024) Joseph Sloan Bonsall Jr. was an American singer who was tenor vocalist of the Oak Ridge Boys from 1973 to 2023. Besides charting numerous hits as a member of the Oak Ridge Boys, Bonsall had a solo hit guesting with Sawyer Brown on their 1986 single "Out Goin' Cattin'". Read more
• 18 May 1948: Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic Yi Munyeol is a South Korean writer. Yi's given name at birth was Yeol; the character Mun was added after he took up a writing career. His works include novels, short stories and Korean adaptations of classic Chinese novels. An informal count has estimated that over 30 million copies of his books have been sold and, as of 2021, they have been translated into 21 languages. His works have garnered many literary awards and many have been adapted for film and television. Read more
• 18 May 1948: Richard Swedberg, Swedish sociologist and academic Richard Swedberg is a Swedish sociologist. He is currently professor emeritus at the Department of Sociology at Cornell University. In the Fall of 1998, Swedberg was a Fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in Uppsala, Sweden. Read more
• 18 May 1948: Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General, United States Senator from New Mexico Thomas Stewart Udall is an American diplomat, attorney, and politician who served as a United States senator for New Mexico from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district from 1999 to 2009 and New Mexico attorney general from 1991 to 1999. In 2022, he was made the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, leaving his post in 2025. Born in Tucson, Arizona to the Udall family, he is the son of former U.S. Representative and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and the nephew of former U.S. Representative Mo Udall. His cousin is Mark Udall, a Senator for the neighboring state of Colorado from 2009 to 2015. Read more
• 18 May 1947: John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland (died 2024) John Gerard Bruton was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997 and Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001. He held cabinet positions between 1981‍ and 1987, including twice as minister for finance. He was Leader of the Opposition from 1990 to 1994 and 1997 to 2001. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Meath from 1969 to 2004. Read more
• 18 May 1946: Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China Frank Hsieh Chang-ting is a Taiwanese politician, diplomat, and former defense attorney who has served as the chairman of the Taiwan–Japan Relations Association since 2026. He was the premier of the Republic of China in the administration of Chen Shui-bian from 2005 to 2006, the mayor of Kaohsiung from 1998 to 2005, and a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1990 to 1996. Read more
• 18 May 1946: Reggie Jackson, American baseball player and sportscaster Reginald Martinez Jackson is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and California Angels. Jackson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993 in his first year of eligibility. Read more
• 18 May 1946: Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (died 2013) Gerd Langguth was a professor of political science at the University of Bonn and the author of biographies of Angela Merkel, Horst Köhler and of Rudi Dutschke Read more
• 18 May 1945: Gail Strickland, American actress Gail Strickland is a retired American actress who had prominent supporting roles in such films as The Drowning Pool (1975), Bound for Glory (1976), Who'll Stop the Rain (1978), Norma Rae (1979), and Protocol (1984), and appeared regularly on various network television shows. Read more
• 18 May 1944: Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Albert Louis Hammond OBE is a Gibraltarian singer, songwriter and record producer. As a songwriter he has collaborated with songwriters Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Hal David, Diane Warren, Holly Knight, Carole Bayer Sager and Roy Orbison. Read more
• 18 May 1944: W. G. Sebald, German novelist, essayist, and poet (died 2001) Winfried Georg Sebald, known as W. G. Sebald or Max Sebald, was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was according to The New Yorker "widely recognized for his extraordinary contribution to world literature." Read more
• 18 May 1943: Jimmy Snuka, Fijian wrestler (died 2017) James Reiher Snuka was a Fijian and American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Read more
• 18 May 1942: Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager (died 2020) Norbert Peter Stiles was an English professional footballer. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. Stiles also played in the final, which England won 4–2 against West Germany. His post-match dance on the Wembley pitch, holding the World Cup trophy in one hand and his false teeth in the other, was widely broadcast. Read more
• 18 May 1941: Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler and promoter Louis Gino Acocella, better known by his ring name Gino Brito, is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He was most popular in Montreal. As Louis Cerdan, he was a WWWF Tag Team Champion with fellow Italian-Canadian wrestler Tony Parisi. He trained another Italian-Canadian wrestler, Dino Bravo. Read more
• 18 May 1941: Malcolm Longair, Scottish astronomer, physicist, and academic Malcolm Sim Longair is a British physicist. From 1991 to 2008 he was the Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Since 2016 he has been editor-in-chief of the Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. Read more
• 18 May 1941: Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress and singer Miriam Margolyes is a British-Australian comedian, writer, and actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993), and achieved international prominence with her portrayal of Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). Margolyes was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2002 New Year Honours for Services to Drama. Read more
• 18 May 1940: Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (died 2012) Erico Boyles Aumentado was a former governor, vice governor, and senior provincial board member of Bohol, and congressman and deputy speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives. He is the first governor of Bohol who served for three consecutive terms (2001-2010). Read more
• 18 May 1939: Patrick Cormack, Baron Cormack, English historian, journalist, and politician (died 2024) Patrick Thomas Cormack, Baron Cormack, was a British politician, historian, journalist and author. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) for 40 years, from 1970 to 2010. Cormack was a member of the Conservative Party and was seen as a one-nation conservative. Read more
• 18 May 1939: Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (died 1992) Giovanni Falcone was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian Mafia. After a long and distinguished career, culminating in the Maxi Trial in 1986–1987, on 23 May 1992, Falcone was assassinated by the Corleonesi Mafia in the Capaci bombing, on the A29 motorway near the town of Capaci. Read more
• 18 May 1939: Gordon O'Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Canadian Minister of Defence Gordon James O'Connor, is a retired brigadier-general, businessman, and lobbyist, who served as Conservative Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2015. Read more
• 18 May 1938: Janet Fish, American painter and academic Janet Isobel Fish was an American contemporary realist artist. Through oil painting, lithography, and screenprinting, she explored the interaction of light with everyday objects in the still life genre. Many of her paintings include elements of transparency, reflected light, and multiple overlapping patterns depicted in bold, high color values. She has been credited with revitalizing the still life genre. Read more
• 18 May 1937: Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2023) Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was an American professional baseball player who played his entire 23-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "Mr. Hoover" and "the Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally considered to have been the greatest defensive third baseman in major league history. Read more
