July 18
Events
Pre-1600
1601–1900
- 1723 - Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, BWV 136, in Leipzig on the eighth Sunday after Trinity.
- 1806 - A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, kills around 200 people.
- 1812 - The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars.
- 1841 - Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
- 1857 - Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French.
- 1862 - First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
- 1870 - The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.
- 1872 - The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections be held by secret ballot.
1901–present
- 1914 - The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
- 1925 - Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
- 1942 - World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia.
- 1942 - The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.
- 1944 - World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.
- 1966 - Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
- 1966 - A racially charged incident in a bar sparks the six-day Hough riots in Cleveland, Ohio; 1,700 Ohio National Guard troops intervene to restore order.
- 1968 - Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.
- 1970 - An Antonov An-22 of the Soviet Air Forces crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 23 aboard.
- 1976 - Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
- 1979 - A landslide occurs on the Iliwerung volcano in Indonesia, triggering a tsunami that kills over 530 and leaves 700 missing.
- 1981 - A Canadair CL-44 and Sukhoi Su-15 collide in mid-air near Yerevan, Armenia, killing four.
- 1982 - Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
- 1984 - McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: James Oliver Huberty kills 21 people and injures 19 others before being shot dead by police.
- 1992 - A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web.
- 1994 - The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina in Buenos Aires kills 85 people and injures 300.
- 1994 - Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.
- 1995 - On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee.
- 1996 - Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec's costliest natural disasters ever.
- 1996 - Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army's base, killing over 1,200 soldiers.
- 2002 - A Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer crashes near Estes Park, Colorado, killing both crew members.
- 2012 - At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.
- 2013 - The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
- 2014 - The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant requires Christians to either accept dhimmi status, emigrate from ISIL lands, or be killed.
- 2019 - A man sets fire to an anime studio in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan, killing 36 people and injuring dozens of others.
Births
Pre-1600
1601–1900
- 1634 - Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-general of the Dutch East Indies
- 1659 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter
- 1670 - Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer
- 1702 - Maria Clementina Sobieska, Polish noble
- 1718 - Saverio Bettinelli, Italian poet, playwright, and critic
- 1720 - Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist
- 1724 - Maria Antonia of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony
- 1750 - Frederick Adolf, duke of Östergötland
- 1796 - Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic
- 1811 - William Makepeace Thackeray, English author and poet
- 1818 - Louis Gerhard De Geer, Swedish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1821 - Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer
- 1837 - Vasil Levski, Bulgarian priest and activist
- 1842 - William D. Coleman, 13th President of Liberia
- 1843 - Virgil Earp, American marshal
- 1845 - Tristan Corbière, French poet
- 1848 - W. G. Grace, English cricketer and physician
- 1853 - Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1861 - Kadambini Ganguly, Indian physician, one of the first Indian women to obtain a degree
- 1864 - Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- 1867 - Margaret Brown, American philanthropist and activist
- 1871 - Giacomo Balla, Italian painter
- 1871 - Sada Yacco, Japanese actress and dancer
- 1872 - Julius Fučík, Czech composer and conductor of military bands
- 1881 - Larry McLean, Canadian-American baseball player
- 1884 - Alberto di Jorio, Italian cardinal
- 1886 - Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general
- 1887 - Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian military officer and politician, Minister President of Norway
- 1889 - Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan
- 1890 - Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1892 - Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian footballer
- 1893 - David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier
- 1895 - Olga Spessivtseva, Russian-American ballerina
- 1895 - Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster
- 1897 - Ernest Eldridge, English race car driver and engineer
