What Happened On
Ronald Reagan Sticks His Thumbs in His Ears
May 18, 1983
U.S. President Ronald Reagan sticks his thumbs in his ears, wiggles his fingers and says to the press "I've been waiting years to do this."
Mount St. Helens Erupts
May 18, 1980
Mount St. Helens in Washington State erupts, killing 57 people. The magnitude 5.1 earthquake triggered a massive collapse of the north face of the mountain, creating the largest-known debris avalanche in recorded history. The pyroclastic flow flattened vegetation and buildings over 230 square miles.
The school building after the bombing
The school building after the bombing
Worst U.S. School Massacre
May 18, 1927
Known as the Bath School Massacre, 38 elementary schoolchildren and six adults are killed when Andrew Kehoe set off explosives at the Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, Michigan. At least 58 other people were injured. After the bombings, Kehoe drove back to the school and summoned school superintendent Emory Huyck over to his truck. He then committed suicide by setting off a bomb in his truck, killing himself, Huyck, a bystander, and an 8-year-old who had survived the initial explosion. Earlier that morning Kehoe destroyed his farmhouse and farm structures with a series of bombs and he had killed his wife sometime in the days before the bombings. Kehoe left a wooden sign on his farm's fence with the message: "Criminals are made, not born".
He had been acquiring and planting explosives in the school since the previous fall. Rescuers found an additional 500 pounds (230 kg) of dynamite which had failed to detonate.
Kehoe had served as treasurer of his school board and had been temporarily appointed as the Bath Township Clerk in 1925. It is believed he was angry about losing the re-election for the position of clerk and because his farm was being repossessed by the bank. He had been unable to pay his mortgage due to his wife's medical bills. Ironically, he had enough unused farm equipment and supplies that he could have sold them and paid off the mortgage.
First Commercial Motion Picture Production
May 18, 1894
A series of Kinetoscope films by Edison Laboratories. The films included strongman Eugen Sandow flexing for the camera.
Testing for Witches
May 18, 1648
Margaret Jones is tested to see if she is a witch. She was tested according to methods in the book The Discovery of Witches (1647) by Matthew Hopkins. The accused should be observed for 24 hours. If the person was a witch, an imp would appear to feed off the witch. Imps were witch's familiars, who depended upon the witch for daily sustenance. Former Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony John Winthrop claimed to see the imp "In the clear light of day." She was then convicted and executed.
She was first victim of a witch-hunt that lasted from 1648 to 1693. About eighty people throughout New England were accused of practicing witchcraft, with over 20 executed for the crime.
Photo Credit: Jörg Bittner Unna
Photo Credit: Jörg Bittner Unna
Michelangelo's David
May 18, 1504
Michelangelo's marble sculpture of David is placed in front of the Piazza della Signoria after its completion. It was originally commissioned for the Florence Cathedral, but after completion they realized there was no way to move the 6-ton statue to the top of the cathedral. In 1873, it was moved to the Accademia Gallery, Florence. A replica was placed in the Piazza della Signoria in 1910.
Genetically-Altered Food
May 18, 1994
The genetically-altered "Flavr Savr" tomato is approved for sale by the Food and Drug Administration. It is the first whole food developed through biotechnology to be made available to U.S. consumers.
Hair Force One
May 18, 1993
U.S. President Bill Clinton ties up Los Angeles International Airport while he gets a $200 haircut aboard an Air Force One jet on the runway.
World War II
May 18, 1992
Former Nazi commandant Josef Schwammberger is sentenced to life in prison for killing more than 600 people and shooting a rabbi for refusing to work on a Jewish holy day.
Murphy Brown's Baby
May 18, 1992
The TV character Murphy Brown has her baby; much to the disapproval of U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle who would the following day criticize the fictional character's moral values for having a child out of wedlock.
Artificial Insemination
May 18, 1967
Oklahoma becomes the first U.S. state to legalize artificial insemination for humans.
First Woman to Break the Sound Barrier
May 18, 1953
At Rogers Dry Lake, California, Jacqueline Cochran flies a Canadair F-86 Sabre jet borrowed from the Royal Canadian Air Force surpassing Mach 1 at an average speed of 652.337 mph.
