May 18

May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 227 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 332 – Constantine the Great announced free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
• 1152 – Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine.
• 1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch.
• 1302 – Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia.
• 1499 – Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cadiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
• 1565 – The 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, Quebec.
• 1783 – First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John), New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States.
• 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.
• 1811 – Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by Jose Artigas.
• 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 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional.
• 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.
• 1912 – The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne is released in Mumbai.
• 1917 – World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
• 1926 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a Venice, California beach.
• 1927 – The Bath School Disaster: forty-five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
• 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.
• 1933 – New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
• 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.
• 1956 – First ascent of Lhotse 8,516 meters, by a Swiss team.
• 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.
• 1965 – Israeli spy Eli Cohen was 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.
• 1974 – Completion of the Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built at the time. It collapsed on August 8, 1991.
• 1980 – 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens: 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 – EU - 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.
• 1995 – Shawn Nelson, 35, steals a tank from a National Guard Armory in San Diego, destroying cars and other property and is shot to death by police after immobilizing the tank.
• 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 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
• 2011 – 22 people are killed when Sol Líneas Aéreas Flight 5428 crashes in southern Argentina.

Births

• 1048 – Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (d. 1131)
• 1186 – Konstantin of Rostov, Grand Prince of Vladimir (d. 1218)
• 1474 – Isabella d'Este, Italian wife of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua (d. 1539)
• 1610 – Stefano della Bella, Italian engraver (d. 1664)
• 1662 – George Smalridge, English bishop (d. 1719)
• 1692 – Joseph Butler, English bishop, theologian, and apologist (d. 1752)
• 1711 – Ruđer Bošković, Serbian physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1787)
• 1777 – John George Children, English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (d. 1852)
• 1778 – Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish soldier and diplomat (d. 1854)
• 1785 – John Wilson, Scottish author and critic (d. 1854)
• 1797 – Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, King of Saxony (d. 1854)
• 1850 – Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1925)
• 1851 – James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (d. 1908)
• 1852 – Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (d. 1934)
• 1854 – Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (d. 1924)
• 1855 – Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (d. 1931)
• 1862 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1948)
• 1868 – Nicholas II of Russia, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (d. 1918)
• 1872 – Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, English mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
• 1873 – Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (d. 1937)
• 1876 – Hermann Müller, German politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1931)
• 1878 – Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (d. 1977)
• 1882 – Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (d. 1968)
• 1883 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (d. 1974)
• 1883 – Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (d. 1969)
• 1887 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1946)
• 1889 – Thomas Midgley, Jr., American chemist and engineer (d. 1944)
• 1891 – Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher (d. 1970)
• 1892 – Ezio Pinza, Italian-American opera singer (d. 1957)
• 1895 – Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (d. 1934)
• 1897 – Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
• 1901 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (d. 1984)
• 1904 – Shunryu Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (d. 1971)
• 1904 – Jacob K. Javits, American politician, 58th New York State Attorney General (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer (d. 1943)
• 1907 – Irene Hunt, American author (d. 2001)
• 1907 – Lincoln Stedman, American actor (d. 1948)
• 1909 – Fred Perry, English tennis player (d. 1995)
• 1911 – Big Joe Turner, American singer (d. 1985)
• 1912 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
• 1912 – Perry Como, American singer and actor (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Walter Sisulu, South African politician (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English activist (d. 2000)
