History of Today 18 September: Important Events, Births and Deaths

Welcome to History of Today 18 September. On this page, you can read important historical events, famous births, notable deaths and general knowledge facts related to 18 September. This information is useful for UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, State PSC and other competitive exams.

Last updated on 18 September 2026, 01:00 AM

Important Events on 18 September in History

18 Sep 2018: Cannabis is legalized in South Africa, through a ruling of the Constitutional Court. Read more
18 Sep 2017: Toy retail chain Toys "R" Us files for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Canada. Read more
18 Sep 2016: The 2016 Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India by terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed results in the deaths of nineteen Indian Army soldiers and all four attackers. Read more
18 Sep 2015: Two security personnel, 17 worshippers in a mosque, and 13 militants are killed during a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attack on a Pakistan Air Force base on the outskirts of Peshawar. Read more
18 Sep 2014: Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom, by 55% to 45%. Read more
18 Sep 2013: A VIA Rail train crashes into a double-decker bus at a train station in Ottawa, Canada, killing six people and injuring 35 others. Read more
18 Sep 2011: The 2011 Sikkim earthquake is felt across northeastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and southern Tibet. Read more
18 Sep 2010: Philippe Croizon becomes the first quadruple amputee to swim across the English Channel. Read more
18 Sep 2009: After 72 years on radio and television, CBS Television broadcasts the final episode of Guiding Light, the longest-running soap opera in American history. Read more
18 Sep 2007: Buddhist monks join anti-government protesters in Myanmar, starting what some call the Saffron Revolution. Read more
18 Sep 2006: The CW Television Network debuts in the US, following the merger of UPN and The WB. Read more
18 Sep 2001: First mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Read more
18 Sep 1997: United States media magnate Ted Turner donates US$1 billion to the United Nations. Read more
18 Sep 1997: The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention is adopted. Read more
18 Sep 1992: An explosion rocks Giant Mine at the height of a labor dispute, killing nine replacement workers in Yellowknife, Canada. Read more
18 Sep 1990: Liechtenstein becomes a member of the United Nations. Read more
18 Sep 1989: An attempted coup d'état against Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaoré is uncovered and foiled. Read more
18 Sep 1988: The 8888 Uprising in Myanmar comes to an end. Read more
18 Sep 1988: General Henri Namphy, president of Haiti, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by General Prosper Avril. Read more
18 Sep 1988: The Magna Charta Universitatum, asserting key principles essential to the free operation of universities, is signed in Bologna by the rectors of 388 institutions of higher learning, to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the University of Bologna. Read more
18 Sep 1984: Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic. Read more
18 Sep 1981: The Assemblée Nationale votes to abolish capital punishment in France. Read more
18 Sep 1980: Soyuz 38 carries two cosmonauts (including one Cuban) to the Salyut 6 space station. Read more
18 Sep 1980: A fuel leak from a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile at a USAF base near Damascus, Arkansas, results in an explosion in a missile silo, killing one person and injuring 21 others. Read more
18 Sep 1977: Voyager I takes the first distant photograph of the Earth and the Moon together. Read more
18 Sep 1974: Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people. Read more
18 Sep 1973: The Bahamas, East Germany and West Germany are admitted to the United Nations. Read more
18 Sep 1965: Mel Brooks and Buck Henry's spy-comedy series Get Smart premieres on NBC Television. Read more
18 Sep 1964: The wedding of Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark takes place in Athens. Read more
18 Sep 1964: The first television adaptation of Charles Addams's "The Addams Family" premieres on ABC Television. Read more
18 Sep 1962: Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda and Trinidad and Tobago are admitted to the United Nations. Read more
18 Sep 1962: Aeroflot Flight 213 crashes into a mountain near Chersky Airport, killing 32 people. Read more
18 Sep 1961: United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in an air crash while attempting to negotiate peace in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Read more
18 Sep 1960: Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations. Read more
18 Sep 1958: The Bank of America introduces its first credit card, the BankAmericard (later renamed the VISA Card), in a test market in Fresno County, California. Read more
18 Sep 1955: A four-person landing party, led by Lt.-Cdr. Desmond Scott RN, disembarks from a Royal Navy helicopter and raises the Union Flag on Rockall, claiming the uninhabited Atlantic island for the United Kingdom. Read more
18 Sep 1954: Finnish president J. K. Paasikivi becomes the first Western head of state to be awarded the highest honor of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin. Read more
18 Sep 1950: Korean War: U.S. Eighth Army and United Nations forces break out of the Pusan Perimeter in southeast Korea. Read more
18 Sep 1950: TV Tupi Difusora, the first television station to broadcast in Brazil, begins transmissions on Channel 3 in São Paulo. Read more
18 Sep 1948: Operation Polo is terminated after the Indian Army accepts the surrender of the army of Hyderabad. Read more
18 Sep 1948: Margaret Chase Smith of Maine becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate without completing another senator's term. Read more
18 Sep 1947: The National Security Act reorganizes the United States government's military and intelligence services. Read more
18 Sep 1945: General Douglas MacArthur moves his general headquarters from Manila to Tokyo. Read more
18 Sep 1944: World War II: The British submarine HMS Tradewind torpedoes Jun'yō Maru, killing 5,600, mostly slave labourers and POWs. Read more
18 Sep 1944: World War II: Operation Market Garden results in the liberation of Eindhoven. Read more
18 Sep 1944: World War II: The Battle of Arracourt begins. Read more
18 Sep 1943: World War II: Adolf Hitler orders the deportation of Danish Jews. Read more
18 Sep 1941: World War II: The Soviet Union introduces conscription for all males between the ages of 16 and 50.
18 Sep 1939: World War II: The Polish government of Ignacy Mościcki flees to Romania. Read more
18 Sep 1939: World War II: The radio show Germany Calling begins transmitting Nazi propaganda. Read more
18 Sep 1934: The Soviet Union is admitted to the League of Nations. Read more
18 Sep 1932: The body of actress Peg Entwistle is discovered by police, two days after her suicide by jumping off of the Hollywoodland sign. Read more
18 Sep 1931: Imperial Japan instigates the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade and occupy Manchuria. Read more
18 Sep 1928: Juan de la Cierva makes the first Autogyro crossing of the English Channel. Read more
18 Sep 1927: The Columbia Broadcasting System goes on the air. Read more
18 Sep 1926: A hurricane devastates Miami, Florida, killing 372 people. Read more
18 Sep 1924: The U.S. ends its military occupation of the Dominican Republic, after invading in May 1916 to force the Dominican government to pay its debts to European creditors. Read more
18 Sep 1922: The Kingdom of Hungary is admitted to the League of Nations. Read more
18 Sep 1921: Rif War: In Ajdir, Spanish Morocco, a secessionist group of Berbers led by Abd el-Krim proclaim the Republic of the Rif, in rebellion against the Sultan of Morocco and the Spanish Army. French and Spanish forces suppress the Republic by May 1926. Read more
18 Sep 1919: Fritz Pollard becomes the first African American to play professional football for a major team, the Akron Pros. Read more
18 Sep 1919: In the Netherlands, a law granting full voting rights to women is granted royal assent by Queen Wilhelmina. Read more
18 Sep 1915: The Saturday Evening Post publishes the short story "Extricating Young Gussie" by P.G. Wodehouse, featuring the first appearance of Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. Read more
18 Sep 1914: The Irish Home Rule Act becomes law, but is delayed until after World War I. Read more
18 Sep 1910: In Washington, D.C., George Owen Squier demonstrated the first system to allow multiplexing of telephone transmissions, sending a message between two laboratories of the U.S. Signal Corps. Read more
18 Sep 1906: The 1906 Hong Kong typhoon kills an estimated 10,000 people. Read more
18 Sep 1898: The Fashoda Incident triggers the last war scare between Britain and France. Read more
18 Sep 1897: Veal Oscar, a dish of veal, seafood, asparagus, and Bernaise sauce, is first served at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, in honour of the 25th anniversary of the reign of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway. Read more
18 Sep 1885: Five Chinese people were lynched outside of Pierce City in the Idaho Territory of the United States. Read more
18 Sep 1882: The Pacific Stock Exchange opens. Read more
18 Sep 1879: The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time. Read more
18 Sep 1873: The U.S. bank Jay Cooke & Company declares bankruptcy, contributing to the Panic of 1873. Read more
18 Sep 1870: During an expedition to the Wyoming Territory, Henry D. Washburn observes and names the Old Faithful Geyser. Read more
18 Sep 1867: The first provincial election for the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly after Canada's Confederation returns a large majority for the Anti-Confederation Party, led by William Annand, who becomes Premier. Read more
18 Sep 1867: The fourth and current State Constitution of Maryland is ratified by voters. Read more
18 Sep 1864: American Civil War: John Bell Hood begins the Franklin–Nashville Campaign in an unsuccessful attempt to draw William Tecumseh Sherman back out of Georgia. Read more
18 Sep 1863: American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga begins between Confederate and Union forces. It involves the second highest amount of casualties for any American Civil War battle apart from Gettysburg. Read more
18 Sep 1862: The Confederate States celebrate for the first and only time a Thanksgiving Day. Read more
18 Sep 1860: Second Opium War: Battle of Zhangjiawan: Now heading towards Beijing after having recently occupied Tianjin, the allied Anglo-French force engages and defeats a larger Qing Chinese army at Zhangjiawan. Read more
18 Sep 1860: Wars of Italian Unification: Battle of Castelfidardo: Royal Sardinian Army defeats forces of the Papal States, resulting in the conquest of Umbria and Marche by the Kingdom of Italy. Read more
18 Sep 1851: First publication of The New-York Daily Times, which later becomes The New York Times. Read more
18 Sep 1850: The U.S. Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Read more
18 Sep 1838: The Anti-Corn Law League is established by Richard Cobden. Read more
18 Sep 1837: Tiffany & Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City. The store is called a "stationery and fancy goods emporium". Read more
18 Sep 1812: The 1812 Fire of Moscow dies down after destroying more than three-quarters of the city. Napoleon returns from the Petrovsky Palace to the Moscow Kremlin, spared from the fire. Read more
18 Sep 1810: First Government Junta in Chile. Though supposed to rule only during the Peninsular War in Spain, it is in fact the first step towards independence from Spain, and is commemorated as such. Read more
18 Sep 1809: The Royal Opera House in London opens. Read more