In 1960, she became the first woman to break Mach 2.
First Federal Law Authorizing the Death Penalty
May 18, 1934
A law making the killing of a federal officer a mandatory capital offense is enacted.
Birthdays
Reggie Jackson (Reginald Martinez Jackson)
Born May 18, 1946
American Baseball Hall of Famer, holder of the American League record for strikeouts.
Three-Legged Man
Frank Lentini (Francesco A. Lentini)
Born May 18, 1889 d. 1966
Italian-American showman. He had three legs, four feet, and two sets of genitals. Lentini was born with a parasitic twin who attached to his body at the base of his spine and consisted of a pelvis, male genitalia, a full-sized leg, and a small foot protruding from its knee. He toured the U.S. as "The Great Lentini." All three legs were different lengths prompting him to proclaim, "Even with three legs, I still didn't have a pair." He is portrayed by Jonathan Redavid in the film The Greatest Showman (2017).
Bertrand Russell
Born May 18, 1872 d. 1970
British mathematician, Nobel-winning philosopher, author. He was the most distinguished philosopher of his time. He introduced the concept of "Russell's Teapot" to illustrate that the burden of proof lies with the person making unfalsifiable claims rather than shifting the burden of proof to others - "If I claim that a teapot orbits the Sun somewhere between the Earth and Mars, I cannot expect others to believe me solely because my assertion could not be proven wrong." This is often used in the discussion of religion.
Quote: "The degree of one's emotions varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts."
Nicholas II
Born May 18, 1868 d. 1918
Czar of Russia, the last monarch of Russia. He abdicated his throne (1917) ending the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty. He and the royal family were killed by the Bolsheviks in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.
American children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the Bellamy Salute in 1941
American children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the Bellamy Salute in 1941
Francis Bellamy
Born May 18, 1855 d. 1931
American Christian socialist minister, author. He wrote the original version of the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance (1892). Bellamy, a devout Christian who believed in the absolute separation of church and state, did not include the phrase "under God" within his original pledge. This was added by Congress in 1954. He also originated the Bellamy Salute, to be used when reciting the pledge. However, due to its resemblance to the Nazi salute, this was replaced with the hand-over-heart salute in 1942.
Bellamy's original pledge: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Invented Perforated Toilet Paper
Seth Wheeler
Born May 18, 1838 d. 1925
American businessman. He invented perforated toilet paper (1891), in which individual sheets could easily be torn from the roll. This was accomplished via perforations starting at each side, but not quite meeting in the middle (See letter 'd' in the image). Wheeler also patented "Ornamental Toilet Paper" (1893).
Robert Morse
Born May 18, 1931 d. 2021
American Tony-winning actor. Broadway: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1962, Tony).
Pernell Roberts
Born May 18, 1928 d. 2010
American actor. TV: Bonanza (1959-65, Adam Cartwright) and Trapper John, M.D. (1979-86, Trapper John).
Bill Macy (Wolf Marvin Garber)
Born May 18, 1922 d. 2019
American actor. TV: Maude (Maude's husband Walter). Stage: Oh! Calcutta! (1969, where he appeared nude).
John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)
Born May 18, 1920 d. 2005
264th Pope (1978-2005), the first Polish Pope. He reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church for almost 27 years, making him the second-longest reigning pontiff.
Richard Brooks (Ruben Sax)
Born May 18, 1912 d. 1992
American director, screenwriter. Film: The Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977).
Perry Como (Pierino Como)
Born May 18, 1912 d. 2001
American singer, Emmy-winning TV personality. Music: Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes (1952, #1) and It's Impossible (1970).
Frank Capra
Born May 18, 1897 d. 1991
Sicilian-born American Oscar-winning director. Film: It Happened One Night (1934) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946, although originally a box office flop, it has become a holiday classic). Quote: "Behind every successful man there stands an astonished woman."
