Date·Lore

On This Day · The 138th day of the year

May 18

May 18's record stretches 716 years, from 1302 to 2018. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

Taurus is the sign for May 18 — read more on the Taurus page, or see May's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on May 18?

May 18 is the 138th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1302 and 2018. Famous people born on May 18 include Pope John Paul II, Tina Fey and Rod Milburn.

Released on May 18

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game It Reaches
  • TV The Map of Truth

2024

  • Game Indigo Park

2023

  • TV XO, Kitty
  • TV Inspector Avinash

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1302

    Matins of Bruges

  2. 1388

    Battle of Buir Lake

  3. 1695

    1695 Linfen earthquake

  4. 1863

    American Civil War

  5. 1917

    World War I

  6. 1944

    Deportation of the Crimean Tatars

  7. 1955

    Operation Passage to Freedom

  8. 1965

    Eli Cohen

  9. 1980

    Mount St. Helens

  10. 2018

    Cubana de Aviación Flight 0972

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 18

Pope John Paul II

b. 1920

Tina Fey

b. 1970

Rod Milburn

b. 1950

Vincent du Vigneaud

b. 1901

Bertrand Russell

b. 1872

Omar Khayyam

b. 1048

Jacques Santer

b. 1937

Nicholas II

b. 1868

Deaths

  • 2013Lothar Schmid
  • 1941Werner Sombart
  • 1911Gustav Mahler
  • 1733Georg Böhm
  • 1410Rupert, King of the Romans
  • 947Emperor Taizong of Liao

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Blandine Merten
  • —Christian feast day: Eric IX of Sweden
  • —Christian feast day: Felix of Cantalice
  • —Christian feast day: Pope John I
  • —Christian feast day: Venantius of Camerino
  • —Christian feast day: May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Baltic Fleet Day (Russia)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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