Famous Births on 18 September

18 Sep 2008: Jackson Robert Scott, American actor Jackson Robert Scott is an American actor. He is known for portraying Bode Locke in the Netflix series Locke & Key (2020–2022) and Georgie Denbrough in the films It Chapter One (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019). Read more
18 Sep 2004: Santiago Castro, Argentine footballer Santiago Tomás Castro is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre forward for Serie A club Roma. Read more
18 Sep 2003: Aidan Gallagher, American actor and musician Aidan Gallagher is an American actor and musician. His first major television role was Nicky Harper on the Nickelodeon sitcom Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. In 2019, Gallagher began portraying Number Five on the Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy, which is his breakthrough role and has brought him widespread recognition and critical acclaim. In 2018, Gallagher was appointed as a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for North America, becoming one of the youngest people to hold the position. Read more
18 Sep 2002: Hugo Bueno, Spanish footballer Hugo Bueno López is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left wing-back for EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Read more
18 Sep 1998: Christian Pulisic, American soccer player Christian Mate Pulisic is an American professional football player who plays as a winger, attacking midfielder, or forward for Serie A club AC Milan and the United States national team. Regarded as one of the best North American players of all time, he is nicknamed "Captain America" and known for his dribbling, directness, and playmaking. He is both the all-time American top goalscorer and assist provider in the European top five leagues and the UEFA Champions League. Read more
18 Sep 1998: Conor Timmins, Canadian ice hockey player Conor Timmins is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Colorado Avalanche, 32nd overall, in the 2017 NHL entry draft. Read more
18 Sep 1997: Viktor Hovland, Norwegian professional golfer Viktor Hovland is a Norwegian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and European Tour. He won the 2018 U.S. Amateur and reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2019. Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour and on the European Tour. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour, including at the 2023 Tour Championship, resulting in his first FedEx Cup. Read more
18 Sep 1995: Max Meyer, German footballer Maximilian Meyer is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Regionalliga West club Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Read more
18 Sep 1995: Matt Targett, English footballer Matthew Robert Targett is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Hull City. He has represented both England and Scotland internationally at youth level. Read more
18 Sep 1993: Patrick Schwarzenegger, American-Austrian actor and model Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger is an American actor. The son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, he began his career playing minor roles in the early 2000s, and has since starred in the television series The Staircase (2022), American Sports Story (2024), and the third season of The White Lotus (2025). Read more
18 Sep 1990: Lewis Holtby, German footballer Lewis Harry Holtby is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
18 Sep 1989: Serge Ibaka, Congolese-Spanish basketball player Serge Jonás Ibaka Ngobila is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player who last played for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, but became the Oklahoma City Thunder before the season, with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Ibaka is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection and has twice led the league in blocks. Although born in the Republic of the Congo, he is also a Spanish citizen and has played for the Spain national team. In 2019, Ibaka won an NBA championship as a member of the Toronto Raptors. Read more
18 Sep 1987: Marwin Hitz, Swiss footballer Marwin Hitz is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
18 Sep 1987: Seiko Oomori, Japanese singer-songwriter Seiko Oomori is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Her musical career began in the underground music culture of Tokyo's Kōenji neighborhood, briefly playing in the punk band Kuchuu Moranko before going solo and releasing two independent albums until signing with major record label Avex Trax in 2014. Oomori's music style is influenced by idol culture and punk rock among other clashing musical styles, and she is considered one of the early pioneers of the "anti-idol" and alternative idol scenes led by groups like BiS that would eventually give way to the more popular Kawaii metal movement, utilizing shock value and performance art throughout the early parts of her career. Read more
18 Sep 1985: Mirza Teletović, Bosnian basketball player Mirza Teletović is a Bosnian former professional basketball player who was the president of the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2018 to 2022. As a player, he spent six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represented and captained the Bosnia and Herzegovina national basketball team. Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he played at the power forward position. Read more
18 Sep 1984: Anthony Gonzalez, American football player and politician Anthony E. Gonzalez is an American politician and former professional football player. He served two terms as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 16th congressional district from 2019 to 2023. Read more
18 Sep 1984: Travis Outlaw, American basketball player Travis Marquez "Bonesaw" Outlaw is an American former professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Read more
18 Sep 1984: Dizzee Rascal, British hip hop musician Dylan Kwabena Mills, known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by Complex as one of the greatest British rappers of all time. His work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline and R&B. Dizzee Rascal's music is also often credited with bringing UK rap into the mainstream and became the country's first rapper to achieve international recognition. Read more
18 Sep 1982: Peter Budaj, Slovak ice hockey player Peter Budaj is a Slovak former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, which drafted him, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Read more
18 Sep 1982: Alessandro Cibocchi, Italian footballer Alessandro Cibocchi is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender. Read more
18 Sep 1982: Arvydas Eitutavičius, Lithuanian basketball player Arvydas Eitutavičius is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player who last played for BC Gargždai-SC of the National Basketball League. He attended Norfolk Collegiate School and Laurinburg Institute before enrolling to American University to play college basketball for the Eagles. Subsequently he pursued a professional career, playing for several clubs in Europe. Eitutavičius is a point guard. Read more
18 Sep 1982: Leono, Mexican wrestler Leono is a Mexican professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) portraying a tecnico wrestling character. His ring name is the Spanish translation of Lion-O from the ThunderCats cartoon. Read more
18 Sep 1982: Alfredo Talavera, Mexican footballer Alfredo Talavera Díaz is a Mexican professional football coach and former goalkeeper. He currently serves as the goalkeeper coach for the Mexico under-23 national team. Read more
18 Sep 1981: Elke Hanel-Torsch, Austrian politician Elke Hanel-Torsch is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she has represented Vienna since October 2024. Read more
18 Sep 1981: Lasse Kukkonen, Finnish ice hockey player Lasse Juhani Kukkonen is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. Earlier in his career, he had a four-year stint in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. After his career in ice hockey, Kukkonen is working as a lecturer and trainer specialising in mental coaching and leadership. Read more
18 Sep 1981: Jennifer Tisdale, American actress and singer Jennifer Kelly Tisdale is an American former actress. Read more
18 Sep 1981: Kristaps Valters, Latvian basketball player Kristaps Valters is a Latvian former professional basketball player. After retiring he became a coach, and is currently working as a head coach for Valmiera/ORDO. Read more
18 Sep 1981: Han Ye-seul, South Korean actress Han Ye-seul is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in the sitcom Nonstop 4 (2003), and has since played leading roles in television dramas such as Couple or Trouble (2006), Tazza (2008), and Birth of a Beauty (2014), as well as the films Miss Gold Digger (2007) and Penny Pinchers (2011). Read more
18 Sep 1980: Mickey Higham, English rugby league player Mickey Higham is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a hooker in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Read more
18 Sep 1980: Avi Strool, Israeli footballer Avraham "Avi" Strul is a retired Israeli footballer who currently works as the CEO of Hapoel Rishon LeZion. Read more
18 Sep 1980: Petri Virtanen, Finnish basketball player Petri Virtanen is a Finnish basketball coach and a former basketball player who played as a point guard. He stands 1.83 m tall and is currently working as a head coach of Joensuun Kataja in Korisliiga. Read more
18 Sep 1979: Daniel Aranzubia, Spanish footballer Daniel Aranzubia Aguado is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current goalkeeper coach of Amorebieta. Read more
18 Sep 1979: Robert Pruett, American criminal (died 2017) Robert Lynn Pruett was a Texas man convicted and executed for the 1999 murder of TDCJ Correctional Officer Daniel Nagle. Pruett had been certified as an adult at 16 and was already serving a 99-year sentence for his involvement in the murder of Ray Yarborough, which occurred when Pruett was 15. Pruett was convicted along with Howard Steven "Sam" Pruett Sr., his father, who received a life sentence for his participation in the murder, and Howard Steven Pruett Jr., his brother, who received a 40-year sentence. Howard Sr. testified that neither son took part in the killing, as did Robert, who was nonetheless convicted under the Texas law of parties. Details of both the Yarborough and Nagle murders were featured in the BBC documentary Life and Death Row – Crisis Stage. Read more
18 Sep 1978: Billy Eichner, American actor and comedian Billy Eichner is an American comedian, actor, singer, screenwriter, and television show host. He is the star, executive producer, and creator of Funny or Die's Billy on the Street, a comedy game show that aired on various platforms. Read more
18 Sep 1978: Iain Lees-Galloway, New Zealand politician Iain Francis Lees-Galloway, initially Iain Galloway, is a New Zealand former politician. Read more
18 Sep 1978: Augustine Simo, Cameroonian footballer Augustine Simo is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as midfielder. Read more
18 Sep 1977: Barrett Foa, American actor, singer, and dancer Barrett Conrad Foa is an American singer, dancer, and actor. He is best known for his performances in Broadway theatre. He has played many leading characters in Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions. He has appeared in multiple Broadway shows, including Mamma Mia! and as Princeton and Rod in Avenue Q. From 2009 to 2021, he portrayed Eric Beale on the military police procedural NCIS: Los Angeles. Read more
18 Sep 1977: Kieran West, English rower Kieran Martin West is a retired English rower and Olympic champion who represented Great Britain. Read more
18 Sep 1976: Sophina Brown, American actress Sophina Brown Simmons is an American actress, active in theater and television. She is best known for her starring roles as prosecutor Raina Troy in the CBS legal drama Shark from 2006 to 2008, and as FBI agent Nikki Betancourt in the CBS crime drama Numbers from 2008 to 2010. Throughout her career she has remained active in live theater, including as a producer of Black theater and a leader in developing and supporting theater for communities of color. Read more
18 Sep 1976: Gabriel Gervais, Canadian soccer player Gabriel Gervais is a Canadian retired soccer player who played as a defender for the Montreal Impact and Canada. He was named president of CF Montreal on March 28, 2022. Read more
18 Sep 1976: Ronaldo, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, mononymously known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the former owner and president of La Liga 2 club Real Valladolid. Nicknamed O Fenômeno and R9, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been an influence for the following generation of strikers. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning two Ballon d'Or awards. Read more
18 Sep 1975: Kanstantsin Lukashyk, Belarusian target shooter Kanstantsin Leаnidаvich Lukashyk is a Belarusian pistol shooter, most known for winning the 50 metre pistol event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, at the age of 16. During his last shot, he raised his arm 4 times but kept his nerve and eventually pulled the trigger just seconds before the 75 second time limit ran out. He ended up scoring a 9.9 which was enough to beat a field of 5 other Olympic champions, including Ragnar Skanåker who was 42 years older than Lukashyk. As of 2023, he is the youngest Olympic champion in shooting Read more
18 Sep 1975: Jason Sudeikis, American actor and comedian Daniel Jason Sudeikis is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for his tenure as a writer and cast member for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2003 to 2013, in addition to co-creating and starring as the titular role in the Apple TV sports comedy series Ted Lasso, which earned him two Golden Globe Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. Read more
18 Sep 1975: Guillermo Vargas, Costa Rican photographer and painter Guillermo Vargas Jiménez, also known as Habacuc, is an artist best known for the controversy caused when he exhibited an emaciated dog in a gallery in Nicaragua in 2007. Read more
18 Sep 1974: Sol Campbell, English footballer and politician Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English professional football manager and former player. He spent 20 years playing in the Premier League and had an 11-year international career with the England national team. Read more
18 Sep 1974: Damon Jones, American football player and coach Damon Jones is an American former professional football player who played tight end for five seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was selected with the 147th overall pick in the fifth round of the 1997 NFL draft. Jones was the first tight end selected in the draft by the Jaguars. He attended Evanston Township High School, where he was a star tight end and defensive end, and also a basketball star. Jones is currently the lineman football coach at Jean Ribault High School. Read more
18 Sep 1974: Ticha Penicheiro, Portuguese-American basketball player and agent Patrícia "Ticha" Nunes Penicheiro OIH is a Portuguese sports agent and former basketball player. She played for the Sacramento Monarchs of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for most of her professional career. She was a four-time WNBA All-Star and a three-time All-WNBA selection. Regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, she ranks third all-time in career assists and led the league in assists seven times. She won a WNBA championship with the Monarchs in 2005. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Read more
