1918

Events in 1918 74

• 1862 – 1918 Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) Died 6 February 1918, aged 55 Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt, best known for gold-leaf works such as The Kiss, died in Vienna after suffering a stroke and contracting pneumonia during the influenza pandemic. He was a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His death came just months before his protege Egon Schiele also died of influenza.
• 1862 – 1918 Claude Debussy Impressionist composer French composer whose Clair de Lune, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and La Mer created a new musical language based on colour and atmosphere.
• 1864 – 1918 Frank Wedekind (1864-1918) Died 9 March 1918, aged 53 German playwright Frank Wedekind, author of the controversial drama Spring Awakening, died in Munich following complications from an operation. His work explored sexuality and social repression with a frankness that scandalized contemporary audiences. He is regarded as a forerunner of expressionist theatre.
• 1868 – 1918 Nicholas II of Russia (1868-1918) Died 17 July 1918, aged 50 Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, was executed along with his family by Bolshevik forces in Yekaterinburg following his abdication in 1917. His reign was marked by military defeats, the 1905 Revolution, and growing unrest that culminated in the fall of the monarchy. He was later canonized as a passion bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.
• 1880 – 1918 Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) Died 9 November 1918, aged 38 French poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire, a leading champion of Cubism and coiner of the term 'Surrealism', died of the Spanish flu in Paris two days before the Armistice. He had earlier been wounded in the head while serving at the front. His experimental poetry collections, including Calligrammes, influenced a generation of avant-garde writers.
• 1888 – 1918 Roland Garros (1888-1918) Died 5 October 1918, aged 30 French aviator Roland Garros, famed before the war for the first solo flight across the Mediterranean Sea, was shot down and killed in aerial combat over the Ardennes weeks before the Armistice. He had earlier been a prisoner of war and escaped German captivity in 1918. The Paris tennis stadium and French Open venue was later named in his honour.
• 1890 – 1918 Egon Schiele (1890-1918) Died 31 October 1918, aged 28 Austrian Expressionist painter Egon Schiele, known for raw, angular figurative works, died of the Spanish flu in Vienna just three days after his pregnant wife Edith succumbed to the same illness. He had studied under Gustav Klimt, who died earlier the same year. His brief career left a major mark on 20th-century figurative art.
• 1892 – 1918 Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918) Died 21 April 1918, aged 25 German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron, was killed in action over the Somme valley after being hit by ground fire while pursuing an Allied aircraft. Credited with 80 confirmed aerial victories, he was the top ace of World War I. He was buried by Allied forces with full military honours.
• 1893 – 1918 Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) Died 4 November 1918, aged 25 English war poet Wilfred Owen was killed in action crossing the Sambre-Oise Canal in France, exactly one week before the Armistice ended World War I. His poems, including Dulce et Decorum Est and Anthem for Doomed Youth, portrayed the horror of trench warfare with unflinching realism. Most of his work was published posthumously and became central to the canon of war literature.
• 1903 – 1918 The Suffragettes Votes for Women Militant activists led by Emmeline Pankhurst fighting for womens right to vote.
• 1914 – 1918 World War I Global conflict The Great War drew in empires across Europe, killing over 17 million. It reshaped borders, toppled empires, and sowed the seeds of WW II.
• 1918 – 1970 Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970) Died 28 September 1970, aged 52 Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of Egypt and a leading figure of Arab nationalism, died suddenly of a heart attack in Cairo. His funeral drew millions of mourners across the Arab world.
• 1918 – 1943 Hans Scholl (1918-1943) Died 22 February 1943, aged 24 Hans Scholl was a medical student and a founding member of the White Rose resistance group. He wrote and distributed leaflets condemning Nazi crimes. He was executed in Munich together with his sister Sophie and Christoph Probst.
• 1918 – 1981 Jack Albertson (1918-1981) Died 25 November 1981, aged 63 American actor Jack Albertson, who won an Academy Award for The Subject Was Roses and starred as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, died in Los Angeles on 25 November 1981. He was one of a small number of performers to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony award. He also starred in the television sitcom Chico and the Man.
• 1918 – 1920 Spanish flu 50 million+ deaths The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic infected 500 million people and killed an estimated 50–100 million — more than World War I.
