Historical Events on March 18

On This Day in History: March 18

1. In A.D. 37, the Roman Senate annulled Tiberius’ will and declared Caligula emperor, beginning a new era for Rome.
2. In 1229, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II declared himself King of Jerusalem, establishing his rule without papal approval, marking a key moment in the Sixth Crusade.
3. In 1314, Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake on the orders of King Philip IV of France, bringing a dramatic end to the Templar Order.
4. In 1507, Emperor Maximilian I appointed his daughter, Margaret of Austria, as the first female governor of the Netherlands and regent for her brother Charles V, a watershed moment in European governance.
5. In 1582, Prince William I of Orange was wounded in an assassination attempt in Antwerp, a significant event in the Dutch struggle for independence.
6. In 1652, the renowned French preacher Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was ordained to the priesthood by being appointed Archdeacon of Sarrebourg, marking the beginning of his impressive ecclesiastical career.
7. In 1662, Blaise Pascal introduced Paris’s first public bus service, the “Carrosses à Cinq Sous”, which continued to provide affordable transportation until it was discontinued in 1675.
8. In 1773, Oliver Goldsmith’s comedy “She Stoops to Conquer” premiered in London, becoming a timeless classic of English theater.
9. In 1793, Andreas Joseph Hoffmann proclaimed the Mainz Republic, marking the establishment of Germany’s first republican state.
10. In 1834, the first rail tunnel in the US, 275 metres long, was completed in Pennsylvania, marking a milestone in American rail transport.
11. In 1840, liberal general Francisco Morazán led a fierce attack to recapture Guatemala City from Rafael Carrera, but his efforts failed, forcing him to flee for his life.
12. In 1850, Henry Wells and William Fargo founded American Express in Buffalo, New York, laying the foundation for a global financial services empire.
13. In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Frederick Douglass as marshal of Washington, D.C., making him the first African American to hold the position.
14. In 1881, after two major circus groups merged, the Barnum & Bailey Circus debuted at Madison Square Garden in New York City as “The Greatest Show on Earth”.
15. In 1890, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck resigned after 19 years in power following a dispute with Emperor Wilhelm II, bringing an end to his influential leadership.