18 Sep 1974: Emily Rutherfurd, American actress Emily Kernan Rutherfurd is an American actress. She played Christine "New Christine" Hunter in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–2010). Read more
18 Sep 1974: Travis Schuldt, American actor Travis Schuldt is an American actor. He originated the role of Ethan Winthrop on Passions, and played the recurring roles of Keith Dudemeister on Scrubs, Rick/Subway on Community, and Ben Smith on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Read more
18 Sep 1974: Xzibit, American rapper, actor, and television host Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by his stage name Xzibit, is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, radio personality, and record executive. He began his musical career in 1992, and signed with Loud Records, an imprint of RCA Records to release his debut studio album, At the Speed of Life (1996). The album saw positive critical reception, modestly entered the Billboard 200, and spawned the single "Paparazzi," which peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second album, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz (1998), was met with similar reception and spawned the single "What U See Is What U Get." Read more
18 Sep 1973: Paul Brousseau, Canadian ice hockey player Paul M. Brousseau is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played for the Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers in the NHL. Read more
18 Sep 1973: Mário Jardel, Brazilian footballer Mário Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was most noted for his positioning on the field and his heading ability. In spite of only representing Grêmio on loan for a single season, he is highly regarded by the club's fanbase for playing a major part in the squad that won the 1995 Copa Libertadores. With his exceptional positioning ability, he was able to become one of Europe's most prolific strikers during his time at Porto, Galatasaray, and Sporting CP, scoring 270 goals in 280 matches for those clubs. He won two European Golden Shoes, remaining the only Brazilian to do so. Read more
18 Sep 1973: Aitor Karanka, Spanish footballer and manager Aitor Karanka de la Hoz is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender, currently a manager. Read more
18 Sep 1973: James Marsden, American actor James Paul Marsden is an American actor. His accolades include nominations for two Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe. He began his acting career guest starring in the television shows Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993), Touched by an Angel (1995), and Party of Five (1995). Marsden gained fame for his portrayal of Cyclops in four films of the X-Men film series (2000–2014), and for his roles in the films The Notebook (2004), Superman Returns (2006), Hairspray (2007), Enchanted (2007), 27 Dresses (2008), Hop (2011), and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). He portrayed John F. Kennedy in the drama film The Butler (2013), Tom Wachowski in the action-adventure comedy film series Sonic the Hedgehog (2020–present) and is set to reprise his role as Cyclops in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Avengers: Doomsday (2026). Read more
18 Sep 1973: Louise Sauvage, Australian wheelchair racer Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach. Read more
18 Sep 1973: Mark Shuttleworth, South African-English businessman Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African and British entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind the Linux operating system variant Ubuntu. In 2002, Shuttleworth became the first African to travel to space, doing so as a space tourist. He holds dual citizenship from South Africa and the United Kingdom. In 2020, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Shuttleworth's net worth to be £500 million. Read more
18 Sep 1972: Brigitte Becue, Belgian swimmer Brigitte Becue is a retired breaststroke and medley swimmer from Belgium, who competed for her native country at four consecutive Summer Olympic Games, starting in 1988. In 1989, she won the silver medal in the women's 200 metres breaststroke at the European Aquatics Championships in Bonn, West Germany. Read more
18 Sep 1972: Adam Cohen, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist Adam Cohen is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As a recording artist, he has released four major label albums, three in English and one in French. His most recent album, We Go Home, was released on September 15, 2014. Currently residing in Los Angeles, he was also lead vocalist of the pop rock band Low Millions from California. Read more
18 Sep 1972: David Jefferies, English motorcycle racer (died 2003) Allan David Jefferies was an English professional motorcycle racer. He died after crashing during practice for the 2003 Isle of Man TT races. Read more
18 Sep 1972: Iain Stewart, Scottish accountant and politician Iain Aitken Stewart is a British Conservative Party politician and former accountant. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Milton Keynes South from 2010 until the seat's abolition in 2024. Read more
18 Sep 1971: Lance Armstrong, American cyclist Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005, but was stripped of his titles in 2012 after an investigation into doping allegations found that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs over his career. Armstrong has been banned for life from all sanctioned bicycling events since 2012, though he retired from professional cycling in 2011. Read more
18 Sep 1971: Anna Netrebko, Russian-Austrian soprano and actress Anna Yuryevna Netrebko is a Russian operatic soprano who has performed at the Salzburg Festival, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera and La Scala. Read more
18 Sep 1971: Jada Pinkett Smith, American actress Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, businesswoman, and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk, for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Award. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Read more
18 Sep 1970: Darren Gough, English cricketer Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's second highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 235, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him England's ninth-most-successful wicket-taker. Read more
18 Sep 1970: Aisha Tyler, American actress, television host, and author Aisha Tyler is an American actress and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of Ghost Whisperer, Dr. Tara Lewis in Criminal Minds since 2015, Mother Nature in the final two The Santa Clause films, and voicing Lana Kane in Archer. She also had recurring roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Talk Soup, and Friends. Read more
18 Sep 1969: Brad Beven, Australian triathlete Bradley William Beven is a retired triathlete from Mirriwinni, Cairns Region, Queensland Australia. Read more
18 Sep 1969: Cappadonna, American rapper Darryl Hill, better known by his stage name Cappadonna, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and is a member of the hip-hop group Theodore Unit together with Ghostface Killah. Read more
18 Sep 1968: Toni Kukoč, Croatian basketball player Toni Kukoč is a Croatian former professional basketball player who serves as special advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of the first established European stars to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Kukoč played for four NBA teams between 1993 and 2006, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996. He is a three-time NBA champion, having won championships with the Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Read more
18 Sep 1968: Upendra Rao, Indian actor, director, and politician Upendra Rao is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, producer and politician, known for his work in Kannada cinema. He has also worked in a few Telugu and Tamil films. Read more
18 Sep 1967: Tara Fitzgerald, English actress Tara Anne Cassandra Fitzgerald is an English actress who has appeared in feature films, television, radio and the stage. She won the New York Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play in 1995 as Ophelia in Hamlet. She won the Best Actress Award at The Reims International Television Festival in 1999 for her role of Lady Dona St Columb in Frenchman's Creek. Fitzgerald has appeared in the West End production of The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre, and in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse. Since 2007, Fitzgerald has appeared in more than 30 episodes of the BBC television series Waking the Dead and played the role of Selyse Baratheon in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Read more
18 Sep 1966: Tom Chorske, American ice hockey player and sportscaster Thomas Patrick Chorske is an American former professional ice hockey player. A forward, he played for eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). In September, 2006, he was named color commentator for New Jersey Devils radio broadcasts, a position he only held for one season before resigning. He was replaced with former team color commentator Sherry Ross. Chorske returned to Minnesota and now works in business and is hockey analyst for Fox Sports North covering The NHL Minnesota Wild and University of Minnesota Golden Gopher NCAA hockey games. Read more
18 Sep 1964: Jens Henschel, German footballer Jens Henschel is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
18 Sep 1964: Marco Masini, Italian singer-songwriter Marco Masini is an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and pianist. Read more
18 Sep 1964: Holly Robinson Peete, American actress and singer Holly Elizabeth Robinson Peete is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Judy Hoffs on the Fox police drama 21 Jump Street, Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Dr. Malena Ellis on the NBC/The WB sitcom For Your Love. She also served as one of the original co-hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk. She is also known for her portrayal of Diana Ross in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, which also aired on ABC. Read more
18 Sep 1964: Steffen Peters, German-American equestrian Steffen Peters is a German-born equestrian who competes for the United States in dressage. He has participated in five Olympic Games, winning a team bronze medal on two occasions and a team silver medal once (2020). Peters has been successful in numerous other international competitions, including winning team bronze at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, two individual bronze medals at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and individual and team gold medals at both 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games. The horse upon which he won many of his titles, Ravel, was retired in 2012. After 2012, his international successes came on Legolas. At the beginning of 2017, Peters handed over the ride on Legolas to his assistant rider Dawn White-O'Connor. Peters is currently working with a new international competition horse, Rosamunde. Read more
18 Sep 1962: Joanne Catherall, English singer Joanne Catherall is an English singer who is one of two female vocalists in the English synth-pop band the Human League. Read more
18 Sep 1962: John Fashanu, English footballer John Winton Fashanu is an English television presenter and former professional footballer. Read more
18 Sep 1961: James Gandolfini, American actor and producer (died 2013) James John Gandolfini was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American mafia crime boss in HBO's television series The Sopranos (1999–2007). For this role, he won three Primetime Emmy Awards, five Actor Awards, and one Golden Globe Award. His role as Tony Soprano is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential performances in television history. Read more
18 Sep 1961: Konstantin Kakanias, Greek-American painter and illustrator Konstantin Kakanias is a contemporary Greek painter and multimedia artist. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles and Greece. Throughout his career Kakanias has created drawings, paintings, sculptures, performances, ceramics and books. Read more
18 Sep 1961: Mark Olson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark John Olson is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of alternative country bands The Jayhawks and the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers. Read more
18 Sep 1960: Stephen Flaherty, American composer Stephen Flaherty is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. He is best known for writing the Broadway musicals Ragtime, which was nominated for thirty-five Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and won the Tony for Best Original Score; Once on This Island, which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, the Olivier Award for London's Best Musical, and was nominated for a Grammy Award and eight Tony Awards; and Seussical, which was nominated for the Grammy Award. Flaherty was also nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for his songs and song score for the animated film musical Anastasia. Read more
18 Sep 1960: Carolyn Harris, British politician Carolyn Harris is a Welsh politician serving as Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Neath and Swansea East, previously Swansea East since 2015. Read more
18 Sep 1960: Ian Lucas, English lawyer and politician Ian Colin Lucas is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wrexham, Wales from 2001 to 2019. He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business and Regulatory Reform in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2009 until Labour's defeat at the 2010 General Election. Read more
18 Sep 1960: Blue Panther, Mexican wrestler Genaro Vázquez Nevarez is a Mexican professional wrestler and trainer, best known under his ring name Blue Panther. He made his in-ring debut in 1978. Since then, he has worked for most major Mexican professional wrestling promotions, including the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración (AAA). He was one of the first wrestlers to leave CMLL for AAA when it was created in 1992, but returned to CMLL in 1997, where he has competed ever since. Read more
18 Sep 1959: Mark Romanek, American director and screenwriter Mark Lee Romanek is an American film, music video and commercial director and photographer. He is best known for directing the films One Hour Photo (2002) and Never Let Me Go (2010). Romanek's music videos have come to be regarded as among the best of the medium. They have earned him three Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video and 20 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Direction for Jay-Z's "99 Problems" and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Read more
18 Sep 1959: Ryne Sandberg, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2025) Ryne Dee Sandberg, nicknamed "Ryno", was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies (1981) and a second baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Read more
18 Sep 1958: John Aldridge, English-Irish footballer and manager John William Aldridge is a former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "Aldo", he was a prolific, record-breaking striker. His tally of 329 Football League goals is the sixth-highest in the history of English football. Read more
18 Sep 1958: Jeff Bostic, American football player and commentator Jeffrey Lynn Bostic is an American former professional football player who was a center for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers. Named to the Pro Bowl in 1983, Bostic won three Super Bowls with the Redskins. Read more
