1918

1845–1958	Germany [earth sciences]	German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt lays the basis of modern geography with the publication of Kosmos/Cosmos, in which he arranges geographic knowledge in a systematic fashion.
1918	[historical study]	German historian Oswald Spengler publishes the first volume of his Der Untergang des Abendlandes/The Decline of the West. The second volume appears in 1922.
1918	USA [everyday life]	Daylight Saving time is introduced in the USA.
1918–1919	[plagues and epidemics]	A worldwide pandemic of Spanish influenza (so called because of its particular virulence in Spain) or Encephalitis lethargica (sleeping sickness) kills over 20 million people, more than were killed during the conflicts of World War I. The movement of the armed forces at the end of the war promotes its spread.
1918	[poetry]	The Poems of the English Victorian writer Gerard Manley Hopkins are published posthumously.
1918	[political theory]	Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin publishes Gosudarstvo i revoliutsiia/The State and Revolution.
1918	United Kingdom [sex and sexuality]	The birth-control pioneer Dr Marie Stopes publishes the controversial book Married Love, a manual on sex, marriage, and contraception, in Britain.
8 January 1918	USA [law and government]	In a message to the US Congress, President Woodrow Wilson propounds ‘fourteen points’ for a peace settlement, including the principles of national self-determination, free trade, open diplomacy, and the founding of a league of nations.
15 January 1918	[births and deaths]	Gamal Abdel Nasser, prime minister of Egypt 1954–56 and then president 1956–70, born in Alexandria, Egypt (–1970).
26 January 1918	[births and deaths]	Nicolae Ceausescu, president of the Socialist Republic of Romania 1967–89, born in Scornicesti, Romania (–1989).
16 February 1918	Lithuania, Russia [political events]	Lithuania proclaims its independence from Russia.
3 March 1918	Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Anatolia, Ottoman Empire [treaties]	Russia and the Central Powers sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, in which Russia cedes the Baltic Provinces and Russian Poland, and recognizes the independence of Finland and the Ukraine. The Ottoman Empire takes the former Russian districts of Kars, Ardahan, and Batum.
3 March 1918	Russia, United Kingdom [World War I (1914–18)]	A British force lands in Murmansk, Russia, to aid anti-Bolshevik forces and keep Russia in the war against Germany.
21 March - 5 April 1918	France, Germany [World War I (1914–18)]	The German army launches a spring offensive on the Western Front with the Second Battle of the Somme, and advances 64 km/40 mi towards Paris, France.
25 March 1918	[births and deaths]	Claude Debussy, French composer, dies in Paris, France (55).
21 April 1918	Denmark [suffrage]	Universal suffrage is granted in Denmark.
21 April 1918	Germany [World War I (1914–18)]	Manfred, Freiherr von Richthofen (the ‘Red Baron’), German aviator and leading ace during World War I, is shot down and killed in Vaux-sur-Somme, France (26). It is not certain whether he was shot down by Canadian pilot Roy Brown or by ground fire.
7 May 1918	Romania, Russian Empire [treaties]	Romania signs the Peace of Bucharest with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Romania is allowed to annex Bessarabia, though Russia refuses to recognize the annexation.
11 May 1918	[births and deaths]	Richard Feynman, US theoretical physicist in the field of quantum electrodynamics, born in New York City (–1988).
26 May 1918	Georgia, Russia [political events]	Georgia proclaims independence from Russia.
15 June - 23 June 1918	Italy, Austria-Hungary [World War I (1914–18)]	In the Battle of the Piave, Italy, Austro-Hungarian troops cross the River Piave to attack the Italian line, but are resisted.
25 June 1918	Russia [Russian Civil War (1918–20)]	Czech soldiers in Siberia, who were originally captured by the imperial Russian army, revolt. They seize the Trans-Siberian Railway in their attempt to reach Vladivostok, Russia, en route for Europe.
