# On this day: September 18

September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years), with 104 days left until the end of the year.

## September 18 in one line

Headline entries for September 18, from Wikipedia: in 1851, The New York Times, the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, was founded; born 1971: Anna Netrebko, Russian-Austrian soprano and actress; died 1783: Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (born 1707). In 2026 it is a Friday, in 2027 a Saturday.

## Events on September 18

- 96 Nerva, the first of the "Five Good Emperors" of ancient Rome, came to power following the assassination of his predecessor Domitian. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome)
- 324 Constantine the Great decisively defeated Licinius in the Battle of Chrysopolis, establishing Constantine's sole control over the Roman Empire and ending the Tetrarchy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chrysopolis)
- 1048 Byzantine–Seljuk wars: Byzantine forces defeated their Seljuk opponents in the flanks of the nocturnal Battle of Kapetron, but learned of their Georgian allies' defeat in the centre the next morning. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kapetron)
- 1796 War of the First Coalition: General Franz Petrasch's Austrian and Imperial troops stormed the French-held bridgehead over the Rhine river. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Kehl_(1796))
- 1850 The United States Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, decreeing that all escaped slaves be brought back to their masters. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_Slave_Act_of_1850)
- 1851 The New York Times, the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, was founded. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times)
- 1863 American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga begins between Confederate and Union forces. It involves the second highest amount of casualties for any American Civil War battle apart from Gettysburg. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg)
- 1870 Nathaniel P. Langford of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition first observed a geyser in the Wyoming Territory erupting at regular intervals, naming it Old Faithful. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Faithful)
- 1873 Panic of 1873: The American bank Jay Cooke & Company declared bankruptcy, setting off a chain reaction of bank failures. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke_%26_Company)
- 1875 The Indianola hurricane dissipated over Mississippi after killing around eight hundred people in Texas. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1875_Indianola_hurricane)
- 1879 The Blackpool Illuminations in the English seaside town of Blackpool were switched on for the first time. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_Illuminations)
- 1885 Five Chinese people were lynched outside of Pierce City in the Idaho Territory. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1885_Pierce_City_lynching)
- 1918 World War I: The Central Powers' defeat at the Battle of Dobro Pole played a role in the Bulgarian withdrawal from the war and led to the subsequent liberation of Vardar Macedonia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dobro_Pole)
- 1927 The Columbia Broadcasting System goes on the air. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS)
- 1931 Imperial Japan instigates the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade and occupy Manchuria. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukden_incident)
- 1934 The Soviet Union is admitted to the League of Nations. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations)
- 1944 World War II: Operation Market Garden results in the liberation of Eindhoven. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Market_Garden)
- 1945 General Douglas MacArthur moves his general headquarters from Manila to Tokyo. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur)
- 1948 The Australian cricket team's Invincibles tour of England concluded; they had played 34 matches, including five Tests, without defeat. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1948)
- 1950 Korean War: The Korean People's Army retreated from the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter after six weeks of fighting, marking the farthest that the KPA would advance in the war. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Pusan_Perimeter)
- 1961 An aircraft crashed near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including United Nations secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Ndola_Transair_Sweden_Douglas_DC-6_crash)
- 1962 Aeroflot Flight 213 crashed into a mountain near Chersky Airport, killing 32 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_213)
- 1964 The wedding of King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark took place in Athens. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Constantine_II_and_Princess_Anne-Marie)
- 1981 While posing as an aristocrat, Belgian serial killer Nestor Pirotte murdered an antiques dealer in Brussels, for which crime he was sentenced to death. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestor_Pirotte)
- 1990 Liechtenstein becomes a member of the United Nations. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein)
- 2014 Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom, by 55% to 45%. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Scottish_independence_referendum)