- 1898 - John Stuart, Scottish-English actor
- 1899 - Ernst Scheller, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Marburg
- 1900 - Nathalie Sarraute, French lawyer and author
1901–present
- 1902 - Jessamyn West, American author
- 1902 - Chill Wills, American actor
- 1906 - S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American academic and politician
- 1906 - Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter
- 1908 - Peace Pilgrim, American mystic and activist
- 1908 - Lupe Vélez, Mexican-American actress and dancer
- 1908 - Beatrice Aitchison, American mathematician, statistician, and transportation economist
- 1909 - Bishnu Dey, Indian poet, critic, and academic
- 1909 - Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1909 - Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan
- 1909 - Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress
- 1910 - Diptendu Pramanick, Indian businessman
- 1910 - Mamadou Dia, Senegalese politician; 1st Prime Minister of Senegal
- 1911 - Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1913 - Red Skelton, American actor and comedian
- 1914 - Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist
- 1914 - Oscar Heisserer, French footballer
- 1915 - Carequinha, Brazilian clown and actor
- 1915 - Louis Le Bailly, British Royal Navy officer
- 1916 - Charles Kittel, American physicist
- 1917 - Henri Salvador, French singer and guitarist
- 1917 - Paul Streeten, Austrian-born British economics professor
- 1918 - Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1919 - Lilia Dale, Italian actress
- 1920 - Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman
- 1921 - Peter Austin, English brewer, founded Ringwood Brewery
- 1921 - Aaron Beck, American psychiatrist and academic
- 1921 - John Glenn, American colonel, astronaut, and politician
- 1921 - Richard Leacock, English-French director and producer
- 1921 - Heinz Bennent, German actor
- 1922 - Thomas Kuhn, American physicist, historian, and philosopher
- 1923 - Jerome H. Lemelson, American engineer and businessman
- 1923 - Michael Medwin, English actor
- 1924 - Inge Sørensen, Danish swimmer
- 1924 - Tullio Altamura, Italian actor
- 1925 - Shirley Strickland, Australian runner and hurdler
- 1925 - Friedrich Zimmermann, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior
- 1925 - Raymond Jones, Australian Modernist architect
- 1925 - Windy McCall, American baseball relief pitcher
- 1926 - Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic
- 1926 - Nita Bieber, American actress
- 1926 - Bernard Pons, French politician and medical doctor
- 1926 - Maunu Kurkvaara, Finnish film director and screenwriter
- 1926 - Elizabeth Jennings, English poet
- 1927 - Mehdi Hassan, Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer
- 1927 - Kurt Masur, German conductor and educator
- 1927 - Antonio García-Trevijano, Spanish republican, political activist, and author
- 1927 - Keith MacDonald, Canadian politician
- 1927 - Anthony Mirra, American gangster, member of the Bonanno Crime Family
- 1928 - Andrea Gallo, Italian priest and author
- 1928 - Baddiewinkle, American internet personality
- 1929 - Dick Button, American figure skater and actor
- 1929 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
- 1932 - Robert Ellis Miller, American director and screenwriter
- 1933 - Jean Yanne, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1933 - Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet and playwright
- 1934 - Edward Bond, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
- 1934 - Darlene Conley, American actress
- 1935 - Tenley Albright, American former figure skater and physician
- 1935 - Jayendra Saraswathi, Indian guru, 69th Shankaracharya
- 1937 - Roald Hoffmann, Polish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author
- 1938 - John Connelly, English footballer
- 1938 - Ian Stewart, Scottish keyboard player and manager
- 1938 - Paul Verhoeven, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1939 - Brian Auger, English rock and jazz keyboard player
- 1939 - Dion DiMucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1939 - Jerry Moore, American football player and coach
- 1940 - James Brolin, American actor
- 1940 - Joe Torre, American baseball player, manager, and executive
- 1941 - Frank Farian, German songwriter and producer
- 1941 - Lonnie Mack, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1941 - Martha Reeves, American singer and politician
- 1942 - Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer
- 1942 - Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician, 84th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1943 - Joseph J. Ellis, American historian and author
- 1944 - David Hemery, English hurdler and author
- 1945 - Pat Doherty, Irish Republican politician
- 1946 - Kalpana Mohan, Indian actress
- 1947 - Steve Forbes, American publisher and politician
- 1948 - Carlos Colón Sr., Puerto Rican-American wrestler and promoter
- 1948 - Jeanne Córdova, American journalist and activist
- 1948 - Hartmut Michel, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1949 - Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1950 - Richard Branson, English businessman, founded Virgin Group
