Editing May 18 (section)

==Events==
===Pre-1600===
* [[332]] &ndash; Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] announces free distributions of food to the citizens in [[Constantinople]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Arnold Hugh Martin Jones|title=The Later Roman Empire, 284-602: A Social Economic and Administrative Survey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnFoAAAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|page=84|isbn=978-0-608-13518-2 }}</ref>
* [[872]] &ndash; [[Louis II of Italy]] is crowned for the second time as [[Holy Roman Emperor]] at [[Rome]], at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father [[Lothair I]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Louis II. (emperor) |volume= 17 | page= 29, see five lines from the end |quote= .... and was crowned a second time as emperor by Pope Adrian II. on the 18th of May 872}}</ref>
*[[1096]] &ndash; [[First Crusade]]: Around 800 Jews are [[Worms massacre (1096)|massacred in Worms, Germany]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Abraham David|title=A Hebrew Chronicle from Prague, C. 1615|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=024HSeMB1IEC&pg=PA73|date=8 January 2006|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-5290-5|pages=73}}</ref>
*[[1152]] &ndash; The future [[Henry II of England]] marries [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]]. He would become king two years later, after the death of his cousin once removed [[King Stephen of England]].
*[[1268]] &ndash; The [[Principality of Antioch]], a [[crusader states|crusader state]], falls to the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] [[Sultan]] [[Baibars]] in the [[Siege of Antioch (1268)|Siege of Antioch]].
*[[1291]] &ndash; [[Fall of Acre]], the end of [[crusader states|Crusader]] presence in the [[Holy Land]].
*[[1302]] &ndash; [[Bruges Matins (massacre)|Bruges Matins]], the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in [[Bruges]] by members of the local [[Flanders|Flemish]] militia.
*[[1388]] &ndash; During the [[Battle of Buyur Lake]], General [[Lan Yu (general)|Lan Yu]] leads a [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of [[Tögüs Temür]], the Khan of [[Northern Yuan]].
*[[1499]] &ndash; [[Alonso de Ojeda]] sets sail from [[Cádiz]] on his voyage to what is now [[Venezuela]].
*[[1565]] &ndash; The [[Great Siege of Malta]] begins, in which [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] forces attempt and fail to conquer [[Malta]].
*[[1593]] &ndash; Playwright [[Thomas Kyd]]'s accusations of [[Christian heresy|heresy]] lead to an arrest warrant for [[Christopher Marlowe]].
===1601–1900===
*[[1631]] &ndash; In [[Dorchester, Massachusetts]], [[John Winthrop]] takes the oath of office and becomes the first [[List of colonial governors of Massachusetts|Governor of Massachusetts]].
*[[1652]] &ndash; [[History of Rhode Island#Slavery in Rhode Island|Slavery in Rhode Island]] is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced.
*[[1695]] &ndash; The [[1695 Linfen earthquake]] in Shannxi, Qing dynasty causes extreme damage and kills at least 52,000 people.<ref name=NGDC>{{citation|title=Significant Earthquake Database|url=https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/1138|author=National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS)|publisher=[[National Geophysical Data Center]], [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]|doi=10.7289/V5TD9V7K|year=1972|type=Data Set}}</ref>
*[[1756]] &ndash; The [[Seven Years' War]] begins when [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] declares war on [[Kingdom of France|France]].
*[[1783]] &ndash; First [[United Empire Loyalists]] reach Parrtown (later called [[Saint John, New Brunswick]]), Canada, after leaving the United States. 
*[[1794]] &ndash; [[Battle of Tourcoing]] during the [[Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition|Flanders Campaign]] of the [[War of the First Coalition]].
*[[1803]] &ndash; [[Napoleonic Wars]]: The United Kingdom revokes the [[Treaty of Amiens]] and declares war on France.
*[[1804]] &ndash; [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] is proclaimed [[Emperor of the French]] by the [[French Senate]].
*[[1811]] &ndash; [[Battle of Las Piedras (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]] &ndash; [[John Bellingham]] is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the [[Assassination of Spencer Perceval|assassination]] of [[British Prime Minister]] [[Spencer Perceval]].
*[[1843]] &ndash; The [[Disruption of 1843|Disruption]] in [[Edinburgh]] of the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] from the [[Church of Scotland]].
*[[1848]] &ndash; Opening of the first German [[National Assembly]] ([[Frankfurt Parliament|Nationalversammlung]]) in [[Frankfurt]], Germany.
*[[1860]] &ndash; [[1860 United States presidential election|United States presidential election]]: [[Abraham Lincoln]] wins the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] [[1860 Republican National Convention|presidential nomination]] over [[William H. Seward]], who later becomes the [[United States Secretary of State]].
