On This Day - What Happened On April 18 - Encyclopedia Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos A Britannica Newsletter Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP ADD TO YOUR INBOX Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! By clicking "Add To Your Inbox"tapping "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Home On This Day TODAY IN HISTORY April 18 What Happened On Your Bday? Go to Today's Date

Featured Event

1775 The midnight ride of Paul Revere Paul Revere, a renowned silversmith, is better remembered as a folk hero of the American Revolution who this night in 1775 made a dramatic ride on horseback to warn Boston-area residents of an imminent attack by British troops. © SuperStock

Featured Biography

Albert Einstein German-American physicist bornMarch 14, 1879Ulm, GermanydiedApril 18, 1955 (aged 76)Princeton, New JerseyEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1963 Conan O’Brien American talk-show host 1944 Robert Hanssen American law enforcement agent and spy 1927 Samuel P. Huntington American political scientist 1772 David Ricardo British economist 1590 Ahmed I Ottoman sultan See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2012 American television personality and businessman Dick Clark, who was the longtime host of American Bandstand (1957–87), died in California. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about pop culture© Kobal/REX/Shutterstock.com 1999 Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, considered one of the game's greatest players, skated in his last NHL game. Find out if Wayne Gretzky tops our list of the 10 greatest hockey players of all timeWa Funches/AP Images 1980 Zimbabwe achieved independence from the United Kingdom. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about AfricaEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1956 Abandoning her Hollywood career, American actress Grace Kelly wed Rainier III, prince de Monaco, in a civil ceremony; an opulent religious ceremony took place the following day. Test your knowledge of A-list actorsAbbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston (JFKWHP-AR6607-D) 1945 During the U.S. invasion of the Japanese island of Okinawa in World War II, American war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed on nearby Ie Island by Japanese gunfire. How much do you know about World War II?U.S. Department of Defense 1942 U.S. Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle led 16 B-25 bombers on a spectacular surprise attack on Tokyo and other Japanese cities; the Doolittle Raid, as it became known, caused little damage but boosted Allied morale. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about World War IIU.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives, Washington, D.C. 1906 San Francisco was rocked by an earthquake caused by slippage along the San Andreas Fault. See the damage caused by the San Francisco earthquake of 1906Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1857 American defense lawyer, public speaker, debater, and writer Clarence Darrow—among whose high-profile court appearances was the Scopes Trial, in which he defended a Tennessee high-school teacher who had broken a state law by presenting the Darwinian theory of evolution—was born. Read about 10 “trials of the century.”Courtesy of Chicago History Museum 1506 Pope Julius II laid the first stone of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Take a tour of St. Peter's Basilica© emiklos/Fotolia SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.