History for May 18

History for May 18 - On-This-Day.com
Frank Capra 1897 - Film director ("It's a Wonderful Life"), Perry Como 1912 - Singer, television personality, Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyla) 1920


Dwayne Hickman 1934 - Actor, Reggie Jackson 1946 - Baseball player, Tina Fey 1970 - Actress, comedian ("30 Rock," "Saturday Night Live")


1642 - Montreal, Canada, was founded.


1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor by the French Senate.


1917 - The U.S. Congress passed the Selective Service act, which called up soldiers to fight in World War I.


1934 - The U.S. Congress approved an act, known as the "Lindberg Act," that called for the death penalty in interstate kidnapping cases.


1951 - The United Nations moved its headquarters to New York City.


1953 - The first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound, Jacqueline Cochran, piloted an F-86 Sabrejet over California at an average speed of 652.337 miles-per-hour.


1980 - Mt. Saint Helens erupted in Washington state. 57 people were killed and 3 billion in damage was done.


1983 - The U.S. Senate revised immigration laws and gave millions of illegal aliens legal status under an amnesty program.