*[[1863]] &ndash; [[American Civil War]]: [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces under [[Ulysses S. Grant]] begin the [[Siege of Vicksburg]] during the [[Vicksburg campaign]] in order to take full control of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Vicksburg|url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/vicksburg|website=Battlefields.org|publisher=American Battlefield Trust|access-date=May 17, 2024}}</ref>
*[[1896]] &ndash; The [[United States Supreme Court]] rules in ''[[Plessy v. Ferguson]]'' that the "[[separate but equal]]" doctrine is constitutional.
*  1896   &ndash; [[Khodynka Tragedy]]: A [[mass panic]] on [[Khodynka Field]] in Moscow during the festivities of the [[coronation]] of [[Nicholas II of Russia|Russian Tsar Nicholas II]] results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
*[[1900]] &ndash; The United Kingdom proclaims a [[protectorate]] over [[Tonga]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Minnerop |first1=Petra |last2=Wolfrum |first2=Rüdiger |last3=Lachenmann |first3=Frauke |title=International Development Law: The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-883509-7 |page=784 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HiKQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA784 |language=en}}</ref>

===1901–present===
*[[1912]] &ndash; The first [[Cinema of India|Indian film]], ''Shree Pundalik'' by [[Dadasaheb Torne]], is released in [[Mumbai]].
*[[1917]] &ndash; [[World War I]]: The [[Selective Service Act of 1917]] is passed, giving the [[President of the United States]] the power of [[Conscription in the United States|conscription]].
*[[1922]] &ndash; [[Seamus Woods]] leads an [[Irish Republican Army (1919–1922)|Irish Republican Army]] attack on the headquarters of the [[Royal Irish Constabulary]] in Belfast.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theirishstory.com/2019/08/12/michael-collins-northern-ireland-and-the-northern-offensive-may-1922/ |title=Michael Collins, Northern Ireland and the Northern Offensive, May 1922 |last=Concannon |first=Patrick |date=12 August 2019 |website=The Irish Story |publisher= |access-date=25 March 2024 |quote=}}</ref> 
*[[1926]] &ndash; [[Evangelism|Evangelist]] [[Aimee Semple McPherson]] disappears in [[Venice, California]].
*[[1927]] &ndash; The [[Bath School disaster]]: Forty-five people, including many children, are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in [[Bath Charter Township, Michigan|Bath Township]], [[Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Board Votes Aid For Bath |url=https://www.clinton-county.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2206 |publisher=www.clinton-county.org (Official Clinton County website) |newspaper=Clinton County Republican-News |access-date=March 4, 2020 |date=May 26, 1927}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bernstein|first=Arnie|title=Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing|date=2009|publisher=[[The University of Michigan Press]] |page=154|location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |isbn=978-0-472-03346-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=School Dynamiter First Slew Wife|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/05/20/archives/school-dynamiter-first-slew-wife-charred-body-of-mrs-kehoe-is-found.html|access-date=February 27, 2020|date=May 20, 1927}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Foster|first=Eaton|title=Children Hated By Dynamitard Neighbors Say|newspaper=The Buffalo News|publisher=United News| date=May 20, 1927| url=https://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2021/Buffalo%20NY%20Evening%20News/Buffalo%20NY%20Evening%20News%201927/Buffalo%20NY%20Evening%20News%201927%20b%20-%201563.pdf|access-date=January 19, 2020 }}</ref>
*  1927   &ndash; After being founded for 20 years, the [[Nationalist government]] approves [[Tongji University]] to be among the first national universities of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]].
*[[1933]] &ndash; [[New Deal]]: President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] signs an act creating the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]].
*[[1944]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: [[Battle of Monte Cassino]]: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as [[Fallschirmjäger (World War II)|German paratroopers]] evacuate [[Monte Cassino]].
*  1944   &ndash; [[Deportation of the Crimean Tatars|Deportation]] of [[Crimean Tatars]] by the [[Soviet Union]].
*[[1948]] &ndash; The First [[Legislative Yuan]] of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] officially convenes in [[Nanking]].
*[[1953]] &ndash; [[Jacqueline Cochran]] becomes the first woman to break the [[sound barrier]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/meet-jacqueline-cochran |last1=Cochrane |first1=Dorothy |last2=Ramirez |first2=P. |title=Meet Jacqueline Cochran |date=28 October 2021 |website=[[National Air and Space Museum]] |access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref>
*[[1955]] &ndash; [[Operation Passage to Freedom]], the evacuation of 310,000 [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the [[French Union|French]] Army from communist [[North Vietnam]] to [[South Vietnam]] following the end of the [[First Indochina War]], ends.
