/year

November 18 in history

184 sourced entries recorded on November 18, from 401 CE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 401The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy.source
  • 636November 16–19 – Battle of al-Qādisiyyah: The Muslim Arab army defeats the Persian forces under Rostam Farrokhzād, at Al-Qādisiyyah (Southern Mesopotamia).source
  • 763Forces of the Tibetan Empire, under Trisong Detsen, occupy the Tang capital of Chang'an (modern Xi'an) for 15 days, and install a puppet emperor. Tibetans take over the horse pastures.source
  • 1095The Council of Clermont begins. The synod is called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land.source
  • 1100The Council of Poitiers opens, but is soon forcibly closed by William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, as the bishops are about to excommunicate King Philip I of France once more.source
  • 1202November 10–24 – Siege of Zara: The Crusaders under Boniface of Montferrat besiege and conquer Zara (modern-day Zadar) in Dalmatia. Despite letters from Innocent III forbidding such an action, and threatening excommunication. The leading citizens of Zara hang banners of crosses along the outer walls, professing their Catholic faith. Nevertheless, the Crusaders breach and sack the city, killing many.source
  • 1210Emperor Otto IV is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III after he occupies Apulia in southern Italy. Otto annuls the Concordat of Worms and demands from Innocent recognition of the imperial crown's right. A German civil war breaks out, and Otto prepares an invasion against Frederick II, king of Sicily.source
  • 1267In England, the Statute of Marlborough is passed, the oldest English law still (partially) in force.source
  • 1302Boniface VIII issues the papal bull Unam sanctam, which asserts the superiority of the papacy's spiritual power over secular rulers.source
  • 1307William Tell, Swiss mountain climber and marksman, shoots (according to legend) an apple off his son's head with a crossbow at Altdorf, Switzerland.source
  • 1348Emperor Kōmyō of Japan abdicates the throne in favour of his son Emperor Sukō, making them the second and third of the Northern Court (Ashikaga Pretenders).source
  • 1371Shen-Chi and Chang-Jhing-Chi, diplomatic envoys from China, land in Java to deliver a message from the Chinese Emperor to Muhammad Shah of Brunei.source
  • 1421November 17–19 – St. Elizabeth's flood: The coastal area near Dordrecht in the Netherlands is flooded, due to the extremely high tide of the North Sea; 72 villages are drowned, killing about 10,000 people, and the course of the Meuse is changed.source
  • 1431A treaty in Suceava concludes an attack on Poland, launched this year by Alexander I of Moldavia during the Lithuanian Civil War.source
  • 1442A few days before his 15th birthday, Emperor Yingzong of Ming assumes full control of the Empire of China, two days before the death of his grandmother and regent Empress Dowager Chengxiaozhao.source
  • 1477William Caxton produces Earl Rivers' translation into English of Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, at his press in Westminster, the first full-length book printed in England on a printing press.source
  • 1488In the "Squire Francis War" (Jonker Fransenoorlog), a new phase of the Dutch civil war in the Burgundian Netherlands county of Holland, the rebel army of the Hook faction, led by Frans van Brederode, captures the city of Rotterdam, capital of Holland.source
  • 1552Simeon Sulaka arrives in Rome from the Middle Eastern city of Mosul and brings a letter asking Pope Julius III to appoint him as the Patriarch of the Church of the East, leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church.source
  • 1585In Mexico City, Álvaro Manrique de Zúñiga becomes Viceroy of New Spain after being appointed by King Philip II of Spain.source
  • 1594The Spanish fortress at Château de Brest in France falls after a siege of five months.source
  • 1595The settlers of the first attempt to create a European colony in the South Pacific depart from Santa Cruz Island on three surviving ships, the San Geronimo, the San Felipe and the Santa Catalina (which disappears during the attempt to return home). Despite the lack of navigation charts, navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós brings the San Geronimo and the San Felipe back to Manila Bay, arriving on February 11 after 12 weeks and the deaths of 50 passengers.source
  • 1601Ottoman defenders commanded by Tiryaki Hasan Pasha successfully resist the Austrian siege of Nagykanizsa.source
  • 1626The new St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is consecrated, on the 1,300th anniversary of the previous church in 326.source