18 Sep 1958: Winston Davis, Vincentian cricketer Winston Walter Davis is a West Indian former cricketer. He was a part of the West Indian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Read more
18 Sep 1958: Derek Pringle, Kenyan-English cricketer and journalist Derek Raymond Pringle is a Kenyan-born English former Test and One Day International cricketer for England, and is now a cricket journalist. He was a part of the English squads which finished as runners-up at the 1987 Cricket World Cup and as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Read more
18 Sep 1956: Chris Hedges, American journalist and author Christopher Lynn Hedges is an American journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister. Read more
18 Sep 1956: Peter Šťastný, Slovak ice hockey player and politician Peter Šťastný, also known colloquially as "Peter the Great" and "Stosh", is a Slovak Canadian former professional ice hockey player and politician who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1995. He played 16 seasons in the NHL for the Quebec Nordiques, New Jersey Devils, and St. Louis Blues. Read more
18 Sep 1956: Anant Gadgil, Indian politician Anant Gadgil is an Indian politician and architect, who has been a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council 2014 to 2022. He is a member of the Indian National Congress party. Born into the Gadgil gharana of Velneshwar-Wai, Gadgil is the son of Vitthalrao Gadgil and a grandson of Narhar Vishnu Gadgil. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mumbai University, before going on to finish his Master of Architecture in the United States. He is married and resides in Mumbai. Read more
18 Sep 1955: Keith Morris, American singer-songwriter Keith Brian Morris is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at the age of 21 with guitarist Greg Ginn and performed on the band's 1979 debut EP Nervous Breakdown. Shortly after leaving Black Flag in 1979, he formed the Circle Jerks with guitarist Greg Hetson; the band released seven albums between 1980 and 1995 and have broken up and reformed on numerous occasions. In 2009 Morris formed the supergroup Off! with guitarist Dimitri Coats, bassist Steven Shane McDonald, and drummer Mario Rubalcaba. Morris has also appeared as a guest vocalist on several albums by other artists. Read more
18 Sep 1954: Murtaza Bhutto, Pakistani politician (died 1996) Murtaza Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and leftist activist who led Al-Zulfiqar, a left-wing militant organization, against Zia-ul-Haq's military regime. He was a member of the Bhutto family as the son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a master's degree from the University of Oxford. Murtaza founded al-Zulfiqar after his father was overthrown and executed in 1979 by the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq. In 1981, he claimed responsibility for the assassination of conservative politician Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, and the hijacking of a Pakistan International Airlines airplane from Karachi, during which a hostage was killed. In exile in Afghanistan, Murtaza was sentenced to death in absentia by a military tribunal. Read more
18 Sep 1954: Takao Doi, Japanese engineer and astronaut Takao Doi is a Japanese astronaut, engineer and veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions. Read more
18 Sep 1954: Dennis Johnson, American basketball player and coach (died 2007) Dennis Wayne Johnson, nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and an alumnus of Dominguez High School, Los Angeles Harbor College and Pepperdine University. Read more
18 Sep 1954: Steven Pinker, Canadian-American psychologist, linguist, and author Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Read more
18 Sep 1954: Tommy Tuberville, American football player, coach, and Senator Thomas Hawley Tuberville is an American politician and retired college football coach and sports broadcaster who is the senior United States senator from Alabama, a seat he has held since 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before entering politics, Tuberville was the head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. He was also the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 1995 to 1998, Texas Tech University from 2010 to 2012, and the University of Cincinnati from 2013 to 2016. Read more
18 Sep 1952: Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos, Greek politician Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos is a Greek politician who was a Member of the European Parliament for New Democracy; part of the European People's Party. Read more
18 Sep 1952: Rick Pitino, American basketball player and coach Richard Andrew Pitino is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA Division I and in the NBA, including Boston University (1978–1983), Providence College (1985–1987), the New York Knicks (1987–1989), the University of Kentucky (1989–1997), the Boston Celtics (1997–2001), the University of Louisville (2001–2017), Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague (2018–2020), and Iona University (2020–2023). He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. Read more
18 Sep 1951: Ben Carson, American neurosurgeon, author, and politician Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. is an American retired neurosurgeon, academic, author, and government official serving as the National Nutrition Advisor at the Department of Agriculture since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. Read more
18 Sep 1951: Dee Dee Ramone, American singer-songwriter and bass player (died 2002) Douglas Glenn Colvin, better known by his stage name Dee Dee Ramone, was an American musician. He was the bassist, occasional lead vocalist and a founding member of the punk rock band the Ramones. Throughout the band's existence, he was the most prolific lyricist and composer, writing many of their best-known songs, such as "53rd & 3rd", "Chinese Rock", "Commando", "Wart Hog", "Rockaway Beach", "Poison Heart" and "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg". Read more
18 Sep 1951: Marc Surer, Swiss racing driver and sportscaster Marc Surer is a Swiss former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from 1979 to 1986. Read more
18 Sep 1950: Siobhan Davies, English dancer and choreographer Dame Siobhan Davies DBE, often known as Sue Davies, is an English dancer and choreographer. She was a dancer with the London Contemporary Dance Theatre during the 1970s, and became one of its leading choreographers creating work such as Sphinx] (1977). In 1988, she founded her own company, Siobhan Davies Dance. Read more
18 Sep 1950: Vishnuvardhan, Indian actor (died 2009) Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films. Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol among the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sāhasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the highest civilian awards of Karnataka State, the Karnataka Ratna Award in 2025, Rajyotsava Prashasti in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry. Read more
18 Sep 1950: Chris Heister, Swedish politician, Governor of Stockholm County Chris Heister is a Swedish Moderate Party politician and former Leader of the Opposition on Stockholm County Council. She was elected to the Riksdag in 1991 and served until 2002. 1999–2003 she was deputy chairman of the party. In 2002, she chose to step down from the Riksdag to pursue a career in Stockholm's local politics. Having experience as a health spokesman in the Rikdag, she is very active on health issues – the main function of Stockholm County Council. Read more
18 Sep 1950: Darryl Sittler, Canadian ice hockey player Darryl Glen Sittler is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1970 until 1985 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2016. In 2017 Sittler was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Read more
18 Sep 1950: Anna Deavere Smith, American actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in The West Wing (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie (2009–15), and U.S. District Court Clerk Tina Krissman on the ABC show For the People (2018–19). Read more
18 Sep 1949: Beth Grant, American actress Beth Grant is an American character actress known for playing "quirky and emotionally complex characters". Read more
18 Sep 1949: Kerry Livgren, American guitarist and songwriter Kerry Allen Livgren is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas. Read more
18 Sep 1949: Mo Mowlam, English academic and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office (died 2005) Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet of Tony Blair as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Read more
18 Sep 1949: Peter Shilton, English footballer and manager Peter Leslie Shilton is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
18 Sep 1948: Lynn Abbey, American computer programmer and author Marilyn Lorraine "Lynn" Abbey is an American fantasy author. Read more
18 Sep 1947: Drew Gilpin Faust, American historian and academic Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust is an American historian and author who served as the 28th president of Harvard University from 2007 to 2018. She was Harvard's first female president, its first president since 1672 without a Harvard undergraduate or graduate degree, and the first to have been raised in the South. Faust was also the founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She was repeatedly named one of the world's 100 most powerful women by Forbes, reaching as high as 33rd in 2014. Read more
18 Sep 1947: Giancarlo Minardi, Italian businessman, founded the Minardi Racing Team Giancarlo Minardi is an Italian businessman who was the founder and managing director of the now-defunct Minardi Formula One team. Read more
18 Sep 1946: Benjamín Brea, Spanish-Venezuelan saxophonist, clarinet player, and conductor (died 2014) Benjamín Brea was a Spanish-born Venezuelan musician, arranger and teacher, mostly associated with jazz, even though he had the advantage to play several music genres in various bands as a soloist as well as sideman and conductor. Read more
18 Sep 1946: Nicholas Clay, English actor (died 2000) Nicholas Anthony Phillip Clay was an English actor. Read more
18 Sep 1946: Kelvin Coe, Australian ballet dancer (died 1992) Kelvin Coe OBE was an Australian ballet dancer and the first male artist to be promoted from the corps de ballet in the Australian Ballet principal dancer. He died of AIDS-related illness in 1992. Read more
18 Sep 1946: Gailard Sartain, American actor (died 2025) Gailard Lee Sartain Jr. was an American actor who frequently played characters with roots in the South. He was a regular on the country music variety series Hee Haw and was also known for his roles in three of the Ernest movies and the TV series Hey Vern, It's Ernest!, which ran for one season on CBS in 1988. He was also a successful painter and illustrator. Read more
18 Sep 1945: P. F. Sloan, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2015) Philip Gary "Flip" Sloan, known professionally as P. F. Sloan, was an American singer and songwriter. During the mid-1960s, he wrote, performed, and produced many Billboard Top 20 hits for artists such as Barry McGuire, the Searchers, Jan and Dean, Herman's Hermits, Johnny Rivers, the Grass Roots, the Turtles, and the Mamas and the Papas. Read more
18 Sep 1945: John McAfee, British-American computer programmer and businessman, founded McAfee (died 2021) John David McAfee was a British and American computer programmer, businessman, and two-time U.S. presidential candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian Party nomination for president of the United States in 2016 and in 2020. In 1987, he wrote the first commercial anti-virus software, founding McAfee Associates to sell his creation. He resigned in 1994 and sold his remaining stake in the company. McAfee became the company's most vocal critic in later years, urging consumers to uninstall the company's anti-virus software, which he characterized as bloatware. He disavowed the company's continued use of his name in branding, a practice that has persisted in spite of a short-lived corporate rebrand attempt under Intel ownership. Read more
18 Sep 1944: Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (died 2006) María del Rocío Mohedano Jurado, simply known as Rocío Jurado, was a Spanish singer and actress. Read more
18 Sep 1944: Charles L. Veach, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 1995) Charles Lacy Veach was a United States Air Force (USAF) fighter pilot and NASA astronaut. Read more
18 Sep 1942: Şenes Erzik, Turkish businessman Şenes Erzik is a retired football administrator. During his career he served as first vice-president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). He was also a member of the FIFA Council. Read more
18 Sep 1940: Frankie Avalon, American singer and actor Francis Thomas Avallone , known professionally as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" in 1959 and "Why" in 1960. Read more
18 Sep 1939: Gerry Harvey, Australian businessman, co-founded Harvey Norman Gerald Harvey is an Australian entrepreneur best known for being the executive chairman of Harvey Norman Holdings, a company which runs Australian retail chain Harvey Norman. He co-founded it with Ian Norman in 1982. Read more
18 Sep 1939: Jorge Sampaio, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 18th President of Portugal (died 2021) Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the president of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. Sampaio was a member of the Socialist Party, a party which he led between 1989 and 1992. He served as the Mayor of Lisbon from 1990 to 1995 and High-Representative for the United Nations' Alliance of Civilizations between 2007 and 2013. Read more
18 Sep 1938: Billy Robinson, English-American wrestler and trainer (died 2014) William Alfred Robinson was an English professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, catch wrestler, and wrestling coach. Having trained at Billy Riley's gym, better known as "The Snake Pit" in Wigan, Robinson was one of the leading practitioners of catch wrestling, a British national champion in freestyle wrestling, and a professional wrestling world champion. He had a successful career in the UK and internationally, especially in Japan. Read more
18 Sep 1937: Ralph Backstrom, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2021) Ralph Gerald Backstrom was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and later a coach, entrepreneur and hockey executive. He played in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Chicago Black Hawks between 1956 and 1973. He also played in the World Hockey Association with the Chicago Cougars, Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics, and New England Whalers from 1973 to 1977. With the Canadiens, he won the Stanley Cup six times, and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1959. After retiring he served as head coach of the University of Denver Pioneers for several years in the 1980s. Read more
18 Sep 1937: Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, South African politician (died 2009) Ivy Florence Matsepe-Casaburri was a South African politician. She was the 2nd premier of the Free State and South Africa's Minister of Communications from 1999 until her death. She served briefly as South Africa's acting president in 2005, when both President Thabo Mbeki and the deputy president were outside the country. Furthermore, she was chosen by the cabinet to be the constitutional and official head of state in an interim capacity for 14 hours on 25 September 2008, between the resignation of Thabo Mbeki and the taking of office by Kgalema Motlanthe. She was the first woman to have held the post of president in South Africa and the first woman to be head of state of South Africa since Elizabeth II's reign as Queen of South Africa ended in 1961. She remained the only woman with this distinction until July 2021, when Angie Motshekga was appointed acting president. Read more