• 1918 Spanish flu pandemic Spanish flu pandemic The 1918 influenza pandemic infected 500 million people worldwide and killed an estimated 50–100 million.
• 1918 The Finnish Civil War Red vs White A tragic conflict between the "Reds" (Socialists) and "Whites" (Senate supporters) for control of the new nation.
• 1918 Toyoda Automatic Loom Works founded Sakichi Toyoda founds Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1918 in Nagoya, Japan — building on his invention of the Type-G automatic loom, which could stop itself automatically when a thread broke, preventing defective cloth. The self-stopping loom embodies a principle — 'jidoka' (automation with a human touch) — that will become one of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System. Sakichi sells the patent rights to his loom to Platt Brothers of England in 1929 for £100,000 — the capital that funds his son Kiichiro's automobile venture.
• 1918 Wilson's Fourteen Points Speech Woodrow Wilson outlines postwar peace principles US President Woodrow Wilson presented a fourteen-point program to Congress as a blueprint for ending World War I and securing lasting peace. The points called for open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, self-determination for nations, and a League of Nations. They later shaped the Paris Peace Conference, though many were diluted in the final Treaty of Versailles.
• 1918 Ukraine declares independence Ukrainian People's Republic proclaims full independence from Russia The Ukrainian Central Rada issued its Fourth Universal, proclaiming Ukraine a fully independent state separate from Soviet Russia. The declaration came amid the chaos of the Russian Civil War and with German military support for the fledgling republic. Ukrainian independence proved short-lived, as the country was contested by Bolshevik, White, and foreign forces over the following years.
• 1918 – 2009 Oral Roberts (1918-2009) Died 15 December 2009, aged 91 Roberts was an American televangelist and faith healer who pioneered televised religious broadcasting and founded Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. His ministry was among the largest and most influential in American evangelicalism during the twentieth century. He remained active in the movement he built until his death.
• 1918 – 1995 Ida Lupino (1918-1995) English-American actress and pioneering director, one of the few women directing in 1950s Hollywood.
• 1918 Representation of the People Act 1918 UK grants the vote to women over thirty and all men over twenty-one The Representation of the People Act 1918 received royal assent, enfranchising women over the age of thirty who met property qualifications and abolishing most property restrictions for men. It was the largest single expansion of the UK electorate in history. Full equal suffrage for women would not arrive until 1928.
• 1918 Lithuania declares independence Council of Lithuania proclaims restored statehood The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence, declaring the restoration of an independent Lithuanian state after more than a century under Russian rule. The declaration was made under German occupation during World War I. Lithuania spent the following years fighting to secure its borders and international recognition.
• 1918 Estonia declares independence Estonia proclaims independence amid German and Russian withdrawal The Salvation Committee of the Estonian National Council declared Estonian independence in Tallinn as Imperial Russian forces withdrew and before German troops arrived. Germany occupied the country days later, delaying full sovereignty. Estonia secured lasting independence only after its War of Independence concluded in 1920.
• 1918 The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Brest-Litovsk Russia left the war, surrendering Poland, the Baltics, Finland, Ukraine and the Caucasus — a third of its population and half its industry. The terms were harsher than Versailles would be on Germany.
• 1918 – 1920 The influenza pandemic Worldwide First recorded at a Kansas army camp and spread by troop movements, the pandemic killed somewhere between 25 and 50 million people — more than the war itself. Wartime censorship meant only neutral Spain reported it freely, which is how it got its name.
• 1918 The German Spring Offensive Western Front Ludendorff's last gamble, using troops freed from the east and stormtrooper tactics, before the Americans could arrive in force. It advanced further than anything since 1914, took 40 miles, and ran out of men and supplies short of anywhere decisive.
• 1918 – 1995 Howard Cosell (1918-1995) Died 23 April 1995, aged 77 Howard Cosell was an American sportscaster known for his brash, opinionated style and his long association with ABC's Monday Night Football. He was closely linked to Muhammad Ali, whom he interviewed frequently during Ali's career. Cosell's commentary changed the tone of American sports broadcasting.
