Discover what happened on March 18 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

March 18

Discover what happened on March 18 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on March 18 | HISTORY

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1852

Loading up horse-drawn vans at the Wells Fargo general office, New York, USA, 1875.

1925

1766

1962

With months to spare, the Apollo 11 astronauts fulfilled late President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Back on earth, 1969 was also the year of the Woodstock music festival, the Stonewall riots for gay rights and the Tate-LaBianca murders by followers of Charles Manson. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Love Bug" topped Hollywood box office, and a movie ticket cost about $1.50.	

1969

1911

Around the world, 1937 brought conflict, disaster and innovation. Wars in Spain and Asia highlighted growing tensions ahead of WWII. Stalin’s Great Purge killed and imprisoned millions. A killer typhoon, dirigible disaster and mysterious aviator disappearance grabbed global headlines. The majestic Golden Gate Bridge debuted, while engineers built the first jet engine. As Depression endured, Americans paid $26 to rent an average house and 10 cents for a gallon of gas. Top diversions included swing music, Tolkien’s hobbit and Disney’s dwarves.

1937

As the Great Depression continued worldwide, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Nazis declared a national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses and opened their first concentration camp, Dachau. In the U.S., after President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination, he inaugurated his New Deal programs, ended Prohibition and began speaking directly to Americans with radio fireside chats. A “monster” appeared in Scotland’s Loch Ness, King Kong loomed large on movie screens and the first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey.

1933

In 1942, the U.S. Navy defeated the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, a turning point of the war in the Pacific, while in Germany, Nazi officials met to plan the “Final Solution” and Anne Frank’s family went into hiding. As FDR ordered Japanese Americans into wartime incarceration camps, false reports of a Japanese attack set California skies ablaze with anti-aircraft fire in the “Battle of Los Angeles.” Americans supported the war effort with scrap drives and victory gardens.

1942

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

19th Century

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Natural disasters and changes in the environment, such as global warming, the San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Galveston Hurricane, the Krakatoa eruption and others, have profoundly shaped human history. Explore both the sudden and long-term impacts of natural and human-made disasters.

This Day In History: March 18

Wells and Fargo start shipping and banking company

Also on This Day in History March | 18

This Day in History Video: What Happened on March 18

“Tri‑State Tornado” hits, the deadliest in U.S. history

Parliament repeals the Stamp Act

French‑Algerian truce

U.S. bombs Cambodia for the first time

Irving Berlin copyrights the biggest pop song of the early 20th century

Natural gas explosion kills nearly 300 at Texas school

Studebaker goes bankrupt

War Relocation Authority is established in United States

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