18 Sep 1936: Big Tom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2018) Tom McBride, known as Big Tom, was an Irish country, traditional and easy listening singer, as well as a guitarist, and saxophone player. Read more
18 Sep 1936: Ruth Hesse, German mezzo-soprano (died 1924) Ruth Hesse was a German opera singer. A dramatic mezzo-soprano, she was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1995, where she took part in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord. She was first invited to the Bayreuth Festival in 1960, where she performed until 1979. Read more
18 Sep 1935: Peter Clarke, English cartoonist (died 2012) Peter Clarke was a British cartoonist. Clarke's caricatures, described by one critic as “wicked perversions”, appeared in The Guardian newspaper where he was the staff cartoonist. Read more
18 Sep 1935: John Spencer, English snooker player and sportscaster (died 2006) John Spencer was an English professional snooker player. One of the most dominant players of the 1970s, he won the World Snooker Championship three times, in 1969, 1971 and 1977. He worked as a snooker commentator for the BBC from 1978 to 1998 and served for 25 years on the board of the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), including a stint as chairman from 1990 until his retirement from the board in 1996. Read more
18 Sep 1933: Bob Bennett, American soldier and politician (died 2016) Robert Foster Bennett was an American politician and businessman who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Bennett held chairmanships and senior positions on various key Senate committees, including the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; Appropriations Committee; Rules and Administration Committee; Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Joint Economic Committee. Bennett spent his entire tenure in the Senate alongside Utah's senior senator, Orrin Hatch. Read more
18 Sep 1933: Robert Blake, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2023) Robert Blake, billed early in his career as Mickey Gubitosi and Bobby Blake, was an American actor. He is best known today for his role as convicted killer Perry Smith in the 1967 film In Cold Blood, the title role in the 1975–78 television series Baretta, and appearing as the Mystery Man in the 1997 film Lost Highway. Read more
18 Sep 1933: Scotty Bowman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach William Scott Bowman is a Canadian former professional ice hockey head coach. He holds the record for most wins in National Hockey League (NHL) history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and his 14 Stanley Cup wins ranks second most of all time for any player, coach, or executive. He coached the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings. He was most recently the senior advisor of hockey operations for the Chicago Blackhawks until he stepped down in July 2022. Bowman is widely regarded as the greatest coach in NHL history. Read more
18 Sep 1933: Leonid Kharitonov, Russian actor and singer (died 2017) Leonid Mikhailovich Kharitonov was a Soviet and Russian bass-baritone singer. He was honored with People's Artist of the RSFSR and Honored Artist of RSFSR. In the West he was noted for his 1965 video of The Song of the Volga Boatmen. Read more
18 Sep 1933: Charles Roach, Trinidadian-Canadian lawyer and activist (died 2012) Charles Conliff Mende Roach was a Canadian civil rights lawyer and an activist in the Black community in Toronto. Read more
18 Sep 1933: Jimmie Rodgers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2021) James Frederick Rodgers was an American pop singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, Rodgers had a run of hits and mainstream popularity. His string of crossover singles ranked highly on the Billboard Pop Singles, Hot Country and Western Sides, and Hot Rhythm and Blues Sides charts; in the 1960s, Rodgers had more modest successes with adult contemporary music. Read more
18 Sep 1933: Fred Willard, American actor and comedian (died 2020) Frederic Charles Willard was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with Christopher Guest in his mockumentary films This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016). He also appeared in supporting roles in the comedy films Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), American Wedding (2003), and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004). On television, Willard received several Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on the sitcoms Everybody Loves Raymond and Modern Family. Read more
18 Sep 1932: Nikolay Rukavishnikov, Russian physicist and astronaut (died 2002) Nikolai Nikolayevich Rukavishnikov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew three space missions of the Soyuz programme: Soyuz 10, Soyuz 16, and Soyuz 33. Two of these missions, Soyuz 10 and Soyuz 33, were intended to dock with Salyut space stations, but failed to do so. Read more
18 Sep 1931: Julio Grondona, Argentinian businessman (died 2014) Julio Humberto Grondona was an Argentine football executive. He served as president of the Argentine Football Association from 1979 until his death in 2014. He also served as Senior Vice-President of FIFA. Read more
18 Sep 1930: John Tolos, Greek-Canadian wrestler (died 2009) John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager. Read more
18 Sep 1929: Nancy Littlefield, American director and producer (died 2007) Nancy Kassell Littlefield was a director and producer of television and documentary programs, who was the director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting from 1978 until 1983, during the administration of then-Mayor Edward I. Koch. She was born in The Bronx, New York. Read more
18 Sep 1927: Phyllis Kirk, American actress (died 2006) Phyllis Kirk was an American actress. Read more
18 Sep 1927: Muriel Turner, Baroness Turner of Camden, English politician (died 2018) Muriel Winifred Turner, Baroness Turner of Camden was a British Labour politician and trade union leader. Read more
18 Sep 1926: Bud Greenspan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2010) Jonah J. "Bud" Greenspan was an American film director, writer, and producer known for his sports documentaries. Read more
18 Sep 1926: Joe Kubert, American author and illustrator, founded The Kubert School (died 2012) Joseph Kubert was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also known for working on his own creations, such as Tor, Son of Sinbad, and the Viking Prince, and, with writer Robin Moore, the comic strip Tales of the Green Beret. Read more
18 Sep 1925: Dorothy Wedderburn, English economist and academic (died 2012) Dorothy Enid Wedderburn was Principal of Bedford College, part of the University of London, and after the merger with Royal Holloway College, another college of the university, was the first principal of the combined institution. Read more
18 Sep 1924: J. D. Tippit, American police officer (died 1963) J. D. Tippit was an American World War II U.S. Army veteran and Bronze Star Medal recipient, who was a police officer with the Dallas Police Department from 1952 to 1963. On Friday November 22, 1963, less than an hour after the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, Tippit was shot and killed in a residential neighborhood in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was initially arrested for the murder of Tippit and was subsequently charged with killing Kennedy, but he was murdered by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, two days later, before he could be tried. In 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Tippit was killed by Oswald acting alone, though Tippit's murder has spawned alternative scenarios from Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorists. Read more
18 Sep 1924: Eloísa Mafalda, Brazilian actress (died 2018) Mafalda Theotto, known professionally as Eloísa Mafalda, was a Brazilian actress. Read more
18 Sep 1923: Queen Anne of Romania (died 2016) Anne was the wife of King Michael I of Romania. She married Michael in 1948, the year after he had abdicated the throne. Nonetheless, she was known after the marriage as Queen Anne. Read more
18 Sep 1923: Al Quie, American politician, 35th Governor of Minnesota (died 2023) Albert Harold "Al" Quie was an American politician and farmer from Minnesota. Quie served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Minnesota's 1st congressional district from 1958 to 1979 and as the 35th governor of Minnesota from 1979 to 1983. Read more
18 Sep 1923: Bertha Wilson, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and jurist, 60th Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (died 2007) Bertha Wernham Wilson was a Canadian jurist and the first female puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Before her ascension to Canada's highest court, she was the first female associate and partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and the first woman appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. During her time at Osler, she created the first in-firm research department in the Canadian legal industry. Read more
18 Sep 1922: Hank Bagby, American saxophonist (died 1993) Hank Bagby was originally a singer around Denver in the mid-1940s. He started playing sax in San Francisco in the late 1940s and worked with such musicians as Leo Wright, Kenny Drew, and Addison Farmer. In the early 1950s, he worked in Los Angeles with Joe Maini, Frank Butler and others. Hank Bagby first started writing seriously while co-leading the Elmo Hope – Hank Bagby Quartet in the late 50s through the early 60s. He worked with the Onzy Matthews Big Band in 1961, which included such greats as Curtis Amy, Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Carmel Jones and Joe Gordon, to name a few. In late 1961, along with Joe Maini, Bagby headlined a group in a spectacular Jazz Marathon, opposite some of the greatest talent in the country, namely: Bud Shank, Jack Sheldon, Claude Williamson, Ralph Pena, Ben Webster, Joe Albany, Ruth Price, Bill Perkins, and many others. Hank formed the Soultet in January 1964 and produced Opus One. The album gained a 3½ star review in Downbeat magazine. Read more
18 Sep 1920: Jack Warden, American actor (died 2006) Jack Warden was an American actor who worked in film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Shampoo (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He received a BAFTA nomination for Shampoo, and won a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance in Brian's Song (1971). Read more
18 Sep 1918: Johnny Mantz, American race car driver (died 1972) Johnny Mantz was an American racecar driver. Read more
18 Sep 1918: Henry Wittenberg, American wrestler (died 2010) Henry Wittenberg was an American New York police officer, coach, competitor and Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling. He won two Olympic medals in freestyle wrestling, becoming the first American wrestler since 1908 to achieve this feat. After Army service in the early 1940s, he served with commendations as a New York City Police Officer until around 1954, worked as an instructor and college wrestling coach at Yeshiva and then City College of New York from 1967 to 1979, competed in, coached, and helped to organize the Maccabiah Games, and served as an American Olympic coach in 1968 at Mexico City. Read more
18 Sep 1917: June Foray, American actress and voice artist (died 2017) June Foray was an American voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney's Cinderella, Cindy Lou Who, Jokey Smurf, Granny from the Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Friz Freleng, Grammi Gummi from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears series, and Magica De Spell, among many others. Read more
18 Sep 1917: Phil Taylor, English footballer and manager (died 2012) Philip Henry Taylor was an English footballer who played for and managed Liverpool. Read more
18 Sep 1917: Francis Parker Yockey, American lawyer and philosopher (died 1960) Francis Parker Yockey was an American fascist writer best known for his neo-Spenglerian book Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics, published in 1948 under the pen name Ulick Varange, which called for a neo-Nazi European empire. Read more
18 Sep 1916: Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor (died 1994) Rossano Brazzi was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He was known for playing roles that typified the suave, romantic leading man archetype, both in his native country and in Hollywood. Read more
18 Sep 1916: John Jacob Rhodes, American lawyer and politician (died 2003) John Jacob Rhodes Jr. was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Rhodes served as a U.S. representative from Arizona for thirty years from 1953 to 1983. He was the minority leader in the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1981 and pressed a conservative agenda. Read more
18 Sep 1914: Jack Cardiff, English director, cinematographer, and photographer (died 2009) Jack Cardiff was a British cinematographer, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor, to filmmaking more than half a century later. Read more
18 Sep 1912: María de la Cruz, Chilean journalist and activist (died 1995) María de la Cruz Toledo was a Chilean political activist for women's suffrage, a journalist, a writer, and a political commentator. In 1953, she became the first woman ever elected to the Chilean Senate. Read more
18 Sep 1911: Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1976) Sydney Harris Howe was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Howe played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Quakers, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Eagles and Detroit Red Wings. Read more
18 Sep 1910: Josef Tal, Israeli pianist and composer (died 2008) Josef Tal was an Israeli composer. He wrote three Hebrew operas; four German operas, dramatic scenes; six symphonies; 13 concerti; chamber music, including three string quartets; instrumental works; and electronic compositions. He is considered one of the founding fathers of Israeli art music. Read more
18 Sep 1910: Joseph F. Enright, American submarine captain in the United States Navy Joseph Francis Enright was a submarine captain in the United States Navy. He is best known as the man who sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano–the "most significant single submarine sinking of World War II." Read more
18 Sep 1908: Victor Ambartsumian, Georgian-Armenian astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (died 1996) Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian was a Soviet and Armenian astrophysicist and science administrator. One of the 20th century's leading astronomers, he is widely regarded as the founder of theoretical astrophysics in the Soviet Union. Read more
18 Sep 1907: Leon Askin, Austrian actor (died 2005) Leon Askin was an Austrian-born actor best known in North America for portraying the character General Albert Burkhalter on the TV situation comedy Hogan's Heroes. From the 1950s onward he had a steady career on both sides of the Atlantic. Read more
18 Sep 1907: Edwin McMillan, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991) Edwin Mattison McMillan was an American physicist credited with being the first to produce a transuranium element, neptunium. For this, he shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Glenn Seaborg. Read more
18 Sep 1906: Kaka Hathrasi, Indian poet and author (died 1995) Kaka Hathrasi was a Hindi satirist and humorist poet from India. Read more