15 July - 18 July 1918	France [World War I (1914–18)]	At the Second Battle of the Marne, Allied forces halt the German advance towards Paris, France, and begin to advance along the Aisne-Marne front.
16 July 1918	Russia [political events]	Nicholas II, tsar of Russia 1895–1917, is executed by the Bolsheviks, in Yekaterinburg, Russia (50).
18 July 1918	[births and deaths]	Nelson Mandela, South African nationalist, political prisoner, and president from 1994, born in Umtata, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.
3 August 1918	United Kingdom, Russia, Japan [World War I (1914–18)]	A British force lands at Vladivostok, Russia, beginning a joint effort with France and the USA to prevent Japanese aggrandizement in Siberia.
8 August - 11 August 1918	France, United Kingdom, Germany [World War I (1914–18)]	The Battle of Amiens is fought on the Western Front, British forces breaking the German line to such an extent that 8 August becomes known as ‘the black day of the German army’.
September 1918	United Kingdom [ships and shipping]	The Royal Navy launches the first aircraft carrier, the Argus. A converted merchant ship, it has a flight deck measuring 170.7 m/560 ft and a hangar that can house 20 aeroplanes.
15 September - 24 September 1918	Serbia [World War I (1914–18)]	An Allied (French, British, Italian, and Serbian) offensive makes large gains at the Battle of Monastir on the Macedonian front.
18 September 1918	Palestine, Ottoman Empire [World War I (1914–18)]	A British offensive begins in Palestine when troops under Sir Edmund Allenby defeat an Ottoman force at the Battle of Megiddo.
30 September 1918	Bulgaria [treaties]	Bulgaria signs an armistice with the Allies.
21 October 1918	Czechoslovakia [political events]	Czechoslovakia is proclaimed an independent republic in the Czech city of Prague.
24 October - 4 November 1918	Italy, Austria-Hungary [World War I (1914–18)]	The Battle of Vittorio Veneto on the Italian front leads to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian army.
3 November 1918	Austria-Hungary [treaties]	The Allies sign an armistice with Austria-Hungary, which is to come into force on 4 November.
3 November 1918	Poland, Russia [political events]	A Polish republic is proclaimed in Warsaw, Poland, by the Russian-sponsored regency council.
4 November 1918	[births and deaths]	Wilfred Owen, English poet noted for his war poems, is killed in action in France (25).
7 November 1918	Germany [political events]	A republic is proclaimed in Bavaria, Germany, by the socialist Kurt Eisner.
8 November 1918	Germany, France [diplomacy]	A German armistice commission meets the Allied delegation, headed by the French marshal Ferdinand Foch, in a railway carriage in Compiègne, France. An armistice is agreed, to be effective from 11 November.
9 November 1918	Germany [political events]	The Social Democrat Philip Scheidemann pre-empts the proclamation of a communist republic in Germany by declaring a republic himself. Friedrich Ebert replaces Prince Max as chancellor and, on 10 November, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany flees to the Netherlands.
12 November 1918	Austria-Hungary [political events]	Emperor Charles I abdicates in Austria and, on 13 November, in Austria-Hungary.
16 November 1918	[political events]	Hungary proclaims itself a republic independent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
18 November 1918	Russia [law and government]	Admiral Alexander Kolchak establishes an anti-Bolshevik dictatorial regime at Omsk, Russia.
26 November 1918	Montenegro, Serbia [political events]	The national assembly in Montenegro proclaims the deposition of King Nicholas and the union of Montenegro with Serbia.
30 November 1918	Iceland, Denmark [political events]	Iceland becomes a sovereign state, independent of Denmark but under the same monarch.
4 December 1918	Serbia, Croatia, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of the Serbs Croats and Slovenes [political events]	A national council proclaims the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, with Alexander I (son of King Peter of Serbia) as prince-regent. The country will be renamed Yugoslavia in 1929.
14 December 1918	Portugal [law and government]	Sidonio Paes, the dictatorial president of Portugal, is assassinated. Democracy is subsequently restored.