• 1918 – 1990 Pearl Bailey (1918-1990) American singer and actress, star of the all-Black Hello, Dolly! and later a UN envoy.
• 1918 Daylight saving time introduced in the United States US adopts clock changes to conserve wartime fuel The Standard Time Act took effect, introducing daylight saving time across the United States for the first time to save fuel during World War I. Clocks were set forward one hour on the last Sunday in March. The measure proved unpopular and was repealed the following year, though it was later reinstated permanently in 1942 and after.
• 1918 – 2011 Betty Ford (1918-2011) Died 8 July 2011, aged 93 The former First Lady of the United States, wife of President Gerald Ford, was known for her openness about breast cancer and addiction, later founding the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse treatment. She died in Rancho Mirage, California. Her candor reshaped public discussion of addiction recovery.
• 1918 – 2002 Spike Milligan (1918-2002) Died 27 February 2002, aged 83 Spike Milligan was the driving creative force behind The Goon Show, the anarchic BBC radio comedy of the 1950s that influenced generations of British humour. Born in India, he wrote surreal scripts, comic verse and a series of war memoirs. He spoke openly about the bipolar disorder that troubled him throughout his life.
• 1918 – 1981 William Holden (1918-1981) Died 16 November 1981, aged 63 American actor William Holden, star of films including Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17 and The Bridge on the River Kwai, died in Santa Monica, California, on 16 November 1981. He had won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Stalag 17. He was found dead in his apartment several days after suffering a fall.
• 1918 – 1988 Richard Feynman (1918-1988) Died 15 February 1988, aged 69 Richard Feynman was an American theoretical physicist who shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on quantum electrodynamics. He also served on the panel investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and was widely known for his popular science writing. He died of cancer in Los Angeles.
• 1918 Georgia declares independence Democratic Republic of Georgia founded The National Council of Georgia proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Georgia, ending union with Russia amid the collapse of the Transcaucasian Federation. The new state was led by the Georgian Social Democratic Party. It survived until the Red Army invasion of 1921 brought Georgia under Soviet control.
• 1918 Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed First secular parliamentary republic in the Muslim world The National Council in Tiflis declared the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic following the breakup of the Transcaucasian Federation. It was the first parliamentary republic in the Muslim world and extended voting rights to women. The republic was absorbed into Soviet Russia in 1920.
• 1918 Battle of Cantigny First major American offensive of World War I The US 1st Division captured the village of Cantigny from German forces in France, marking the first significant American offensive operation of World War I. The assault demonstrated that US troops could hold ground against German counterattacks. It was a small but symbolically important step in building the combat experience of the American Expeditionary Forces.
• 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood US Marines halt German advance near Paris American and French forces fought German troops for control of Belleau Wood northwest of Château-Thierry, in some of the fiercest fighting US Marines had yet experienced. The battle helped stop the German spring offensive's push toward Paris. American casualties were heavy, and the engagement became a foundational episode in Marine Corps history.
• 1918 – 1987 Robert Preston (1918-1987) American actor who became Harold Hill in The Music Man on Broadway and film.
• 1918 – 1996 Ben Johnson (1918-1996) American rodeo champion and actor, a John Ford regular who won an Oscar for The Last Picture Show.
• 1918 – 1997 Chaim Herzog (1918-1997) Died 17 April 1997, aged 78 Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel from 1983 to 1993, following a career as a military intelligence officer and diplomat. He was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations in the 1970s. He died in Tel Aviv.
• 1918 – 1955 Alberto Ascari The Ciccio Two-time World Champion and Ferrari’s first great champion.
• 1918 Second Battle of the Marne Allied counteroffensive ends the last major German advance of the war German forces launched what became their final major offensive of World War I along the Marne River, which Allied armies under Ferdinand Foch repelled and turned into a counteroffensive. The battle marked the turning point after which Germany remained on the defensive for the rest of the war. It involved large numbers of newly arrived American troops.
• 1918 Execution of the Romanov family Bolsheviks kill the last Russian imperial family in Yekaterinburg Former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their five children were shot by Bolshevik guards in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. The killings were ordered amid fears that advancing anti-Bolshevik forces might rescue the family. The event marked the definitive end of three centuries of Romanov rule in Russia.
