Important Events From This day in History – 18 May

Today in History

• 2009 The Sri Lankan Civil War ends

  Up to 100,000 people died in the 25-year conflict between the government and the separatist Tamil Tigers. It ended with the Tigers losing.

• 1980 Mount St. Helens erupts

  The eruption claimed the lives of 57 people. A massive crater replaced a large portion of the previously cone-shaped volcano, and its summit is now about 1300 feet (400 meters) lower than before the eruption.

• 1927 45 people die in the United States’ worst school massacre

  A disgruntled school board member detonated several bombs at the Bath Consolidated School and other Michigan locations in the Bath school disaster.

• 1848 The first German National Assembly gathers in Frankfurt

  The assembly was Germany’s first freely elected parliament. It produced a constitution that served as the foundation for Germany’s current constitution (Grundgesetz).

• 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte is appointed Emperor of the French

  Even today, the French leader, a Corsican native, is well-known for his successful military campaigns – and his ultimate defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.