18 Sep 1906: Maurice Maillot, French actor (died 1968) Maurice Maillot was a French film and theater actor. He was born in Rethel, Ardennes, and died in Paris. Read more
18 Sep 1906: Julio Rosales, Filipino cardinal (died 1983) Julio Ras Rosales, was a Filipino cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the second archbishop of Cebu, and a former bishop of Tagbilaran. Read more
18 Sep 1905: Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, American actor (died 1977) Edmund Lincoln Anderson was an American actor and comedian known for his gravelly voice. To a generation of early radio and television comedy audiences, he was known as "Rochester". Read more
18 Sep 1905: Agnes de Mille, American dancer and choreographer (died 1993) Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer. Read more
18 Sep 1905: Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (died 1990) Greta Garbo was a Swedish and American film actress. She was a leading star during Hollywood's silent and early golden eras. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she is known for her melancholic and somber screen persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Read more
18 Sep 1904: Bun Cook, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1988) Frederick Joseph "Bun" Cook was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and forward. He was an Allan Cup champion with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1924 before embarking on a 13-year professional career. He played for the Saskatoon Crescents in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League (NHL). Cook was a member of two Stanley Cup championship teams with the Rangers, in 1928 and 1933, playing on the "Bread Line" with his brother Bill and Frank Boucher. Read more
18 Sep 1904: David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Education (died 1999) David McAdam Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles, was an English Conservative politician and businessman. Read more
18 Sep 1901: Harold Clurman, American director and producer (died 1980) Harold Edgar Clurman was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS. He was one of the three founders of New York City's Group Theatre (1931–1941). He directed more than 40 plays in his career and, during the 1950s, was nominated for a Tony Award as director for several productions. In addition to his directing career, he was drama critic for The New Republic (1948–1952) and The Nation (1953–1980), helping shape American theater by writing about it. Clurman wrote seven books about the theatre, including his memoir The Fervent Years: The Group Theatre and the Thirties (1961). Read more
18 Sep 1900: Willis Laurence James, American violinist and educator (died 1966) Willis Laurence James was an American musician, composer and educator. He was on the faculty of Spelman College for more than three decades. Read more
18 Sep 1900: Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Mauritian philanthropist and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Mauritius (died 1985) Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, often referred to as Chacha "Uncle" Ramgoolam or SSR, was a Mauritian physician, politician, and statesman. He served as the island's only chief minister and premier and then becoming its first prime minister, and eventually served as governor-general. Read more
18 Sep 1897: Pablo Sorozábal, Spanish composer and conductor (died 1988) Pablo Sorozábal Mariezcurrena was a Spanish composer of zarzuelas, operas, symphonic works, and the popular romanza, "No puede ser". Read more
18 Sep 1895: Jean Batmale, French footballer and manager (died 1973) Jean Batmale was a French footballer who played as a midfielder for the France national team at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics. Read more
18 Sep 1895: John Diefenbaker, Canadian lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1979) John George Diefenbaker was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1935 and 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. Read more
18 Sep 1895: Walter Koch, German astrologer and author (died 1970) Dr. Walter Albert Koch was a German astrologer who founded the Koch House System in Astrology. He was born in Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and died in Göppingen. Read more
18 Sep 1894: Fay Compton, English actress (died 1978) Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie,, known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage performances. She was known for her versatility, and appeared in Shakespeare, drawing room comedy, pantomime, modern drama, and classics such as Ibsen and Chekhov. In addition to performing in Britain, Compton appeared several times in the US, and toured Australia and New Zealand in a variety of stage plays. Read more
18 Sep 1893: Arthur Benjamin, Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1960) Arthur Leslie Benjamin was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of Jamaican Rumba (1938) and of the Storm Clouds Cantata, featured in both versions of the Alfred Hitchcock film The Man who Knew Too Much, in 1934 and 1956. Read more
18 Sep 1893: William March, American soldier and author (died 1954) William March was an American writer of psychological fiction and a highly decorated U.S. Marine. The author of six novels and four short-story collections, March was praised by critics but never attained great popularity. Read more
18 Sep 1891: Rafael Pérez y Pérez, Spanish author (died 1984) Rafael Pérez y Pérez, was a popular Spanish writer of over 160 romantic novels from 1909 to 1971. He was one of the first writers to publish romance novels written in Spanish language. His novels have been translated into 22 languages, and had sold over 5 million copies by the year 1977, and some of his novels were adapted to film. Read more
18 Sep 1889: Doris Blackburn, Australian activist and politician (died 1970) Doris Amelia Blackburn was an Australian social reformer and politician. She served in the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1949, the second woman after Enid Lyons to do so. Blackburn was a prominent socialist and originally a member of the Labor Party. She was married to Maurice Blackburn, a Labor MP, but he was expelled from the party in 1937 and she resigned from the party in solidarity. Her husband died in 1944, and she was elected to his former seat at the 1946 federal election – the first woman elected to parliament as an independent. However, Blackburn served only a single term before being defeated. She later served as president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Read more
18 Sep 1889: Leslie Morshead, Australian general, businessman, and educator (died 1959) Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead, was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, whose military career spanned both world wars. During the Second World War, he led the Australian and British troops at the Siege of Tobruk (1941) and at the Second Battle of El Alamein, achieving decisive victories over Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. His soldiers nicknamed him "Ming the Merciless", later simply "Ming", after the villain in the Flash Gordon comics. Read more
18 Sep 1888: Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author (died 1938) Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, commonly known as Grey Owl, was a popular Canadian writer, public speaker and conservationist. Born an Englishman, he immigrated to Canada and, in the latter years of his life, passed as half-Indigenous, falsely claiming he was the son of a Scottish man and an Apache woman. With books, articles and public appearances promoting wilderness conservation, he achieved fame in the 1930s. Shortly after his death in 1938, his real identity as the Englishman Archie Belaney was exposed. He has been called one of the first Canadian "Pretendians". Read more
18 Sep 1888: Toni Wolff, Swiss psychologist and author (died 1953) Toni Anna Wolff was a Swiss Jungian analyst and a close collaborator of Carl Jung. During her analytic career Wolff published relatively little under her own name, but she helped Jung identify, define, and name some of his best-known concepts, including anima, animus, and persona, as well as the theory of the psychological types. Her best-known paper is an essay on four "types" or aspects of the feminine psyche: the Amazon, the Mother, the Hetaira, and the Medial Woman. These four types exist on a quadrant chart with four dimensions. In this chart, the Mother is the opposite of the Hetaira on a vertical line, and the Medial woman is opposite the Amazon on a horizontal line. Read more
18 Sep 1886: Powel Crosley Jr., American entrepreneur (died 1961) Powel Crosley Jr. was an American inventor, industrialist, and entrepreneur. He was also a pioneer in radio broadcasting and owner of the Cincinnati Reds major league baseball team. In addition, Crosley's companies manufactured Crosley automobiles and radios, and operated Cincinnati radio station WLW. Crosley, once dubbed "The Henry Ford of Radio," was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2010 and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2013. Read more
18 Sep 1885: Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Azerbaijani composer, conductor, and playwright (died 1948) Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov was an Azerbaijani composer, musicologist, and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music. He composed the music of the national anthem of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Hajibeyov also composed the anthem used by Azerbaijan during the Soviet period. He was the first composer of an opera in the Islamic world. He composed the first oriental opera Leyli and Majnun in 1908 and since then he is revered for adapting the written masterpiece to the theatre. Read more
18 Sep 1883: Gerald Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners, English composer, painter, and author (died 1950) Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners, also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners. Read more
18 Sep 1883: Andre Morize, professor of French literature at Harvard University (died 1957) Andre Morize was a professor of French literature at Harvard University from 1918 to 1951. He is well known for his involvement and activism during World War I and World War II. Read more
18 Sep 1878: James O. Richardson, American admiral (died 1974) James Otto Richardson was an admiral in the United States Navy who served from 1902 to 1947. Read more
18 Sep 1876: James Scullin, Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1953) James Henry Scullin was the ninth prime minister of Australia, serving from 1929 to 1932. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having briefly served as treasurer of Australia during his time in office from 1930 to 1931. His time in office was primarily categorised by the Wall Street crash of 1929 which transpired just two days after his swearing in, thus heralding the beginning of the Great Depression in Australia. Scullin remained a leading figure in the Labor movement throughout his lifetime, and was an éminence grise in various capacities for the party until his retirement from federal parliament in 1949. He was the first Catholic to serve as prime minister. Read more
18 Sep 1875: Tomás Burgos, Chilean philanthropist (died 1945) Tomás Burgos Sotomayor was a Chilean philanthropist, one of the strongest supporters of the "mutualist movement" and the founder of "Villa Lo Burgos", the present city of Purranque. Read more
18 Sep 1872: Carl Friedberg, German-Italian pianist and educator (died 1955) Carl Rudolf Hermann Friedberg was a German pianist and teacher of Jewish origin. Read more
18 Sep 1872: Adolf Schmal, Austrian fencer and cyclist (died 1919) Felix Adolf Schmal was an Austrian fencer and racing cyclist. He was born in Dortmund and died in Salzburg. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Read more
18 Sep 1870: Clark Wissler, American anthropologist, author, and educator (died 1947) Clark David Wissler was an American anthropologist, ethnologist, and archaeologist. Read more
18 Sep 1860: Alberto Franchetti, Italian-American composer and educator (died 1942) Alberto Franchetti was an Italian composer and racing driver, best known for the 1902 opera Germania. Read more
18 Sep 1859: John L. Bates, American lawyer and politician, 41st Governor of Massachusetts (died 1946) John Lewis Bates was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Massachusetts. Read more
18 Sep 1859: Lincoln Loy McCandless, American businessman and politician (died 1940) Lincoln Loy McCandless was a United States cattle rancher, industrialist and politician for the Territory of Hawaii. McCandless served in the United States Congress as a territorial delegate. A former member of the Hawaii Republican Party, McCandless was one of the earliest leaders of the Hawaii Democratic Party. Read more
18 Sep 1858: Kate Booth, English Salvation Army officer (died 1955) Catherine Booth-Clibborn was an English Salvationist and evangelist who extended the Salvation Army into France and Switzerland against local opposition. She was the oldest daughter of William and Catherine Booth. She was also known as "la Maréchale". Read more
18 Sep 1857: John Hessin Clarke, American lawyer and judge (died 1945) John Hessin Clarke was an American lawyer and judge who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1922. Read more
18 Sep 1848: Francis Grierson, English-American pianist and composer (died 1927) Benjamin Henry Jesse Francis Shepard was a composer, pianist and writer who used the pen name Francis Grierson. Read more
18 Sep 1846: Richard With, Norwegian captain, businessman, and politician, founded Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab (died 1930) Richard Bernhard With was a Norwegian ship captain, businessman, and politician for the Liberal Left Party. He is known as the founder of the shipping companies Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab and Hurtigruten. Read more
18 Sep 1844: Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, American artist (died 1934) Cassius Marcellus Coolidge was an American artist, mainly known for his series of portraits Dogs Playing Poker. Known as "Cash" or "Kash" in his family, he often signed his work in the 19th century with the latter spelling, sometimes spelling his name, for comic effect, as Kash Koolidge. Read more
18 Sep 1838: Anton Mauve, Dutch painter and educator (died 1888) Anthonij "Anton" Rudolf Mauve was a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. A master colorist, he was a very significant early influence on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh. Read more
18 Sep 1837: Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos, Portuguese archbishop (died 1880) Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos was a Portuguese Roman Catholic Archbishop of Goa. Read more
18 Sep 1819: Léon Foucault, French physicist and academic (died 1868) Jean Bernard Léon Foucault was a French physicist who invented the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of Earth's rotation. He also made an early measurement of the speed of light, discovered eddy currents, and is credited with naming the gyroscope. Read more
18 Sep 1812: Herschel Vespasian Johnson, American lawyer and politician, 41st Governor of Georgia (died 1880) Herschel Vespasian Johnson was an American politician. He was the 41st governor of Georgia from 1853 to 1857 and the vice presidential nominee of the Douglas wing of the Democratic Party in the 1860 U.S. presidential election. He also served as one of Georgia's Confederate States senators. Read more

