What are the important events that happened on May 18? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
May 18: Facts & Myths About This Day
May 18 is the 138th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 227 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 5, 2025 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 485,424 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectatriacontaoctagon’ day.
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Taurus is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 275 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,531 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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May 18 Historical Events
- 1152 –Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine.
- 1763 –Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec.
- 1863 –American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins.
- 1944 –Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
- 1944 –World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino – Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
- 1953 –Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
- 1974 –Nuclear test: under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
- 1980 –Gwangju Massacre: students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
- 1990 –In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
- 2006 –The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
Who were born on May 18?
- 1186 –Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (d. 1218)
- 1887 –Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1946)
- 1905 –Hedley Verity, English cricketer (d. 1943)
- 1913 –Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician (d. 1996)
- 1922 –Bill Macy, American actor
- 1931 –Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1960 –Yannick Noah, French tennis player
- 1973 –Brian Heffron, American professional wrestler (“The Blue Meanie”)
- 1976 –Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1988 –Kōji Seto, Japanese actor and singer
Who died on May 18?
- 1675 –Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish Socinian theologist (b. 1623)
- 1733 –Georg Böhm, German organist (b. 1761)
- 1781 –Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian Indian revolutionary, a descendant of the last Inca ruler, Túpac Amaru (b. 1742)
- 1844 –Richard McCarty, American politician (b. 1780)
- 1910 –Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish novelist (b. 1841)
- 1927 –Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer (b. 1872)
- 1941 –Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
- 1980 –Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: Harry Randall Truman (b. 1896)
- 1981 –Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
- 2004 –Elvin Jones, American jazz drummer (b. 1927)
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