June 18 has produced turning points in politics, science, culture, war, law, and technology. This timeline collects notable events recorded for this calendar day.
The list below is generated from public historical datasets and refreshed automatically by date.
Timeline for June 18
2023Titan (submersible)
Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, imploded while attempting to view the wreck of the Titanic, killing all five people on board including OceanGate co-founder and CEO Stockton Rush in the North Atlantic Ocean.
20182018 Osaka earthquake
An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes northern Osaka.
2009Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA robotic spacecraft is launched.
2007Charleston Sofa Super Store fire
The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire happened in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine firefighters.
2006Kazakhstan
The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat-1 is launched.
1998Propair Flight 420
Propair Flight 420 crashes near Montréal–Mirabel International Airport in Quebec, Canada, killing 11.
1994The Troubles
The Troubles: Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) attack a crowded pub with assault rifles in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians are killed and five wounded. It was crowded with people watching the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
1984Battle of Orgreave
A major clash between about 5,000 police and a similar number of striking miners takes place at Orgreave, South Yorkshire, during the 1984–85 UK miners' strike.
1983Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
1983Mona Mahmudnizhad
Mona Mahmudnizhad, together with nine other women of the Baháʼí Faith, is sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran over her religious beliefs.
1982Roberto Calvi
Italian banker Roberto Calvi's body is discovered hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London, England.
1981Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology, makes its first flight.
1979Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union.
1972British European Airways Flight 548
Staines air disaster: One hundred eighteen people are killed when a BEA H.S. Trident crashes minutes after takeoff from London's Heathrow Airport.
1965Vietnam War
Vietnam War: The United States Air Force uses B-52 bombers to attack guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam.
1958Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten's one-act opera Noye's Fludde premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival.
1954Carlos Castillo Armas
Carlos Castillo Armas leads an invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état.
1953Egyptian revolution of 1952
The Egyptian revolution of 1952 ends with the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the declaration of the Republic of Egypt.
1953United States Air Force
A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns near Tachikawa, Japan, killing 129.
1948Columbia Records
Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
1948Deutsche Mark
Britain, France and the United States announce that on June 21, the Deutsche Mark will be introduced in western Germany and West Berlin. Over the next six days, Communists increasingly restrict access to Berlin.[citation needed]
1946Ram Manohar Lohia
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a Socialist, calls for a Direct Action Day against the Portuguese in Goa.
1945William Joyce
William Joyce ("Lord Haw-Haw") is charged with treason for his pro-German propaganda broadcasting during World War II.
1940Appeal of 18 June
Appeal of 18 June by Charles de Gaulle.
1940This was their finest hour
The "Finest Hour" speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.
1935Battle of Ballantyne Pier
Police in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, clash with striking longshoremen, resulting in a total of 60 injuries and 24 arrests.
1928Aircraft pilot
Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
1920The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922)
The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) begin with a week of sectarian violence in Derry.
1908Japanese Brazilians
Japanese immigration to Brazil begins when 781 people arrive in Santos aboard the ship Kasato-Maru.
1908University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines is established.
1906Abdelaziz of Morocco
Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco ratifies the agreement reached in the Algeciras Conference in a personal decree.
1900Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families.
1887Reinsurance Treaty
The Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia is signed.
1873Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
1859Aletschhorn
First ascent of Aletschhorn, second summit of the Bernese Alps.
1858Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin's own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
1837St. Joseph Mutiny
St. Joseph Mutiny: African soldiers in the 1st West India Regiment – led by former slave trader Daaga – launched a rebellion in the British colony of Trinidad in an attempt to escape to Africa.
1822Konstantinos Kanaris
Konstantinos Kanaris blows up the Ottoman navy's flagship at Chios, killing the Kapudan Pasha Nasuhzade Ali Pasha.
1815Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
1812United States declaration of war on the United Kingdom
The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812.
1803Haitian Revolution
Haitian Revolution: The Royal Navy led by Rear-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth commence the blockade of Saint-Domingue against French forces.
1799Action of 18 June 1799
Action of 18 June 1799: A frigate squadron under Rear-admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée is captured by the British fleet under Lord Keith.
1778American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War: The British Army abandons Philadelphia.
1757Battle of Kolín
Battle of Kolín between Prussian forces under Frederick the Great and an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun in the Seven Years' War.
1684Massachusetts Bay Colony
The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court.
1633Charles I of England
Charles I is crowned King of Scots at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh.
1429Charles VII of France
Charles VII's army defeats an English army under John Talbot at the Battle of Patay during the Hundred Years' War. The English lost 2,200 men, over half their army, crippling their efforts during this segment of the war.
1391Tokhtamysh–Timur war
Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia.
1265Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1268
A draft Byzantine–Venetian treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, but is not ratified by Doge Reniero Zeno.
1264Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland meets at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.
1156Treaty of Benevento
The treaty of Benevento between pope Adrian IV and William I of Sicily is concluded.
1155Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV crowns Frederick Barbarossa as Holy Roman Emperor.
1053Battle of Civitate
Battle of Civitate: Three thousand Norman horsemen of Count Humphrey rout the troops of Pope Leo IX..
860Siege of Constantinople (860)
Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about 200 Rus' vessels sails into the Bosphorus and starts pillaging the suburbs of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
656Ali
Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
618Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