Notable Deaths on 18 September

18 Sep 2024: Kesaria Abramidze, Georgian blogger, actress and model (born 1987) Kesaria Abramidze was a Georgian model, actress and public figure. She made history as the first openly transgender person in Georgia to achieve widespread prominence on national television. Read more
18 Sep 2024: Nick Gravenites, American singer-songwriter (born 1938) Nicholas George Gravenites was an American blues, rock and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his work with Electric Flag, Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield, and several influential bands and individuals of the generation springing from the 1960s and 1970s. He sometimes performed under the stage names Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy. Read more
18 Sep 2024: Salvatore Schillaci, Italian footballer (born 1964) Salvatore Schillaci, also known as Totò Schillaci, was an Italian professional footballer who played as a striker. During his club career, he played for Messina (1982–1989), Juventus (1989–1992), Internazionale (1992–1994) and Júbilo Iwata (1994–1997). Read more
18 Sep 2023: Brereton C. Jones, American politician, 58th Governor of Kentucky (born 1939) Brereton Chandler Jones was an American politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1991 to 1995, he was the state's 58th governor, and had served from 1987 to 1991 as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kentucky. After his governorship, he chaired the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), a lobbying organization for the Kentucky horse industry. Read more
18 Sep 2021: Jolidee Matongo, South African politician, 97th Mayor of Johannesburg (born 1975) Jolidee Matongo was a South African politician who served as the mayor of Johannesburg from 10 August 2021 until his death on 18 September 2021. Prior to his election as mayor, he served as the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance under his predecessor, Geoff Makhubo, who died from COVID-19 complications. Matongo was a member of the African National Congress. Read more
18 Sep 2021: Chris Anker Sørensen, Danish road bicycle racer (born 1984) Chris Anker Sørensen was a Danish road bicycle racer who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the Team Designa Køkken, Tinkoff–Saxo, Fortuneo–Vital Concept, and Riwal Platform teams. Sørensen then worked as a directeur sportif for his final professional team, Riwal Readynez. Read more
18 Sep 2020: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, United States Supreme Court justice (born 1933) Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to replace retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was viewed as a moderate consensus-builder. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. During her tenure, Ginsburg authored the majority opinions in cases such as United States v. Virginia (1996), Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000), and City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005). Later in her tenure, Ginsburg received attention for passionate dissents that reflected liberal views of the law. Read more
18 Sep 2017: Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Pakistani writer, poet, translator and playwright (born 1937) Muhammad Afzal Ahsan Randhawa was a Pakistani Punjabi language writer, poet, translator, playwright and a politician. Read more
18 Sep 2015: Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean footballer and manager (born 1955) Eduardo Guillermo Bonvallet Godoy was a Chilean footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and later developed a sportscasting career. Read more
18 Sep 2015: James R. Houck, American astrophysicist and academic (born 1940) James Richard Houck was the Kenneth A. Wallace Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. Read more
18 Sep 2015: Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentinian general and politician (born 1930) Mario Benjamin Menéndez was the Argentine governor of the Falklands during the 1982 Argentine occupation of the islands. He also served in the Argentine Army. Menéndez surrendered Argentine forces to British armed forces during the Falklands War. Read more
18 Sep 2014: Milan Marcetta, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1936) Milan Marcetta was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 54 games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota North Stars between 1967 and 1969. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1956 to 1973, was spent in the minor leagues. He only played three games in the finals in 1967 for Toronto, but earned the right to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. He died the day before his 78th birthday, on September 18, 2014. Read more
18 Sep 2014: Earl Ross, Canadian racing driver (born 1941) Earl Ross was a Canadian race car driver who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1973 to 1976 driving the Carling Red Cap No. 52. Read more
18 Sep 2014: Hirofumi Uzawa, Japanese economist and academic (born 1928) Hirofumi Uzawa was a Japanese economist. Read more
18 Sep 2014: Kenny Wheeler, Canadian-English trumpet player and composer (born 1930) Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Read more
18 Sep 2013: Veliyam Bharghavan, Indian politician (born 1928) Veliyam Bharghavan was a Communist leader from Kerala, India. He was the state Secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI) from 1998 to 2010. In 2010 he retired from that position due to his health issues. He hails from Veliyam village of Kollam district. He was an advocate of a merger between CPI and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM). He was a member of the first Legislative Assembly of Kerala, winning the 1957 and 1960(interim) assembly elections from the Chadayamangalam Constituency. He died on 18 September 2013 aged 85 due to respiratory and cardiac problems. Read more
18 Sep 2013: Lindsay Cooper, English composer, bassoon and oboe player (born 1951) Lindsay Cooper was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and the Pedestrians. She collaborated with a number of musicians, including Chris Cutler and Sally Potter, and co-founded the Feminist Improvising Group. She wrote scores for film and TV and a song cycle Oh Moscow which was performed live around the world in 1987. She also recorded a number of solo albums, including Rags (1980), The Gold Diggers (1983), and Music For Other Occasions (1986). Read more
18 Sep 2013: Arthur Lamothe, French-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1928) Arthur Lamothe, was a French-Canadian film director and film producer. Read more
18 Sep 2013: Ken Norton, American boxer (born 1943) Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. was an American boxer who competed professionally from 1967 to 1981. He was awarded the WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978, after winning a close split decision over Jimmy Young in a title eliminator bout. Read more
18 Sep 2013: Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German author and critic (born 1920) Marcel Reich-Ranicki was a Polish-born German literary critic and member of the informal literary association Gruppe 47. He was regarded as one of the most influential contemporary literary critics in the field of German literature and has often been called Literaturpapst in Germany. His TV appearances made Reich-Ranicki a household name even among non-readers; in 2010, a survey found that 98% of Germans had heard of him. Read more
18 Sep 2013: Richard C. Sarafian, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1930) Richard Caspar Sarafian was an Armenian-American film director and actor. He compiled a versatile career that spanned over five decades as a director, actor, and writer. Sarafian is best known as the director of the 1971 film Vanishing Point and the classic The Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll". Read more
18 Sep 2012: Santiago Carrillo, Spanish theorist and politician (born 1915) Santiago José Carrillo Solares was a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) from 1960 to 1982. Read more
18 Sep 2012: Haim Hefer, Polish-Israeli songwriter and poet (born 1925) Haim Hefer was a Polish-born Israeli songwriter, poet, columnist, translator and writer. He wrote for numerous composers and musical artists, as well as for military bands. Several of his songs are considered Israeli classics. He was awarded the Israel Prize in 1983 as recognition for his contributions to Israeli music. Read more
18 Sep 2012: Jack Kralick, American baseball player (born 1935) John Francis Kralick was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1959 to 1967. He participated in 235 games in the course of an eight-year career that included stints with the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. During that time, he earned 67 wins and 65 losses, accumulating a record of 668 strikeouts, with an ERA of 3.56 in 125 games and 1,218 innings pitched. Read more
18 Sep 2012: Steve Sabol, American director and producer, co-founded NFL Films (born 1942) Stephen Douglas Sabol was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020, due to his works with NFL Films. Read more
18 Sep 2011: Jamey Rodemeyer, American teenage activist (born 1997) James T. Rodemeyer was an American teenager from Amherst, New York, who was known for his activism against homophobia and his videos on YouTube to help victims of homophobic bullying. Rodemeyer died by suicide on September 18, 2011, after having been a victim of homophobic bullying himself. This was also the first major suicide of a YouTuber. Read more
18 Sep 2008: Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (born 1940) Leo de Berardinis was an Italian stage actor and theatre director. He was an important exponent of the Italian avant-garde theatre. Read more
18 Sep 2008: Mauricio Kagel, Argentinian-German composer and educator (born 1931) Mauricio Raúl Kagel was an Argentine-German composer and academic teacher. Read more
18 Sep 2008: Ron Lancaster, American-Canadian football player and coach (born 1938) Ronald Lancaster was an American-Canadian professional football player and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 16 seasons, he led the team to its first Grey Cup championship in 1966 and is the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards, attempts, completions, touchdowns, and interceptions. At the time of his retirement, he was the CFL's career leader in passing yards and still ranks sixth overall as of 2016. After his retirement as a player, he served as a head coach and general manager in the CFL; he led his teams to two Grey Cups and currently ranks fourth all-time with 142 regular season wins. He was also a colour commentator on the CFL on CBC from 1981 to 1990. At the time of his death, he was the Senior Director of Football Operations of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1982), Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1985) and the Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Honour (1985). Read more
18 Sep 2007: Pepsi Tate, Welsh bass player and producer (born 1965) Tigertailz are a Welsh glam metal band from Cardiff. Their 1990 album Bezerk made the Top 40 on the UK Albums Chart and contained the hit singles "Love Bomb Baby" and "Heaven". The band reformed in 2005. Read more
18 Sep 2006: Edward J. King, American football player, lawyer, and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (born 1925) Edward Joseph King was an American politician who served as the 66th governor of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983. A member of the Democratic Party until 1985, he then became a member of the Republican Party. Elected in the 1978 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, he lost the Democratic primary of the 1982 election to his predecessor Michael Dukakis. Read more
18 Sep 2005: Michael Park, English racing driver (born 1966) Michael Steven Park was a rally co-driver from Newent in Gloucestershire. He worked with former world champions Richard Burns and Colin McRae as a gravel note expert while co-driving for both David Higgins and Mark Higgins in the British national series. His big break, however, came when he teamed up with the emerging Estonian talent Markko Märtin as a privateer pairing in a Toyota Corolla WRC for the 2000 World Rally Championship season. Read more
18 Sep 2005: Clint C. Wilson, Sr., American cartoonist (born 1914) Clint Cornelius Wilson Sr. was an African-American editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Sentinel, the most prominent Black owned newspaper in California. Read more
18 Sep 2004: Norman Cantor, Canadian-American historian and educator (born 1929) Norman Frank Cantor was a Canadian-American medievalist. Known for his accessible writing and engaging narrative style, Cantor's books were among the most widely read treatments of medieval history in English. He estimated that his textbook The Civilization of the Middle Ages, first published in 1963, had a million copies in circulation. Read more
18 Sep 2004: Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922) Russell Albion Meyer was an American filmmaker and photographer. He was primarily known for writing and directing a successful series of sexploitation films featuring campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women, which have attracted a considerable cult following. Read more
18 Sep 2003: Emil Fackenheim, German rabbi and philosopher (born 1916) Emil Ludwig Fackenheim was a Jewish philosopher and Reform rabbi. Read more
18 Sep 2003: Bob Mitchell, English educator and politician (born 1927) Richard Charles Mitchell, commonly known as Bob Mitchell, was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom. He represented Southampton Test for Labour from 1966 to 1970, and Southampton Itchen for Labour and then the Social Democratic Party from 1981 to 1983. Read more
18 Sep 2002: Bob Hayes, American sprinter and football player (born 1942) Robert Lee Hayes, nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an American sprinter and professional football player. After winning gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics, he played as a split end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. He was a two-sport standout in college in both track and field and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. Read more
18 Sep 2002: Mauro Ramos, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1930) Mauro Ramos de Oliveira, known as Mauro Ramos or simply Mauro, was a Brazilian professional association footballer. He played as a centre-back for São Paulo FC, Santos FC and the Brazil national team. Read more
18 Sep 2002: Margita Stefanović, Serbian keyboard player (born 1959) Margita "Magi" Stefanović was a Serbian musician best known as the keyboardist of the Yugoslav rock band Ekatarina Velika (EKV). Read more
18 Sep 2001: Ernie Coombs, American-Canadian television host (born 1927) Ernest Arthur Coombs, CM was an American-Canadian children's entertainer who starred in the Canadian television series Mr. Dressup (1967–1996). Read more
18 Sep 1998: Charlie Foxx, American singer and guitarist (Inez and Charlie Foxx) (born 1939) Inez Foxx and her elder brother Charlie Foxx were an American rhythm and blues and soul duo from Greensboro, North Carolina. Inez sang lead vocal, while Charlie sang backing vocals and played guitar. Casey Kasem, and doubtless many others, mistakenly thought that the two were husband and wife. Read more
