December 18
Overview
Holidays & Observances
Christianfeast day:
Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Flannán, Gatianus of Tours, O Adonai, Sebastian(Eastern Orthodox Church), Winibald, December 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
A Christian feast day on December 18 commemorating the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and several saints across Western and Eastern Christian traditions.
International Migrants Day
An annual observance on December 18 to honor migrants worldwide and advocate for their rights and well-being.
National Day(Qatar)
Qatar's National Day on December 18 celebrates the country's unification and heritage.
Republic Day (Niger)
A public holiday on December 18 marking the proclamation of the Republic of Niger in 1958.
UN Arabic Language Day(United Nations)
An annual observance on December 18 dedicated to celebrating the Arabic language and its cultural importance.
Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
A Christian feast on December 18 celebrating Mary's anticipation of the birth of Jesus.
Flannán
The feast day of Saint Flannán, a 7th-century Irish bishop and missionary, observed on December 18.
Gatianus of Tours
The memorial of Saint Gatianus, the first bishop of Tours who evangelized Gaul during the 3rd century.
O Adonai
The sixth of the Advent O Antiphons, 'O Adonai' is sung on the evening of December 18 in Christian liturgies.
Events
The city of Zaragoza is conquered by king Alfonso I of Aragon from the Almoravid.
King Alfonso I of Aragon captured Zaragoza from the Almoravid dynasty, extending Christian rule in medieval Spain.
Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia and China.
Kublai Khan officially names his empire 'Yuan,' marking the formal beginning of the Yuan dynasty in China under Mongol rule.
A rebellion breaks out in Alpujarras in response to the forced conversions of Muslims in Spain.
Muslims in Spain launched an uprising in the Alpujarras region against forced conversions, sparking a significant rebellion in 1499.
Portuguese forces score a military victory over the Kingdom of Kongo at the Battle of Mbumbi in present-day Angola.
Portuguese forces defeated the Kingdom of Kongo at the Battle of Mbumbi, asserting colonial power in West Central Africa.
The Whitehall Conference ends with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the Edict of Expulsion of 1290.
The 1655 Whitehall Conference determined that Jews could legally re-enter England, ending centuries of expulsion.
The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the American rebels over British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga in October.
The United States observed its first national Thanksgiving in 1777, honoring the pivotal victory at Saratoga.
New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
New Jersey ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 18, 1787, becoming the third state to do so.
Surrender of the frigate La Lutine by French Royalists to Lord Samuel Hood; renamed HMS Lutine, she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
The French frigate La Lutine was surrendered to British forces and commissioned as HMS Lutine, later famed as a treasure wreck.
The national anthem of the Russian Empire, "God Save the Tsar!", is first performed.
The Russian Empire's national anthem 'God Save the Tsar!' was first performed in 1833, ushering in a new era of patriotic music.
Births
Richard Olivier de Longueil
French Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal in the 15th century.
Sophie of Mecklenburg
German duchess who held the titles of Duchess of Mecklenburg and Duchess of Saxony in the late 15th century.
Sebald Heyden
German musicologist and theologian known for his contributions to Renaissance music scholarship.
Philipp von Hutten
German adventurer and explorer who journeyed to South America in the 16th century.
Ōuchi Yoshitaka
Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period who led the powerful Ōuchi clan in western Japan.
Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi
Moroccan polymath who served as a judge and made contributions to mathematics and literature.
William Louis
German nobleman who ruled the county of Nassau-Saarbrücken during the early 17th century.
Simonds d'Ewes
English antiquarian, historian, and Member of Parliament known for his detailed journals.
Charles du Fresne
French philologist and historian celebrated for his encyclopedic glossaries of medieval Latin and Greek.
Deaths
Lady Wu
Lady Wu was the wife of Qian Liu, the founder of the Wuyue kingdom during China's Five Dynasties period.
Yaonian Yanmujin
Yaonian Yanmujin was a Chinese empress dowager who wielded influence at the imperial court during the Five Dynasties period.
Edith of Wessex was Queen consort of England as the wife of King Edward the Confessor and a significant patron of religious institutions in the 11th century.
Hildebert
Hildebert was a French poet and scholar who achieved renown in the early 12th century for his literary and theological works.
Magnus III
Magnus III, known as Magnus Ladulås, was King of Sweden from 1275 to 1290 and is remembered for his legal reforms protecting peasant rights.
Pierre Cauchon
Pierre Cauchon was a French Catholic bishop best known for presiding over the trial of Joan of Arc.
Alfonso II was King of Naples for a brief period in 1494–1495, noted for his cultural patronage and his response to the French invasion.
Anna of Saxony
Anna of Saxony was the second wife of William the Silent and served as Princess consort of Orange during the Dutch revolt.
Nur Jahan
Nur Jahan was the powerful Empress consort of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, celebrated for her political influence and artistic patronage.