  • 1633A sumptuary law prohibits all subjects from wearing gold or silver embroidery.source
  • 1637The coronation as the new Holy Roman Emperor of Ferdinand III, Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, takes place in Vienna.source
  • 1641John IV ratifies the treaty of The Haguesource
  • 1671In southwest Africa, troops of the Army of Portugal, under the command of Luís Lopes de Sequeira, win the Battle of Pungo Andongo, capturing the fortress capital of the Kingdom of Ndongo after nine months and deposing King Ngola Hari. The kingdom is annexed into the Portuguese colony of Angola.source
  • 1700Lithuanian Civil War: Battle of Valkininkai – The anti-Sapieha coalition is victorious.source
  • 1705Pace between Sweden and Poland in the Treaty of Warsaw (1705).source
  • 1718Voltaire's first play, Oedipus, premières at the Comédie-Française in Paris. This is his first use of the pseudonym.source
  • 1727Tabriz earthquake, Persia kills 77,000.source
  • 1738The Treaty of Vienna is ratified, ending the War of the Polish Succession. Under the terms of the treaty, Stanisław Leszczyński receives Lorraine in exchange for renouncing the Polish throne.source
  • 1738Signing of the Treaty of Viennasource
  • 1747November 17–19 – The Knowles Riot breaks out in Boston, Massachusetts, protesting impressment into the British Royal Navy.source
  • 1750Westminster Bridge is officially opened in London.source
  • 1750Westminster Bridge is officially opened for the general public to use, the only fixed crossing of the River Thames between London Bridge and Putney.source
  • 1755The Corsican Constitution is adopted by Corsican representatives, at the Consulta generale di Corte.source
  • 1755The 1755 Cape Ann earthquake occurs in the vicinity of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, causing extensive damage.source
  • 1795the River Clyde, in spate, floods the centre of Glasgow and brings down the recently erected bridge at the foot of the Saltmarket.source
  • 1803Haitian Revolution: Battle of Vertières – The Haitian army, led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, defeats the French army sent by Napoleon.source
  • 1809Napoleonic Wars: Action of 18 November 1809 – In the Bay of Bengal, a French frigate squadron captures three British East Indiamen mainly carrying recruits for the presidency armies in India.source
  • 1812November 15–18 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Krasnoi: Napoleon's retreating army is again defeated in a series of skirmishes.source
  • 1833Treaty of Zonhoven between Belgium and the Netherlands, regulating navigation on the Meuse Riversource
  • 1840The paddle steamer City of Bristol is wrecked at Llangennith, Gower, drowning about 22 people.source
  • 1852The State Funeral of the Duke of Wellington takes place at St Paul's Cathedralsource
  • 1855Sødring & Co. is founded by Christopher Hansen Sødring and Frederik Marchus, Count Knuth til Knuthenborg.source
  • 1863King Christian IX of Denmark signs the November Constitution, which declares Schleswig to be part of Denmark, regarded by the German Confederation as a violation of the London Protocol of 1852, leading to the German–Danish war of 1864.source
  • 1863King Christian IX of Denmark signs the November Constitution, declaring Schleswig to be part of Denmark, regarded by the German Confederation as a violation of the London Protocol of 1852, leading to the Second Schleswig War of 1864.source
  • 1867The 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami hits the Danish West Indies.source
  • 1873November 18–21 – Irish Home Rule movement: The Home Government Association reconstitutes itself as the Home Rule League.source
  • 1874Sailing ship Cospatrick carrying emigrants from England bound for New Zealand, catches fire and sinks in the South Atlantic with the loss of all but three of the 472 persons on board.source
  • 1874Fire and sinking of the Cospatrick carrying emigrants to New Zealand near the Cape of Good Hope; one of New Zealand's worst disasters as only three of the 472 on board survived.source
  • 1883U.S. and Canadian railroads institute 5 standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.source
  • 1885November 14–28 – Serbo-Bulgarian War: Serbia declares war against Bulgaria, but is defeated in the Battle of Slivnitsa on November 17–19.source
  • 1889Elisha P. Ferry is inaugurated as first governor of Washington.source
  • 1893Akademischer SC 1893 Berlinsource
  • 1894Transvaal – Airlie to Pretoria, 179 mi.source
  • 1898The wreck of the ship Atalanta off the coast of the U.S. state of Oregon kills 28 of the 30 crew aboard.source
