July 18 facts for kids

July 18th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history. From ancient battles to important discoveries and the birthdays of famous people, this date has seen a lot happen!

Historical Events on July 18

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 477 BC – In the Roman–Etruscan Wars, the city of Veii ambushed and defeated the Roman army at the Battle of the Cremera.
• 387 BC – During the Roman–Gaulish Wars, a Roman army was defeated by Gauls at the Battle of the Allia. This led to the city of Rome being attacked and looted.
• 452 – After a big defeat, Attila and his Huns attacked and destroyed the important city of Aquileia.
• 645 – Chinese forces, led by general Li Shiji, surrounded the strong fortress city of Anshi in Liaoning during the Goguryeo–Tang War.
• 1195 – At the Battle of Alarcos, forces from the Almohad Caliphate defeated the army of Alfonso VIII from the Kingdom of Castile. The Castilian army had to retreat to Toledo.
• 1290 – King Edward I of England issued the Edict of Expulsion, which forced all Jewish people (about 16,000) to leave England.
• 1334 – In Florence, the first stone was laid for the new bell tower of the Florence Cathedral. It was designed by the famous artist Giotto di Bondone.
• 1389 – France and England agreed to the Truce of Leulinghem. This started a 13-year period of peace, the longest during the Hundred Years' War.
• 1507 – In Brussels, Prince Charles I was crowned Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders. He had inherited these titles a year earlier.

Modern History: 1601 to 1900

• 1806 – A gunpowder storage building exploded in Birgu, Malta. About 200 people died in the accident.
• 1812 – The Treaties of Örebro officially ended both the war between Britain and Russia and the war between Britain and Sweden.
• 1841 – Pedro II of Brazil was crowned Emperor of Brazil.
• 1862 – The Dent Blanche, one of the highest mountains in the Alps, was climbed for the very first time.
• 1863 – During the American Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first formal African American military units, tried to attack Confederate-held Battery Wagner. The attack was not successful.
• 1870 – The First Vatican Council declared the idea of papal infallibility, meaning the Pope cannot be wrong when speaking on matters of faith and morals.
• 1872 – The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom made it a rule that elections for Parliament and local government must be held by secret ballot. This meant people could vote without anyone knowing who they chose.

Recent History: 1901 to Today

• 1914 – The U.S. Congress created the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps. This was the first time aircraft were officially part of the U.S. Army.
• 1925 – Adolf Hitler published his book Mein Kampf.
• 1942 – During World War II, the Germans tested the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet plane using its jet engines for the first time.
• 1944 – Also during World War II, Hideki Tōjō resigned as Prime Minister of Japan because Japan was facing many difficulties in the war.
• 1966 – The Gemini 10 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy. It was a 70-hour mission that included connecting with another orbiting spacecraft.
• 1968 – Intel, a very important technology company, was founded in Mountain View, California.
• 1976 – Nadia Comăneci made history at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She became the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics.
• 1992 – The first ever photo was posted to the World Wide Web. It was a picture of a music group called Les Horribles Cernettes.
• 1994 – The AMIA bombing happened at the Argentine Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. This attack killed 85 people and injured 300.
• 1995 – The Soufrière Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat erupted. Over several years, it caused a lot of damage, destroying the capital city and forcing most people to leave the island.
• 1996 – Heavy storms caused severe flooding on the Saguenay River in Quebec, Canada. It became one of Quebec's most expensive natural disasters.
• 2013 – The city government of Detroit filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, with about $20 billion in debt.

Famous Birthdays on July 18

Born Before 1900

• 1501 – Isabella of Austria, who became the Queen of Denmark.
• 1552 – Rudolf II, a Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1634 – Johannes Camphuys, a Dutch politician who was a Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
• 1659 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, a famous French painter.
• 1720 – Gilbert White, an English expert on birds and nature.
• 1796 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, a German philosopher.
• 1811 – William Makepeace Thackeray, an English author and poet.
• 1821 – Pauline Viardot, a French opera singer and composer.
• 1837 – Vasil Levski, a Bulgarian priest and activist who fought for freedom.
• 1848 – W. G. Grace, a famous English cricketer and doctor.
• 1853 – Hendrik Lorentz, a Dutch physicist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1861 – Kadambini Ganguly, one of the first Indian women to earn a university degree and become a physician.
• 1867 – Margaret Brown, an American who was known for her charity work and activism.
• 1871 – Giacomo Balla, an Italian painter.
• 1887 – Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian military officer and politician.
• 1890 – Frank Forde, who became the 15th Prime Minister of Australia.
• 1892 – Arthur Friedenreich, a Brazilian footballer.

