18 May 2024 (MIA)

1565 – The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.

1565 – The Royal Audiencia of Concepción is created by a decree of Philip II of Spain.

1593 – Playwright Thomas Kyd’s accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.

1631 – In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.

1652 – Rhode Island passes the first law in English-speaking North America making slavery illegal.

1756 – The Seven Years’ War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.

1763 – Fire destroys a large part of Montreal.

1803 – Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.

1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.

1812 – John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.

1843 – The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.

1848 – Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.

1860 – Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.

1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins.

1896 – Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.

1900 – The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.

1910 – The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley.

1917 – World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.

1927 – After being founded for 20 years, the Government of the Republic of China approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China.

1944 – World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.

1944 – Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.

1948 – The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.

1953 – Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.

1955 – Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.

1958 – An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).

1959 – Launch of the National Liberation Committee of Côte d’Ivoire in Conakry, Guinea.

1961 – “A Quiet Summer,” Macedonian filmmaker Dimitrie Osmanli’s debut feature film, premieres in Skopje.

1965 – Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria.

1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.

1974 – Nuclear test: under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.

1980 – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.

1980 – Gwangju Massacre: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.

1983 – In Ireland, the government launches a crackdown, with the leading Dublin pirate Radio Nova being put off the air.

1990 – In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).

1991 – Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognized by the international community.

1993 – Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police opened fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injured 11 demonstrators. In total 113 bullets are fired.

2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.

2006 – The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.

2009 – The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.

2011 – Twenty-two people are killed when Sol Líneas Aéreas Flight 5428 crashes in southern Argentina.

2015 – At least 78 people die in a landslides caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar.

2019 – Australian federal elections won by Scott Morrison’s coalition government in a surprise result.

2020 – WHO member states agree to set up an inquiry into the global response to the pandemic, including looking at the WHO itself.

2020 – US President Donald Trump confirms he is taking controversial drug hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19.

2021 – India records the highest recorded daily COVID-19 death toll to date in the world with 4,529 deaths.