1918 CE
The Spanish flu pandemic begins, killing an estimated 50 million worldwide; The Armistice of 11 November 1918 ends fighting on the Western Front and concludes World War I; The Dissolution of Austria-Hungary leads to new states such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria, and Hungary; The German Revolution of 1918–1919 forces Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate and creates the Weimar Republic; The Hundred Days Offensive breaks German lines and collapses military resistance; The Murder of the Romanov family ends the Russian imperial dynasty.
In the 1910s, the 20th century.
1918 at a glance
- World population
- about 1.87 billion Our World in Data
- U.S. president
- Woodrow Wilson Wikidata
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, head of state
- George V Wikidata
- Canada, head of government
- Robert Borden Wikidata
- $1 in 1918
- $22.40 in September 2026 dollars BLS CPI-U
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- January 4 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Soviet Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.source
- January 8 – American president Woodrow Wilson presents the Fourteen Points as a basis for peace negotiations to end the war.source
- February 6 – Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom: Representation of the People Act gives most women over 30 the vote.source
- March 3 – WWI: The Central Powers and Bolshevist Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending Russia's involvement in the war.source
- 3 March – Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Bolshevist Russia cedes sovereignty over Estonia to Germany.Estoniasource
- March 19 – The United States Congress establishes time zones, and approves daylight saving time (DST goes into effect on March 31).source
- April 9 – Union of Bessarabia with Romania: Bessarabia votes to become part of the Kingdom of Romania.source
- April 22 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia declare their independence from Russia as the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.source
- 7 May – The Treaty of Bucharest is signed with the Central Powers following the stalemate reached after the campaign of 1917.Romaniasource
- May 24 – Women in Canada, excluding residents of Quebec, are granted the right to vote in federal elections.source
- May 26 – The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic is abolished; Georgia declares its independence as the Democratic Republic of Georgia.source
- May 28 – Armenia and Azerbaijan declare their independence as the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic respectively.source
- June 4 - The First Republic of Armenia signed its first treaty, the Treaty of Batum. The other signatories are the Ottoman Empire, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Georgia.Armeniasource
- 6 June: Akashi Motojiro was promoted to general and appointed by Prime Minister Terauchi as the Governor-General of Taiwan.Taiwansource
- October 3 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany appoints Max von Baden Chancellor of Germany.source
- October 3 – King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria abdicates in the wake of the Bulgarian military collapse in WWI. He is succeeded by his son, Boris III.source
- October 4 – Wilhelm II of Germany forms a new, liberal government to sue for peace.source
- 9 October – Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse is elected King of Finland.Finlandsource
- October 28 – Czechoslovakia declares its independence from Austria-Hungary.source
- November 1 – The Polish–Ukrainian War is inaugurated, by the proclamation of the West Ukrainian People's Republic in Galicia, with a capital at Lwów.source
- November 9 – Proclamation of the republic in Germany by Philipp Scheidemann in Berlin, on the Reichstag balcony. One of several significant events on 9 November in German history.source
- November 9 – Provisional National Council Minister-President Kurt Eisner declares Bavaria to be a republic.source
- November 11 – Poland regains independence, after 123 years of partitions. Józef Piłsudski is appointed Commander-in-Chief.source
- November 14 – Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, announces he is ceasing to rule Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, leading to the establishment of the Free State of Coburg and the Free State of Saxe-Gotha.source
- November 16 – The Hungarian Democratic Republic is declared, marking Hungary's independence from Austria.source
- November 25 – Serbs of Vojvodina declare for Serbia at Újvidék (now Novi Sad)Hungarysource
- November 26 – The Podgorica Assembly ('Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro') votes for a "union of the people" between the kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia and for deposition of the exiled King Nicholas I of Montenegro.source
- December 1 – The Union of Alba Iulia is proclaimed: Following the March 27 incorporation of Bessarabia and Bucovina, Transylvania unites with the Kingdom of Romania.source
