# On this day: June 18

June 18 is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years), with 196 days left until the end of the year.

## June 18 in one line

Headline entries for June 18, from Wikipedia: in 1815, War of the Seventh Coalition: Napoleon fought and lost his final battle, the Battle of Waterloo, in present-day Belgium; born 1942: Paul McCartney, English singer-songwriter and guitarist; died 1928: Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (born 1872). In 2026 it is a Thursday, in 2027 a Friday.

## Events on June 18

- 618 Sui–Tang transition: Chinese governor Li Yuan declared himself emperor, establishing the Tang dynasty. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty)
- 656 Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali)
- 860 Rus' forces sailed into the Bosporus in a fleet of about 200 vessels and started pillaging the suburbs of Constantinople. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Constantinople_(860))
- 1053 Battle of Civitate: Three thousand Norman horsemen of Count Humphrey rout the troops of Pope Leo IX. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Civitate)
- 1155 Pope Adrian IV crowns Frederick Barbarossa as Holy Roman Emperor. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Barbarossa)
- 1429 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Patay)
- 1757 Third Silesian War: The Austrian victory at the Battle of Kolín forced Prussian leader Frederick the Great to give up the Siege of Prague and retreat to Saxony. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kol%C3%ADn)
- 1778 American Revolutionary War: The British Army abandons Philadelphia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army)
- 1812 The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812)
- 1815 War of the Seventh Coalition: Napoleon fought and lost his final battle, the Battle of Waterloo, in present-day Belgium. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo)
- 1858 Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection, which encouraged him to publish his own theory of evolution. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace)
- 1898 The Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon in Bar-le-Duc, France, was designated a monument historique. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadaver_Tomb_of_Ren%C3%A9_of_Chalon)
- 1906 Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco ratifies the agreement reached in the Algeciras Conference in a personal decree. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algeciras_Conference)
- 1940 World War II: Charles de Gaulle gave his Appeal of 18 June speech, often considered to be the origin of the French Resistance. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_of_18_June)
- 1948 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] [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Mark)
- 1953 A Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft crashed just after takeoff from Tachikawa, Japan, killing all 129 people on board. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikawa_air_disaster)
- 1954 Carlos Castillo Armas led a CIA-sponsored invasion force across the Guatemalan border, beginning the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d'%C3%A9tat)
- 1958 English composer Benjamin Britten's one-act opera Noye's Fludde was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noye's_Fludde)
- 1967 American musician Jimi Hendrix burned his guitar on stage at the end of a performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival in California. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix)
- 1972 British European Airways Flight 548 crashed near Staines-upon-Thames less than three minutes after departing from Heathrow Airport in London, killing all 118 people aboard in the worst air accident in the UK. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_European_Airways_Flight_548)
- 1981 The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology, made its maiden flight. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk)
- 1983 Iranian teenager Mona Mahmudnizhad and nine other women were hanged in Shiraz because of their membership in the Baháʼí Faith. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Mahmudnizhad)
- 1983 Aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman and third one overall in space. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride)
- 1994 The Troubles: Ulster Volunteer Force members attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault rifles, killing six people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughinisland_massacre)
- 2012 Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was appointed the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia)
- 2023 The Titan submersible imploded during a dive to the RMS Titanic wreck, killing all five people aboard. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_submersible_implosion)

## Born on June 18

- 1332 John V Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (died 1391) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_V_Palaiologos)
- 1799 William Lassell, English astronomer and merchant (died 1880) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lassell)
- 1812 Ivan Goncharov, Russian journalist and author (died 1891) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Goncharov)
- 1845 Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1922) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Louis_Alphonse_Laveran)
- 1868 Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (died 1957) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikl%C3%B3s_Horthy)
- 1882 Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian compositor and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria (died 1949) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Dimitrov)
- 1884 Édouard Daladier, French captain and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1970) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_Daladier)
- 1901 Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (died 1918) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna_of_Russia)
- 1918 Franco Modigliani, Italian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2003) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Modigliani)
- 1918 Jerome Karle, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Karle)
- 1929 Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher (died 2026) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCrgen_Habermas)
- 1931 Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazilian sociologist, academic, and politician, 34th President of Brazil [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Henrique_Cardoso)
- 1932 Dudley R. Herschbach, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_R._Herschbach)
- 1942 Paul McCartney, English singer-songwriter and guitarist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney)
- 1942 Thabo Mbeki, South African politician and 2nd President of South Africa [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thabo_Mbeki)
- 1942 Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert)
- 1946 Fabio Capello, Italian footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_Capello)
- 1949 Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (died 2010) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lech_Kaczy%C5%84ski)
- 1949 Jarosław Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Poland [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaros%C5%82aw_Kaczy%C5%84ski)
- 1952 Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Rossellini)
- 1986 Richard Madden, Scottish actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Madden)
- 1989 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, French-born Gabonese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Emerick_Aubameyang)

## Died on June 18

- 741 Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine emperor (born 685) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_III_the_Isaurian)
- 1464 Rogier van der Weyden, Flemish painter (born 1400) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogier_van_der_Weyden)
- 1902 Samuel Butler, English novelist, satirist, and critic (born 1835) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Butler_(novelist))
- 1928 Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (born 1872) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen)
- 1936 Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1868) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Gorky)
- 1937 Gaston Doumergue, French politician, 13th President of France (born 1863) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_Doumergue)
- 1959 Ethel Barrymore, American actress (born 1879) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Barrymore)
- 1971 Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1889) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Karrer)
- 1974 Georgy Zhukov, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (born 1896) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Zhukov)
- 2010 José Saramago, Portuguese novelist Nobel Prize laureate (born 1922) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Saramago)
- 2014 Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer (born 1923) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Kwolek)
- 2018 XXXTentacion, American rapper (born 1998) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XXXTentacion)
- 2020 Vera Lynn, English singer who was the "Forces' Sweetheart" in World War II (born 1917) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Lynn)
- 2024 Anouk Aimée, French actress (born 1932) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anouk_Aim%C3%A9e)

## Holidays and observances

- Autistic Pride Day (International) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autistic_Pride_Day)
- Christian feast day: Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Mizeki)
- Christian feast day: Elisabeth of Schönau [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Sch%C3%B6nau)
- Christian feast day: Gregorio Barbarigo [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorio_Barbarigo)
- Christian feast day: Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leontius%2C_Hypatius_and_Theodulus)
- Christian feast day: Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_the_Monk)
- Christian feast day: Mark and Marcellian [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_and_Marcellian)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Osanna of Mantua [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osanna_of_Mantua)
- Christian feast day: June 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_18_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Foundation Day (Benguet) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_Philippines)
- Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Azerbaijan)
- National Day (Seychelles) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Seychelles)
- Queen Mother's Birthday (Cambodia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Cambodia)
- Waterloo Day (United Kingdom) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “June 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_18) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/June 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/June_18) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“June 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_18) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_18?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for June 18 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## June 18 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Thursday | 2026-W25 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2027 | Friday | 2027-W24 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2028 | Sunday | 2028-W24 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2029 | Monday | 2029-W25 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2030 | Tuesday | 2030-W25 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on June 18

- [🇺🇸 United States](https://whathappen.today/holidays/united-states/): Juneteenth National Independence Day (day off in lieu) (2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← June 17](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/june-17/) · [June 19 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/june-19/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

---

Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/june-18/