Osun Defender History Corner: March 18 In Focus
Today, on the history corner, we take a trip in the realm of flashbacks and recall some events that marked this day.
March 18, 235
Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed emperor. He is the first foreigner to hold the Roman throne.
March 18, 1314
Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake.
March 18, 1438
Albert II of Habsburg becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
March 18, 1741
New York governor George Clarke’s complex at Fort George is burned in an arson attack, starting the New York Conspiracy of 1741.
March 18, 1850
American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.
March 18, 1921
The second Peace of Riga is signed between Poland and the Soviet Union.
March 18, 1922
In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience against British rule.
March 18, 1937
Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republicans and anarchists in Catalonia declare the establishment of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.
March 18, 1940
World War II: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
March 18, 1965
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.
March 18, 1970
The United States Postal Service is created as an independent agency.
March 18, 1980
At Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, 50 people are killed in an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket on its launch pad during a fueling operation.
March 18, 1990
Twelve paintings, collectively worth $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. This remains the largest unsolved art theft in history.
March 18, 2003
FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama, on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company’s top executives.
March 18, 2018
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announces that he will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, sparking fears of a global trade war.
March 18, 2020
The World Health Organization declares the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
March 18, 2021
China’s National People’s Congress approves sweeping changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system, effectively reducing democratic representation in the city.
March 18, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, escalating tensions in the region.
Please note that these are just a few historical events that happened on March 18. History is full of numerous other significant events on this day, ranging from politics and warfare to cultural and scientific milestones.
Sodiq Lawal is a passionate and dedicated journalist with a knack for uncovering captivating stories in the bustling metropolis of Osun State and Nigeria at large. He has a versatile reporting style, covering a wide range of topics, from politics , campus, and social issues to arts and culture, seeking impact in all facets of the society.