Born After 1900

• 1902 – Jessamyn West, an American author.
• 1908 – Harriet Nelson, an American singer and actress.
• 1909 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, the first President of Afghanistan.
• 1911 – Hume Cronyn, a Canadian-American actor and producer.
• 1913 – Red Skelton, a popular American actor and comedian.
• 1914 – Gino Bartali, a famous Italian cyclist.
• 1918 – Nelson Mandela, a South African lawyer and politician who became the first President of South Africa and won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1921 – John Glenn, an American astronaut and politician who was the first American to orbit Earth.
• 1922 – Thomas Kuhn, an American physicist and historian of science.
• 1925 – Shirley Strickland, an Australian runner and hurdler who won many Olympic medals.
• 1927 – Mehdi Hassan, a famous Pakistani singer.
• 1929 – Dick Button, an American former figure skater and actor.
• 1935 – Tenley Albright, an American former figure skater and physician.
• 1937 – Roald Hoffmann, a Polish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• 1937 – Hunter S. Thompson, an American journalist and author.
• 1938 – Paul Verhoeven, a Dutch director and producer.
• 1939 – Dion DiMucci, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1940 – James Brolin, an American actor.
• 1940 – Joe Torre, an American baseball player and manager.
• 1941 – Martha Reeves, an American singer.
• 1942 – Giacinto Facchetti, an Italian footballer.
• 1947 – Steve Forbes, an American publisher and politician.
• 1948 – Hartmut Michel, a German biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• 1949 – Dennis Lillee, an Australian cricketer.
• 1950 – Richard Branson, an English businessman who founded Virgin Group.
• 1951 – Margo Martindale, an American actress.
• 1954 – Ricky Skaggs, an American country music singer-songwriter.
• 1957 – Nick Faldo, an English golfer.
• 1961 – Elizabeth McGovern, an American actress.
• 1967 – Vin Diesel, an American actor and producer.
• 1969 – Elizabeth Gilbert, an American author.
• 1975 – M.I.A., an English rapper and producer.
• 1976 – Elsa Pataky, a Spanish actress.
• 1980 – Kristen Bell, an American actress.
• 1982 – Priyanka Chopra, an Indian actress, singer, and film producer.
• 1985 – Chace Crawford, an American actor.
• 1990 – Canelo Álvarez, a Mexican boxer.
• 1993 – Lee Tae-min, a South Korean singer and actor.
• 1997 – Noah Lyles, an American sprinter.

Notable Deaths on July 18

Died Before 1900

• 707 – Emperor Monmu of Japan.
• 912 – Zhu Wen, a Chinese emperor.
• 1100 – Godfrey of Bouillon, a Frankish knight and leader of the First Crusade.
• 1194 – Guy of Lusignan, who was king consort of Jerusalem.
• 1566 – Bartolomé de las Casas, a Spanish bishop and historian who defended the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas.
• 1591 – Jacobus Gallus, a Slovenian composer.
• 1610 – Caravaggio, a famous Italian painter.
• 1721 – Jean-Antoine Watteau, a French painter.
• 1792 – John Paul Jones, a Scottish-American admiral and diplomat, known for his naval battles during the American Revolutionary War.
• 1817 – Jane Austen, a famous English novelist who wrote books like Pride and Prejudice.
• 1863 – Robert Gould Shaw, an American colonel who led the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.
• 1872 – Benito Juárez, a Mexican lawyer and politician who served as the 26th President of Mexico.
• 1890 – Lydia Becker, an English journalist and activist who worked for women's right to vote.
• 1892 – Thomas Cook, an English travel agent who founded the Thomas Cook Group, one of the first travel agencies.

Died After 1900

• 1932 – Jean Jules Jusserand, a French author and diplomat.
• 1938 – Marie of Romania, who was Queen of Romania.
• 1954 – Machine Gun Kelly, an American gangster.
• 1968 – Corneille Heymans, a Belgian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1973 – Jack Hawkins, an English actor.
• 1988 – Nico, a German singer-songwriter and actress.
• 1989 – Rebecca Schaeffer, an American model and actress.
• 1990 – Yun Posun, the second President of South Korea.
• 2005 – William Westmoreland, an American general.
• 2009 – Henry Allingham, an English soldier who was one of the last surviving veterans of World War I.
• 2013 – Vaali, an Indian poet and songwriter.
• 2018 – Jonathan Gold, an American food critic.
• 2021 – Tom O'Connor, an English comedian.
• 2023 – Oommen Chandy, an Indian politician who was a former Chief Minister of Kerala.

Holidays and Observances

• Constitution Day (Uruguay)
• Nelson Mandela International Day

See also

In Spanish: 18 de julio para niños