- December 4 – President Woodrow Wilson departs by ship to the Paris Peace Conference, becoming the first United States President to travel to Europe while holding office.source
- December 16 – Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas declares the formation of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, a puppet state created by the Russian SFSR to justify the Lithuanian–Soviet War.source
- 21 December – Carlos Meléndez Ramírez resigned as President and was succeeded by Alfonso Quiñónez Molina as Acting President.El Salvadorsource
- December 25 – Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten, is formed in Germany as a nationalist veterans' organization.source
- Hussein al-Husayni, Palestinian politician who served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1909 to 1917.British-administered Palestinesource
Conflict & Security
- January 5 – Lloyd George claims the dissolution of Austria-Hungary is not their war aimHungarysource
- February 3 – Finnish Civil War: Battle of Oulu – The White Guard defeats the Reds.source
- February 19–25 – WWI: The Imperial Russian Navy evacuates Tallinn through thick ice, over the Gulf of Finland.source
- 15 March – Finnish Civil War: The Battle of Tampere begins, continuing until 6 April.Finlandsource
- March 21–July 18 – WWI: The Spring Offensive by the German Army along the Western Front fails to make a breakthrough, despite large losses on each side, including nearly 20,000 British Army dead on the first day, Operation Michael, on the Somme.source
- March 23 – WWI: The giant German cannon, the 'Paris Gun' (Kaiser Wilhelm Geschütz), begins to shell Paris from 114 km away.source
- March 30 – March Days: Bolshevik and Armenian Revolutionary Federation forces suppress a Muslim revolt in Baku, Azerbaijan, resulting in up to 30,000 deaths.source
- April 30 – WWI: The Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt, launched by units of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, ends on 4 May, with their withdrawal back to the Jordan Valley.source
- May 14 – The Three Minute Pause, initiated by the daily firing of the Noon Gun on Signal Hill, is instituted by Cape Town Mayor Sir Harry Hands. It will inspire the introduction of the two-minute silence in November 1919.source
- May 21–29 - The Ottoman World War I defeat at the Battle of Sardarabad is seen as saving the Armenian nation from destruction.Armeniasource
- June 10 – WWI: The Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship SMS Szent István is sunk by two Italian MAS motor torpedo boats off the Dalmatian coast.source
- June – First meeting between the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann and the son of the Sharif of Mecca Hashemite Prince Faisal, who led the Arab forces in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, which takes place in Faisal's headquarters in Aqaba in an attempt to establish favourable relations between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.British-administered Palestinesource
- July 3 – Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War: The Siberian Intervention is launched by the Allies, to extract the Czechoslovak Legion from the Russian Civil War.source
- August 8 – WWI: Battle of Amiens – British, Canadian and Australian troops begin a string of almost continuous victories, the 'Hundred Days Offensive', with an 8-mile push through the German front lines, taking 12,000 prisoners. German General Erich Ludendorff later calls this the "black day of the German Army".source
- August 16 – The Battle of Lake Baikal is fought by the Czechoslovak legion, against the Red Army.source
- August 27 – Battle of Ambos NogalesMexicosource
- September 3 – The Bolshevik government of Russia publishes the first official announcement of the Red Terror, a period of repression against political opponents, as an "Appeal to the Working Class" in the newspaper Izvestia.source
- September 18 – WWI: Battle of Épehy – British approach the Hindenburg Line along the St Quentin Canal.source
- September 19 – The British Army's Egyptian Expeditionary Force launches the Battle of Megiddo, incorporating the Battle of Sharon, and the Battle of Nablus, an attack in the Judaean Mountains. This day are fought the Battle of Tulkarm, and the Battle of Arara, which break the Ottoman front line stretching from the Mediterranean coast to the Judaean Mountains, while the Battle of Tabsor extends into September 20.source
- September 26 – The Capture of Damascus begins, with the Charge at Irbid by the 4th Cavalry Division (India).source
- September 29 – Battle of St Quentin Canal begins; Allied forces advance towards the Hindenburg Line.source
- October 30 – The Armistice of Mudros ends conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I, and grants independence to the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen.source
- October 31 – Revolution overthrows the pro-Habsburg government in Hungary, effectively dissolving the Austro-Hungarian Empire.source
- November 3 – WWI: The Armistice of Villa Giusti is signed between Austria-Hungary and the Allies near Padua.source
