Today in History : April 18

• 1025 – Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland.
• 1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid.
• 1518 – Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.
• 1521 – Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication.
• 1689 – Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.
• 1738 – Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") is founded in Madrid.
• 1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.
• 1797 – The Battle of Neuwied – French victory against the Austrians.
• 1807 – The Harwich ferry disaster occurred near the North Sea port of Harwich on the Essex coast (England) in which 60-90 people drowned during the capsizing of a small ferry boat.
• 1831 – The University of Alabama is founded.
• 1848 – American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.
• 1857 – "The Spirits Book" by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France.
• 1864 – Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.
• 1880 – An F4 tornado strikes Marshfield, Missouri, killing 99 people and injuring 100.
• 1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
• 1897 – The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
• 1899 – The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria.
• 1902 – Quetzaltenango, the second largest city of Guatemala, is destroyed by an earthquake.
• 1906 – An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California.
• 1909 – Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.
• 1912 – The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.
• 1915 – French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
• 1923 – Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built", opens.
• 1924 – Simon & Schuster publishes the first crossword puzzle book.
• 1936 – The first Champions Day is celebrated in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1942 – World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan. Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.
• 1942 – Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.
• 1943 – World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.
• 1945 – Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.
• 1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.
• 1949 – The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.
• 1954 – Gamal Abdal Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
• 1955 – 29 nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.
• 1958 – A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound be released from an insane asylum.
• 1961 – The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a cornerstone of modern international relations, is adopted.
• 1961 – CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule.
• 1974 – The Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto inaugurates Lahore's dry port.
• 1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President. The Zimbabwe Dollar replaces the Rhodesian Dollar as the official currency.
• 1981 – The longest professional baseball game is begun in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The game is suspended at 4:00 the next morning and finally completed on June 23.
• 1983 – A suicide bomber destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people.
• 1988 – The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.
• 1992 – General Abdul Rashid Dostum revolts against President Mohammad Najibullah of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and allies with Ahmed Shah Massoud to capture Kabul.
• 1996 – In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the United Nations compound at Quana where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.
• 2007 – The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision.
• 2007 – A series of bombings, two of them being suicides, occur in Baghdad, killing 198 and injuring 251.