This Day in History – March 18

Are you someone who enjoys reading history and the historical significance behind each day? Each day is rich with history with fables of wars, inventions, treaties and much more. In this blog we bring to you some of the important events that took place on March 18.

What Events Happened in India on March 18?

1919 – Rowlatt Act
The infamous Rowlatt Act was passed on this day which gave the British government indefinite powers to imprison anyone for a period of 2 years without any trial.

1922 – Imprisonment of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience, of which he serves only two.

1974 – Buddhadeb Basu
Prolific Bengali writer, Sahitya Akademi Winner who contributed immensely to Indian literature passed away on March 18 1974.

What Events Happened in India on March 18?

1662 – The first public bus service
The first public bus service began, promoted by Blaise Pascal, was operated in Paris.

1781 – Discovery of M92
Astronomer Charles Messier rediscovered global cluster M92. 

1877 – Appointment of Fredrick Douglass
US President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Frederick Douglass marshal of Washington, D.C on March 18 1877.

1890 – Resignation of German Chancellor  Otto von Bismarck
German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck resigned after 19 years of a disagreement with German Emperor Wilhelm II.

1940 – Alliance between Mussolini and Hitler
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom on March 18 1940.

1942 – Executive order Signed by Franklin D Roosevelt
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9102, creating the War Relocation Authority, which was charged with overseeing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

1959 – Hawaii Statehood Bill
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill on March 18 1959.

1965 – 1st person to walk space
Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov left his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, became the first person to walk in space.

1966 – General Suharto
General Suharto formed a government in Indonesia on March 18 1966.

1992 – Donna Summer
Donna Summer got a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

2018 – Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin is elected to a new six-year term as Russian President with 76% of the vote, his fourth term.

List of Important Birthdays

• 1837 – Grover Cleveland – 22nd and 24th US President Grover Cleveland was born on this day.
• 1858 – Rudolf Diesel – Founder of Diesel engine was born on this day.
• 1869 – Neville Chamberlain –  Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister was born on this day.
• 1938 – Shashi Kapoor – Indian actor and producer was born on this day.

These were some of the important events that occurred on March 18. We hope you enjoyed reading this. To know more about the historical events that took place on other days, check out our blogs at Leverage Edu!