September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 104 days remaining until the end of the year.
1901 – 2000
- 1906 – A Typhoon and Tsunami kill around 10,000 people in Hong Kong.
- 1910 - 25,000 people demonstrate in Amsterdam for equal voting rights.
- 1911 - Russian Premier Pyotr Stolypin is shot at the Kiev Opera House.
- 1914 - The Irish Home Rule Act becomes law, but is delayed until after World War I.
- 1914 - World War I: South African troops land in what was then German South West Africa (now Namibia).
- 1919 – Women in the Netherlands gain the right to vote.
- 1922 - Hungary is admitted to the League of Nations.
- 1927 - The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) goes on the air.
- 1939 – World War II: The Polish government under Ignacy Moscicki flees to Romania.
- 1940 - World War II: British steamer City of Benares is torpedoed by German U-boat U-48 on Rockall sandbank, killing 248 people.
- 1947 – The U.S. Air Force is formed as a group split from the U.S. Army.
- 1947 – The CIA is founded.
- 1952 – Charlie Chaplin leaves the United States and is barred, by J. Edgar Hoover, from ever entering the country again.
- 1960 - Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of a Cuban delegation of the United Nations.
- 1961 – UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld is killed in a plane crash in what is now the border region between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on his way to the war-torn Katanga region.
- 1962 – Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago join the UN.
- 1964 - Constantine II of Greece marries Anne-Marie of Denmark.
- 1964 - The North Vietnamese army begins infiltrating South Vietnam.
- 1970 – American guitarist Jimi Hendrix dies in London, aged 27.
- 1973 - East Germany, West Germany and the Bahamas join the United Nations.
- 1974 – Hurricane Fifi kills thousands of people in Honduras.
- 1975 – Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst is arrested.
- 1977 - Voyager 1 takes the first photograph of the Earth and the Moon together.
- 1981 - Capital punishment is banned in France.
- 1982 - Christian militia kill 600 Palestinians in Lebanon.
- 1984 - Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
- 1987 - Jerzy Kukuczka becomes the second mountaineer to climb all 14 peak over 8000 meters high.
- 1988 – Saw Maung seizes power in Burma, overthrowing Maung Maung Kha.
- 1990 – Liechtenstein joins the UN.
- 1991 - Yugoslavia begins a naval blockade of seven of its port cities on the Adriatic Sea coast.
- 1994 - A volcano erupts on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea, destroying the island's capital, Rabaul.
- 1997 - A narrow majority of voters in Wales supports devolution in a referendum.
- 1998 – The ferry Princess of the Orient sinks in heavy wind, in the Philippines, killing 180 people.
Up to 1800
- 53 – Trajan, Roman Emperor (d. 117)
- 1434 – Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1467)
- 1495 - Louis X, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1545)
- 1587 - Francesco Caccini, Italian singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1640)
- 1606 - Zhang Xianzhong, Chinese peasant revolt leader (d. 1647)
- 1643 - Gilbert Burnet, Scottish bishop, historian and theologian (d. 1715)
- 1676 - Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1733)
- 1684 – Johann Gottfried Walther, German composer (d. 1748)
- 1709 – Samuel Johnson, English writer and lexicographer (d. 1784)
- 1733 - George Reid, American politician, 3rd Governor of Delaware (d. 1798)
- 1750 – Tomás de Iriarte, Spanish writer (d. 1791)
- 1752 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (d. 1833)
- 1765 – Pope Gregory XVI (d. 1846)
- 1779 - Joseph Story, American jurist (d. 1845)
- 1786 – Christian VIII of Denmark, King of Denmark (d. 1848)
- 1786 - Justinus Kerner, German poet and writer (d. 1862)
1801 – 1900
- 1804 - John Steell, Scottish sculptor (d. 1891)
- 1806 - Heinrich Traube, German writer (d. 1884)
