1918
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'''1918''' '''(MCMXVIII)''' was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January-February
January 8 - President of the United States|President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I.
January 22 - Manitoba, Canada film censorship|censor board bans comedy|comedies
January 24 - a decree of the Council of People's Commissars, introducing the Gregorian calendar in Russia since February 1 (Julian calendar date), issued
January 28 - Vladimir Lenin decrees the establishment of the Red Army.
February 3 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long).
February 8 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper
February 14 - The Soviet Union adopts the Gregorian calendar (1 February according to the Julian calendar). As a consequence the anniversary of the Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution, previously October, now falls in November.
February 16 - Lithuania declares its independence from both Russia and Germany
February 18 - White Cossack troops retreat from the Don after advancing Bolsheviks
February 24 - Estonia declares its independence from Russia
February 26 - Grandstands at the Hong Kong Jockey Club collapse - 604 dead
March-April
March 1 - German submarine Unterseeboot 19|U 19 sinks HMS Calgarian|HMS ''Calgarian'' off Rathlin Island, Nothern Ireland.
March 3 - World War I: Germany, Austria and Bolshevist Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending Russia's involvement in the war.
March 5 - The Soviet Russia moves its national capital from Petrograd to Moscow
March 6 - Finnish Air Force founded. The blue swastika is adopted as its symbol as a tribute to the Swedish explorer and aviator Eric von Rosen who donated the first plane. Von Rosen had painted the Buddhist symbol on the plane as his personal lucky insignia.
March 7 - World War I: Finland forms an alliance with Germany.
March 12 – Moscow becomes the capital of Soviet Russia
March 19 - The Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time (DST went into effect on March 31).
March 21 - World War I: First Battle of the Somme (1918)|Second Battle of the Somme begins
March 23 - The giant German cannon, the so called Paris Gun begins to shell Paris from 114 km (75 miles) away
March 23 - In London at the Wood Green Empire, Chung Ling Soo (William E Robinson, US-born magician) dies during his trick where he was supposed to "catch" two separate bullets – one of them perforates his lung. He dies the following morning in hospital.
March 23 - The Social Revolutionary Party declares Belorussia independent; Bolshevik armies soon crush them
March 25 - for the first time Belarus declares independence.
April 1 - The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service are merged to form the Royal Air Force.
May-July
May 1 - German troops enter Don province - they take Rostov May 6
May 2 - General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
May 15 - The Post Office Department (later renamed the United States Postal Service|USPS) begins the first regular airmail service in the world (between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC).
May 16 - The Sedition Act of 1918 is approved by US Congress.
May 26 - The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
May 28 - Armenia gains independence from the Ottoman Empire
June 1 - World War I: Battle for Belleau Wood begins.
July - The Siberian Expedition is launched to extract the Czechoslovak Legion from the Russian civil war.
July 4 - Change of Ottoman Emperor|emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Mehmed V (Resad) (1909-1918) to Mehmed VI (Vahdettin) (1918-1922)
July 9 - Great train wreck of 1918: In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express killing 101.
July 15 - World War I: Second Battle of the Marne - The battle begins near the River Marne with a German attack.
July 16 - Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution: At Ekaterinburg, Bolsheviks execute Czar Nicholas II of Russia and his family.
August-October
August - "Spanish Flu" Influenza becomes pandemic; over twenty-five million people die in the following six months (three times as many as died during the war).
August 1 - British anti-Bolshevik forces occupy Archangel, Russia. August 10 commander is told to help White Russians
August 1 - Emma Susan Daugherty Banister becomes the first female sheriff in the United States following the death of her husband, John Riley Banister.
August 8 - World War I: Battle of Amiens - Canada|Canadian troops, backed by Australians, begin a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines. German General Erich Ludendorff will later call this the "black day of the German army."
August 30 - Strike of 20,000 London policemen with demands of increased pay and union recognition.
August 30 - Fanya Kaplan tries to shoot Lenin. Petrograd head of Cheka is assassinated the same day.
September 11 - The Boston Red Sox defeat the Chicago Cubs for the 1918 World Series championship. (their last World Series win until 2004)
September 28 - Don Voisko adopts a constitution including declaration of independence. Collapse of Imperial Germany makes it void
October 3 - Wilhelm II of Germany|Kaiser makes Max von Baden a German chancellor.
October 3 - Poland declares independence.
October 8 - World War I - In the Argonne Forest in France, US Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German soldiers and captures 132.
October 25 - The Princess Sophia (steamer)|Princess Sophia sinks on Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau, Alaska, 353 people die in the greatest maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest.
October 28 - Czechoslovakia gains its independence from Austria-Hungary.
October 28 - New Polish government in Western Galicia (Central Europe)
November
November 1 - Malbone Street Wreck: the worst rapid transit accident in world history occurs under the intersection of Malbone Street and Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, with at least 93 death|dead.
