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May 18
May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). There are 227 days remaining.
Events
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1593 - Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
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1652 - Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal.
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1631 - In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
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1765 - Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec.
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1783 - First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States.
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1803 - Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
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1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate.
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1848 - Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
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1863 - American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins, ending on July 4).
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1869 - Surrender and dissolution of the Ezo Republic to Japan.
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1896 - The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal is constitutional.
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1900 - The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
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1910 - The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley.
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1917 - World War I: The Selective Service Act passes the U.S. Congress giving the President the power of conscription.
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1926 - Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a Venice, California, beach.
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1927 - The Bath School Disaster: Forty-five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school board member in Michigan.
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1933 - New Deal: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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1944 - World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino - Germans evacuate Monte Cassino and Allied forces take the stronghold after a struggle that claimed 20,000 lives.
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1944 - Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
- 1944 - World War II: SS troops burn down six villages in the Brkini hills in south western Slovenia.
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1948 - The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
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1953 - Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier (she flew in a F-86 Sabrejet at an average speed of 652.337 miles per hour (1049.835 km/h) at Rogers Dry Lake , California).
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1958 - An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).
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1969 - Apollo program: Apollo 10 launches.
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1974 - Nuclear test: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
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1974 - Completion of the Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built at the time. It later collapses on August 8, 1991.
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1980 - 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
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1995 - Alain Juppé becomes Prime Minister of France.
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1998 - Microsoft antitrust case: The United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states file an antitrust case against Microsoft.
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2004 - Randy Johnson pitches a perfect game for the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. the Atlanta Braves.
Births
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1048 - Omar Khayyam, Persian poet (d. 1123)
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1711 - Rudjer Josip Boscovich, Croatian atomic theorist (d. 1787)
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1778 - Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, British noble
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1785 - John Wilson, Scottish writer (d. 1854)
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1797 - Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (d. 1854)
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1850 - Oliver Heaviside, physicist (d. 1925)
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1872 - Lord Bertrand Russell, mathematician and philosopher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature 1950 (d. 1970)
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1883 - Walter Gropius, architect, founder of Bauhaus (d. 1969)
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1889 - Thomas Midgley, chemist and inventor (d. 1944)
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1891 - Rudolf Carnap, German philosopher (d. 1970)
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1892 - Pops Foster, jazz musician (assumed birthdate) (d. 1969)
- 1892 - Ezio Pinza, Italian-born bass opera singer (d. 1957)
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1897 - Frank Capra, producer, director, writer (d. 1991)
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1902 - Meredith Willson, composer (d. 1984)
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1911 - Big Joe Turner, blues singer (d. 1985)
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1912 - Walter Sisulu, anti-apartheid activist (d. 2003)
- 1912 - Perry Como, singer (d. 2001)
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1918 - George Welch, pilot and war hero (d. 1954)
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1919 - Dame Margot Fonteyn, ballet dancer (d. 1991)
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1920 - Pope John Paul II (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Lucia Mannucci, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra)
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1922 - Kai Winding, jazz musician (d. 1983)
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1928 - Pernell Roberts, actor
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1931 - Don Martin, cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1931 - Robert Morse, actor
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1937 - Brooks Robinson, Baseball Hall of Famer
- 1937 - Jacques Santer, Luxembourg statesman
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1939 - Hark Bohm , film director
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1942 - Albert Hammond, musician, composer
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1944 - Justus Frantz , pianist
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1946 - Reggie Jackson, Baseball Hall of Famer
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1949 - Rick Wakeman, musician ("Yes"), composer
- 1949 - Bill Wallace, musician The Guess Who, Winnipeg
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1950 - Thomas Gottschalk, show master
- 1950 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (d. 1997)
- 1950 - Mark Mothersbaugh, composer, musician
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1952 - George Strait, country musician
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1955 - Chow Yun-Fat, actor
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1960 - Jari Kurri, Hockey Hall of Famer
- 1960 - Yannick Noah, tennis player
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1969 - Martika, Cuban-American singer
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1970 - Tina Fey, writer, comedienne, actress
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1975 - John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
- 1975 - Jack Johnson, musician
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1978 - Ricardo Carvalho, football player
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1982 - Eric West, singer, actor
Deaths
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1799 - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (b. 1732)
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1807 - John Douglas, Anglican bishop (b. 1721)
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1808 - Elijah Craig, important to the invention of bourbon
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1900 - Jean Gaspard Felix Ravaisson-Mollien, French philosopher (b. 1813)
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1909 - George Meredith, English novelist and poet (b. 1828)
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1910 - Pauline Garcia-Viardot, singer, composer (b. 1821)
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1911 - Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (b. 1860)
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1956 - Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
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1973 - Jeannette Rankin, first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives (b. 1880)
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1975 - Leroy Anderson, American composer (b. 1908)
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1980 - Ian Curtis, musician Joy Division (b. 1956)
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1981 - William Saroyan, American author (b. 1908)
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1988 - Daws Butler, voice actor (b. 1916)
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1995 - Elizabeth Montgomery, actress (b. 1933)
- 1995 - Alexander Godunov, ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
- 1995 - Elisha Cook Jr., actor
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1999 - Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer (b. 1954)
- 1999 - Betty Robinson, Olympic runner (b. 1911)
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2000 - Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian musician and arranger (b. 1946)
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2003 - Anna Santisteban, organizer of the Miss Universe contest (b. 1914)
- 2003 - Barb Tarbox, anti-smoking crusader (b. 1961)
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2004 - Elvin Jones, jazz drummer (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances
External links
May 17 - May 19 - April 18 - June 18 -- listing of all days
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