• 1913 – Mary Howard de Liagre, American actress (d. 2009)
• 1913 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer (d. 1982)
• 1914 – Robert J. Wilke, American actor (d. 1989)
• 1917 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (d. 1973)
• 1918 – Massimo Girotti, Italian actor (d. 2003)
• 1919 – Margot Fonteyn, English ballerina (d. 1991)
• 1920 – Pope John Paul II (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Lucia Mannucci, Italian singer and actress (Quartetto Cetra) (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian psychologist (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Bill Macy, American actor
• 1922 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (d. 1983)
• 1923 – Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
• 1923 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Priscilla Pointer, American actress
• 1924 – Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster
• 1925 – Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
• 1926 – Dirch Passer, Danish actor, singer, and producer (d. 1980)
• 1928 – Pernell Roberts, American actor and singer (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Jack Sanford, American baseball player (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Warren Rudman, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Fred Saberhagen, American author (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
• 1931 – Robert Morse, American actor and singer
• 1931 – Clément Vincent, Canadian politician
• 1933 – Bernadette Chirac, French politician
• 1933 – H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian politician, 11th Prime Minister of India
• 1933 – Don Whillans, English mountaineer (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director
• 1936 – Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Rita Cadillac, French dancer, singer, and actress (d. 1995)
• 1937 – Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1937 – Jacques Santer, Luxembourger politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg
• 1938 – Joan Blackman, American actress
• 1939 – Silvana Armenulić, Bosnian singer and actress
• 1939 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian judge (d. 1992)
• 1939 – Gordon O'Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Minister of Defence for Canada
• 1940 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
• 1940 – Eddy Palchak, Canadian ice hockey trainer and manager (d. 2011)
• 1941 – Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler
• 1941 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, Purple Hearts, Wild Cherries, and Rose Tattoo) (d. 2007)
• 1941 – Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress
• 1942 – Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager
• 1943 – Jimmy Snuka, Fijian-American wrestler and actor
• 1944 – Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Family Dogg)
• 1944 – W. G. Sebald, German author and academic (d. 2001)
• 1944 – Ernie Winchester, Scottish footballer (d. 2013)
• 1946 – Bruce Gilbert, English guitarist (Wire and Dome)
• 1946 – Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China
• 1946 – Reggie Jackson, American baseball player, sportscaster, and actor
• 1946 – Andreas Katsulas, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1946 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (d. 2013)
• 1947 – John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland
• 1947 – Gail Strickland, American actress
• 1948 – Yi Munyol, South Korean author
• 1948 – Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General
• 1949 – Rick Wakeman, English keyboard player and songwriter (Yes, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, and Warhorse)
• 1949 – Bill Wallace, Canadian bass player (The Guess Who and Brother)
• 1950 – Thomas Gottschalk, German television host
• 1950 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter (Devo)
• 1951 – Jim Sundberg, American baseball player
• 1951 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (d. 2013)
• 1952 – Diane Duane, American author
• 1952 – George Strait, American singer, guitarist, producer, and actor
• 1952 – Jeana Yeager, American pilot
• 1954 – Reinhold Heil, German-American pianist and composer (Spliff)
• 1954 – Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
• 1955 – Lena T. Hansson, Swedish actress
• 1955 – Peeter Vähi, Estonian composer
• 1956 – Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter
• 1957 – Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer (Moti Special, Enigma)
• 1958 – Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach
• 1958 – Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (Toyah, The Humans, and Sunday All Over the World)
• 1959 – Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1960 – Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1960 – Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1960 – Yannick Noah, French tennis player and singer
• 1960 – Mal Pope, Welsh musician and composer
• 1961 – Jim Bowden, American sportscaster
• 1962 – Sandra, German singer (Arabesque and Enigma)
• 1962 – Mike Darnell, American businessman
• 1962 – Nanne Grönvall, Swedish singer-songwriter (One More Time)
• 1962 – Olga Volozhinskaya, Russian ice dancer and choreographer
• 1962 – Mike Whitmarsh, American volleyball player (d. 2009)
• 1963 – Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and actor
• 1963 – Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach
• 1964 – Ignasi Guardans, Spanish politician
• 1964 – Mitchell Guist, American hunter (d. 2012)
• 1965 – Ingo Schwichtenberg, German drummer (Helloween) (d. 1995)