• 18 May 1937: Jacques Santer, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jacques Louis Santer is a Luxembourgish politician who served as president of the European Commission from 1995 to 1999 before resigning amidst allegations of corruption. He served as the finance minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989, and as prime minister of Luxembourg from 1984 to 1995, as a member of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), which was the leading party in the Luxembourgish government between 1979 and 2013. As prime minister of Luxembourg, he also led the negotiations on the Single European Act, which effectively set aside the 20-year-old Luxembourg compromise. Read more
• 18 May 1936: Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (died 2013) Leon Walton, better known by his stage name Leon Ashley, was an American country music singer. He is known mainly for his single "Laura ", which topped the country singles charts in 1967. This single was distributed on his own label. Ashley recorded, released, distributed and published the single on his own. Besides this song, he released several other singles throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Read more
• 18 May 1936: Türker İnanoğlu, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2024) Türker İnanoğlu was a Turkish screenwriter, film director and producer. Read more
• 18 May 1936: Michael Sandle, English sculptor and academic Michael Sandle is a British sculptor and artist. His works include several public sculptures, many relating to themes of war, death, or destruction. Read more
• 18 May 1935: Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, Irish activist and writer (died 2025) Pádraig Ó Snodaigh was an Irish language activist, poet, writer, and publisher. He worked for the Irish Electricity Supply Board, and later in the National Museum of Ireland. He was a president of Conradh na Gaeilge, the Gaelic League. Read more
• 18 May 1934: Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director (died 2022) Dwayne Bernard Hickman was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's girl-crazy teenaged nephew, in the 1950s The Bob Cummings Show and the title character in the 1960s sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He was the younger brother of actor Darryl Hickman, with whom he appeared on screen. After retirement, he devoted his time to creating personalized paintings. Read more
• 18 May 1933: Bernadette Chirac, French politician, First Lady of France Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chirac is a French politician and the widow of the former president Jacques Chirac. Read more
• 18 May 1933: H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian farmer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of India Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda is an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India for nearly 11 months, from 1996 to 1997. He previously served as the chief minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996 and as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha. A member of the Janata Dal (Secular), he has been serving as the party's president since 1999 and has been an MP in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka since 2020. Read more
• 18 May 1933: Don Whillans, English rock climber and mountaineer (died 1985) Donald Desbrow Whillans was an English rock climber and mountaineer. He climbed with Joe Brown and Chris Bonington. Read more
• 18 May 1931: Don Martin, American cartoonist (died 2000) Don Martin was an American cartoonist whose best-known work was published in Mad from 1956 to 1988. His popularity and prominence were such that the magazine promoted Martin as "Mad's Maddest Artist." Read more
• 18 May 1931: Robert Morse, American actor (died 2022) Robert Alan Morse was an American actor. Known for his gap-toothed boyishness, he started his career as a star on Broadway acting in musicals and plays before expanding into film and television. He earned numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Read more
• 18 May 1931: Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (died 1995) Kalju Pitksaar was an Estonian chess player, who won the Estonian Chess Championship. Read more
• 18 May 1931: Clément Vincent, Canadian farmer and politician (died 2018) Clément Vincent was a Canadian politician and a Member of the House of Commons of Canada. Read more
• 18 May 1930: Warren Rudman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 2012) Warren Bruce Rudman was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from New Hampshire from 1980 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party, he was known as a moderate centrist, to such an extent that President Clinton approached him in 1994 about replacing departing Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in Clinton's cabinet, an offer that Rudman declined. Read more
• 18 May 1930: Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (died 2007) Fred Thomas Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his Berserker series of science fiction short stories and novels. Read more
• 18 May 1929: Jack Sanford, American baseball player and coach (died 2000) John Stanley Sanford was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Sanford was notable for the meteoric start to his career when, he led the National League with 188 strikeouts as a 28-year-old rookie for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1957. He later became a 20-game-winner and made his only World Series appearance as a member of the San Francisco Giants. He also played for the California Angels and the Kansas City Athletics. Read more
• 18 May 1929: Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (died 2012) Norman Antony Francis St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, was a British Conservative politician, author and barrister. He served as Leader of the House of Commons in the government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1981. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelmsford from 1964 to 1987 and was made a life peer in 1987. His surname was created by compounding those of his father (Stevas) and mother. Read more
• 18 May 1928: Pernell Roberts, American actor (died 2010) Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son Adam Cartwright on the Western television series Bonanza (1959–1965), and as chief surgeon John McIntyre, the title character on Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986). Read more
• 18 May 1927: Richard Body, English politician (died 2018) Sir Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body was an English politician. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Billericay from 1955 to 1959, for Holland with Boston from 1966 to 1997, and for Boston and Skegness from 1997 until he stood down at the 2001 general election. He was a long-standing member of the Conservative Monday Club, and came second in its 1972 election for chairman. A prominent eurosceptic, Body also served as president of the Anti-Common Market League. Read more
• 18 May 1927: Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (died 2015) Raymond Robert Nagel was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1965 and the University of Iowa from 1966 to 1970, compiling a career college football coaching record of 58–71–3 (.455). After coaching, Nagel was the athletic director at Washington State University from 1971 to 1976 and the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1976 to 1983. From 1990 to 1995, he was the executive director of the Hula Bowl, a college football invitational all-star game in Hawaii. Read more
• 18 May 1925: Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (died 1998) Lillian Hoban was an American illustrator and children's writer best known for picture books created with her husband Russell Hoban. According to OCLC, she has published 326 works in 1,401 publications in 11 languages. Read more
• 18 May 1924: Priscilla Pointer, American actress (died 2025) Priscilla Marie Pointer was an American actress of theater, film and television. Read more
• 18 May 1924: Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (died 2019) John Francis Whitaker was an American sportscaster who worked for both CBS and ABC. Whitaker was a decorated army veteran of World War II. He fought in the Normandy Campaign and was wounded by an artillery strike. Read more
• 18 May 1923: Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (died 2013) Jean-Louis Roux was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. Read more
