Today In History – This Day In History Funny Events

Æthelred, was the king of Northumbria from 774 to 779 and again from 790 until he was murdered in 796. He was the son of Æthelwald Moll and Æthelthryth and possibly became king while still a child after Alhred was deposed.

King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.

Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland.

Arjona is a municipality in the province of Jaén, Andalusia, Spain. It is located 44 kilometres (27 mi) from the provincial capital, Jaén, and 77 kilometres (48 mi) from the city of Córdoba. It has an area of 158.45 square kilometres (61.18 sq mi), and as of 2017 it had a population of 5,662. It belongs to the comarca of Campiña. Its land area is primarily agricultural, with an emphasis on olive trees. Its economy relies primarily on agriculture and olive oil production, but it is also known for its furniture and baking industries. Arjona is known as the birthplace in 1194 of Muhammad I, founder of the Emirate of Granada.

The Spanish town of Arjona declares independence and names its native Muhammad ibn Yusuf as ruler. This marks the Muhammad's first rise to prominence; he would later establish the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state in Spain.

A cornerstone is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid.

Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.

Martin Luther was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Western and Christian history.

Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication.

Boston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It serves as a cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. Boston has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km2) and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the Northeastern United States after New York City and Philadelphia. The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area had a population of 4.9 million in 2023, making it the largest metropolitan area in New England and the eleventh-largest in the United States.

Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.

The Royal Academy of History is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of civilisation, and of the culture of the Spanish people". Spanish people in this regard are understood to be citizens of the Kingdom of Spain or the indigenous people of its predecessors, or their descendants. The academy was established by royal decree of Philip V of Spain on 18 April 1738. Its official publication is the Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia.

Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") is founded in Madrid.

The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a political movement in the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain and the United States which the colonies founded. The movement began as a rebellion demanding reform and evolved into a revolution resulting in a complete separation that entirely replaced the social and political order. These changes were the outcome of the associated American Revolutionary War and the consequential sovereign independence of the former colonies as the United States. The Second Continental Congress, as the provisional government, established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief in 1775. The following year, the Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July. Throughout most of the war, the outcome appeared uncertain. However, in 1781, a decisive victory by Washington and the Continental Army in the Siege of Yorktown led King George III and the Fox–North coalition in government to negotiate the cessation of colonial rule and the acknowledgment of American sovereignty, formalized in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The Constitution took effect in 1789 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.

American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.

The University of Alabama is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public universities in Alabama as well as the University of Alabama System. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, was an engagement in the Mexican–American War on April 18, 1847. The battle saw Winfield Scott's United States troops outflank Antonio López de Santa Anna's larger Mexican army, driving it from a strong defensive position.

American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.

The Spirits' Book is part of the Spiritist Codification, and is regarded as one of the five fundamental works on Spiritism. It was published by the French educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, under the pen name of Allan Kardec on April 18, 1857. It was the first and remains the most important Spiritist book, because it addresses in first hand all questions developed subsequently by Allan Kardec.

"The Spirits Book" by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France.

The Battle of Dybbøl was the key battle of the Second Schleswig War, fought between Denmark and Prussia. The battle was fought on the morning of 18 April 1864, following a siege that began on 2 April. Denmark suffered a severe defeat which – with the Prussian capture of the island of Als – ultimately decided the outcome of the war, forcing Danish cession of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.

The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 was fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Its immediate cause involved the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek-majority population had long desired union with Greece. Despite the Ottoman victory on the field, an autonomous Cretan State under Ottoman suzerainty was established the following year, with Prince George of Greece and Denmark as its first High Commissioner.

The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria.

The 1902 Guatemala earthquake occurred on April 18 at 8:23 pm with a moment magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The rupture was initiated at a depth of 25 km (16 mi) and the duration was 1 to 2 minutes.

The 7.5 Mw Guatemala earthquake shakes Guatemala with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing between 800-2,000.

An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California.

Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.

The Cunard Line is a British shipping company and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.

French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.

The original Yankee Stadium was located in the Bronx in New York City. It was the home of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 2008, except for 1974–1975 when it was renovated. It hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the home of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from October 21, 1956 through September 23, 1973. The stadium's nickname is "The House That Ruth Built" which is derived from Babe Ruth, the baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history.

Yankee Stadium: "The House that Ruth Built" opens.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.