- November 3 – German Revolution: Kiel mutiny by sailors in the German fleet at Kiel while throughout northern Germany soldiers and workers begin to establish revolutionary councils on the Russian soviet model.source
- November 3 – Armistice of Villa Giusti ends warfare between Italy and Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front during World War I. The armistice was signed in the Villa Giusti, outside of Padua in the Veneto, northern Italy, and was to take effect 24 hours later. The occupation of all Tyrol, including Innsbruck, was completed in the following days.Italysource
- November 11 – End of WWI: Armistice of 11 November 1918 – Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies, between 5:12 AM and 5:20 AM, in the "Compiègne Wagon", Marshal Foch's railroad car, in the Forest of Compiègne in France. It becomes official on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. At 10:59 U.S. soldier Henry Gunther becomes (probably) the last killed in action.source
- November 11 – World War I ends: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiègne in France.Japansource
- November 20 – U-boats start to rendezvous off Harwich, to begin the surrender of the High Seas Fleet to the British Royal Navy; in the following week the German warships are escorted to internment in Scapa Flow.source
- November 21 – Lwów pogrom: Polish troops, volunteers and freed criminals massacre at least 320 Ukrainian Christians and Jews in Lwów, Galicia.source
- November 22 – The Belgian royal family returns to Brussels after the war, King Albert I having commanded the Allied army group in the September–October Courtrai offensive, which liberated his country.source
- 22 November – Estonia was invaded by Bolshevist Russian forces. Beginning of Estonian War of Independence.Estoniasource
- November 25 – General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German commander in German East Africa, signs a ceasefire at Abercorn in Northern Rhodesia.source
- November 28 – Estonian War of Independence: The Red Army invades Estonia, starting the war. The Commune of the Working People of Estonia is established as a Soviet puppet state in Narva on the next day.source
- 7 December – Brașov is occupied by the Romanian Army.Romaniasource
- December 27 – Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19): Poles in Greater Poland (the former Grand Duchy of Posen) rise up against the Germans, ignited by a patriotic speech made in Poznań by pianist and politician Ignacy Jan Paderewski.source
Exploration & Expansion
- 2 February – Cape – Kootjieskolk to Calvinia, 43 mi 47 ch.South Africasource
- 17 February - beginning of the Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet, transferring Russian ships from Reval and Helsingfors to KronstadtRussiasource
- March 6 – The Finnish Army Corps of Aviation is founded as a forerunner of the Finnish Air Force (established on 4 May 1928). The blue swastika is adopted as its symbol, as a tribute to the Swedish explorer and aviator Eric von Rosen, who donated the first plane. Von Rosen had painted the Viking symbol on the plane as his personal lucky insignia.source
- 6 March – The Finnish Army Corps of Aviation, a forerunner of the Finnish Air Force, is founded. The blue swastika, Viking in origin, is adopted as its symbol, in tribute to the Swedish explorer and aviator Eric von Rosen, who donated the first plane.Finlandsource
- 14 April – The Zionist Commission arrives in Palestine.British-administered Palestinesource
- September 20–21 – István Tisza visits SarajevoHungarysource
- 10 December – Royal Australian Navy ships sail to the Black Sea to assist the White Army in the Russian Civil War.Australiasource
- December 21 – French foreign minister Stephen Pichon approves the new demarcation line between the Hungarian and Czechoslovak forces, forwarded to VixHungarysource
- W. H. Davies – A Poet's PilgrimageWalessource
Religion & Belief
- February 16 – The Council of Lithuania adopts the Act of Independence of Lithuania, declaring Lithuania's independence from Germany, Russia or any other state.source
- 26 February – Otto Jensen, bishop, politician and Minister (born 1856)Norwaysource
- 8 May – First Muslim-Christian Association meets in Jaffa.British-administered Palestinesource
- 18 November - Admiral Alexander Kolchak seizes power from the Ufa Directory which moved to Omsk month before. The council of ministers appointed him to the post of the Supreme Ruler of Russia (chosen to avoid the words "president" and "regent", believing that the form of government will be determined by the Constituent Assembly after the end of the civil war)Russiasource
- December 1 – A council of Transylvanian Romanians declare union 26 counties of the Kingdom of Hungary until the Tisza river with Romania in Gyulafehérvár (now Alba Iulia)Hungarysource
- Oct 15 - Shirdi Sai Baba's deathIndiasource
- Monarch – Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946)Italysource
- New Zealand Trotting Cup – Author DillonNew Zealandsource
- The Native American Church is formally founded.United Statessource
Economy & Finance
- May 2 – General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.source
