May 18

For the 2007 film, see May 18 (film).

May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 227 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday (58 in 400 years each) than on Saturday or Sunday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Thursday (56).

Events

• 332 – Constantine the Great announced free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
• 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Roman Emperor at Rome.
• 1096 – First Crusade: around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany.
• 1152 – Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine.
• 1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch.
• 1291 – Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.
• 1302 – Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia.
• 1388 – During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu leads a Chinese army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Tögüs Temür, the Khan of Northern Yuan.
• 1499 – Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
• 1565 – The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.
• 1565 – The Royal Audiencia of Concepción is created by a decree of Philip II of Spain.
• 1593 – Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
• 1631 – In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
• 1652 – Rhode Island passes the first law in English-speaking North America making slavery illegal.
• 1756 – The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.
• 1763 – Fire destroys a large part of Montreal
• 1783 – First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States.
• 1794 – Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
• 1803 – Napoleonic Wars: the United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
• 1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
• 1811 – Battle of Las Piedras: the first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas.
• 1812 – John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
• 1843 – The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.
• 1848 – Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
• 1860 – Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.
• 1863 – American Civil War: the Siege of Vicksburg begins.
• 1896 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional.
• 1896 – Khodynka Tragedy: a mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
• 1900 – The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
• 1912 – The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai.
• 1917 – World War I: the Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
• 1926 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a Venice, California, beach.
• 1927 – The Bath School disaster: forty-five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
• 1927 – After being founded for 20 years, the Government of the Republic of China approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China.
• 1933 – New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
• 1944 – Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
• 1948 – The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
• 1951 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 93 relating to Palestine is adopted.
• 1953 – Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
• 1955 – Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.
• 1958 – An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).
• 1959 – Launch of the National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire in Conakry, Guinea.
• 1965 – Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria.
• 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
• 1974 – Nuclear test: under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
• 1980 – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
• 1980 – Gwangju Massacre: students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
• 1990 – In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
• 1991 – Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognized by the international community.
• 1993 – Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators. In total 113 bullets are fired.
• 1994 – Israeli troops finish retreating from the Gaza Strip after occupying it, giving the area to the Palestine to govern.
• 2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.
• 2006 – The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
• 2009 – The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
• 2012 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 2048 relating to Guinea-Bissau is adopted.
• 2015 – At least 78 people die in a landslides caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar.