- 1950 - Jack Dongarra, American computer scientist and academic
- 1950 - Kostas Eleftherakis, Greek footballer
- 1950 - Glenn Hughes, American disco singer and actor
- 1950 - Shahid Khan, Pakistani-American businessman and sports executive
- 1950 - Jack Layton, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician
- 1950 - Mark Udall, American educator and politician
- 1951 - Elio Di Rupo, Belgian chemist, academic, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Belgium
- 1951 - Margo Martindale, American actress
- 1954 - Ricky Skaggs, American singer-songwriter, mandolin player, and producer
- 1955 - Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
- 1957 - Nick Faldo, English golfer and sportscaster
- 1957 - Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1960 - Simon Heffer, English journalist and author
- 1961 - Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
- 1961 - Alan Pardew, English footballer and manager
- 1961 - Pasi Rautiainen, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager
- 1962 - Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian, producer, and screenwriter
- 1963 - Marc Girardelli, Austrian-Luxembourgian skier
- 1963 - Martín Torrijos, Panamanian economist and politician, 35th President of Panama
- 1964 - Wendy Williams, American talk show host
- 1965 - Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian soprano
- 1966 - Dan O'Brien, American decathlete and coach
- 1967 - Vin Diesel, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 - Grant Bowler, New Zealand-Australian actor
- 1968 - Scott Gourley, Australian rugby player
- 1969 - Elizabeth Gilbert, American author
- 1969 - The Great Sasuke, Japanese wrestler and politician
- 1971 - Penny Hardaway, American basketball player and coach
- 1971 - Sukhwinder Singh, Indian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1974 - Alan Morrison, British poet
- 1975 - Torii Hunter, American baseball player
- 1975 - Daron Malakian, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1975 - M.I.A., English rapper and producer
- 1976 - Elsa Pataky, Spanish actress
- 1976 - Go Soo-hee, South Korean actress
- 1977 - Alexander Morozevich, Russian chess player and author
- 1977 - Kelly Reilly, English actress
- 1978 - Adabel Guerrero, Argentinian actress, singer, and dancer
- 1978 - Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player and sportscaster
- 1978 - Crystal Mangum, American murderer responsible for making false rape allegations in the Duke lacrosse case
- 1978 - Joo Sang-wook, South Korean actor
- 1978 - Ben Sheets, American baseball player and coach
- 1978 - Mélissa Theuriau, French journalist
- 1979 - Deion Branch, American football player
- 1979 - Joey Mercury, American wrestler and producer
- 1980 - Kristen Bell, American actress
- 1980 - David Blu, American–Israeli basketball player
- 1980 - Ryōko Hirosue, Japanese actress
- 1981 - Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
- 1982 - Ryan Cabrera, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 - Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress, singer, and film producer
- 1982 - Carlo Costly, Honduran footballer
- 1983 - Mishaal Al-Saeed, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1983 - Carlos Diogo, Uruguayan footballer
- 1983 - Aaron Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1983 - Mikk Pahapill, Estonian decathlete
- 1983 - Jan Schlaudraff, German footballer
- 1984 - Ben Askren, American mixed martial artist and boxer
- 1985 - Chace Crawford, American actor
- 1985 - Panagiotis Lagos, Greek footballer
- 1985 - James Norton, English actor
- 1986 - Natalia Mikhailova, Russian ice dancer
- 1987 - Tontowi Ahmad, Indonesian badminton player
- 1988 - Änis Ben-Hatira, German-Tunisian footballer
- 1988 - César Villaluz, Mexican footballer
- 1989 - Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 - Sebastian Mielitz, German footballer
- 1989 - Yohan Mollo, French footballer
- 1990 - Canelo Álvarez, Mexican boxer
- 1991 - Mandy Rose, American wrestler and television personality
- 1991 - Eugenio Suárez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1993 - Lee Tae-min, South Korean singer and actor
- 1993 - Michael Lichaa, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 - Nilo Soares, East Timorese footballer
- 1996 - Yung Lean, Swedish rapper and singer-songwriter
- 1996 - Smriti Mandhana, Indian cricketer
- 1996 - Shudufhadzo Musida, Miss South Africa 2020
- 1997 - Bam Adebayo, American basketball player
- 1997 - Noah Lyles, American sprinter
- 2000 - Sarah Kinsley, American singer-songwriter
- 2001 - Agustina Roth, Argentine BMX rider
Deaths
Pre-1600
- 707 - Emperor Monmu of Japan
- 715 - Muhammad bin Qasim, Umayyad general
- 912 - Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor
- 924 - Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat, Abbasid vizier
- 928 - Stephen II, patriarch of Constantinople
- 984 - Dietrich I, bishop of Metz
- 1100 - Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight
- 1185 - Stefan, first Archbishop of Uppsala
- 1194 - Guy of Lusignan, king consort of Jerusalem
- 1232 - John de Braose, Marcher Lord of Bramber and Gower
- 1270 - Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1300 - Gerard Segarelli, Italian religious leader, founded the Apostolic Brethren