- May – English industrialist William Lever, Baron Leverhulme, buys the Isle of Lewis.Scotlandsource
- July – September – Rice riots: a series of popular disturbances erupt throughout Japan over the precipitous rise in the price of rice causing extreme economic hardship, particularly in rural areas where rice was the main staple of life.Japansource
- November 4 – Jiu Valley National Council established in Petrozsény (now Petroșani)Hungarysource
- November 25 – Austrian-Hungarian trade agreement: Hungary provides cereals and animals in exchange for paper, medicine and industrial productsHungarysource
- Resona Holdings, as predecessor name was Osaka Nomura Bank (大阪野村銀行).Japansource
- Tokyu Land (東急不動産), as predecessor name was Denen Toshi Developer.Japansource
- Hans Mustad, businessperson (born 1837)Norwaysource
- Autumn – Edward Thomas John (Liberal MP for East Denbighshire) defects to the Labour Party.Walessource
Technology & Infrastructure
- January 15 – The keel of HMS Hermes is laid in Britain, the first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be laid down.source
- Date unknown - Arthur Scherbius applies to patent the Enigma machine.Germanysource
- March 6 – The first pilotless drone, the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane developed by Elmer Ambrose Sperry and Peter Cooper Hewitt, is test-flown in Long Island, New York, but development is scrapped in 1925, after its guidance system proves unreliable.source
- April 1 – The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in Britain are merged to form the Royal Air Force, the first autonomous Air Force in the world.source
- May 15 – The United States Post Office Department begins the world's third regular airmail service, between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.source
- 15 May – World War I: Imperial German Navy submarine SM U-90 shells the Royal Navy wireless station on Hirta in St Kilda.Scotlandsource
- May 15 – The United States Post Office Department (later renamed the United States Postal Service) begins the first regular airmail service in the world (between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC).United Statessource
- May 21 – The United States Army Aviation Section is separated from the Signal Corps, and divided into the Division of Military Aeronautics and the Bureau of Aircraft Production.source
- June 29 – Bronx International Exposition of Science, Arts and Industries opens in New York; Brazil is the only international exhibitor and the exposition closes at the end of the season.source
- 6 October – Australia's first electric train service begins, between Newmarket and Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.Australiasource
- November 30 – Ernest Ansermet conducts the first concert by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.source
- December 13 – The Canadian Corps parades across bridges over the Rhine, the 1st Division at South Bridge (Cologne) and the 2nd Division at Bonn. The Canadians participate in the Occupation of the Rhineland until gradually withdrawn starting in January 1919.Canadasource
- Panasonic (パナソニック), as predecessor name was Matsushita Electronics Work Manufacturing.Japansource
- Eight Class MJ1 branchline 2-6-6-0 Mallet articulated compound steam locomotives.South Africasource
- Baseball – First records of the Grange Gasworks Ladies team playing in Cardiff.Walessource
Science & Discovery
- January 12 – Galileo Circle is bannedHungarysource
- 11 February – American Dreadnought battleship USS Texas joins the British Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow.Scotlandsource
- 11 March - Communist government moves from Petrograd to MoscowRussiasource
- June 8 – V603 Aquilae, the brightest nova observed since Kepler's of 1604, is discovered.source
- June 8 – The total solar eclipse of June 8, 1918 crosses the United States from Washington State to Florida.United Statessource
- June - The Brazilian battleship São Paulo is sent to the USA for a full refit.Brazilsource
- July 14 – The film The Glorious Adventure is released in the United States, featuring Mammy Lou, who becomes one of the oldest people ever to star in a film, at a claimed age of 114.source
- 12 November – Night Watch wins the Melbourne Cup.Australiasource
- Citizen Watch (シチズン時計), as predecessor name was Shōkōsha Watch Institute Research.Japansource
- Auckland Trotting Cup – Harold JuniorNew Zealandsource
Health & Medicine
- January – 1918 flu pandemic: The "Spanish flu" (influenza) is first observed in Haskell County, Kansas.source
- March 4 – A soldier at Camp Funston, Kansas falls sick with the first confirmed case of the Spanish flu.United Statessource
- March 23 – In London at the Wood Green Empire, Chung Ling Soo (William E. Robinson, U.S.-born magician) dies during his trick, where he is supposed to "catch" two separate bullets (but one of them perforates his lung). He dies the following morning in a hospital.source
- April 23 – Conscription Crisis of 1918 in Ireland: A general strike is held here against conscription.source
- June 1 – First report of Spanish flu in Budapest newspapersHungarysource