November 1 - Ruthenia in eastern Czechoslovakia declares brief independence
November 3 - World War I: Austria-Hungary enters an armistice with the Allies.
November 3 - Poland declares its independence from Russia.
November 4 - World War I: Austria-Hungary surrenders to Italy.
November 4 - Mutiny in the German fleet at Kiel begin the German Revolution.
November 6 - A new Polish government is proclaimed in Lublin.
November 8 - German army withdraws its support of the Kaiser
November 9 - Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates and chooses to live in exile in the Netherlands.
November 9 - Provisional National Council Minister-President Kurt Eisner declares Bavaria to be a republic.
November 11 - World War I ends: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside of Compiègne in France.
November 11 - Poland regains independence after 123 years of Partitions of Poland|partitions. Józef Piłsudski is appointed Commander-in-Chief.
November 11 - Emperor Charles I of Austria abdicates.
November 12 - Austria becomes a republic.
November 14 - Czechoslovakia becomes a republic.
November 14 - Józef Piłsudski is appointed head of state of Poland
November 16 - Hungary declares independence from Austria
November 16 - Hungarian People's Republic declared
November 18 - Latvia declares its independence from Russia.
November 22 - Spartacist League founds German Communist Party
November 22 - Belgium|Belgian royal family of Belgium|royal family returns to Brussels after the war
November 26 - the Podgorica Assembly voted for "union of the people", declaring a joining into the Kingdom of Serbia
December
December 1 - Iceland becomes a self-governing kingdom, yet remains united with Denmark.
December 1 - New voting laws in Sweden. Votes no longer dependent on taxable assets. One person, one vote.
December 1 - Proclamation of Union of Alba Iulia. Following the March 27 incorporation of Bessarabia and Bucovina, Transylvania unites with Romania.
December 1 - The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is proclaimed.
December 4 - US President Woodrow Wilson sails for the Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris_Peace_Conference, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office.
December 27 - Beginning of Great Poland Uprising, the Poles in Greater Poland (or Grand Duchy of Poznan|Grand Duchy of Poznań rise against the Germans.
December 28 - Constance Georgine, Countess Markiewicz|Constance Markiewicz becomes the first woman elected to the House of Commons.
Unknown dates
Finnish Civil War between the Reds and the Whites, January - April.
Habsburg Empire ceases to exist.
Grand Duchy of Baden ceases to exist.
British occupy Palestine (region)|Palestine
Katla erupts in Iceland.
Native American Church is founded.
Ernest Ansermet founds the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
John Riley Banister becomes sherrif of Coleman County, Texas.
Clifton Hillegass, American author born (d. 2001)
Association Against the Prohibition Amendment founded to promote repeal of prohibition in U.S.
Births
January-February
January 10 - Arthur Chung, President of Guyana
January 15 - Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt (d. 1970)
January 16 - Nel Benschop, Dutch poetess (d. 2005)
January 16 - Stirling Silliphant, American writer and producer (d. 1996)
January 19 - John H. Johnson, American publisher, (d. 2005)
January 20 - Juan Garcia Esquivel|Esquivel, Mexican musician (d. 2002)
January 23 - Gertrude B. Elion, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1999)
January 25 - Ernie Harwell, American baseball sportscaster
January 26 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (d. 1989)
January 26 - Philip José Farmer, American writer
January 27 - Skitch Henderson, English-born musician and bandleader (d. 2005)
January 29 - John Forsythe, American actor
February 1 - Dame Muriel Spark, Scottish author
February 3 - Helen Stephens, American runner (d. 1994)
February 6 - Lothar-Günther Buchheim, German author
February 8 - Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
February 12 - Julian Schwinger, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
February 17 - William Bronk, American poet (d. 1999)
February 22 - Robert Pershing Wadlow, American record-holder as the tallest man (d. 1940)
February 25 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
February 25 - Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d. 1995)
February 26 - Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d. 1985)
March-April
March 1 - Roger Delgado, British actor (d. 1973)
March 1 - João Goulart, President of Brazil (d. 1976)
March 3 - Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
March 3 - Fritz Thiedemann, German equestrian (d. 2000)
March 5 - James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
March 9 - George Lincoln Rockwell, American Nazi leader (d. 1967)
March 9 - Mickey Spillane, American mystery writer
March 11 - Jack Coe, American evangelist (d. 1956)
March 12 - Elaine de Kooning, American artist (d. 1989)
March 16 - Frederick Reines, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
March 17 - Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004)
March 18 - Al Benton, baseball player (d. 1968)
March 18 - Bob Broeg, American sports writer (d. 2005)
March 22 - Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (d. 1997)
March 25 - Howard Cosell, American attorney, lecturer, and sports journalist (d. 1995)
March 29 - Pearl Bailey, American singer and actress (d. 1990)
April 9 - Jørn Utzon, Danish architect
April 16 - Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
April 20 - Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate
April 22 - Mickey Vernon, baseball player
April 26 - Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (d. 2004)
May-August
May 1 - Jack Paar, American television show host (d. 2004)