- 1812 - Herschel Vespasian Johnson, American politician, 41st Governor of Georgia (d. 1880)
- 1817 - Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romanian politician and historian (d. 1891)
- 1819 – Léon Foucault, French physicist (d. 1868)
- 1831 - Siegfried Marcus, German-Austrian inventor (d. 1898)
- 1846 – Richard With, Norwegian businessman, politician and captain, founder of Hurtigruten (d. 1930)
- 1854 - Fiorentino Ameghino, Argentine naturalist and anthropologist (d. 1911)
- 1859 – John Bates, 41st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1946)
- 1860 - Alberto Franchetti, Italian composer (d. 1942)
- 1862 - Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (d. 1933)
- 1870 - Clark Wissler, American anthropologist (d. 1947)
- 1872 - Carl Friedberg, German-Italian pianist and educator (d. 1955)
- 1876 – James Scullin, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1953)
- 1878 - James O. Richardson, American admiral (d. 1974)
- 1883 - Gerald Tyrwhit-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners, English composer, writer and painter (d. 1950)
- 1885 - Uzeyir Haribeyov, Azerbaijani composer, conductor and playwright (d. 1948)
- 1888 - Toni Wolff, Swiss psychologist (d. 1953)
- 1888 – Grey Owl, English-Canadian conservationist (d. 1938)
- 1891 - Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1942)
- 1894 - Fay Compton, English actress (d. 1978)
- 1895 – Tomoji Tanabe, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2009)
- 1895 – John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1979)
- 1895 - Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian, Armenian Catholic Church leader (d. 1971)
- 1900 – Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, first Prime Minister of Mauritius and Governor-General of Mauritius (d. 1985)
- 1900 - Mahmoud Fawzi, Egyptian diplomat and politician (d. 1981)
1901 – 1950
- 1905 – Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (d. 1990)
- 1905 - Agnes de Mille, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
- 1906 - Julio Rosales, Filipino cardinal (d. 1983)
- 1907 - Edwin McMillan, American physicist (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Victor Ambartsumian, Armenian astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1996)
- 1911 – Edwin McMillan, American physicist (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Jack Cardiff, British movie director (d. 2009)
- 1916 - Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor, singer, director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1916 - Mercedes Salisachs, Spanish actress (d. 2014)
- 1917 - June Foray, American voice actress (d. 2017)
- 1917 - Phil Taylor, English footballer (d. 2012)
- 1917 - Francis Parker Yockey, American lawyer and philosopher (d. 1960)
- 1917 - Jozsef Asboth, Hungarian tennis player (d. 1986)
- 1921 - Kamal Hassan Ali, Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 1993)
- 1922 - Grayson Hall, American actress (d. 1985)
- 1922 - Laurens van Ravens, Belgian football referee (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Queen Anne of Romania, last queen of Romania (d. 2016)
- 1923 - Peter Smithson, English architect (d. 2003)
- 1930 - Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (d. 2012)
- 1931 - Julio Grondona, Argentine football official (d. 2014)
- 1932 - Nikolay Rukavishnikov, Russian physicist and astronaut (d. 2002)
- 1933 - Leonid Kharitonov, Russian opera singer (d. 2017)
- 1933 - Scotty Bowman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1933 - Bob Bennett, former United States Senator from Utah (d. 2016)
- 1934 - Kurt Malangré, German politician (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal
- 1939 - Abbas El Fassi, former Prime Minister of Morocco
- 1940 - Frankie Avalon, American musician
- 1942 - Gabriella Ferri, Italian singer (d. 2004)
- 1942 - Alex Stepney, English footballer
- 1944 - Veronica Carlson, British actor (d. 2022)
- 1944 - Charles L. Veach, American colonel, pilot and astronaut (d. 1995)