• 18 May 1923: Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (died 2004) Hugh Lawson Shearer was a Jamaican trade unionist and politician, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1967 to 1972. He was also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade from 1980 to 1989, under Edward Seaga. Read more
• 18 May 1922: Bill Macy, American actor (died 2019) Wolf Martin Garber, known professionally as Bill Macy, was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was best known for his role of Walter Findlay on the CBS sitcom Maude (1972–1978). Read more
• 18 May 1922: Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (died 1983) Kai Chresten Winding was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie Mondo Cane, reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 and remained his only entry there. Read more
• 18 May 1921: Joan Eardley, British artist (died 1963) Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley was a British artist noted for her portraiture of street children in Glasgow and for her landscapes of the fishing village of Catterline and surroundings on the North-East coast of Scotland. One of Scotland's most enduringly popular artists, her career was cut short by breast cancer. Her artistic career had three distinct phases. The first was from 1940 when she enrolled at the Glasgow School of Art through to 1949 when she had a successful exhibition of paintings created while travelling in Italy. From 1950 to 1957, Eardley's work focused on the city of Glasgow and in particular the slum area of Townhead. In the late 1950s, while still living in Glasgow, she spent much time in Catterline before moving there permanently in 1961. During the last years of her life, seascapes and landscapes painted in and around Catterline dominated her output. Read more
• 18 May 1921: Michael A. Epstein, English pathologist and academic (died 2024) Sir Michael Anthony Epstein was a British pathologist and academic. He was one of the discoverers of the Epstein–Barr virus, along with Yvonne Barr and Bert Achong. Read more
• 18 May 1920: Pope John Paul II (died 2005) Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after St. Peter and Pius IX. Read more
• 18 May 1920: Anthony Storr, English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author (died 2001) Anthony Storr was an English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author. Read more
• 18 May 1919: Margot Fonteyn, British ballerina (died 1991) Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE, known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company, now known as the Royal Ballet, eventually being appointed prima ballerina assoluta of the company by Queen Elizabeth II. Read more
• 18 May 1917: Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (died 1973) William Blake Everett was an American comic book writer and artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner, as well as co-creating Daredevil and the zombie Simon Garth with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. Read more
• 18 May 1914: Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (died 1982) Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was a French fashion designer and founder of leading post-war fashion house Balmain. Known for sophistication and elegance, he described the art of dressmaking as "the architecture of movement". Read more
• 18 May 1914: Boris Christoff, Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (died 1993) Boris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Read more
• 18 May 1913: Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (died 2000) Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, born Joan Pollock Graham, was a British-Canadian far-right political activist who took part in a number of movements, and was described as the "largest individual distributor of racist and antisemitic material" in Britain. She was the second wife of Christopher Birdwood, 2nd Baron Birdwood. Read more
• 18 May 1912: Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1992) Richard Brooks was an American film director, screenwriter, journalist and novelist. He directed 24 feature films between 1950 and 1985, and was known for his portrayals of hard-hitting subject matter, psychologically complex characters, and his independently minded auteurist approach to filmmaking. Read more
• 18 May 1912: Perry Como, American singer and television host (died 2001) Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987. Read more
• 18 May 1912: Walter Sisulu, South African politician (died 2003) Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), he was Accused No.2 in the Rivonia Trial and was incarcerated on Robben Island where he served more than 25 years' imprisonment for his anti-Apartheid revolutionary activism. He had a close partnership with Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, with whom he played a key role in organising the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the establishment of the ANC Youth League and Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was also on the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party. Read more
• 18 May 1911: Big Joe Turner, American blues/R&B singer (died 1985) Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. Turner's greatest fame was due to his rock and roll recordings in the 1950s, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll", but his career as a performer endured from the 1920s into the 1980s. Read more
• 18 May 1910: Ester Boserup, Danish economist and author (died 1999) Ester Boserup was a Danish economist. She studied economic and agricultural development, worked at the United Nations as well as other international organizations, and wrote seminal books on agrarian change and the role of women in development. Read more
• 18 May 1909: Fred Perry, English tennis player and academic (died 1995) Frederick Towersey Perry was an English tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1. He won 10 Majors, including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well as six Major doubles titles. Perry was the first player to win a "Career Grand Slam", lifting all four singles titles, which he completed at the age of 26 at the 1935 French Championships. He remains the only British player to achieve this feat. Read more
• 18 May 1907: Irene Hunt, American author and educator (died 2001) Irene Hunt was an American children's writer known best for historical novels. She was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal for her first book, Across Five Aprils, and won the medal for her second, Up a Road Slowly. For her contribution as a children's writer she was U.S. nominee in 1974 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books. Read more
• 18 May 1905: Ruth Alexander, pioneering American pilot (died 1930) Ruth Blaney Alexander was an early American female pilot who set several records in altitude and distance in 1929 and 1930. Read more
• 18 May 1905: Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (died 1943) Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37. Read more
• 18 May 1904: Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York Attorney General (died 1986) Jacob Koppel Javits was an American lawyer and politician from New York. During his time in politics, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress, a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1954 and a member of the United States Senate from 1957 to 1981. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as Attorney General of New York from 1955 to 1957. Generally considered a liberal Republican, he was often at odds with his own party. A supporter of labor unions, the Great Society, and the civil rights movement, he played a key role in the passing of civil rights legislation. An opponent of the Vietnam War, he drafted the War Powers Resolution in 1973. Read more
• 18 May 1904: Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (died 1971) Shunryu Suzuki was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, and is renowned for founding the first Zen Buddhist monastery outside Asia. Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center which, along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. A book of his teachings, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, is one of the most popular books on Zen and Buddhism in the West. Read more
• 18 May 1902: Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (died 1984) Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson was an American flautist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. Read more