Pierre Jean Marie Laval was a French politician. He served as Prime Minister of France three times: 1931–1932 and 1935–1936 during the Third Republic, and 1942–1944 during Vichy France. After the war, Laval was tried as a Nazi collaborator and executed for treason.

Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.

Operation Vengeance was the American military operation to kill Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 18 April 1943 during the Solomon Islands campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, was killed near Bougainville Island when his G4M1 transport aircraft was shot down by United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft operating from Kukum Field on Guadalcanal.

World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.

A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.

Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.

The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.

The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of its predecessor, the British Empire. They are connected through their use of the English language and their cultural and historical ties. Its chief institutions are the Commonwealth Secretariat, focusing on intergovernmental relations, and the Commonwealth Foundation, focusing on non-governmental relations between member nations. Additionally, numerous intergovernmental and civil organisations are officially recognised by the Secretariat.

Ireland leaves the British Commonwealth and becomes the Republic of Ireland.

USS United States (CVA-58) was to be the lead ship of a new design of aircraft carrier. On 29 July 1948, President Harry Truman approved construction of five "supercarriers", for which funds had been provided in the Naval Appropriations Act of 1949. The keel of the first of the five planned postwar carriers was laid down on 18 April 1949 at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. The program was canceled in 1949, United States was not completed, and the other four planned carriers were never built.

The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.

Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-reaching land reforms the following year. Following a 1954 assassination attempt by a Muslim Brotherhood member, he cracked down on the organization, put President Mohamed Naguib under house arrest and assumed executive office. He was formally elected president in June 1956.

Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.

Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the western highland of Java island, it has one of the coolest climates compared to other provincial capitals in Indonesia, situated 708 meters above sea level, approximately 135 kilometres southeast of Jakarta. Bandung lies in a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains that provide a natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the capital from Batavia to Bandung.

Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.

Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare, and the second largest is Bulawayo.

The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency.

A suicide attack is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators intentionally end their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is often associated with terrorism or war. When the attackers are labelled as terrorists, the attacks are sometimes referred to as an act of suicide terrorism. Military use of suicide is not directly regulated by international law, but suicide attacks sometimes violate prohibitions against perfidy or targeting civilians. Suicide attacks have occurred in various contexts, ranging from military campaigns—such as the Japanese kamikaze pilots during World War II (1944–1945)—to more contemporary Islamic terrorist campaigns—including the September 11 attacks in 2001. Suicide attacks have been used by a wide range of political ideologies, from far-right to far-left.

A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.

Operation Praying Mantis was the 18 April 1988 attack by the United States on Iranian naval targets in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a U.S. warship four days earlier. It took place during the US presidency of Ronald Reagan and the rule of Supreme Leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini.

The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.

Abdul Rashid Dostum is an Afghan exiled politician, former military officer and warlord. He is the founder and leader of the Junbish-e Milli political party, and was a senior army officer in the military of the former Afghan socialist government during the Soviet–Afghan War, initially part of the Afghan Commando Forces. In 2001, Dostum became a key indigenous ally to the U.S. Special Forces and the CIA during the campaign to topple the Taliban government. He is one of the most powerful warlords since the beginning of the Afghan conflict, infamous for being an opportunist and siding with winners during Afghanistan's several civil wars. Dostum was also referred to as a kingmaker due to his significant role in Afghan politics.

General Abdul Rashid Dostum revolts against President Mohammad Najibullah of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and allies with Ahmad Shah Massoud to capture Kabul.

The Qana massacre took place on April 18, 1996, near Qana, a village in then Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon, when the Israeli military fired artillery shells at a United Nations compound, which was sheltering around 800 Lebanese civilians, killing 106 and injuring around 116. Four Fijian United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers were also seriously injured.

In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the United Nations compound at Quana where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.

The 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings were a series of attacks that occurred when five car bombs exploded across Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq, on 18 April 2007, killing nearly 200 people.

A series of bombings, two of them being suicides, occur in Baghdad, killing 198 and injuring 251.

On 18 April 2013, a suicide bombing in a Baghdad cafe killed 27 people and injured another 65. A suicide bomber set off his explosive belt inside the cafe on the evening of 18 April 2013. The establishment was packed with young people enjoying water pipes and playing pool.

A suicide bombing in a Baghdad cafe kills 27 people and injures another 65.