• 1918 – 2013 Nelson Mandela Anti-apartheid leader and first president of democratic South Africa, 1918-2013 Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison before becoming South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994, ending apartheid.
• 1918 – 1990 Thatcher resigns 1990 Iron Lady leaves Downing Street Margaret Thatcher resigned as British Prime Minister on November 22, 1990 after 11 years in power, following a leadership challenge from within her own Conservative Party.
• 1918 Amiens: the black day of the German Army Amiens, France Over 500 tanks, coordinated aircraft and artillery broke the German line and advanced seven miles in a day. Whole units surrendered without fighting. Ludendorff's phrase for it gave the battle its name.
• 1918 – 1990 Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Died 14 October 1990, aged 72 Leonard Bernstein was an American composer and conductor who led the New York Philharmonic and composed "West Side Story." He was among the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century, equally renowned for classical and popular works. He died in New York City on 14 October 1990.
• 1918 – 2020 Katherine Johnson (1918-2020) Died 24 February 2020, aged 101 Katherine Johnson was a NASA mathematician whose orbital calculations were critical to early US crewed spaceflights, including John Glenn's 1962 orbit of Earth. Her story was told in the 2016 film Hidden Figures; she died on 24 February 2020.
• 1918 – 2002 Ted Williams (1918-2002) Died 5 July 2002, aged 83 Ted Williams spent his entire career with the Boston Red Sox and is regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. In 1941 he batted .406, and no player has reached .400 for a season since. His playing years were twice interrupted by military service as a pilot, in the Second World War and Korea.
• 1918 – 1986 Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986) Died 14 June 1986, aged 67 American lyricist and librettist best known for his partnership with composer Frederick Loewe on musicals including My Fair Lady, Gigi and Camelot. His work won multiple Tony and Academy Awards. He died in New York City.
• 1918 – 2009 Paul Harvey (1918-2009) Died 28 February 2009, aged 90 Harvey was an American radio broadcaster whose news and commentary program was syndicated on thousands of stations for decades. His segment "The Rest of the Story" became one of the most recognized voices in American radio. He continued broadcasting into his nineties.
• 1918 Meuse-Argonne Offensive Largest American military operation of World War I American and French forces launched a massive offensive along the Meuse River and through the Argonne Forest, aiming to cut German rail lines supplying the Western Front. It became the largest and deadliest operation of the war for the American Expeditionary Forces, with over 26,000 US soldiers killed. The offensive continued until the Armistice ended the fighting.
• 1918 Frederick Charles of Hesse King-elect of Finland Frederick Charles was elected King of Finland but never ruled because Finland abandoned plans for monarchy.
• 1918 – 1951 Robert Walker (1918-1951) American actor, MGM's shy young soldier who became Hitchcock's charming psychopath in Strangers on a Train.
• 1918 – 1987 Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) Died 14 May 1987, aged 68 Hayworth was an American actress and dancer who became one of the top Hollywood stars of the 1940s, known for films including Gilda. Her later years and death drew public attention to Alzheimer's disease, with which she had been diagnosed. She died in New York City.
• 1918 Chaplin releases Shoulder Arms Charlie Chaplin's wartime comedy becomes a box-office hit Charlie Chaplin released Shoulder Arms, a silent comedy following his Tramp character as an awkward army recruit in the trenches of World War I. The film was a major commercial success and helped cement Chaplin's standing as the era's leading screen comedian. It remains notable for finding humour in the ongoing war without trivializing its horrors.
• 1918 – 2005 Teresa Wright (1918-2005) American actress, nominated for an Oscar for each of her first three films and winner for Mrs. Miniver.
• 1918 Czechoslovakia declares independence Czechoslovak National Council proclaims independence in Prague The Czechoslovak National Council declared independence from Austria-Hungary, founding the new state of Czechoslovakia with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk as its first president. The declaration capitalized on the collapse of Austro-Hungarian authority in the war's final weeks. Czechoslovakia remained an independent state until its dissolution in 1993.