• 18 May 1901: Henri Sauguet, French composer (died 1989) Henri-Pierre Sauguet-Poupard was a French composer. Read more
• 18 May 1901: Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1978) Vincent du Vigneaud was an American biochemist. He was recipient of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on biochemically important sulphur compounds, especially for the first synthesis of a polypeptide hormone," a reference to his work on the peptide hormone oxytocin. Read more
• 18 May 1898: Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (died 1973) Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel was a leading Turkish poet, author and later politician. He is one of the Five Syllabists. Together with Behçet Kemal Çağlar, he wrote the lyrics of the Tenth Anniversary March. He served as a member of parliament for Istanbul during the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th terms of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). Read more
• 18 May 1897: Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991) Frank Russell Capra was an Italian-born American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind several major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Italy and raised in Los Angeles from the age of five, his rags-to-riches story has led film historians such as Ian Freer to consider him the "American Dream personified". Read more
• 18 May 1896: Eric Backman, Swedish runner (died 1965) Eric Natanael Backman was a Swedish long distance runner who had his best achievements at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 18 May 1895: Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (died 1934) Augusto César Sandino was a Nicaraguan revolutionary, founder of the militant group EDSN, and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the United States occupation of Nicaragua. Despite being referred to as a "bandit" by the United States government, his exploits made him a hero throughout much of Latin America, where he became a symbol of resistance to American imperialism. Sandino drew units of the United States Marine Corps into an undeclared guerrilla war. The United States troops withdrew from the country in 1933 after overseeing the election and inauguration of President Juan Bautista Sacasa, who had returned from exile. Read more
• 18 May 1892: Ezio Pinza, Italian-American actor and singer (died 1957) Ezio Fortunato Pinza was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas. At the San Francisco Opera, Pinza sang 26 roles during 20 seasons from 1927 to 1948. Pinza also sang to great acclaim at La Scala, Milan, and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. Read more
• 18 May 1891: Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and academic (died 1970) Paul Rudolf Carnap was a German philosopher who was active in Europe before 1935 and in the United States thereafter. He was a major member of the Vienna Circle and an advocate of logical positivism. Read more
• 18 May 1889: Thomas Midgley Jr., American chemist and engineer (died 1944) Thomas Midgley Jr. was an American mechanical and chemical engineer. He played a major role in developing leaded gasoline and some of the first chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), better known in the United States by the brand name Freon; both products were later banned from common use due to their harmful impact on human health and the environment. He was granted more than 100 patents over the course of his career. Read more
• 18 May 1888: Hanna Barysiewicz, the oldest female resident of Belarus not registered by the Guinness Book of Records. (died 2007) Hanna Adamauna Barysiewicz, Belarusian: Ганна Адамаўна Барысевiч, Russian: Анна Адамовна Борисевич was the oldest female resident of Belarus not registered by the Guinness Book of Records. Until her death, she was reputedly the oldest resident in the country and, according to the media, in the world. She lived to the claimed age of 118 years and 281 days. Read more
• 18 May 1886: Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (died 1946) Abbie Jean MacPherson was an American silent actress, writer and director. She is known for her collaborations with directors D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Read more
• 18 May 1883: Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (died 1974) Eurico Gaspar Dutra was a Brazilian military leader and politician who served as the president of Brazil from 1946 to 1951. He was the first president of the Fourth Brazilian Republic, which followed the Vargas Regime. Read more
• 18 May 1883: Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (died 1969) Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German-American architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of Bauhaus in Weimar and taught there for several years, becoming known as a leading proponent of the International Style. Gropius emigrated from Germany to England in 1934 and from England to the United States in 1937, where he spent much of the rest of his life teaching at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In the United States he worked on several projects with Marcel Breuer and with the firm The Architects Collaborative, of which he was a founding partner. In 1959, he won the AIA Gold Medal, one of the most prestigious awards in architecture. Read more
• 18 May 1882: Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (died 1968) Charles Benjamin "Babe" Adams was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1906 to 1926 who spent nearly his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Noted for his outstanding control, his career average of 1.29 walks per 9 innings pitched was the second lowest of the 20th century; his 1920 mark of 1 walk per 14.6 innings was a modern record until 2005. He shares the Pirates' franchise record for career victories by a right-hander (194), and holds the team mark for career shutouts (47); from 1926 to 1962, he held the team record for career games pitched (481). Read more
• 18 May 1878: Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (died 1977) Johannes Hester Lambertus Terwogt was a Dutch rower who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 18 May 1876: Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (died 1931) Hermann Müller was a German Social Democratic politician who served as foreign minister (1919–1920) and was twice chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic. Read more
• 18 May 1872: Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970) Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, was an English philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He influenced mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic philosophy. Read more
• 18 May 1871: Denis Horgan, Irish shot putter and weight thrower (died 1922) Denis Horgan was a champion Irish athlete and weight thrower, born in Banteer, County Cork, who competed mainly in the shot put. Read more
• 18 May 1869: Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (died 1937) Lucy Emily Beaumont was an English actress of the stage and screen from Bristol. Read more
• 18 May 1868: Nicholas II of Russia (died 1918) Nicholas II was Emperor of Russia from 1 November 1894 until his abdication in 1917. He was the last Russian monarch before the Russian Revolution and oversaw the Russian Empire's participation in World War I. In 1918, the Romanovs were murdered, putting an end to the Romanov dynasty. Read more
• 18 May 1867: Minakata Kumagusu, Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist (died 1941) Minakata Kumagusu was a Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist. Read more
• 18 May 1862: Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (died 1948) Josephus Daniels was a newspaper editor, Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson, and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Read more
• 18 May 1855: Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (died 1931) Francis Julius Bellamy was an American Christian socialist Baptist minister and author. He is best known for writing the original version of the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892. Read more
• 18 May 1854: Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (died 1924) Bernard Zweers was a Dutch composer and music teacher. Read more
• 18 May 1852: Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (died 1934) Gertrude Käsebier was an American photographer. She was known for her images of motherhood, her portraits of Native Americans, and her promotion of photography as a career for women. Read more