Births

• 1048 – Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (d. 1131)
• 1186 – Konstantin of Rostov (d. 1218)
• 1450 – Piero Soderini, Italian politician and diplomat (d. 1513)
• 1452 – Henry the Younger of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1492)
• 1474 – Isabella d'Este, Marquise of Mantua (d. 1539)
• 1610 – Stefano della Bella, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1664)
• 1662 – George Smalridge, English bishop (d. 1719)
• 1692 – Joseph Butler, English bishop, theologian, and apologist (d. 1752)
• 1711 – Roger Joseph Boscovich, Ragusan physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1787)
• 1777 – John George Children, English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (d. 1852)
• 1778 – Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Austria (d. 1854)
• 1785 – John Wilson, Scottish author and critic (d. 1854)
• 1797 – Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (d. 1854)
• 1822 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (d. 1896)
• 1835 – Charles N. Sims, American Methodist preacher and 3rd chancellor of Syracuse University (d. 1908)
• 1850 – Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1925)
• 1851 – James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (d. 1908)
• 1852 – Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (d. 1934)
• 1854 – Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (d. 1924)
• 1855 – Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (d. 1931)
• 1862 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1948)
• 1868 – Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918)
• 1871 – Denis Horgan, Irish shot putter and weight thrower (d. 1922)
• 1872 – Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
• 1873 – Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (d. 1937)
• 1876 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1931)
• 1878 – Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (d. 1977)
• 1882 – Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (d. 1968)
• 1883 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (d. 1974)
• 1883 – Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (d. 1969)
• 1887 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1946)
• 1889 – Thomas Midgley, Jr., American chemist and engineer (d. 1944)
• 1891 – Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and academic (d. 1970)
• 1892 – Ezio Pinza, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1957)
• 1895 – Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (d. 1934)
• 1896 – Eric Backman, Swedish runner (d. 1965)
• 1897 – Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
• 1898 – Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (d. 1973)
• 1901 – Henri Sauguet, French composer (d. 1989)
• 1901 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (d. 1984)
• 1904 – Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (d. 1971)
• 1904 – Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York Attorney General (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1943)
• 1907 – Irene Hunt, American author and educator (d. 2001)
• 1909 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player and academic (d. 1995)
• 1910 – Ester Boserup, Danish economist and author (d. 1999)
• 1912 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
• 1912 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Walter Sisulu, South African politician (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (d. 2000)
• 1913 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (d. 1982)
• 1914 – Boris Christoff, Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (d. 1993)
• 1917 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (d. 1973)
• 1919 – Margot Fonteyn, British ballerina (d. 1991)
• 1920 – Pope John Paul II (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Michael A. Epstein, English pathologist and academic
• 1922 – Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-English psychologist and academic (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Bill Macy, American actor
• 1922 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (d. 1983)
• 1923 – Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Priscilla Pointer, American actress
• 1924 – Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster
• 1925 – Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
• 1927 – Richard Body, English politician
• 1927 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Jack Sanford, American baseball player and coach (d. 2000)
• 1929 – Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Warren Rudman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
• 1931 – Robert Morse, American actor
• 1931 – Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (d. 1995)
• 1931 – Clément Vincent, Canadian farmer and politician
• 1933 – Bernadette Chirac, French politician, First Lady of France
• 1933 – H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian farmer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of India
• 1933 – Don Whillans, English rock climber and mountaineer (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director
• 1936 – Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Türker İnanoğlu, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1936 – Michael Sandle, English sculptor and academic
• 1937 – Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1937 – Jacques Santer, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg
• 1938 – Janet Fish, American painter and academic
• 1939 – Patrick Cormack, Baron Cormack, English historian, journalist, and politician
• 1939 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
• 1939 – Gordon O'Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Canadian Minister of Defence
• 1940 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler and promoter
• 1941 – Malcolm Longair, Scottish astronomer, physicist, and academic
• 1941 – Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress and singer
• 1942 – Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager
• 1944 – Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1944 – W. G. Sebald, German novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2001)
• 1946 – Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China
• 1946 – Reggie Jackson, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (d. 2013)
• 1947 – John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland
• 1947 – Gail Strickland, American actress
• 1947 – Akira Terao, Japanese singer and actor
• 1948 – Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic
• 1948 – Richard Swedberg, Swedish sociologist and academic
• 1948 – Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General, United States Senator from New Mexico
• 1949 – Rick Wakeman, English keyboard player and songwriter
• 1950 – Rod Milburn, American hurdler and coach (d. 1997)
• 1950 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter and painter
• 1951 – Jim Sundberg, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1951 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (d. 2013)
• 1952 – Diane Duane, American author and screenwriter
• 1952 – David Leakey, English general and politician
• 1952 – George Strait, American singer, guitarist and producer
• 1952 – Jeana Yeager, American pilot
• 1953 – Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
• 1954 – Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter
• 1956 – Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter
• 1956 – John Godber, English playwright and screenwriter
• 1956 – Jim Moginie, Australian guitarist and songwriter
• 1956 – Naomichi Ozaki, Japanese golfer
• 1957 – Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer
• 1957 – Henrietta Moore, English anthropologist and academic
• 1957 – Jane Root, English broadcaster and academic
• 1958 – Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach
• 1958 – Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1959 – Graham Dilley, English cricketer and coach (d. 2011)
• 1959 – Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1960 – Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1960 – Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1960 – Yannick Noah, French tennis player and singer
• 1961 – Russell Senior, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1962 – Olga Volozhinskaya, Russian ice dancer and choreographer
• 1963 – Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1963 – Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach
• 1964 – Ignasi Guardans, Spanish academic and politician
• 1965 – Ingo Schwichtenberg, German drummer (d. 1995)
• 1966 – Renata Nielsen, Polish-Danish long jumper and coach
• 1966 – Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1967 – Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author
• 1967 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver
• 1967 – Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films
• 1967 – Mimi Macpherson, Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity
• 1968 – Philippe Benetton, French rugby player
• 1968 – Ralf Kelleners, German race car driver
• 1969 – Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1970 – Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
• 1970 – Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1971 – Brad Friedel, American soccer player and sportscaster