- June–August – The "Spanish flu" becomes pandemic. Over 30 million people die in the following 6 months.source
- August 3 – WWI: Australian hospital ship HMAT Warilda is torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel on passage from Le Havre to Southampton by German submarine SMU UC-49 with the loss of 123 of the 801 people on board.source
- 12 October: Troop ship RMS Niagara returns, carrying a number of people ill with influenza. It is not quarantined. William Massey and Joseph Ward are aboard. Although later cited as the cause of the Spanish flu epidemic, 6 persons had already died in the 3 days preceding its arrival.New Zealandsource
- 15 November - President-elect Rodrigues Alves, suffering from influenza, is unable to take office on the scheduled date, and is replaced by Vice President Delfim Moreira.Brazilsource
- December – The beginning of the 1918 flu pandemic which lasts into the following year and kills about 10,000 people in Wales.Walessource
- Due to World War I and the Spanish flu the Italian population declined by 612,937 peopleItalysource
- An estimated 50 people die in the 1918 flu pandemic in South Africa, the fifth hardest hit country in the world.South Africasource
- The forced registration and medical examination system of prostitutes is abolished. The Svenska Federationen, having reached its goal, is therefore dissolved.Swedensource
Crime & Justice
- 1 February - USDP representatives in Bavaria, including Kurt Eisner, are arrested for their involvement in the Januarstreik.Germanysource
- 14 March – Eva Andén is elected the first female member of the Swedish Bar Association.Swedensource
- March 25 – Karl Muck, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is arrested under the Alien Enemies Act, and imprisoned for the duration of WWI.source
- April 21 – Canadian Captain Roy Brown (209 Squadron, RAF) supposedly shoots down the famed Red Baron. More accepted theories credit either Sergeant Cedric Popkin (Australian 24th Machine Gun Company), Gunner Snowy Evans or Gunner Robert Buie (both of 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade, RAA) with the kill.Canadasource
- May 23 – First victims of the "axeman of New Orleans" in a 17-month series of brutal murders mainly directed at Italian American shopkeepers and their families; the serial killer is never identified.United Statessource
- June 22 – Suspects in the Chicago Restaurant Poisonings are arrested, and more than 100 waiters are taken into custody for poisoning restaurant customers with a lethal powder called Mickey Finn.source
- July 17 – Execution of the Romanov family: By order of the Bolshevik Party, and carried out by the Cheka, former emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Alexei and retainers are shot at the Ipatiev House, in Ekaterinburg, Russia.source
- December 16 – Mackansen arrested in BudapestHungarysource
- Kjøbenhavns Boldklub wins the 1917–18 Danish National Football Tournament by defeating Randers Freja 5–2 in the final.Denmarksource
- Men's fours champions – W. Robson, J. Spinks, E. Falconer, C.R. Smith (skip) (Otago Bowling Club)New Zealandsource
- Dan Weggeland, artist (born 1827)Norwaysource
Disasters & Accidents
- 26 January – An Irish steamship, the Cork, is torpedoed by a U-boat off Point Lynas in Anglesey. Twelve crew are killed.Walessource
- February 5 – The SS Tuscania is torpedoed off the Irish coast; it is the first ship carrying American troops to Europe to be torpedoed and sunk.source
- March 1 – WWI: German submarine SMU U-19 sinks HMS Calgarian off Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland.source
- 1 March – Imperial German Navy U-boat SM U-19 sank HMS Calgarian off Rathlin Island.Irelandsource
- 1 March – armed merchant cruiser HMS Calgarian is torpedoed and sunk off Rathlin Island, Ireland, by Imperial German Navy U-boat SM U-19 with the loss of 49 lives.United Kingdomsource
- May 12 - The HMT Olympic rams into the SM U-103, sinking it. resulting in the deaths of 9 peoplesource
- June 4 – RMS Kenilworth Castle, one of the Union-Castle Line steamships, collides with her escort destroyer HMS Rival while trying to avoid her other escort, the cruiser HMS Kent.source
- June 22 – Hammond Circus Train Wreck: A locomotive engineer fell asleep and ran his troop train into the rear of a circus train near Hammond, Indiana. The circus train held 400 performers and roustabouts of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus.United Statessource
- July 12 – The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi blows up off Tokuyama, Yamaguchi, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621.source
- July 17 – WWI: RMS Carpathia (famed for rescuing survivors of the RMS Titanic) is torpedoed and sunk off the east coast of Ireland, by Imperial German Navy submarine U-55; 218 of the 223 on board are rescued.source
- July 18 – The Cheka kill the Martyrs of Alapayevsk, six further members of the Romanov family and retainers, by throwing them down a mineshaft.source
- September 26 – United States Coast Guard cutter Tampa is torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol Channel by German submarine SMU UB-91 with the loss of all 131 on board, the greatest loss of life for any US combat vessel in the war.source
