Vintage News · Odd history for January 18

What Happened On January 18

Q: What happened on January 18?

1981: Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs). 1788: The armed tender HMS Supply, the first ship of the First Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay, Australia. 1896: An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith. 1788: The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay. 1977: Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announce they have identified a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease. 1778: James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands". 1562: Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session. 532: Nika riots in Constantinople fail. 1990: In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Marion Barry (pictured), the mayor of Washington, D.C., was arrested for possession of crack cocaine. 1958: Willie O'Ree of the Boston Bruins played his first game in the National Hockey League, becoming the first black Canadian to compete in the NHL.

54 events and 258 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 18 January →

January 17 January 19

10 odd things that happened on January 18

1981 First ever
Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1788 First ever
The armed tender HMS Supply, the first ship of the First Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay, Australia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1896 First ever
An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1788 First ever
The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1977 Weird
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announce they have identified a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1778 First ever
James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1562 Oddly true
Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
532 Oddly true
Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1990 Oddly true
In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Marion Barry (pictured), the mayor of Washington, D.C., was arrested for possession of crack cocaine.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1958 First ever
Willie O'Ree of the Boston Bruins played his first game in the National Hockey League, becoming the first black Canadian to compete in the NHL.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2026At least 45 people are killed and 292 others injured after two trains collide in Adamuz in the worst railway disaster in over a decade in Spain. Wikipedia →
2025The popular social media app, TikTok, is banned in the United States, after the passing of PAFACA. Wikipedia →
2023A helicopter crash in Ukraine leaves 14 people dead, including the country's Interior Minister, Denys Monastyrsky. Wikipedia →
2019An oil pipeline explosion near Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, Mexico, kills 137 people. Wikipedia →
2018A bus catches fire on the Samara–Shymkent road in Yrgyz District, Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The fire kills 52 passengers, with three passengers and two drivers escaping. Wikipedia →
2012More than 115,000 websites engage in an online protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act in the US.[citation needed] The websites involved viewed the laws as infringing on the right to free speech and many of them temporarily shut down in protest. Wikipedia →
2008The Euphronios Krater is unveiled in Rome after being returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wikipedia →
2007The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Cyclone Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe. Wikipedia →
2005The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France Wikipedia →
2003A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia. Wikipedia →
2002The Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over. Wikipedia →
1993Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 US states. Wikipedia →
1990Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting. Wikipedia →
1988China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146 crashes near Chongqing Baishiyi Airport, killing all 98 passengers and 10 crew members. Wikipedia →
1986An Aerovías Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes on approach to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores, Petén, Guatemala, killing all 94 people on board. Wikipedia →
1983The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family. Wikipedia →
1981Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs). Wikipedia →
1978The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom's government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture. Wikipedia →
1977Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announce they have identified a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease. Wikipedia →
1977Australia's worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney, killing 83. Wikipedia →
1977SFR Yugoslavia's Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and six others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Wikipedia →
1976Lebanese Christian militias kill at least 1,000 in Karantina, Beirut. Wikipedia →
1974A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War. Wikipedia →
1972Members of the Mukti Bahini lay down their arms to the government of the newly independent Bangladesh, a month after winning the war against the occupying Pakistan Army. Wikipedia →
1969United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members. Wikipedia →
1967Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler", is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment. Wikipedia →
1960Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years. Wikipedia →
1958Willie O'Ree, the first Black Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: Liberation of Kraków, Poland by the Red Army. Wikipedia →
1943Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa. Wikipedia →
1932Alt Llobregat insurrection breaks out in Central Catalonia, Spain. Wikipedia →
1919World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France. Wikipedia →
1919Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland. Wikipedia →
1915Japan issues the "Twenty-One Demands" to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia. Wikipedia →
1913First Balkan War: A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece. Wikipedia →
1911Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship. Wikipedia →
1898British colonial engineer and estate manager William Claxton Peppé discovered the Buddha's remains in Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, India. Wikipedia →
1896An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith. Wikipedia →
1886Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. Wikipedia →
1871Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Wilhelm already had the title of German Emperor since the constitution of 1 January 1871, but he had hesitated to accept the title. Wikipedia →
1866Wesley College is established in Melbourne, Australia. Wikipedia →
1806Jan Willem Janssens surrenders the Dutch Cape Colony to the British. Wikipedia →
1788The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay. Wikipedia →
1778James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands". Wikipedia →
1701Frederick I crowns himself King in Prussia in Königsberg. Wikipedia →
1670Henry Morgan captures Panama. Wikipedia →
1586The magnitude 7.9 Tenshō earthquake strikes Honshu, Japan, killing 8,000 people and triggering a tsunami. Wikipedia →
1562Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session. Wikipedia →
1486King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Wikipedia →
1126Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong. Wikipedia →
532Nika riots in Constantinople fail. Wikipedia →
474Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. Wikipedia →
350General Magnentius is proclaimed emperor by Roman aristocrats discontent with the rule of emperor Constans. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2020The Guardian
Anthony Albanese flags 'ambitious' emissions target but won't recommit to 45% reduction
Opposition leader says it was a mistake to recommit to 2016 policies at last election without reviewing them
Read on The Guardian →
2017The Guardian
We can't work it out: Paul McCartney to sue Sony for rights to Beatles classics
The singer/songwriter is filing a suit to regain copyright ownership after Duran Duran tried and failed to do the sam…
Read on The Guardian →
2002The New York Times · Front page
U.S. Hunts 5 Men Seen on Tape, Saying They May Plan Attack
Justice Dept announces global manhunt for five suspected members of Al Qaeda who were videotaped in Afghanistan offer…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.