- 1450 - Francis I, Duke of Brittany
- 1488 - Alvise Cadamosto, Italian explorer
- 1566 - Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish bishop and historian
- 1591 - Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer
1601–1900
- 1608 - Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg
- 1610 - Caravaggio, Italian painter
- 1639 - Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, German general
- 1650 - Robert Levinz, English Royalist, hanged in London by Parliamentary forces as a spy
- 1695 - Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-general of the Dutch East Indies
- 1698 - Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author
- 1721 - Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter
- 1730 - François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general
- 1756 - Pieter Langendijk, Dutch poet and playwright
- 1792 - John Paul Jones, Scottish-American admiral and diplomat
- 1817 - Jane Austen, English novelist
- 1837 - Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader
- 1863 - Robert Gould Shaw, American colonel
- 1872 - Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 26th President of Mexico
- 1884 - Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic
- 1890 - Lydia Becker, English journalist, author, and activist, co-founded the Women's Suffrage Journal
- 1892 - Thomas Cook, English travel agent, founded the Thomas Cook Group
- 1899 - Horatio Alger, American novelist and journalist
1901–present
- 1916 - Benjamin C. Truman, American journalist and author
- 1925 - Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal
- 1932 - Jean Jules Jusserand, French author and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States
- 1937 - Julian Bell, English poet and academic
- 1938 - Marie of Romania
- 1944 - Thomas Sturge Moore, English author, poet, and playwright
- 1947 - Evald Tipner, Estonian footballer and ice hockey player
- 1948 - Herman Gummerus, Finnish historian, academic, and politician
- 1949 - Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator
- 1949 - Francisco Javier Arana, Guatemalan Army colonel and briefly Guatemalan head of state
- 1950 - Carl Clinton Van Doren, American critic and biographer
- 1952 - Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect and historian
- 1954 - Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster
- 1966 - Bobby Fuller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1968 - Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1969 - Mary Jo Kopechne, American educator and secretary
- 1973 - Jack Hawkins, English actor
- 1975 - Vaughn Bodē, American illustrator
- 1981 - Sonja Branting-Westerståhl, Swedish lawyer
- 1982 - Roman Jakobson, Russian–American linguist and theorist
- 1984 - Lally Bowers, English actress
- 1984 - Grigori Kromanov, Estonian director and screenwriter
- 1987 - Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter, journalist and congressman
- 1988 - Nico, German singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actress
- 1988 - Joly Braga Santos, Portuguese composer and conductor
- 1989 - Donnie Moore, American baseball player
- 1989 - Rebecca Schaeffer, American model and actress
- 1990 - Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist and author
- 1990 - Yun Posun, South Korean politician, 2nd President of South Korea
- 2001 - Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 2002 - Metin Toker, Turkish journalist and author
- 2004 - André Castelot, Belgian-French historian and author
- 2004 - Émile Peynaud, French wine maker
- 2005 - Amy Gillett, Australian cyclist and rower
- 2005 - William Westmoreland, American general
- 2006 - Henry Hewes, American theater writer
- 2007 - Jerry Hadley, American tenor
- 2007 - Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician
- 2009 - Henry Allingham, English soldier
- 2009 - Jill Balcon, English actress
- 2012 - Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Lithuanian-Israeli rabbi and author
- 2012 - Jean François-Poncet, French politician and diplomat, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 2012 - Dawoud Rajiha, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense
- 2012 - Assef Shawkat, Syrian general and politician
- 2012 - Hasan Turkmani, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense
- 2012 - Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor
- 2013 - Vaali, Indian poet, songwriter, and actor
- 2013 - Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and academic
- 2014 - Andreas Biermann, German footballer
- 2014 - João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic
- 2014 - Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 2015 - Alex Rocco, American actor
- 2015 - Buddy Buie, American songwriter, producer and publisher
- 2018 - Jonathan Gold, American food critic
- 2018 - Adrian Cronauer, American radio personality
- 2021 - Tom O'Connor, English comedian
- 2023 - Oommen Chandy, Indian politician, former Chief Minister of Kerala
- 2024 - Lou Dobbs, American political commentator and television host
- 2024 - Abner Haynes, American football player
- 2024 - Bob Newhart, American comedian and actor
- 2025 - Edwin Feulner, American political scientist
Holidays and observances