Oliver Heaviside
Born May 18, 1850 d. 1925
English physicist. He made long-distance telephone operation practical, predicted the increase in mass of an electric charge moving at high velocity, and predicted the existence of the ionosphere.
Daniel Wesson
Born May 18, 1825 d. 1906
American gun-maker, co-founder of Smith & Wesson (1857).
Omar Khayyam
Born May 18, 1048 d. 1131
Persian poet and mathematician. First to solve the general cubic equation of the third degree (1070). In 1074 he calculated the length of the year as 365.2422 days (The modern estimate is 365.242189 days).
Deaths
Ken Osmond
Died May 18, 2020 b. 1943
American actor. Ken Osmond is best known for playing Eddie Haskell on TV's Leave It to Beaver (1957-63) and The New Leave It to Beaver (1983-89).
After Leave It to Beaver and a stint in the Army, Osmond joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1970, where he worked as a motorcycle officer. In 1980, Osmond was shot three times while in a foot chase with a suspected car thief. His bulletproof vest stopped two bullets and the other ricocheted off his belt buckle. He was put on disability and retired in 1988.
The car theft suspect was sentenced to death for another murder.
Elizabeth Montgomery
Died May 18, 1995 b. 1933
American actress. TV: Bewitched (1964-72, Samantha; she also played cousin Serena under the pseudonym Pandora Spocks), The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975, Lizzie Borden), and The Awakening Land (1978).
Montgomery owned a 794-acre (321 ha) estate in Patterson, New York and after her death it was sold to the State of New York and became Wonder Lake State Park.
The school building after the bombing
The school building after the bombing
Worst U.S. School Massacre
Andrew Kehoe
Died May 18, 1927 b. 1872
American mass murderer. In 1927, Andrew Kehoe committed the worst school massacre in U.S. history. Known as the Bath School Massacre, 38 elementary schoolchildren and six adults are killed when Kehoe set off explosives at the Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, Michigan. At least 58 other people were injured.
Randy Ray
Died May 18, 2023 b. 1979
American AIDS victim. He was one of three HIV infected hemophiliac brothers who won a federal court order allowing them in school after they were barred in 1986. Their family home was burned down a week after the court decision.
The three brothers contracted HIV from infusions of Factor 8 when they were less than 8 years old.
Charles Grodin
Died May 18, 2021 b. 1935
American Emmy-winning actor, writer, host. Film: Heaven Can Wait (1978), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Ishtar (1987), Beethoven (1992), and Clifford (1994). TV: The Young Marrieds (1965, Matt Crane Stevens).
Jill Ireland
Died May 18, 1990 b. 1936
British-born American actress. After being diagnosed with cancer she became a spokesman for victims of the disease. Film: Death Wish II (1981).
Daws Butler (Charles Dawson Butler)
Died May 18, 1988 b. 1916
American cartoon voice. TV: voice of Elroy Jetson and Yogi Bear.
Creator of Rhythm Tap
John Bubbles (John William Sublett)
Died May 18, 1986 b. 1902
American tap dancer, creator of Rhythm Tap. Known for his role as Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess (1935).
First U.S. Congresswoman
Jeannette Rankin
Died May 18, 1973 b. 1880
American politician, first U.S. Congresswoman (1917-19, 1941-43, Montana, Republican). She was the only member of Congress to oppose the declaration of war against Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rankin believed that U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt deliberately provoked the Japanese to attack because he wanted to bring the U.S. into the war. She also voted against the U.S. entering World War I.
Andy Clyde
Died May 18, 1967 b. 1892
Scottish-born actor. Film: Hopalong Cassidy movies (Gabby Hayes). TV: Lassie (Cully Wilson).
The First Lady of The Struggle
Mary McLeod Bethune
Died May 18, 1955 b. 1875
American educator, stateswoman, civil rights activist. She is known as "The First Lady of The Struggle" because of her commitment to gain better lives for African Americans. She was the first black woman to hold a major federal office (1936, Director of the Division of Negro Affairs for the National Youth Administration). She started a school for African-American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, which became Bethune-Cookman University.
Saint John I
Died May 18, 526 b. ????
religious leader, 53rd Pope (523-526).