April 18
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Featured Event
Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston (JFKWHP-AR6607-D)
On this day in 1956, Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III were married in a civil ceremony in the prince’s palace in Monaco. A large public reception, attended by some 3,000 people, was held later, concluding the first day of their two-day wedding celebration, which also included a religious ceremony at St. Nicholas Cathedral. At the end of it all, the American actress had become Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
One of the most creative intellects in human history was Albert Einstein, who died in Princeton, New Jersey, this day in 1955 and whose advanced theories of relativity and gravitation revolutionized science and philosophy.
Famous Birthdays
More on April 18
© Tada Images/stock.adobe.com
2023
Apple opened its first retail store in India. Located in Mumbai, the store drew huge crowds as well as Apple CEO Tim Cook. [How much do you know about historic firsts?]
© Kobal/REX/Shutterstock.com
2012
Dick Clark, who was the longtime host of American Bandstand (1957–87), died in California. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about pop culture.]
Wa Funches/AP Images
1999
Wayne Gretzky, considered one of ice hockey’s greatest players, skated in his last NHL game. [Find out if Wayne Gretzky tops our list of the 10 greatest hockey players of all time.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1980
Zimbabwe achieved independence from the United Kingdom. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Africa.]
U.S. Department of Defense
1945
During the U.S. invasion of the Japanese island of Okinawa during World War II, American war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed on the nearby island Ie by Japanese gunfire. [How much do you know about World War II?]
U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
1942
U.S. Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle led 16 B-25 bombers on a spectacular surprise attack on Tokyo and other Japanese cities; the Doolittle Raid, as it became known, caused little damage but boosted Allied morale. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about World War II.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1906
San Francisco was rocked by a major earthquake caused by slippage along the San Andreas Fault. More than 3,000 people are thought to have died, and about 250,000 were left homeless. [See the damage caused by the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.]
Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
1857
Defense lawyer, public speaker, debater, and writer Clarence Darrow—among whose high-profile court appearances was the Scopes Trial, in which he defended a Tennessee high-school teacher who had broken a state law by presenting the Darwinian theory of evolution—was born near Kinsman, Ohio. [Read about 10 “trials of the century.”]
© SuperStock
1775
Silversmith and folk hero Paul Revere made a dramatic ride on horseback to warn Boston-area residents of an imminent attack by British troops, a day before the American Revolution began with a battle at Lexington. [Watch: What really happened on Paul Revere’s midnight ride?]
© emiklos/Fotolia
1506
Pope Julius II laid the first stone of the new St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. [Take a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica.]