What Happened on April 18?

April 18 is the International Day for Monuments and Sites — and the date of the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Paul Revere's midnight ride warning, and Yankee Stadium's grand opening in 1923.

• 1775 — Paul Revere and others ride to warn that British troops are marching

  On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and fellow riders galloped through Massachusetts countryside to alert colonists that British soldiers were heading toward Concord to seize weapons. Read the full story →

• 1906 — The Great San Francisco Earthquake strikes at dawn

  At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake shook San Francisco — fires that followed destroyed much of the city and killed an estimated 3,000 people. Read the full story →

• 1923 — Yankee Stadium opens in the Bronx — 'The House That Ruth Built'

  On April 18, 1923, the New York Yankees played their first game in brand-new Yankee Stadium — a 58,000-seat cathedral of baseball where Babe Ruth hit a home run in the opener. Read the full story →

• 1942 — The Doolittle Raid launches the first U.S. air strike on Japan in World War II

  On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and bombed Tokyo — boosting American morale after Pearl Harbor. Read the full story →

• 1955 — Physicist Albert Einstein dies in Princeton, New Jersey

  Albert Einstein — whose theory of relativity reshaped physics — died on April 18, 1955, at age 76 in Princeton, where he had taught and continued searching for a unified theory of nature. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) · Rosalynn Carter (1927–2023) · Conan O'Brien (1963) · Herbie Mann (1930–2003)

Days & observances

International Day for Monuments and Sites · National Lineman Appreciation Day · National Animal Crackers Day · World Amateur Radio Day