• 18 May 1851: James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (died 1908) James Herbert Budd was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for California's 2nd district from 1883 to 1885 and as the 19th governor of California from 1895 to 1899. He was the last Democrat to hold the latter office until the election of Culbert Olson 40 years later. Read more
• 18 May 1851: Simon Kahquados, Potawatomi political activist (died 1930) Simon Kahquados, born Kakanisaiga, was a leader of the Potawatomi people in Wisconsin, United States, and played a pivotal role in creating the federally recognized Forest County Potawatomi Community. Read more
• 18 May 1850: Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (died 1925) Oliver Heaviside was a British mathematician and electrical engineer who invented a new technique for solving differential equations, independently developed vector calculus, and rewrote Maxwell's equations in the form commonly used today. He significantly shaped the way Maxwell's equations were understood and applied in the decades following Maxwell's death. Also, in 1893, he extended them to gravitoelectromagnetism, which was confirmed by Gravity Probe B in 2005. His formulation of the telegrapher's equations became commercially important during his own lifetime, after their significance went unremarked for a long while, as few others were versed at the time in his novel methodology. Although at odds with the scientific establishment for most of his life, Heaviside changed the face of telecommunications, mathematics, and science. Read more
• 18 May 1835: Charles N. Sims, American Methodist preacher and 3rd chancellor of Syracuse University (died 1908) Charles N. Sims was an American Methodist preacher and the third chancellor of Syracuse University, serving from 1881 to 1893. Sims Hall and Sims drive on the Syracuse campus is named for him. Read more
• 18 May 1824: Wilhelm Hofmeister, German botanist (died 1877) Wilhelm Friedrich Benedikt Hofmeister was a German biologist and botanist. He "stands as one of the true giants in the history of biology and belongs in the same pantheon as Darwin and Mendel." Largely self-taught he was the first to study and establish alternation of generations and the details of sexual reproduction in the bryophytes. Read more
• 18 May 1822: Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (died 1896) Mathew B. Brady was an American photographer. Known as one of the earliest and most famous photographers in American history, he is best known for his scenes of the American Civil War. He studied under inventor Samuel Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique in America. Brady opened his own studio in New York City in 1844, and went on to photograph U.S. presidents John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Millard Fillmore, Martin Van Buren, and other public figures. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 18 May in World History

• 18 May 2024: Bruce Nordstrom, American businessman (born 1933) Bruce Allen Nordstrom was an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman of the retailer Nordstrom, a company founded by his grandfather John W. Nordstrom. He ran the company from 1968 until 1995 and resumed his position as chairman in 2000 until 2006. He was a philanthropist in the Seattle community and appeared on the Forbes list of wealthiest people in 2012. Read more
• 18 May 2024: Tony O'Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman (born 1936) Sir Anthony John Francis O'Reilly was an Irish businessman and international rugby union player. He was known for his try scoring in rugby, his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009, and as CEO and chairman of the H.J. Heinz Company. He was the leading shareholder of Waterford Wedgwood and a founder and major supporter of The Ireland Funds. A citizen of both Ireland and the United Kingdom, he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor for his services to Northern Ireland. Read more
• 18 May 2024: Alice Stewart, American political commentator (born 1966) Alice Elizabeth Stewart was an American communications director who worked on five Republican presidential campaigns before joining CNN as a commentator. Read more
• 18 May 2023: Jim Brown, American football player, civil rights activist, and actor (born 1936) James Nathaniel Brown was an American professional football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1965. Widely considered one of the greatest running backs of all time, as well as one of the greatest players in NFL history, Brown was selected to a Pro Bowl and All-Pro team every season he was in the league, and was recognized as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times. Brown won an NFL championship with the Browns in 1964. He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he held most major rushing records. In 1999, he was named the greatest professional football player ever by The Sporting News and the Associated Press. Read more
• 18 May 2021: Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host (born 1935) Charles Sidney Grodin was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Known for his deadpan delivery and often cast as a put-upon straight man, Grodin became familiar as a supporting actor in many Hollywood comedies. After a small part in Rosemary's Baby in 1968, he played the lead in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid (1972) where he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Grodin also starred in 11 Harrowhouse (1974), for which he also wrote the adaptation. Read more
• 18 May 2021: Yolanda Tortolero, Venezuelan politician Yolanda Tortolero Martínez was a Venezuelan physician and politician, alternate deputy of the National Assembly for the Carabobo state and the A New Era party. Read more
• 18 May 2020: Ken Osmond, American actor and police officer (born 1943) Kenneth Charles Osmond was an American actor and police officer. Beginning a career as a child actor at the age of four, Osmond played the role of Eddie Haskell on the late 1950s to early 1960s television situation comedy Leave It to Beaver and reprised it on the 1980s revival series The New Leave It to Beaver. Typecast by the role, he found it hard to get other acting work and became a Los Angeles police officer. After retiring from police work, he resumed his acting career. Read more
• 18 May 2019: Austin Eubanks, American addiction recovery advocate, survivor of the Columbine shooting (born 1981) Stephen Austin Eubanks was an American motivational speaker on addiction and recovery. He was one of the best known survivors of the Columbine High School massacre, both in its immediate aftermath and in post-event commentary. Read more
• 18 May 2017: Roger Ailes, American businessman (born 1940) Roger Eugene Ailes was an American television executive and media consultant. He was the chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Television Stations and 20th Television. Ailes was a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, and for Rudy Giuliani's 1989 New York City mayoral election. In July 2016, he left Fox News after allegations of sexually harassing female Fox employees, including on-air hosts Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Andrea Tantaros. Read more
• 18 May 2017: Chris Cornell, American singer (born 1964) Christopher John Cornell was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a solo career and contributed to numerous movie soundtracks. Cornell was the founder and frontman of Temple of the Dog, a one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend, musician Andrew Wood. Several music journalists, fan polls, and fellow musicians have regarded Cornell as one of the greatest rock singers of all time. Read more
• 18 May 2017: Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (born 1916) Jacque Fresco was an American futurist and self-described social engineer. Self-taught, he worked in a variety of positions related to industrial design. Read more
• 18 May 2015: Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic accountant and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Iceland (born 1947) Halldór Ásgrímsson was an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 15 September 2004 to 15 June 2006 and was the leader of the Progressive Party from 1994 to 2006. Read more