• 1971 – Mark Menzies, Scottish politician
• 1971 – Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver
• 1972 – Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1973 – Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach
• 1973 – Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (d. 2011)
• 1974 – Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1974 – Chantal Kreviazuk, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1974 – Valmo Kriisa, Estonian basketball player
• 1975 – John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
• 1975 – Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1976 – Ron Mercer, American basketball player
• 1976 – Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer
• 1976 – Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Lee Hendrie, English footballer
• 1977 – Danny Mills, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1978 – Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
• 1978 – Marcus Giles, American baseball player
• 1978 – Charles Kamathi, Kenyan runner
• 1979 – Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft
• 1979 – Anna Chatziathanassiou, Greek figure skater
• 1979 – Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
• 1979 – Blagoj Nacoski, Macedonian opera singer
• 1979 – Michal Martikán, Slovak canoe racer
• 1979 – David Nail, American singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer
• 1979 – Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer
• 1980 – Reggie Evans, American basketball player
• 1980 – Michaël Llodra, French tennis player
• 1980 – Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
• 1981 – Mahamadou Diarra, Malian footballer
• 1982 – Jason Brown, English footballer
• 1982 – Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player
• 1983 – Gary O'Neil, English footballer
• 1983 – Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
• 1983 – Vince Young, American football player
• 1984 – Ivet Lalova, Bulgarian sprinter
• 1984 – Simon Pagenaud, French race car driver
• 1984 – Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1984 – Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player
• 1984 – Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist
• 1985 – Oliver Sin, Hungarian painter
• 1985 – Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer
• 1986 – Ahmed Hamada, Egyptian race car driver
• 1986 – Kevin Anderson, South African tennis player
• 1990 – Dimitri Daeseleire, Belgian footballer
• 1990 – Heo Ga-yoon, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress
• 1990 – Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer
• 1993 – Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1993 – Jessica Watson, Australian sailor
• 1998 – Polina Edmunds, American figure skater
• 1999 – Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 526 – Pope John I (b. 470)
• 893 – Stephen I of Constantinople (b. 867)
• 947 – Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty
• 1160 – Eric Jedvardsson (King Eric IX) of Sweden (since 1156); (b. circa 1120)
• 1297 – Nicholas Longespee, Bishop of Salisbury
• 1401 – Vladislaus II of Opole (b. 1332)
• 1410 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (b. 1352)
• 1550 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (b. 1498)
• 1551 – Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter (b. 1486)
• 1584 – Ikeda Motosuke, Japanese commander (b. 1559)
• 1675 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, historian, and theologian (b. 1623)
• 1675 – Jacques Marquette, French-American missionary and explorer (b. 1637)
• 1692 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (b. 1617)
• 1733 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (b. 1761)
• 1780 – Charles Hardy, English-American admiral and politician, 29th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1714)
• 1781 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian-Indian rebel leader (b. 1742)
• 1792 – Levy Solomons, Canadian merchant and fur trader (b. 1730)
• 1795 – Robert Rogers, English colonel (b. 1731)
• 1799 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and publisher (b. 1732)
• 1800 – Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (b. 1729)
• 1807 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (b. 1721)
• 1808 – Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (b. 1738)
• 1844 – Richard McCarty, American lawyer and politician (b. 1780)
• 1853 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (b. 1806)
• 1867 – Clarkson Stanfield, English painter (b. 1793)
• 1889 – Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (b. 1823)
• 1900 – Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (b. 1813)
• 1908 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1823)
• 1909 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1860)
• 1909 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (b. 1828)
• 1910 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (b. 1841)
• 1910 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (b. 1821)
• 1911 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1860)
• 1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
• 1941 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
• 1943 – Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (b. 1883)
• 1947 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
• 1955 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (b. 1875)
• 1956 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
• 1958 – Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (b. 1881)
• 1963 – Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1939)
• 1971 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1908)
• 1973 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (b. 1880)
• 1974 – Harry Ricardo, English engine designer and researcher (b. 1885)
• 1975 – Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
• 1980 – Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption:
  • Reid Blackburn, American photographer and journalist (b. 1952)
  • David A. Johnston, American volcanologist and geologist (b. 1949)
• 1980 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (Joy Division) (b. 1956)
• 1981 – Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1981 – William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (b. 1908)
• 1987 – Mahdi Amel, Lebanese journalist, poet, and academic (b. 1936)
• 1989 – Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (b. 1921)
• 1990 – Jill Ireland, English actress (b. 1936)
• 1995 – Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (b. 1903)
• 1995 – Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
• 1995 – Brinsley Le Poer Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist and historian (b. 1911)
• 1995 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Obaidullah Aleem, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (b. 1939)
• 1999 – Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1954)
• 1999 – Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
• 2000 – Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer and musicologist (b. 1946)
• 2001 – Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (b. 1907)
• 2004 – Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Jaan Eilart, Estonian geographer, ecologist, and historian (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
• 2008 – Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (b. 1911)
• 2009 – Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1954)
• 2012 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Jai Gurudev, Indian religious leader (year of birth unconfirmable)
• 2012 – Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer and songwriter (b. 1967)
• 2012 – Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer, designed the Raleigh Chopper (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
• 2013 – Jo Benkow, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (b. 1925)
• 2013 – David McMillan, American football player (b. 1981)
• 2013 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Hans-Peter Dürr, German physicist and academic (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1948)
• 2014 – Chukwuedu Nwokolo, Nigerian physician and academic (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (b. 1946)
• 2015 – Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic accountant and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1947)
• 2015 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (b. 1926)
• 2015 – T. J. Moran, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Jean-François Théodore, French businessman (b. 1946)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
  • Eric IX of Sweden
  • Felix of Cantalice
  • Pope John I
  • Venantius of Camerino
  • May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Victoria Day (Canada) (Earliest possible date of the last Monday preceding May 25)
• Baltic Fleet Day (Russia)
• Battle of Las Piedras Day (Uruguay)
• Day of Remembrance of Crimean Tatar genocide (Ukraine)
• Flag and Universities Day (Haiti)
• Independence Day (Somaliland) (unrecognized)
• International Museum Day
• Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (Sri Lankan Tamils)
• Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day (Turkmenistan)
• Teacher's Day (Syria)
• Victory Day (Sri Lanka)
• World AIDS Vaccine Day

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day