## Born on September 18

- 53 Trajan, Roman emperor (died 117) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50s)
- 1709 Samuel Johnson, English lexicographer and poet (died 1784) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson)
- 1752 Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician and theorist (died 1833) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrien-Marie_Legendre)
- 1765 Pope Gregory XVI (died 1846) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XVI)
- 1786 Christian VIII of Denmark (died 1848) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_VIII)
- 1819 Léon Foucault, French physicist and academic (died 1868) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on_Foucault)
- 1885 Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Azerbaijani composer, conductor, and playwright (died 1948) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzeyir_Hajibeyov)
- 1905 Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (died 1990) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Garbo)
- 1907 Edwin McMillan, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_McMillan)
- 1908 Victor Ambartsumian, Georgian-Armenian astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (died 1996) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Ambartsumian)
- 1939 Jorge Sampaio, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 18th President of Portugal (died 2021) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Sampaio)
- 1949 Peter Shilton, English footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Shilton)
- 1954 Steven Pinker, Canadian-American psychologist, linguist, and author [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pinker)
- 1961 James Gandolfini, American actor and producer (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gandolfini)
- 1971 Anna Netrebko, Russian-Austrian soprano and actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Netrebko)
- 1971 Lance Armstrong, American cyclist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong)
- 1971 Jada Pinkett Smith, American actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jada_Pinkett_Smith)
- 1973 Mark Shuttleworth, South African-English businessman [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Shuttleworth)
- 1973 James Marsden, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marsden)
- 1974 Sol Campbell, English footballer and politician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Campbell)
- 1976 Ronaldo, Brazilian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldo_(Brazilian_footballer))
- 1998 Christian Pulisic, American soccer player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Pulisic)

## Died on September 18

- 96 Domitian, Roman emperor (born AD 51) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian)
- 1180 Louis VII, king of France (born 1120) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_VII_of_France)
- 1598 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese daimyō (born 1536) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyotomi_Hideyoshi)
- 1783 Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (born 1707) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Euler)
- 1830 William Hazlitt, English philosopher, painter, and critic (born 1778) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hazlitt)
- 1872 Charles XV of Sweden (born 1826) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XV)
- 1896 Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist and academic (born 1819) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippolyte_Fizeau)
- 1905 George MacDonald, Scottish minister, author, and poet (born 1824) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_MacDonald)
- 1911 Pyotr Stolypin, Russian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Russia (born 1862) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Stolypin)
- 1961 Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld)
- 1967 John Cockcroft, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1897) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cockcroft)
- 1970 Jimi Hendrix, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1942) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix)
- 2020 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, United States Supreme Court justice (born 1933) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg)
- 2024 Salvatore Schillaci, Italian footballer (born 1964) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Schillaci)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Ariadne of Phrygia [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariadne_of_Phrygia)
- Christian feast day: Constantius (Theban Legion) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantius_(Theban_Legion))
- Christian feast day: Edward Bouverie Pusey (Episcopal Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bouverie_Pusey)
- Christian feast day: Eustorgius I [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustorgius_I)
- Christian feast day: Joseph of Cupertino [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_of_Cupertino)
- Christian feast day: Józef Kut [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Kut)
- Christian feast day: Methodius of Olympus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodius_of_Olympus)
- Christian feast day: Richardis [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardis)
- Christian feast day: September 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_18_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Day of National Music (Azerbaijan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Music_Day_in_Azerbaijan)
- Island Language Day (Okinawa Prefecture, Japan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyuan_languages)
- National Day or Dieciocho (Chile) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiestas_Patrias_(Chile))
- National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV.gov)
- Navy Day (Croatia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_Day)
- World Water Monitoring Day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Water_Monitoring_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “September 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_18) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/September 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/September_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 [“September 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_18) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_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 September 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.

## September 18 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Friday | 2026-W38 | 🌓 First Quarter |
| 2027 | Saturday | 2027-W37 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Monday | 2028-W38 | 🌑 New Moon |
| 2029 | Tuesday | 2029-W38 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Wednesday | 2030-W38 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |

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

## Public holidays on September 18

- [🇨🇱 Chile](https://whathappen.today/holidays/chile/): Independence Day (2026 and 2027)

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

## Nearby dates

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

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

Last updated: 15 October 2026

---

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