• 18 May 2015: Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (born 1926) Raymond George Gosling was a British scientist. While a PhD student at King's College, London he worked under the supervision of Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin. The crystallographic experiments of Franklin and Gosling, together with others by Wilkins, produced data that helped James Watson and Francis Crick to infer the structure of DNA. Read more
• 18 May 2015: Jean-François Théodore, French businessman (born 1946) Jean-François Théodore was a French businessman, President, chairman and CEO of Euronext N.V., deputy CEO and Head of Strategy of NYSE Euronext Inc. for Euronext N.V and chairman of its Managing Board. Read more
• 18 May 2014: Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1921) Dobrica Ćosić was a Yugoslav and Serbian writer, politician and political theorist. Read more
• 18 May 2014: Hans-Peter Dürr, German physicist and academic (born 1929) Hans-Peter Dürr was a German physicist. He worked on nuclear and quantum physics, elementary particles and gravitation, epistemology, and philosophy, and he advocated responsible scientific and energy policies. In 1987, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "his profound critique of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and his work to convert high technology to peaceful uses". Read more
• 18 May 2014: Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1948) Kaiketsu Masateru was a Japanese sumo wrestler, who reached the second highest rank of ōzeki on two occasions. He also won two top division tournament championships. After his retirement in 1979 he became a coach under the name of Hanaregoma-oyakata and established Hanaregoma stable. He was also chairman of the Japan Sumo Association from 2010 to 2012. Read more
• 18 May 2014: Chukwuedu Nwokolo, Nigerian physician and academic (born 1921) Chukwuedu Nathaniel II Nwokolo was a Nigerian physician specialist in tropical diseases. He was recognised for discovering and mapping out the area of paragonimiasis lung disease in Eastern Nigeria, with a study of the disease in Africa and clinical research for its control. He founded SICREP: Sickle Cell Research Programme to effectively fight the disease in Nigeria and globally. Read more
• 18 May 2014: Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (born 1946) Wubbo Johannes Ockels was a Dutch physicist and astronaut with the European Space Agency who, in 1985, became the first Dutch citizen in space when he flew on STS-61-A as a payload specialist. He later became professor of aerospace engineering at Delft University of Technology. Read more
• 18 May 2013: Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (born 1959) Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov was a Russian filmmaker. A member of the European Film Academy, he began his career by creating mostly arthouse pictures and music videos but gained significant mainstream popularity in action crime drama movies Brother (1997) and Brother 2 (2000), both of which starred Sergei Bodrov, Jr. Later, Balabanov directed the films Cargo 200 (2007), Morphine (2008), and A Stoker (2010), which also received critical recognition. Read more
• 18 May 2013: Jo Benkow, Norwegian soldier and politician (born 1924) Jo Benkow was a Norwegian politician and writer, notable for being an important person in the Conservative Party of Norway, and the President of the Parliament 1985–1993. He was also President of the Nordic Council in 1983. Read more
• 18 May 2013: Steve Forrest, American actor (born 1925) Steve Forrest was an American actor who was well known for his role as Lt. Hondo Harrelson in the hit television series S.W.A.T., which was broadcast on ABC from 1975 to 1976. He was also known for his performance in Mommie Dearest (1981). Read more
• 18 May 2013: David McMillan, American football player (born 1981) David McMillan was an American professional football defensive end. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks. Read more
• 18 May 2013: Lothar Schmid, German chess player (born 1928) Lothar Maximilian Lorenz Schmid was a German chess grandmaster. He was born in Radebeul in Saxony into a family who were the co-owners of the
  Karl May Press, which published the German Karl May adventure novels. Read more
• 18 May 2012: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (born 1925) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, particularly "Winterreise" of which his recordings with accompanists Gerald Moore and Jörg Demus are still critically acclaimed half a century after their release. Read more
• 18 May 2012: Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer and songwriter (born 1967) Peter Robert Jones was an English-born Australian musician. He replaced Paul Hester on drums for Crowded House in mid-1994. After the band split up in June 1996, he played in Deadstar with Caroline Kennedy and Nick Seymour, but did not return to Crowded House when they re-formed in 2006 about a year after Hester's death. Jones worked as a secondary teacher in Melbourne and on 18 May 2012, he died from brain cancer, aged 49. Read more
• 18 May 2012: Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer, designed the Raleigh Chopper (born 1927) Alan Oakley was a British bicycle designer from Nottingham who worked for the Raleigh Bicycle Company. Read more
• 18 May 2009: Dolla, American rapper (born 1987) Roderick Anthony Burton II better known by his stage name Dolla, was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. Burton embarked on his music career in 2003, with hip hop group Da Razkalz Cru, under the pseudonym Bucklyte. The group quickly disbanded, and Burton went on to work as a model for the Sean John clothing line. In mid 2006, Burton signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label. Burton released three singles from 2007 to 2010. The first, his commercial debut single "Who the Fuck Is That?", featuring T-Pain and Tay Dizm, charted on the Billboard Hot 100, along with his second single "Make a Toast", featuring Lil Wayne charting on the charts Hot 100 as well. Read more
• 18 May 2009: Wayne Allwine, American voice actor, sound effects editor and Foley artist (born 1947) Wayne Anthony Allwine was an American voice actor, sound effects editor, and foley artist. He was best remembered as the third official voice of Mickey Mouse and the first official casting following the establishment of Disney Character Voices International in 1988. To date, he holds the record for the longest-running voice actor to play Mickey Mouse, having performed the role for 32 years. He was notably married to Russi Taylor in 1991, who voiced Minnie Mouse until her death in 2019. Read more
• 18 May 2009: Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (born 1954) Velupillai Prabhakaran was an Eelam Tamil revolutionary, guerrilla leader and a major figure of Tamil nationalism, being the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE was a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka in reaction to the oppression of the country's Tamil population by the Sri Lankan government. Under his direction, the LTTE undertook a military campaign against the Sri Lankan government for more than 25 years. Read more
• 18 May 2008: Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (born 1911) Joseph Pevney was an American film and television director. Read more
• 18 May 2008: Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (born 1942) Roberto García-Calvo Montiel was a Spanish judge. Since 2001, he was a member of the Constitutional Court of Spain, sponsored by the conservative People's Party. In the last year of the Francoist State, García-Calvo served as a local official repressing workers strikes. During his serving in the highest court, he was considered as part of the persistence of the shadow of Francoism in the Spanish institutions. He died by natural causes on May 17, 2008 at aged 65 in Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid. Read more
• 18 May 2007: Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1932) Pierre-Gilles de Gennes was a French physicist and the Nobel Prize laureate in physics in 1991. Read more
• 18 May 2006: Jaan Eilart, Estonian geographer, ecologist, and historian (born 1933) Jaan Eilart was an Estonian phytogeographer, landscape ecologist, cultural historian and conservationist. Read more
• 18 May 2004: Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (born 1927) Elvin Ray Jones was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as My Favorite Things, A Love Supreme, Ascension and Live at Birdland. After 1966, Jones led his own trio, and later larger groups under the name The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. His brothers Hank and Thad were also celebrated jazz musicians with whom he occasionally recorded. Elvin was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1995. In his The History of Jazz, jazz historian and critic Ted Gioia calls Jones "one of the most influential drummers in the history of jazz". He was also ranked at Number 23 on Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time". Read more