  • 1901Boer commandos invade the Cape Colony and come to within 50 miles of Cape Town.source
  • 1901The Hay–Pauncefote Treaty is signed by the United Kingdom and United States, allowing the U.S. to build the Panama Canal under its sole control.source
  • 1903The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the U.S. exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.source
  • 1903The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty, creating the Panama Canal Zone.source
  • 1906The steamboat Dix sinks en route from Seattle to Port Blakely claiming the lives of approximately 50 passengers and crew.source
  • 1910Black Friday: 300 suffragettes clash with police outside the Parliament of the United Kingdom over the failure of the Conciliation Bill.source
  • 1915The U.S. silent film Inspiration, the first mainstream movie in which a leading actress (Audrey Munson) appears nude, is released.source
  • 1915Release of Inspiration, the first mainstream movie in which a leading actress (Audrey Munson) appears nude.source
  • 1916WWI – Battle of the Somme: In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle, which started on July 1.source
  • 1918Admiral 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)source
  • 1926Inventor and industrialist Sakichi Toyoda founds the Toyota Industries, the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation would develop.source
  • 1928Mickey Mouse makes his official debut in Steamboat Willie.source
  • 1929The 1929 Grand Banks earthquake occurs.source
  • 1930the Buddhist religious movement Soka Gakkai is formed by educator Tsunesaburō Makiguchi.source
  • 1931November 4–18 - Jiangqiao Campaignsource
  • 1931The 1931 census of Palestine is carried out by the Mandate authorities under the direction of Major E. Mills.source
  • 1933Francisco Javier Gaxiola, diplomat, lawyer and politician (born 1870)source
  • 1934Sara Japhet, Israeli biblical scholar.source
  • 1940Haim Harari, Israeli theoretical physicist; President of the Weizmann Institute of Sciencesource
  • 1943WWII: Battle of Berlin – The British Royal Air Force opens its bombing campaign against Berlin with 440 planes, causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses 9 aircraft and 53 aviators.source
  • 1943World War II: The Royal Air Force opens its bombing campaign against Berlin, with 440 planes causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses 9 aircraft and 53 aviators.source
  • 1944The Popular Socialist Youth is founded in Cuba.source
  • 1945The Tudeh party starts a bloodless coup, and will form Azerbaijan within days. Soviet troops prevent Iranian troops from getting involved.source
  • 1947Ballantyne's fire: A fire in Ballantynes department store in Christchurch, New Zealand, kills 41 people.source
  • 1950The United Nations accepts the formation of the Libyan National Council.source
  • 1952Jomo Kenyatta is arrested in Kenya, for an alleged connection to the Mau Mau Uprising.source
  • 1956At a reception for Western ambassadors at the Polish embassy in Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev utters his famous phrase "We will bury you".source
  • 1956"We will bury you" is spoken by Nikita Khrushchev.source
  • 1958En route to Rogers City, Michigan, United States, the Lake freighter SS Carl D. Bradley breaks up and sinks in a storm on Lake Michigan; 33 of the 35 crewmen on board perish.source
  • 1959MGM's widescreen, multimillion-dollar, Technicolor version of Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston, is released and becomes the studio's greatest hit up to this time. It is critically acclaimed and eventually wins 11 Academy Awards — a record held until 1998 (when 1997's Titanic becomes the first film to equal it).source
  • 1959Religious epic film Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston, which will be by far the highest-grossing film of the year and will go on to win a record 12 Academy Awards, premieres at New York City's Loews Theater in Ultra Panavision 70.source
  • 1966Instruction begins at the University of Chittagong with 7 teachers and 200 students in 4 departments: Bangla, English, history, and economics.source
  • 1967The UK pound is devalued from £1 = US$2.80 to £1 = US$2.40.source
  • 1974The International Energy Agency is founded.source
  • 1978In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder–suicide in his commune, Jonestown, that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Representative Leo J. Ryan is assassinated by members of Peoples Temple shortly beforehand.source
  • 1983Jon Lech Johansen, programmersource
  • 1986Greater Manchester Police announce that they will search for the bodies of 2 missing children (who both vanished more than 20 years ago) after the Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley confess to 2 more murders.source