18 Sep 1997: Jimmy Witherspoon, American singer (born 1920) James Witherspoon was an American jump blues and jazz singer. Read more
18 Sep 1992: Mohammad Hidayatullah, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 6th Vice President of India (born 1905) Mohammad Hidayatullah, was an Indian jurist and statesman who served as interim President of India in 1969. He concurrently served as Chief Justice of India from 1968 to 1970 and then as Vice President of India from 1979 to 1984. Read more
18 Sep 1988: Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (born 1901) Sir Alan Stewart Watt was an Australian diplomat. Read more
18 Sep 1987: Américo Tomás, Portuguese admiral and politician, 14th President of Portugal (born 1894) Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás was a Portuguese Navy officer and politician who served as the president of Portugal from 1958 to 1974. He was the last president of the authoritarian and corporatist Estado Novo. Read more
18 Sep 1980: Katherine Anne Porter, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist (born 1890) Katherine Anne Porter was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, poet, and political activist. Her 1962 novel Ship of Fools was the best-selling novel in the United States that year, but her short stories received much more critical acclaim. In 1966, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the U.S. National Book Award for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. Read more
18 Sep 1977: Paul Bernays, English-Swiss mathematician and philosopher (born 1888) Paul Isaac Bernays was a Swiss mathematician who made significant contributions to mathematical logic, axiomatic set theory, and the philosophy of mathematics. He was an assistant and close collaborator of David Hilbert. Read more
18 Sep 1975: Fairfield Porter, American painter and critic (born 1907) Fairfield Porter was an American painter and art critic. He was the fourth of five children of James Porter, an architect, and Ruth Furness Porter, a poet from a literary family. He was the brother of photographer Eliot Porter and the brother-in-law of federal Reclamation Commissioner Michael W. Straus. He was married to the poet Anne Porter (1911–2011). Read more
18 Sep 1974: Amanat Ali Khan, Pakistani classical singer (born 1922) Ustad Amanat Ali Khan was a Pakistani classical vocalist from the Patiala gharana tradition of music and is widely regarded as one of the finest classical and ghazal singers of all time. Together with his younger brother, Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan, he formed a famed singing duo that garnered widespread popularity across the Indian subcontinent. For his contributions to classical music, Amanat Ali was honoured with the highest national literary award of Pakistan – the Pride of Performance – by the President of Pakistan in 1969. Khan was especially noted for khayal, thumri, and ghazal styles of singing and has been described as "the maestro of the Patiala gharana." He stands with singing icons like Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi, having left behind a legacy of hundreds of classical and semi-classical songs. Read more
18 Sep 1970: Jimi Hendrix, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1942) James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a part of his band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience; the institution describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music". Read more
18 Sep 1968: Franchot Tone, American actor, singer, and producer (born 1905) Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known for his gentlemanly sophisticate roles, with supporting roles by the 1950s. His acting crossed many genres including pre-Code romantic leads to noir layered roles and World War I films. He appeared as a guest star in episodes of several golden age television series, including The Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour while continuing to act and produce in the theater and movies throughout the 1960s. Read more
18 Sep 1967: John Cockcroft, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1897) Sir John Douglas Cockcroft was a British experimental physicist who shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics with Ernest Walton for their splitting of the atomic nucleus, which led to the development of nuclear power and weapons. Read more
18 Sep 1964: Seán O'Casey, Irish dramatist and memoirist (born 1880) Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the struggles and experiences of the working class in Dublin. He is best known for his "Dublin Trilogy", which includes The Shadow of a Gunman (1923), Juno and the Paycock (1924) and The Plough and the Stars (1926). Read more
18 Sep 1962: Therese Neumann, German mystic (born 1898) Therese Neumann was a German Catholic mystic and stigmatic. Neumann has been considered a Servant of God by the Catholic Church since 2005. Read more
18 Sep 1961: Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905) Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. As of 2026, he remains the youngest person to have held the post, having been only 47 years old when he was elected. He was a son of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1914 to 1917. Read more
18 Sep 1959: Benjamin Péret, French poet and journalist (born 1899) Benjamin Péret was a French poet, Parisian Dadaist, and founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement with his avid use of Surrealist automatism. Read more
18 Sep 1958: Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian painter and illustrator (born 1873) Olaf Leonhard Gulbransson was a Norwegian artist, painter and designer. He is probably best known for his caricatures and illustrations. Read more
18 Sep 1956: Adélard Godbout, Canadian agronomist and politician, 15th Premier of Quebec (born 1892) Joseph-Adélard Godbout was a Canadian agronomist and politician. He served briefly as the 15th premier of Quebec in 1936 and again from 1939 to 1944. He was also leader of the Parti Libéral du Québec (PLQ) from 1936 to 1949. Read more
18 Sep 1953: Charles de Tornaco, Belgian racing driver (born 1927) Baron Charles Victor Raymond André Evance de Tornaco was a racing driver from Belgium. He participated in 4 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 22 June 1952. He scored no championship points. Read more
18 Sep 1952: Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano and actress (born 1879) Frances Davis Alda was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic lyric soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th century due to her outstanding singing voice, fine technique and colourful personality, as well as her frequent onstage partnerships at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, with Enrico Caruso. Read more
18 Sep 1951: Gelett Burgess, American author and poet (born 1866) Frank Gelett Burgess was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. He was an important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, The Lark, and association with The Crowd literary group. He is best known as a writer of nonsense verse, such as "The Purple Cow", and for introducing French modern art to the United States in an essay titled "The Wild Men of Paris." He was the illustrator of the Goops murals, in Coppa's restaurant, in the Montgomery Block and author of the popular Goops books. Burgess coined the term "blurb." Read more
18 Sep 1949: Frank Morgan, American actor (born 1890) Francis Phillip Wuppermann, known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, with a career spanning 35 years mostly as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He was also briefly billed early in his career as Frank Wupperman and Francis Morgan. Read more
18 Sep 1945: Volin, Russian anarchist intellectual (born 1882) Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum, commonly known by his pseudonym Volin, was a Russian anarchist intellectual. He became involved in revolutionary socialist politics during the 1905 Russian Revolution, for which he was forced into exile, where he gravitated towards anarcho-syndicalism. Read more
18 Sep 1944: Robert G. Cole, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1915) Robert George Cole was an American soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Normandy in World War II. Cole, the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, successfully led his outgunned unit in a daring bayonet charge against an entrenched German force. He was killed in action three months later during Operation Market Garden. Read more
18 Sep 1941: Fred Karno, English actor and screenwriter (born 1866) Frederick John Westcott, best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English vaudeville impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularizing the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. During the 1890s, in order to circumvent stage censorship, Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue. Read more
18 Sep 1939: Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish author, painter, and photographer (born 1885) Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period. Read more
18 Sep 1924: F. H. Bradley, English philosopher and author (born 1846) Francis Herbert Bradley was a British idealist philosopher. His most important work was Appearance and Reality (1893). Read more
18 Sep 1922: Alfons Grotowski, Polish sanitary engineer (born 1833) Alfons Grotowski was a Polish sanitary engineer, who co-designed the waterworks and sewage network of the city of Warsaw, Poland. Read more
18 Sep 1915: Susan La Flesche Picotte, doctor, teacher, and social reformer, first Native American to earn a medical degree (born 1865) Susan La Flesche Picotte was a Native American medical doctor and reformer and member of the Omaha tribe. She is widely acknowledged as one of the first Indigenous people, and the first Indigenous woman, to earn a medical degree. She campaigned for public health and for the formal, legal allotment of land to members of the Omaha tribe. She served as a physician to over 1,200 Omaha people on the reservation, working under conditions of significant pay disparity compared to white government doctors. In 1913, after no Commissioner of Indian Affairs during her life supported government-funded hospital for Native Americans, she founded the Walthill Hospital, the first privately funded hospital on a Native American reservation. Read more
18 Sep 1911: Pyotr Stolypin, Russian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Russia (born 1862) Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was a Russian statesman who served as the third prime minister and the interior minister of the Russian Empire from 1906 until his assassination in 1911. Known as a reformer of Russian society and the economy, he initiated reforms which were halted by his assassination. Read more
18 Sep 1909: Grigore Tocilescu, Romanian archaeologist and historian (born 1850) Grigore George Tocilescu was a Romanian historian, archaeologist, epigrapher and folkorist, and member of the Romanian Academy. Read more
18 Sep 1905: George MacDonald, Scottish minister, author, and poet (born 1824) George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet and Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carroll. In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works of Christian theology, including several collections of sermons. Read more
18 Sep 1896: Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist and academic (born 1819) Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau was a French physicist who, in 1849, measured the speed of light to within 5% accuracy. In 1851, he measured the speed of light in moving water in an experiment known as the Fizeau experiment. Read more
18 Sep 1890: Dion Boucicault, Irish-American actor and playwright (born 1820) Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the English-speaking theatre. The New York Times hailed him in his obituary as "the most conspicuous English dramatist of the 19th century"; he and his second wife, Agnes Robertson Boucicault, applied for, and received, American citizenship in 1873. Read more
18 Sep 1872: Charles XV of Sweden (born 1826) Charles XV and IV was King of Sweden as Charles XV and King of Norway as Charles IV from 1859 until his death in 1872. Charles was the third Swedish monarch from the House of Bernadotte. He was the first one to be born in Sweden, the first to grow up speaking Swedish as his first language, and the first to be raised from birth in the Lutheran faith. Read more
18 Sep 1862: Joseph K. Mansfield, American general (born 1803) Joseph King Fenno Mansfield was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer. He served as a Union general in the American Civil War and was fatally wounded at the Battle of Antietam. Read more
18 Sep 1860: Joseph Locke, English engineer and politician (born 1805) Joseph Locke FRSA was an English civil engineer of the nineteenth century, particularly associated with railway projects. Locke ranked alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel as one of the major pioneers of railway development. Read more
18 Sep 1857: Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer and conductor (born 1785) Karol Kazimierz Kurpiński was a Polish composer, conductor and pedagogue. He was a representative of late classicism and early romanticism as well as being a member of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning. He is also known for having composed the music to the 1831 patriotic song La Varsovienne with lyrics by Casimir Delavigne. He was also a mentor and an influence on young Chopin. Read more
18 Sep 1830: William Hazlitt, English philosopher, painter, and critic (born 1778) William Hazlitt was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He is also acknowledged as the finest art critic of his age. Despite his high standing among historians of literature and art, his work is currently little read and mostly out of print. Read more
18 Sep 1812: Safranbolulu Izzet Mehmet Pasha, Ottoman politician, 186th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1743) Safranbolulu Izzet Mehmet Pasha was a grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire and served from 1794 to 1798. Read more

Why is 18 September Important in History?

18 September is important because many political, cultural, scientific, educational and social events took place on this date. These facts are useful for students, exam aspirants and readers interested in daily history and general knowledge.

History of Today 18 September for Competitive Exams

Questions based on today in history, famous personalities, historical events and important dates are often asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, Defence and State PSC examinations.

👉 View complete History of Today archive

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 18 September in history?

On 18 September, many important historical events, famous births and notable deaths occurred across the world.

Why is History of Today important for exams?

History of Today helps students remember important dates, events and personalities for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway and PSC.

Where can I read daily history facts?

You can read daily history facts on this History of Today section, updated regularly with important events, births and deaths.