May 9 - Mike Wallace (journalist)|Mike Wallace, American journalist
May 9 - Orville L. Freeman, American politician (d. 2003)
May 11 - Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
May 12 - Ethel and Julius Rosenberg|Julius Rosenberg, American-born Soviet spy (d. 1953)
May 15 - Eddy Arnold, American singer
May 16 - Wilf Mannion, English footballer (d. 2000)
May 17 - Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano
May 20 - Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2004)
June 6 - Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
June 18 - Jerome Karle, American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate
June 18 - Franco Modigliani, Italian-born economist, Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
July 4 - Ann Landers, American advice columnist (d. 2002)
July 4 - Abigail Van Buren, American advice columnist and twin sister to Ann Landers
July 5 - George Rochberg, American composer (d. 2005)
July 13 - Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (d. 1955)
July 14 - Ingmar Bergman Swedish film director
July 15 - Bertram N. Brockhouse, Canadian physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
July 17 - Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)
July 18 - Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
July 24 - Ruggiero Ricci, Italian-born violinist
July 27 - Leonard Rose, American cellist (d. 1984)
July 31 - Paul D. Boyer, American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate
August 3 - Sidney Gottlieb, American Central Intelligence Agency official (d. 1999)
August 5 - Betty Oliphant, co-founder of National Ballet of Canada (d. 2004)
August 8 - Brian Stonehouse, English painter and World War II spy (d. 1998)
August 13 - Frederick Sanger, English biochemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate
August 25 - Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor (d. 1990)
August 30 - Ted Williams, American baseball player (d. 2002)
September-December
September 4 - Paul Harvey, American radio broadcaster
September 8 - Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
September 22 - Henryk Szeryng, Polish-born violinist (d. 1988)
September 27 - Martin Ryle, English radio astronomer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 1984)
October 4 - Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
October 5 - Roland Garros, French pilot (shot down) (b. 1888)
October 8 - Jens Christian Skou, Danish chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate
October 19 - Louis Althusser, French philosopher (d. 1990)
October 31 - Ian Stevenson, American parapsychologist
November 3 - Russell B. Long, U.S. Senator from Louisiana (d. 2003)
November 4 - Art Carney, American actor (d. 2003)
November 10 - Ernst Otto Fischer, German chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate
November 13 - Jack Elam, American actor (d. 2003)
December 8 - Gérard Souzay, French baritone (d. 2004)
December 11 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer, Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize laureate
December 12 - Joe Williams (jazz singer)|Joe Williams, American jazz singer (d. 1999)
December 15 - Jeff Chandler (actor)|Jeff Chandler, American actor (d. 1961)
December 21 - Donald Regan, Chief of Staff and U.S. Treasury Secretary (d. 2003)
December 21 - Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General of the United Nations and President of Austria
December 23 - José Greco, Italian-born flamenco dancer (d. 2001)
December 25 - Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1981)
Deaths
January 6 - Georg Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1845)
January 9 - Émile Reynaud, French science teacher and maker of the first animated films (b. 1844)
January 28 - John McCrae, Canadian soldier and poet (b. 1872)
February 6 - Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter (b. 1862)
February 10 - Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1833)
March 13 - César Cui, Lithuanian composer (b. 1835)
March 25 - Claude Debussy, French composer (b. 1862)
March 27 - Henry Adams, American historian (b. 1838)
April 20 - Karl Ferdinand Braun, German phyicist, Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
April 21 - Manfred von Richthofen, "Red Baron", German World War I pilot (b, 1892)
May 14 - James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American newspaper publisher (b. 1841)
May 19 - Raoul Lufbery, American World War I pilot (b. 1885)
June 10 - Arrigo Boito, Italian poet and composer (b. 1842)
July 3 - Sultan Mehmed V of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1844)
July 17 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (b. 1868) and his family (executed)
August 1 - John Riley Banister, law officer, cowboy, and Texas Ranger (b. 1854)
August 18 - Henry Norwest, Canadian World War I sniper (b. 1884)
September 12 - George Reid (Australian politician)|George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1845)
September 28 - Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1858)
October 22 - Myrtle Gonzalez, American stage and screen actress (b. 1891)
November 4 - Wilfred Owen, English poet (killed in action) (b. 1893)
November 9 - Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet (b. 1880)
November 19 - Joseph Fielding Smith (1838-1918)|Joseph Fielding Smith, president of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1838)
Nobel Prizes
Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics - Max Planck|Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck
Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry - Fritz Haber
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Medicine - not awarded
Nobel Prize in literature|Literature - not awarded
Nobel Peace Prize|Peace - not awarded
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