- October 12 – Cloquet Fire: The city of Cloquet, Minnesota, and nearby areas are destroyed in a fire, killing 453.source
- October 22 - István Tisza dissolves the National Party of WorkHungarysource
- October 25 – The steamer Princess Sophia sinks on Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau, Alaska; 353 people die, in the greatest maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest.source
- October 25 – The SS Princess Sophia sinks on Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau, Alaska; 353 people die in the greatest maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest.United Statessource
- November 1 – Malbone Street Wreck: The worst rapid transit accident in world history occurs under the intersection of Malbone Street and Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn, New York City, with at least 93 dead.source
- 5 November – Clydebuilt former Cunarder HMS Campania sinks in an accident in the Firth of Forth.Scotlandsource
- November 9 – British battleship HMS Britannia is sunk by a German submarine off Trafalgar, with the loss of around fifty lives (the last major naval engagement of WWI).source
- December 5 – Estonian War of Independence: The British light cruiser HMS Cassandra strikes a mine and sinks near Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea, killing 11 sailors.source
- 19–20 March: Raetihi forest fire kills 3 and destroys over 150 homes.New Zealandsource
Climate & Environment
- January 9 – According to Japanese government official confirmed report, a worst powder snow avalanche hit into residential area in Mitsumata village, (present day of Yuzawa), Niigata Prefecture, 158 person were human fatalities.Japansource
- January 20 – According to Japanese government official confirmed report, a secondary massibie powder snow avalanche hit in residence area in Asahi village, (present day of Tsuruoka), Yamagata Prefecture, total 154 persons were human fatalities.Japansource
- 2 February – The Brighton tornado, the strongest storms ever recorded in Melbourne, strike the suburb of Brighton, killing two people.Australiasource
- February 13 – A magnitude (M w ) 7.2 earthquake shakes the Chinese city of Shantou leaving 1,000 dead and causing a moderate tsunami.source
- February 13 — 1918 Shantou earthquake occurred in Shantou, Kwangtung, Republic of China. It also caused some damage in what was then British Hong Kong.Chinasource
- 10 March – The 1918 Innisfail cyclone made landfall in the area around InnisfailAustraliasource
- May 20 – The small town of Codell, Kansas is hit for the third year in a row, on the same date, by a tornado.source
- May 22 – The small town of Codell, Kansas is hit for the fifth year in a row by a tornado. Coincidentally, all three tornadoes hit on the same date.United Statessource
- October 11 – The magnitude (M w ) 7.1 San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 76–116 people. A destructive tsunami contributes to the damage and loss of life.source
- October 11 – The 7.1 Mw San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 76–116 people. A destructive tsunami contributed to the damage and loss of life.United Statessource
- December 6 – A magnitude (M w ) 7.2 earthquake shakes British Columbia.source
- December 28 – Sinn Féin enjoys a landslide victory of the Irish seats at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, winning 73 of the 105 seats in Ireland. In accordance with their manifesto, Sinn Féin members will not take their seats in the Palace of Westminster but will form the First Dáil in Dublin. Countess Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway Prison (London), becomes the first woman elected to (but does not take her seat in) the British House of Commons.source
- 28 December – 1918 general election: Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in the election, winning 73 of the 105 seats in Ireland. The Irish Parliamentary Party was nearly wiped out. In accordance with their 1918 manifesto, Sinn Féin members did not take their seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom but formed instead Dáil Éireann (Irish parliament). Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway Prison in London, became the first woman elected to the Palace of Westminster, but she did not take her seat. On 30 December, the Irish Independent newspaper criticised her strongly.Irelandsource
Culture & Society
- January 18 – The Historic Concert for the Benefit of Widows and Orphans of Austrian and Hungarian Soldiers is held at the Konzerthaus, Vienna.source
- January 18–25 – General strike in Austria-HungaryHungarysource
- February 14 – Russia switches from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar; the date skips from January 31 to February 14.source
- March 26 – Marie Stopes publishes her influential book Married Love in the U.K.source
- 3 April – League of the People (Liga Poporulu), later renamed People's Party (Partidul Poporului), is founded by Alexandru Averescu.Romaniasource