  • 1987The King's Cross fire on the London Underground kills 31 people and injures a further 100.source
  • 1988Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Gambia, India, Nigeria, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka recognizes the State of Palestine. The Czech Republic and Slovakia continue this recognition following the 1992 dissolution of Czechoslovakia.source
  • 1991Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The forces of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serb paramilitaries take the Croatian town of Vukovar after the 87-day Battle of Vukovar. They kill more than 260 Croatian prisoners of war.source
  • 1991Three-month siege of Vukovar ends in surrender of Croatian troopssource
  • 1991Lebanon hostage crisis: Kidnappers in Lebanon set Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and academic Thomas Sutherland free.source
  • 1992Russian president Boris Yeltsin releases the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of Korean Air Flight 007, which was shot down by the Soviets in 1983.source
  • 1993November 17–22 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passes the legislative houses in the United States, Canada and Mexico.source
  • 19961996 Zambian general election: Frederick Chiluba is re-elected President.source
  • 1997Metallica released the album Reload internationally.source
  • 1999The Ministry of Health announced the formation of two healthcare clusters known as the Eastern (SingHealth) and Western (National Healthcare Group) Networks, which will take effect in 2000.source
  • 2003The United Nations' World Food Programme has warned that the need for aid in Ethiopia is set to soar.source
  • 2004November 14–26 – Typhoon Muifa kills 600 people in the Philippines.source
  • 2011Mojang Studios of Sweden officially release the video game Minecraft, which becomes the best-selling video game of all time.source
  • 2012Primary elections, Juan Orlando Hernández wins the candidature for National Party of Honduras and Mauricio Villeda wins in the Liberal Party of Honduras.source
  • 2012November 14–21 – Israel launches Operation Pillar of Defense against the Palestinian-governed Gaza Strip, killing Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. In the following week 140 Palestinians and five Israelis are killed in an ensuing cycle of violence. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is announced by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after the week-long escalation in hostilities in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.source
  • 2014Hong Kong authorities start dismantling a protest site in Admiralty following a court order.source
  • 2014Jamaica win the 2014 Caribbean Cup defeating Trinidad and Tobago in the final following a penalty shootout.source
  • 2016The remains of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are buried in a private ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani prompting protests throughout the Philippines.source
  • 2020217th anniversary of the Battle of Vertières (Public holiday)source
  • 2022November 6–November 18 – The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) on climate change mitigation takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.source
  • 2024November 11–22 – COP29 is held in Baku, Azerbaijan.source
  • 2025November 10–21 – The COP30 summit is held in Belém, Brazil, focusing on the role of the Amazon rainforest in climate action.source
  • 2025Eswatini becomes the first African country to receive the twice-yearly HIV prevention injection drug lenacapavir.source

Births

  • 709Kōnin, emperor of Japan (died 782)source
  • 1425Kunigunde of Sternberg, first spouse of King George of Poděbrady (died 1449)source
  • 1522Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Flemish general and statesman (died 1568)source
  • 1527Luca Cambiasi, Italian painter (died 1585)source
  • 1569Antonio Marcello Barberini, Italian cardinal and the younger brother of Maffeo Barberini (died 1646)source
  • 1571Hippolytus Guarinonius, Italian physician and polymath (died 1654)source
  • 1576Philipp Ludwig II, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg (1580–1612) (died 1612)source
  • 1584Gaspar de Crayer, Flemish painter (died 1669)source
  • 1630Eleonora Gonzaga, Queen consort of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1686)source
  • 1640George Hooper, Bishop of St Asaph Bishop of Bath and Wells (died 1727)source
  • 1647Pierre Bayle, French philosopher (died 1706)source
  • 1709Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely (died 1783)source