• 1918 Armistice of Mudros Armistice ends Ottoman Empire's participation in World War I The Ottoman Empire signed an armistice with the Allied Powers aboard HMS Agamemnon at the port of Mudros, ending its involvement in World War I. The terms allowed Allied occupation of the Turkish Straits and demobilization of Ottoman forces. The empire's defeat set the stage for its eventual partition and the rise of the Turkish War of Independence.
• 1918 Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolves Centuries-old Habsburg monarchy breaks apart at the end of World War I The Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated in late October and early November 1918 as its constituent nationalities declared independence and Emperor Karl I relinquished his role in state affairs. The collapse gave rise to successor states including Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It ended nearly four centuries of Habsburg rule over Central Europe.
• 1918 Fritz Haber awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry Chemist honoured for synthesizing ammonia from nitrogen Fritz Haber received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a process to synthesize ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen, a breakthrough that enabled mass production of fertilizer and dramatically increased global food output. The award proved controversial given Haber's wartime role developing chemical weapons for Germany. The Haber-Bosch process remains fundamental to industrial agriculture today.
• 1918 Max Planck awarded Nobel Prize in Physics Physicist honoured for founding quantum theory Max Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of energy quanta, work originally published in 1900 that laid the foundation for quantum theory. The award was announced during World War I, with the ceremony delayed by wartime conditions. Planck's quantum hypothesis fundamentally reshaped modern physics.
• 1918 – 2018 Billy Graham (1918-2018) Died 21 February 2018, aged 99 American evangelist who preached to millions worldwide and served as a spiritual advisor to numerous US presidents. He led large-scale crusades broadcast on television and radio across decades. His ministry helped shape modern American evangelicalism.
• 1918 Abdication of Wilhelm II End of the German monarchy Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated during the German Revolution, ending the German Empire and monarchy.
• 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates German Revolution topples the Hohenzollern monarchy Amid mutinies, strikes, and revolutionary uprisings across Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne and fled to the Netherlands, ending the German Empire. Chancellor Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a republic in Berlin the same day. The collapse of the monarchy paved the way for the Weimar Republic and Germany's request for an armistice two days later.
• 1918 – 1996 Spiro Agnew (1918-1996) Died 17 September 1996, aged 77 Spiro Agnew served as the 39th Vice President of the United States under Richard Nixon before resigning in 1973 amid a criminal investigation into bribery and tax evasion. He pleaded no contest to a single charge and left office in disgrace. He spent his later years as a businessman largely out of public life.
• 1918 Poland regains independence Poland restored as a sovereign state after 123 years of partition Józef Piłsudski assumed military command in Warsaw as Poland reconstituted itself as an independent state after being partitioned among Russia, Prussia, and Austria since the late 18th century. The date is commemorated as Poland's National Independence Day. The newly restored country immediately faced border conflicts with several neighbours.
• 1918 The Armistice Compiègne, France Signed in a railway carriage at 5:10 a.m. and effective at 11 a.m. Around 2,700 men died in the six hours in between, on a front where everyone knew the war was ending at eleven.
• 1918 Latvia declares independence Latvian National Council proclaims independent republic The Latvian People's Council declared the independence of the Republic of Latvia in Riga amid the collapse of German occupation authority at the end of World War I. Kārlis Ulmanis became the country's first prime minister. Latvia secured lasting independence only after a subsequent war fought against Soviet and German forces.
• 1918 Iceland becomes a sovereign state Act of Union places Iceland in personal union with Denmark The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union came into force, recognizing Iceland as a fully sovereign kingdom in personal union with Denmark, sharing only a monarch and foreign policy. The agreement ended direct Danish governance of Icelandic affairs. Iceland became a fully independent republic in 1944.
• 1918 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes proclaimed South Slavic peoples unite in a new Balkan kingdom Serbia, joined by the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs formed from former Austro-Hungarian territories, proclaimed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes under the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty. The new state united most South Slavic peoples for the first time under one government. It was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929.
• 1918 – 2008 Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) Died 3 August 2008, aged 89 Russian novelist and Nobel laureate whose works, including The Gulag Archipelago, exposed the brutality of the Soviet labor camp system. His writing and exile from the USSR made him one of the twentieth century's most significant literary dissidents.