Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/April 18
- 1025 - Bolesław I the Brave was crowned in Gniezno and became the first King of Poland.
- 1906 - A major earthquake (pictured) and subsequent fires devastated San Francisco, California.
- 1942 - World War II: Sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet carried out the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
- 1980 - Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President.
- 1996 - Israel Defense Forces shelled Qana, Lebanon during Operation Grapes of Wrath, killing over 100 civilians at a UN compound.