• 18 May 2002: Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (born 1962) David Smith was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog. Read more
• 18 May 2001: Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (born 1907) Irene Hunt was an American children's writer known best for historical novels. She was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal for her first book, Across Five Aprils, and won the medal for her second, Up a Road Slowly. For her contribution as a children's writer she was U.S. nominee in 1974 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books. Read more
• 18 May 2000: Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer and musicologist (born 1946) Stephen M. "Steve" Wolownik was a pioneer in the Russian and Eastern European music community in the United States. He was a co-founder of the Balalaika and Domra Association of America. Read more
• 18 May 1999: Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (born 1954) Horace Michael Swaby, also known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub composer, performer, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He was active from the 1970s until his death. He was known for playing the melodica. Read more
• 18 May 1999: Betty Robinson, American runner (born 1911) Elizabeth R. Schwartz was an American athlete and winner of the first Olympic 100 metres for women. Read more
• 18 May 1998: Obaidullah Aleem, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (born 1939) Obaidullah Aleem was a Pakistani poet of Urdu language. Read more
• 18 May 1995: Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (born 1903) Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. was an American character actor famed for his work in film noir. He played cheerful, brainy collegiates until he was cast against type as the bug-eyed baby-faced killer Wilmer Cook in the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon. He went on to play deceptively mild-mannered villains. Cook's acting career spanned more than 60 years, with roles in productions including The Big Sleep, Shane, The Killing, House on Haunted Hill and Rosemary's Baby. Read more
• 18 May 1995: Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (born 1949) Alexander Borisovich Godunov was a Russian-American ballet dancer and film actor. A member of the Bolshoi Ballet, he became the troupe's Premier danseur. In 1979, he defected to the United States. While continuing to dance, he also began working as a supporting actor in Hollywood films. He had prominent roles in films such as Witness (1985) and Die Hard (1988). Read more
• 18 May 1995: Brinsley Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist and historian (born 1911) William Francis Brinsley Le Poer Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, 7th Marquess of Heusden, was a prominent ufologist. He was an Irish peer, as well as a nobleman in the Dutch nobility. Read more
• 18 May 1995: Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (born 1933) Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage and television. She portrayed the good witch Samantha Stephens on the popular television series Bewitched, which earned her five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations. Read more
• 18 May 1990: Jill Ireland, English actress (born 1936) Jill Dorothy Ireland was an English actress and singer. Read more
• 18 May 1989: Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (born 1921)

  Dorothy Ruth Pirone was the adopted daughter of the American baseball player George H. (Babe) Ruth and his mistress Juanita Jennings, born Juanita Grenandtz. She was adopted by Babe and his first wife Helen Woodford Ruth of Boston, Massachusetts. She wrote a 1988 memoir of her father, titled My Dad, the Babe. Read more

• 18 May 1987: Mahdi Amel, Lebanese journalist, poet, and academic (born 1936) Hassan Abdullah Hamdan, more commonly known by his pseudonym Mahdi Amel, was a Lebanese Marxist philosopher, historian and militant in the second half of the 20th century. Read more
• 18 May 1981: Arthur O'Connell, American actor (born 1908) Arthur Joseph O'Connell was an American stage, film and television actor, who achieved prominence in character roles in the 1950s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for both Picnic (1955) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959). Read more
• 18 May 1981: William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (born 1908) William Saroyan was an American novelist, playwright, and short story writer of Armenian descent. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film The Human Comedy. When the studio rejected his original 240-page treatment, he turned it into a novel, The Human Comedy. Read more
• 18 May 1980: Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: Reid Turner Blackburn was an American photographer killed in the 1980 volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens. A photojournalist covering the eruption for a local newspaper—the Vancouver, Washington The Columbian—as well as National Geographic magazine and the United States Geological Survey, he was caught at Coldwater Camp in the blast. Read more
• 18 May 1980: Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: David Alexander Johnston was an American United States Geological Survey (USGS) volcanologist who was killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the U.S. state of Washington. A principal scientist on the USGS monitoring team, Johnston was killed in the eruption while manning an observation post six miles (10 km) away on the morning of May 18, 1980. He was the first to report the eruption, transmitting "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" before he was swept away by a lateral blast; despite a thorough search, Johnston's body was never found, but state highway workers discovered remnants of his USGS trailer in 1993. Read more
• 18 May 1980: Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (born 1956) Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead vocalist, songwriter, and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980). Read more
• 18 May 1975: Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (born 1908) Leroy Anderson was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music." Read more
• 18 May 1974: Harry Ricardo, English engine designer and researcher (born 1885) Sir Harry Ralph Ricardo was an English engineer who was one of the foremost engine designers and researchers in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine. Read more
• 18 May 1973: Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (born 1880) Jeannette Pickering Rankin was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916 for one term, then was elected again in 1940. Rankin remains the only woman ever elected to Congress from Montana. Read more
• 18 May 1971: Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (born 1908) Aleksandr Gennadyevich Kurosh was a Soviet mathematician, known for his work in abstract algebra. He is credited with writing The Theory of Groups, the first modern and high-level text on group theory, published in 1944. Read more
• 18 May 1968: Frank Walsh, Australian politician, 34th Premier of South Australia (born 1897) Francis Henry Walsh was an Australian politician who was the 34th Premier of South Australia from 1965 to 1967, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. Read more
• 18 May 1963: Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (born 1939) Ernest R. Davis was an American college football player who was a halfback for the Syracuse Orangemen and won the Heisman Trophy in 1961. He was the award's first black recipient. Davis was selected first overall by the Washington Redskins in the 1962 NFL draft but was almost immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns. He was diagnosed with leukemia that same year, and died shortly after at age 23 without ever playing in a professional game. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and was the subject of the 2008 film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story. Read more