- 1946 - Jimmy O'Rourke, Scottish footballer
- 1947 - Giancarlo Minardi, Italian businessman
- 1948 - Lynn Abbey, American computer programmer and writer
- 1949 - C. K. Menon, Indian businessman and politician (d. 2019)
- 1949 – Mo Mowlam, English politician (d. 2005)
- 1949 – Peter Shilton, English footballer
- 1950 - Chris Heister, Swedish politician
1951 – 1975
- 1951 - Ben Carson, American neurosurgeon and politician
- 1952 – Dee Dee Ramone, American musician (The Ramones) (d. 2002)
- 1954 – Takao Doi, Japanese astronaut
- 1954 - Murtaza Bhutto, Pakistani politician (d. 1996)
- 1954 - Steven Pinker, Canadian psychologist, linguist and writer
- 1954 - Dennis Johnson, American basketball player and coach
- 1954 - Einar Mar Gudmundsson, Icelandic writer
- 1955 - Paul Butler, English bishop
- 1956 - Tom McInnerny, English actor
- 1957 - Philip May, English investment banker, husband of Theresa May
- 1958 - Rachid Taha, Algerian singer and activist (d. 2018)
- 1961 – James Gandolfini, American actor (d. 2013)
- 1962 - Joanne Catherall, English singer (The Human League)
- 1962 - John Fashanu, English footballer
- 1962 - John Mann, Canadian actor, singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
- 1963 - John Powell, English-Canadian composer and conductor
- 1963 - Dan Povenmire, American television director, writer, producer and actor
- 1964 - Marco Masini, Italian singer-songwriter
- 1964 - Holly Robinson Peete, American actress and singer
- 1967 - Tara Fitzgerald, English actress
- 1968 - Upendra, Indian actor, singer, director and screenwriter
- 1968 - Toni Kukoc, Croatian basketball player
- 1970 - Aisha Tyler, American actress, television host and writer
- 1970 – Darren Gough, English cricketer
- 1971 – Anna Netrebko, Russian-Austrian opera singer
- 1971 – Jada Pinkett Smith, American actress and model
- 1971 – Lance Armstrong, American cyclist
- 1972 - Michael Landes, American actor
- 1972 - Iain Stewart, Scottish politician
- 1973 - James Marsden, American actor
- 1973 - Louise Sauvage, Australian wheelchair racer
- 1973 – Mark Shuttleworth, South African entrepreneur
- 1974 – Sol Campbell, English footballer
- 1974 – Xzibit, American rapper
- 1975 - Jason Sudeikis, American actor
From 1976
- 1976 - Sophina Brown, American actress
- 1976 - Ronaldo, Brazilian footballer
- 1977 - Barrett Foa, American actor
- 1977 - Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager
- 1978 - Neil Entwistle, English murderer
- 1979 – Daniel Aranzubia, Spanish footballer
- 1979 - Junichi Inamoto, Japanese footballer
- 1980 - Charles Hedger, British guitarist
- 1981 – Andrea Caracciolo, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Jennifer Tisdale, American actress and model
- 1983 – Kevin Doyle, Irish footballer
- 1983 - Yuzo Kurihara, Japanese footballer
- 1984 - Jack Carpenter, American actor
- 1984 - Dizzee Rascal, English rapper
- 1984 - Travis Outlaw, American basketball player
- 1985 - Pete Cashmore, Scottish blogger
- 1986 - Cammy Bell, Scottish footballer
- 1986 - Keeley Hazell, English model and actress
- 1988 – Annette Obrestad, Norwegian poker player
- 1989 – Chris Eubank Jr., British professional boxer
- 1989 - Serge Ibaka, Congolese-Spanish basketball player
- 1990 – Lewis Holtby, German footballer
- 1992 - Amber Liu, American-South Korean singer and dancer
- 1993 - Patrick Schwarzenegger, American model and actor
- 1995 - Max Meyer, German footballer
- 1996 - C. J. Sanders, American football player
- 1998 - Christian Pulisic, American soccer player
Up to 1900
- 96 – Domitian, Roman Emperor (b. 51)
- 411 - Constantine III, Roman general and emperor
- 887 - Pietro I Candiano, 16th Doge of Venice (b. 842)
- 1180 – King Louis VII of France (b. 1120)
- 1361 - Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1315)
- 1598 – Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese warlord (b. 1536)
- 1675 - Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1605)
- 1783 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (b. 1707)