  • 1785David Wilkie, Scottish painter (died 1841)source
  • 1786Carl Maria von Weber, German composer (died 1826)source
  • 1787Louis Daguerre, French artist, chemist (died 1851)source
  • 1836W. S. Gilbert, British playwright, librettist best known for his collaborations with Arthur Sullivan (died 1911)source
  • 1850Majd ed-Dowleh Qajar-Qovanlu Amirsoleimani, Persian prince and politician.source
  • 1923Ted Stevens, American politician (died 2010)source
  • 1923Alan Shepard, first American astronaut, fifth person to walk on the Moon (died 1998)source
  • 1939Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelistsource
  • 1945Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lankan politician, 6th President of Sri Lankasource
  • 1982Sikhounxay Ounkhamphanyavong, swimmersource
  • 2006Harleyava Princy, Indonesian actress and singersource

Deaths

  • 942Odo of Cluny, Frankish abbotsource
  • 953Liutgard, duchess of Lorraine (born 931)source
  • 1100Thomas of Bayeux, archbishop of Yorksource
  • 1154Adelaide of Maurienne, French queen (born 1092)source
  • 1155Qin Hui, Chinese politician (born 1090)source
  • 1170Albert I (the Bear), German noblemansource
  • 1184Josceline de Bohon, English bishop (born 1111)source
  • 1189King William II of Sicilysource
  • 1244Ibn Abi'l-Dam, Syrian historian (born 1187)source
  • 1259Adam Marsh, English scholar and theologiansource
  • 1305John II, French nobleman and knight (born 1239)source
  • 1313Constance of Portugal, queen consort of Castile (born 1290)source
  • 1313Queen Constance of Portugal, mother of the 2-year-old King Alfonso XI dies. Alfonso's grandmother Queen dowager María de Molina, his uncle Peter of Castile, and his great-uncle John of Castile divide the regency over the young Alfonso. While Maria takes charge of his education, the infantes, especially Peter, assume the duty of defending Castile.source
  • 1349Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen (born 1310)source
  • 1388Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür, the Emperor of the Northern Yuan dynasty in Mongolia, is killed by the Ming Chinese General Jorightu Khan Yesüder , who becomes the new Emperor.source
  • 1441Roger Bolingbroke, English cleric, astronomer, astrologer, magister and alleged necromancersource
  • 1463John IV, Duke of Bavaria (born 1437)source
  • 1472Basilios Bessarion, Latin Patriarch of Constantinople (born 1403)source
  • 1559Cuthbert Tunstall, English church leader (born 1474)source
  • 1590George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, English statesman (born 1528)source
  • 1657Luke Wadding, Irish Franciscan friar and historian (born 1588)source
  • 1664Miklós Zrínyi, Croatian and Hungarian military leader, statesman (born 1620)source
  • 1692Robert Holmes, British Royal Navy Admiral (born 1622)source
  • 1720John Rackham, English pirate.source
  • 1741Stephen Delancey, major colonial New York figure (born 1663)source
  • 1772Madhavrao I, ruler of India (born 1745)source
  • 1785Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, French soldier, writer (born 1725)source
  • 1804Philip Schuyler, general in the American Revolution, a United States senator from New York, father of Angelica Schuyler Church and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, father-in-law of Alexander Hamilton (born 1733)source
  • 1814Aleijadinho, Colonial Brazil-born sculptor and architect (born 1730 or 1738)source
  • 1830Adam Weishaupt, German philosopher (born 1748)source
  • 1841Agustín Gamarra, Peruvian general and politician, 10th and 14th President of Peru (born 1785)source
  • 1841Agustín Gamarra, President of Peru (born 1785)source
  • 1844Bernardo Peres da Silva, governor of Portuguese India (born 1775)source
  • 1845King Aleamotuʻa of Tonga (born 1738)source
  • 1864Morteza Ansari, Iranian Shia jurist.source
  • 1886Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States (born 1829)source
  • 1909In Nicaragua, 500 revolutionaries (including 2 Americans) are executed by order of dictator José Santos Zelaya. The United States responds by sending 2 warships.source
  • 1917Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and singer (died 1957)source
  • 1921Baruch Ben Haim, Sephardic rabbi, Chief Rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn for 55 years (died 2005)source
  • 1962Niels Bohr, Danish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1885)source
  • 1965Henry A. Wallace, 33rd Vice President of the United States (born 1888)source
  • 1977Kurt Schuschnigg, former chancellor of the Federal State of Austria (born 1897)source
  • 1987Jacques Anquetil, 53, French road racing cyclist, five-time Tour de France winner, stomach cancer.source