• 18 May 1958: Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (born 1881) Jacob Fichman, also transliterated as Yakov Fichman, was an acclaimed Hebrew poet, essayist and literary critic. Read more
• 18 May 1956: Maurice Tate, English cricketer (born 1895) Maurice William Tate was an English cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s and the leader of England's Test bowling attack for a long time during this period. He was also the first Sussex cricketer to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket. Read more
• 18 May 1955: Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (born 1875) Mary McLeod Bethune was an American educator, philanthropist, humanitarian, womanist, and civil rights activist. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935, and proceeded to establish the Aframerican Women's Journal, which was the flagship journal of the organization. She presided over other African-American women's organizations, including the National Association for Colored Women. Shortly after joining the National Youth Administration in 1935, Bethune became the first Black woman to lead a federal agency when she was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the head of a department within the NYA. Read more
• 18 May 1947: Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (born 1883) Harold Homer Chase, nicknamed "Prince Hal", was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball, widely viewed as the best fielder at his position. During his career, he played for the New York Highlanders (1905–1913), Chicago White Sox (1913–1914), Buffalo Blues (1914–1915), Cincinnati Reds (1916–1918), and New York Giants (1919). Read more
• 18 May 1943: Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (born 1883) Ōnishiki Daigorō was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 28th yokozuna. Read more
• 18 May 1941: Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (born 1863) Werner Sombart was a German economist, historian and sociologist. Head of the "Youngest Historical School," he was one of the leading Continental European social scientists during the first quarter of the 20th century. The term "late capitalism" is accredited to him. The concept of "creative destruction" associated with capitalism is also of his coinage. Read more
• 18 May 1922: Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1845) Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran was a French physician who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1907 for his discoveries of parasitic protozoans as causative agents of infectious diseases such as malaria and trypanosomiasis. Following his father, Louis Théodore Laveran, he took up military medicine as his profession. He obtained his medical degree from University of Strasbourg in 1867. Read more
• 18 May 1916: Chen Qimei, Chinese revolutionary (born 1878) Chen Qimei, courtesy name Yingshi (英士) was a Chinese revolutionary activist and key figure of the Green Gang, close political ally of Sun Yat-sen, and an early mentor of Chiang Kai-shek. He was one of the founders of the Republic of China, and the uncle of CC Clique leaders Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu. Read more
• 18 May 1911: Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (born 1860) Gustav Mahler was a Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect, which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After 1945 his compositions were rediscovered by a new generation of listeners; Mahler then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century. Read more
• 18 May 1910: Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (born 1841) Eliza Orzeszkowa was a Polish novelist and a leading writer of the Positivism movement during the foreign Partitions of Poland. In 1905, together with Henryk Sienkiewicz, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Read more
• 18 May 1910: Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (born 1821) Pauline Viardot was a French dramatic mezzo-soprano, composer and pedagogue of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, she came from a musical family and took up music at a young age. She began performing as a teenager and had a long and illustrious career as a star performer. Read more
• 18 May 1909: Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (born 1860) Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the post-romantic era who also had a significant influence on his contemporaries and younger composers. He is best known for his piano works that incorporate Spanish folk music idioms and elements. His compositions, particularly his suite Iberia (1905–1908), are considered masterpieces and have influenced both classical music and Spanish nationalism in music. Isaac Albéniz was close to the Generation of '98. Read more
• 18 May 1909: George Meredith, English novelist and poet (born 1828) George Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first, his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but Meredith gradually established a reputation as a novelist. The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1859) briefly scandalised Victorian literary circles. Of his later novels, the most enduring is The Egoist (1879), though in his lifetime his greatest success was Diana of the Crossways (1885). His novels were innovative in their attention to characters' psychology, and also portrayed social change. His style, in both poetry and prose, was noted for its syntactic complexity; Oscar Wilde likened it to "chaos illumined by brilliant flashes of lightning". Meredith was an encourager of other novelists, as well as an influence on them; among those to benefit were Robert Louis Stevenson and George Gissing. Meredith was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. Read more
• 18 May 1908: Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1823) Sir Louis-Napoléon Casault was a Quebec lawyer, judge, professor and political figure. He represented Bellechasse in the 1st Canadian Parliament from 1867 to 1870 as a Conservative member. Read more
• 18 May 1900: Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (born 1813) Jean Gaspard Félix Lacher Ravaisson-Mollien was a French philosopher, 'perhaps France's most influential philosopher in the second half of the nineteenth century'. He was originally and remains more commonly known as Félix Ravaisson. Read more
• 18 May 1889: Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (born 1823) Isabella Glyn was a well-known Victorian-era Shakespearean actress. Read more
• 18 May 1867: Clarkson Stanfield, English painter (born 1793) Clarkson Frederick Stanfield was an English artist best known for his large-scale paintings of marine art and landscapes. A former sailor he became celebrated for his Romantic seascapes. Like his friend and colleague David Roberts he initially achieved recognition for his role as a scenic designer working at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane during the Regency era. Read more
• 18 May 1853: Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (born 1806) Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritzky was a Baltic German chess master and theoretician, known for his contributions to chess theory, as well for a game he lost against Adolf Anderssen, known as the "Immortal Game". Kieseritzky's name became associated with several openings and opening variations, such as the Kieseritzky Gambit, Kieseritzky Attack, and the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit. Read more
• 18 May 1844: Richard McCarty, American lawyer and politician (born 1780) Richard McCarty was an American politician from New York. Read more
• 18 May 1808: Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (born 1738) Elijah Craig was an American Baptist preacher, who became an educator and capitalist entrepreneur in the area of Virginia that later became the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He has sometimes, although rather dubiously, been credited with the invention of bourbon whiskey. Read more
• 18 May 1807: John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (born 1721) John Douglas was a Scottish scholar and Anglican bishop. Read more
• 18 May 1800: Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (born 1729) Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Read more

Why is 18 May Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 18 May, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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On 18 May, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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