- 4 April – The first edition of the Hebrew-language daily newspaper "Haaretz" is published, sponsored by the British military government in Palestine.British-administered Palestinesource
- May 16 – The victory military parade by the Finnish White Guard is held in Helsinki celebrating their decisive victory in the Finnish Civil War. The day also begin to be celebrated on the Defence Forces Flag Day before it is moved in 1942 to the June 4th.source
- June 16 – The Declaration to the Seven, a British government response to a memorandum issued anonymously by seven Syrian notables, is published.source
- 30 September – All workers in major banks in Zürich walk out in protest over salaries and the rising cost of living.Switzerlandsource
- October 9 – Landgrave Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse is elected King of Finland.source
- October 30 – The Martin Declaration is published, including Slovakia in the formation of the Czecho-Slovak state.source
- November 11 – Red Week: Pieter Jelles Troelstra gives a speech calling for socialist revolution in the Netherlands.source
- 11 November – Estonian Defence League is founded.Estoniasource
- December 14 – Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse renounces the Finnish throne.source
- December 14 – Giacomo Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.source
- 14 December – Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse renounces the Finnish throne, without setting foot in the country.Finlandsource
- December 18 - Armenpress, the oldest news agency in Armenia, is founded.Armeniasource
- Sundai Preparatory School (駿台予備校), as predecessor name was Tokyo Higher Examination School.Japansource
Births
- January 15 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, 2nd President of Egypt (died 1970)source
- January 26 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian communist politician and leader (died 1989)source
- March 1 – João Goulart, 24th President of Brazil (died 1976)source
- April 8 – Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States (died 2011)source
- 22 April - Ibrahim Kodra, Albanian painterAlbaniasource
- May 11 – Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1988)source
- July 18 – Nelson Mandela, 1st President of South Africa and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (died 2013)source
- August 25 – Leonard Bernstein, American composer, conductor (died 1990)source
- August 30 – Ted Williams, American baseball player (died 2002)source
- 28 September – Willi Ritschard, politician (died 1983)Switzerlandsource
- September 30 - Gevorg Emin, poet, essayist and translatorArmeniasource
- October 16 – Louis Althusser, French philosopher (died 1990)source
- November 7 – Billy Graham, American evangelist, spiritual adviser to several U.S. Presidents (died 2018)source
- November 9 – Spiro Agnew, Vice president of the United States (died 1996)source
- December 1: Alfredo Guati Rojo, watercolor artist (died June 10, 2003)Mexicosource
- December 11 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008)source
- December 23 – Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of Germany (died 2015)source
- December 25 – Anwar Sadat, 3rd President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (died 1981)source
Deaths
- January 6 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician (born 1845)source
- 30 January - Meir Meivar, Israeli politician and businessman, Haganah commander during the Civil War in Mandatory Palestine (died 2000).British-administered Palestinesource
- February 6 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter (born 1862), Spanish flusource
- February 10 – Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire (born 1842)source
- 11 February - Murat Toptani, Albanian poet, artist and activist of the Albanian National AwakeningAlbaniasource
- March 25 – Claude Debussy, French composer (born 1862)source
- 29 March – Ernst Saari, politician (executed) (born 1882)Finlandsource
- April 21 – Manfred von Richthofen, German fighter pilot, top-scoring ace of World War I (killed in action) (born 1892)source
- April 28 – WWI: Gavrilo Princip, assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, dies in Terezín, Austria-Hungary, after three years in prison.source
- June 12 – Grand Duke Michael of Russia is murdered, thereby becoming the first of the Romanovs to be killed by the Bolsheviks.source
- June 13 – Grand Duke Michael Romanov (assassinated) (born 1878)source
- July 9 – James McCudden, British fighter pilot (air crash) (born 1895)source
- July 14 – Quentin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's youngest son, is killed in action during the Second Battle of the Marne.source
- Former Emperor Nicholas II of Russia (born 1868)source
- Former Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia (born 1872)source
- Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (born 1895)source
- October 31 – István Tisza, 2-time Prime Minister of Hungary (assassinated) (born 1861)source
- ? - Hambardzum Arakelian, journalist, writer, and activist, founder of The Relief Committee for Armenian migrants and the Armenian Popular partyArmeniasource