*[[1965]] &ndash; Israeli spy [[Eli Cohen]] is hanged in [[Damascus|Damascus, Syria]].
*[[1969]] &ndash; [[Apollo program]]: [[Apollo 10]] is launched.
*[[1972]] &ndash; During approach to [[Kharkiv International Airport]], [[Aeroflot Flight 1491]] crashes near [[Ruska Lozova]], killing all 112 aboard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Antonov 10A CCCP-11215 Kharkov Airport (HRK) |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19720518-0 |access-date=2012-10-28 |website=Aviation safety Network}}</ref>
*[[1973]] &ndash; [[Aeroflot Flight 109]] is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker's bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19730518-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-104B CCCP-42411 Chita|last=Ranter|first=Harro|website=aviation-safety.net|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref>
*[[1974]] &ndash; [[Nuclear weapons testing]]: Under project [[Smiling Buddha]], India successfully detonates its first [[nuclear weapon]] becoming the [[India and weapons of mass destruction|sixth nation to do so]].
*[[1977]] &ndash; [[Likud]] party wins the [[1977 Israeli legislative election]], with [[Menachem Begin]], its founder, as the [[List of Prime Ministers of Israel|sixth Prime Minister of Israel]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/18/archives/likud-asks-for-unity-begin-in-trying-to-assemble-a-majority-in.html |title=LIKUD ASKS FOR UNITY |work=[[The New York Times]] |last=Farrell |first=William E. |date=18 May 1977 |access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref>
*[[1980]] &ndash; [[Mount St. Helens]] [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens|erupts]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington]], United States, killing 57 people and causing $3&nbsp;billion in damage.
*  1980   &ndash; [[Gwangju Massacre|Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations]] calling for democratic reforms.
*[[1990]] &ndash; In France, a modified [[TGV]] train achieves a new [[Land speed record for rail vehicles|rail world speed record]] of [[TGV world speed record|515.3&nbsp;km/h]] (320.2&nbsp;mph).
*[[1991]] &ndash; Northern [[Somalia]] declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the [[Republic of Somaliland]].
*[[1993]] &ndash; Riots in [[Nørrebro]], [[Copenhagen]], caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the [[1993 Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum#Riots|Maastricht Treaty referendum]]. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since [[World War II]] and injure 11 demonstrators. 
*[[1994]] &ndash; Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the [[Gaza Strip]], ceding the area to the [[Palestinian National Authority]] to govern.
*[[2005]] &ndash; A second photo from the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] confirms that [[Pluto]] has two additional moons, [[Nix (moon)|Nix]] and [[Hydra (moon)|Hydra]].
*[[2006]] &ndash; The post [[2006 democracy movement in Nepal|Loktantra Andolan]] government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the [[Kingdom of Nepal|monarchy]] and making [[Nepal]] a secular country.
*[[2009]] &ndash; The [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|LTTE]] are defeated by the [[Government of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan government]], ending almost [[Sri Lankan civil war|26 years of fighting]] between the two sides.
*[[2015]] &ndash; At least 78 people die in a [[2015 Colombian landslide|landslide]] caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of [[Salgar]].
*[[2018]] &ndash; [[2018 Santa Fe High School shooting|A school shooting]] at [[Santa Fe High School (Texas)|Santa Fe High School]] in Texas kills ten people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/18/612286146/shooting-reported-at-high-school-near-houston|title=10 People Killed In Texas High School Shooting; Suspect In Custody|website=NPR.org| date=18 May 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-05-16| last1=Chappell | first1=Bill | last2=Romo | first2=Vanessa }}</ref>
*  2018   &ndash; [[Cubana de Aviación Flight 972]] crashes in [[Santiago de las Vegas]] after takeoff from [[José Martí International Airport]] in [[Havana]], Cuba, killing 112 of the 113 people on board.<ref name="NST">{{cite news |date=May 26, 2018 |title=19-year-old now sole survivor of Cuban plane crash |newspaper=[[New Straits Times]] |url=https://www.nst.com.my/world/2018/05/373430/19-year-old-now-sole-survivor-cuban-plane-crash |access-date=May 27, 2018}}</ref>
*[[2019]] &ndash; [[2020 United States presidential election|United States presidential election]]: [[Joe Biden]] launches his [[Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign|presidential campaign]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=2020 Presidential Campaigns & Candidates|url=http://www.4president.org/ocmi2020.htm|access-date=2022-01-10|website=www.4president.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Jessica|date=2019-04-25|title=Biden Launches 2020 Campaign As Rescue Mission For America's 'Soul'|language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/25/675382786/joe-biden-officially-announces-2020-presidential-run|access-date=2022-01-10}}</ref>