2026 Adamuz rail disaster
At least 45 people are killed and 292 others injured after two trains collide in Adamuz in the worst railway disaster in over a decade in Spain.
What happened on January 18
34 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 474 to 2026.
Standout on January 18
2025
TikTok
The popular social media app, TikTok, is banned in the United States, after the passing of PAFACA.
About January 18
January 18 is the 18th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 18 of 365 (18 in leap years)347 days left in the year (348 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Sunday in 2026, Monday in 2027, Tuesday in 2028, Thursday in 2029, Friday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 3 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♑ Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)Cusp date — the exact boundary shifts by a day in some years.
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- January birthstone
- Garnetprotection, friendship and trust
- January birth flower
- Carnation / Snowdroplove, devotion and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 83 days
- Roman numerals
- XVIII.Iday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 75thUnited Nations Memorial Cemetery1951
- 70thShia Islam1956
- 40thAerovías1986
- 30thSarah Gilman1996
- 10thGlenn Frey2016
- 10thJohnny Bach2016
- 10thMichel Tournier2016
- 10thT. S. Sinnathuray2016
January 18 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Johnny Bach · Glenn Frey · T. S. Sinnathuray
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on January 18 — ages this year
- 2010Sophia Reid-Gantzertturns 16
- 2009Lumi Pollackturns 17
- 2003Wendy Shongweturns 23
- 2002Ki-Jana Hoeverturns 24
- 2002Anastasia Zakharovaturns 24
- 2002Karim Adeyemiturns 24
Historical events 34
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
TikTok
The popular social media app, TikTok, is banned in the United States, after the passing of PAFACA.
2023 Brovary helicopter crash
A helicopter crash in Ukraine leaves 14 people dead, including the country's Interior Minister, Denys Monastyrsky.
Tlahuelilpan pipeline explosion
An oil pipeline explosion killed 137 people in Tlahuelilpan, Mexico.
Samara
A bus catches fire on the Samara–Shymkent road in Yrgyz District, Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The fire kills 52 passengers, with three passengers and two drivers escaping.
Protests against SOPA and PIPA
More than 115,000 websites engage in an online protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act in the US.[citation needed] The websites involved viewed the laws as infringing on the right to free speech and many of them temporarily shut down in protest.
Euphronios Krater
The Euphronios Krater is unveiled in Rome after being returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
1999
The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Cyclone Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
2003 Canberra bushfires
A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
Sierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 US states.
Sting operation
In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Marion Barry (pictured), the mayor of Washington, D.C., was arrested for possession of crack cocaine.
Marion Barry
Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146
China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146 crashes near Chongqing Baishiyi Airport, killing all 98 passengers and 10 crew members.
Aerovías
An Aerovías Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes on approach to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores, Petén, Guatemala, killing all 94 people on board.
International Olympic Committee
Thirty years after his death, the International Olympic Committee presented commemorative medals to the family of American athlete Jim Thorpe, who had been stripped of his gold medals for playing semi-professional baseball before the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Malayan Communist Party
Singaporean communist activist Tan Chay Wa was executed, leading to a much-publicised trial of his brother for engraving "subversive" material on the gravestone.
BASE jumping
Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom's government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
Granville rail disaster
Australia's worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney, killing 83.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announce they have identified a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.
1968–1969 Japanese university protests
In response to months of nationwide student protests, thousands of Japanese police stormed the University of Tokyo.
Lumbee
Members of the Lumbee tribe arrived to protest at a Ku Klux Klan rally near Maxton, North Carolina, which turned into an armed confrontation between the two groups (pictured).
Willie O'Ree
Willie O'Ree of the Boston Bruins played his first game in the National Hockey League, becoming the first black Canadian to compete in the NHL.
Shia Islam
Iranian Shia cleric Navvab Safavi, founder of the fundamentalist group Fada'iyan-e Islam, was executed for attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Hossein Ala'.
United Nations Memorial Cemetery
Construction of the United Nations Military Cemetery (pictured) began in Busan, South Korea.
World War II
World War II: In Operation Iskra, the Red Army established a narrow land corridor to Leningrad, partially easing the protracted German siege of the city.
Alt Llobregat insurrection
The Alt Llobregat insurrection began with a miners' strike in Fígols and quickly spreads throughout central Catalonia.
Ōkuma Shigenobu
Japanese prime minister Ōkuma Shigenobu issued the Twenty-One Demands to China in a bid to increase Japan's power in East Asia.
German Empire
The German Empire was formed by the unification of previously independent German states, under the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm I.
Ship's tender
The armed tender HMS Supply, the first ship of the First Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay, Australia.
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro founded Ciudad de los Reyes (present-day Lima, Peru) as the capital of the lands he conquered for the Spanish crown.
Leo II (emperor)
The young child Leo II became the sole Byzantine emperor upon the death of his grandfather Leo I.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Rachael Heyhoe Flint
Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist (born 1939)
Tony Verna
Tony Verna, American director and producer, invented instant replay (born 1933)
Michael Botmang
Michael Botmang, Nigerian politician, 17th Governor of Plateau State (born 1938)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Margaret of Hungary (saint)
Christian feast day: Margaret of Hungary
Saint Prisca
Christian feast day: Prisca
Deicolus
Christian feast day: Deicolus
Confession of Peter
Christian feast day: Confession of Peter (Eastern Orthodox, some Anglican and Lutheran Churches)
Regina Protmann
Christian feast day: Blessed Regina Protmann
Volusian of Tours
Christian feast day: Volusianus of Tours
Athanasius of Alexandria
Christian feast day: Athanasius of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Amy Carmichael
Christian feast day: Amy Carmichael (Church of England)
Spread across the centuries
- 5th century1
- 16th century1
- 18th century1
- 19th century1
- 20th century33
- 21st century37
Earliest: Leo II (emperor) (474). Most recent: 2026 Adamuz rail disaster (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about January 18
What day of the year is January 18?
January 18 is the 18th day of the year, with 347 days left after it.
What star sign is January 18?
January 18 falls under Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), a earth sign ruled by Saturn. The birthstone for the month is Garnet.
How many things happened on January 18?
We record 82 entries for January 18: 34 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 474 to 2026.
Who was born on January 18?
Sophia Reid-Gantzert (2010) is among the notable births on January 18. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the January 18 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like January 18
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.