- 1792 - August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German bishop and theologian (b. 1704)
- 1797 - Lazare Hoche, French general (b. 1768)
- 1819 - John Langdon, American politician (b. 1743)
- 1857 - Karol Kurpinski, Polish composer and conductor (b. 1785)
- 1860 - Joseph Locke, English engineer (b. 1805)
- 1872 – King Charles XV of Sweden/IV of Norway (b. 1826)
- 1891 – José Manuel Balmaceda, President of Chile (b. 1840)
- 1896 - Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist (b. 1819)
1901 – 2000
- 1904 – Herbert von Bismarck, son of Otto von Bismarck (b. 1849)
- 1905 - George MacDonald, Scottish minister, writer and poet (b. 1894)
- 1909 - Grigore Tocilescu, Romanian archaeologist and historian (b. 1850)
- 1911 – Pyotr Stolypin, Russian politician (b. 1862)
- 1924 – Francis Herbert Bradley, English mathematician (b. 1846)
- 1939 - Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer, painter and photographer (b. 1885)
- 1941 - Fred Karno, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1866)
- 1953 - Charles de Tornaco, Belgian racing driver (b. 1927)
- 1954 - Johannes Drost, Dutch swimmer (b. 1880)
- 1956 - Adélard Godbout, Canadian politician, 15th Premier of Quebec (b. 1892)
- 1958 - Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1893)
- 1959 - Harvey Glatman, American serial killer (executed by gas chamber; b. 1927)
- 1961 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish United Nations Secretary-General and distinguished economist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1905)
- 1967 – John Cockcroft, British physicist (b. 1897)
- 1970 – Jimi Hendrix, American musician (b. 1942)
- 1980 - Katherine Anne Porter, American journalist and writer (b. 1890)
- 1987 – Américo Tomas, President of Portugal (b. 1894)
- 1992 - Mohammad Hidayatullah, 6th Vice President of India (b. 1905)
- 1992 - Princess Margaret of Denmark (b. 1895)
- 1994 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player (b. 1954)
- 1996 - Annabella, French actress (b. 1907)
From 2001
- 2002 – Mauro Ramos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
- 2004 - Russ Meyer, American filmmaker (b. 1922)
- 2006 - Edward J. King, American politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Irving Kristol, American columnist and journalist (b. 1920)
- 2012 - Santiago Carrillo, Spanish politician (b. 1915)
- 2013 - Marcel Reich-Ranicki, German writer and literary critic (b. 1920)
- 2013 - Ken Norton, American boxer (b. 1943)
- 2014 - Kenny Wheeler, Canadian jazz trumpeter (b. 1930)
- 2014 - George Radwanski, Canadian journalist and civil servant (b. 1947)
- 2014 - Earl Ross, Canadian racing driver (b. 1941)
- 2015 - Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentine general and Governor of the Falkland Islands (b. 1930)
- 2015 - Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean footballer (b. 1955)
- 2015 - Marcin Wrona, Polish movie and television director (b. 1973)
- 2015 - Nancy Bernstein, American visual effects and movie producer (b. 1960)
- 2016 - C. Martin Croker, American actor (b. 1962)
- 2017 - Jean Plaskie, Belgian footballer (b. 1941)
- 2017 - Chuck Low, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2017 - Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Pakistani writer (b. 1937)
- 2018 - David DiChiera, American composer (b. 1935)
- 2018 - Marceline Loridan-Ivens, French writer and film director (b. 1928)
- 2018 - Jean Piat, French actor (b. 1924)
- 2018 - Richard M. Pollack, American mathematician (b. 1935)
- 2018 - Robert Venturi, American architect (b. 1925)
- 2018 - Norifumi Yamamoto, Japanese martial artist (b. 1977)
- 2019 - Graeme Gibson, Canadian novelist and union leader (b. 1934)
- 2019 - Tony Mills, English singer and musician (b. 1962)
- 2019 - Shyam Ramsay, Indian film director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1952)
- 2019 - Fernando Ricksen, Dutch footballer (b. 1976)
- 2020 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American jurist (b. 1933)