• 1966 – Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer (DC Talk, Tait, and Newsboys)
• 1967 – Rob Base, American rapper (Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock)
• 1967 – Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author
• 1967 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver
• 1967 – Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films
• 1968 – Shelley Lubben, American porn actress and author
• 1968 – Sergei Martynov, Belarusian target shooter
• 1969 – Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1969 – Holly Aird, English actress
• 1970 – Tina Fey, American actress, screenwriter, and producer
• 1970 – Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
• 1970 – Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (A Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide)
• 1971 – Brad Friedel, American soccer player
• 1971 – Desiree Horton, American pilot and journalist
• 1971 – Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver
• 1972 – Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1973 – Brian Heffron, American wrestler and actor
• 1973 – Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach
• 1973 – Chantal Kreviazuk, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1973 – Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (d. 2011)
• 1974 – Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player
• 1974 – Valmo Kriisa, Estonian basketball player
• 1975 – John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
• 1975 – Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1976 – Ron Mercer, American basketball player
• 1976 – Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer
• 1976 – Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Lee Hendrie, English footballer
• 1977 – Danny Mills, English footballer
• 1978 – Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
• 1978 – Jessica Cutler, American blogger and author
• 1978 – Chad Donella, Canadian actor
• 1978 – Marcus Giles, American baseball player
• 1979 – Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft
• 1979 – Anna Chatziathanassiou, Greek figure skater
• 1979 – Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
• 1979 – Michal Martikán, Slovak canoe racer
• 1979 – David Nail, American singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer
• 1979 – Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer
• 1980 – Aileen Campbell, Scottish politician
• 1980 – Reggie Evans, American basketball player
• 1980 – Michaël Llodra, French tennis player
• 1980 – Matt Long, American actor
• 1980 – Jeff Roehl, American football player
• 1980 – Felicia Pearson, American actress, singer, and author
• 1980 – Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
• 1980 – Ali Zafar, Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, and director
• 1981 – Mahamadou Diarra, Malian footballer
• 1982 – Jason Brown, English footballer
• 1982 – Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player
• 1983 – Gary O'Neil, English footballer
• 1983 – Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
• 1983 – Vince Young, American football player
• 1984 – Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1984 – Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player
• 1984 – Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist
• 1985 – Francesca Battistelli, American singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Dalma Kovács, Romanian singer and actress
• 1985 – Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer
• 1986 – Ahmed Hamada, Egyptian race car driver
• 1986 – Ryan Lamb, English rugby player
• 1986 – Katya Shchekina, Russian model
• 1987 – Luisana Lopilato, Argentinian actress and singer
• 1988 – Taeyang, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (Big Bang)
• 1988 – Ryan Cooley, Canadian actor
• 1988 – Kōji Seto, Japanese actor and singer
• 1988 – Tanner Wayne, American drummer (Underminded, Chiodos, and Scary Kids Scaring Kids)
• 1990 – Heo Ga-yoon, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (4minute and 2YOON)
• 1990 – Luke Kleintank, American actor
• 1990 – Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer
• 1992 – Spencer Breslin, American actor and singer
• 1993 – Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1993 – Jessica Watson, Australian sailor
• 1999 – Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 526 – Pope John I (b. 470)
• 1401 – Vladislaus II of Opole (b. 1332)
• 1550 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (b. 1498)
• 1551 – Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter (b. 1486)
• 1584 – Ikeda Motosuke, Japanese commander (b. 1559)
• 1675 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, theologian, and historian (b. 1623)
• 1675 – Jacques Marquette, French-American missionary and explorer (b. 1637)
• 1692 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (b. 1617)
• 1733 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (b. 1761)
• 1780 – Charles Hardy, English-American admiral and politician, 29th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1714)
• 1781 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian-Indian rebel leader (b. 1742)
• 1795 – Robert Rogers, French soldier (b. 1731)
• 1799 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright (b. 1732)
• 1800 – Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (b. 1729)
• 1807 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (b. 1721)
• 1808 – Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (b. 1738)
• 1829 – Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony (b. 1803)
• 1844 – Richard McCarty, American politician (b. 1780)
• 1853 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Baltic German/French chess player (b. 1806)
• 1889 – Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (b. 1823)
• 1900 – Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (b. 1813)
• 1908 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1823)
• 1909 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1860)
• 1909 – George Meredith, English author and poet (b. 1828)
• 1910 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author (b. 1841)
• 1910 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (b. 1821)
• 1911 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (b. 1860)
• 1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
• 1927 – Andrew Kehoe, American educator and murderer, committed the Bath School disaster (b. 1872)
• 1941 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
• 1943 – Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (b. 1883)
• 1947 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
• 1955 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (b. 1875)
• 1956 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
• 1958 – Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (b. 1881)
• 1963 – Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1939)
• 1967 – Andy Clyde, Scottish-American actor (b. 1892)
• 1971 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (b. 1908)
• 1973 – Jeannette Rankin, American politician (b. 1880)
• 1975 – Leroy Anderson, American composer (b. 1908)
• 1980 – Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption:
  • Reid Blackburn, American photographer and journalist (b. 1952)
  • David A. Johnston, American volcanologist (b. 1949)
  • Harry Randall Truman, American owner and caretaker of Mount St. Helens Lodge (b. 1896)
• 1980 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (Joy Division) (b. 1956)
• 1981 – Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1981 – William Saroyan, American author and playwright (b. 1908)
• 1988 – Daws Butler, American voice actor (b. 1916)
• 1989 – Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (b. 1921)
• 1990 – Jill Ireland, English-American actress (b. 1936)
• 1992 – Skip Stephenson, American comedian and actor (b. 1940)
• 1992 – Marshall Thompson, American actor and director (b. 1925)
• 1995 – Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (b. 1903)
• 1995 – Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
• 1995 – Brinsley Le Poer Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist (b. 1911)
• 1995 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b. 1933)
• 1997 – Bridgette Andersen, American actress (b. 1975)
• 1999 – Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1954)
• 1999 – Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
• 2000 – Muhammad Yusuf Ludhianvi, Indian-Pakistani scholar (b. 1932)
• 2000 – Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer (b. 1946)
• 2001 – Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (b. 1907)
• 2002 – Davey Boy Smith, English wrestler (b. 1962)
• 2003 – Anna Santisteban, Puerto Rican businesswoman (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Barb Tarbox, Canadian activist (b. 1961)
• 2004 – Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1927)
• 2004 – Serge Turgeon, Canadian actor and union leader (b. 1946)
• 2006 – Andrew Martinez, American activist (b. 1972)
• 2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
• 2007 – Yoyoy Villame, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1932)
• 2008 – Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (b. 1911)
• 2009 – Dolla, American rapper (b. 1987)
• 2009 – Wayne Allwine, American voice actor and sound editor (b. 1947)
• 2009 – Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1954)
• 2012 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Jai Gurudev, Indian religious leader (b. 1895)
• 2012 – Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer (Crowded House and Deadstar) (b. 1967)
• 2012 – Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Paul O'Sullivan, Canadian actor and educator (b. 1964)
• 2013 – Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
• 2013 – Jo Benkow, Norwegian politician (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Mario Bichón, Chilean politician (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Neil Chrisley, American baseball player (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Nam Duck-woo, South Korean politician, 12th Prime Minister of South Korea (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Zahra Shahid Hussain, Pakistani politician (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Ernst Klee, German journalist and author (b. 1942)
• 2013 – David McMillan, American football player (b. 1981)
• 2013 – Newton Russell, American politician (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Claramae Turner, American opera singer and actress (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

• Battle of Las Piedras Day (Uruguay)
• Christian feast day:
  • Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
  • Eric IX of Sweden
  • Felix of Cantalice
  • Pope John I
  • Venantius of Camerino
  • May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Flag and Universities Day (Haiti)
• Independence Day (Somaliland (unrecognized))
• International Museum Day (International)
• Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day (Turkmenistan)
• World AIDS Vaccine Day (International)
• Baltic Fleet Day (Russia)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to May 18.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada