April 18 : You may want to organize your life but be unsure where to start; hence, setting goals is important if you want to be successful

On this Day, April 18...

796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned but abdicates within 27 days.

1025 – Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland.

1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid.

1518 – Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.

1521 – Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication.

1689 – Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.

1738 – Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") is founded in Madrid.

1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.

1831 – The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

1847 – American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.

1857 – "The Spirits Book" by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France.

1864 – Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.

1897 – The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

1899 – The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria.

1902 – The 7.5 Mw Guatemala earthquake shakes Guatemala with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing between 800–2,000.

1906 – An earthquake and fire destroyed much of San Francisco, California.

1909 – Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.

1912 – The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.

1915 – French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.

1923 – Yankee Stadium: "The House that Ruth Built" opens.

1925 – The International Amateur Radio Union is formed in Paris.

1930 – The British Broadcasting Corporation announced that "there is no news" in their evening report.

1942 – World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagoya are bombed.

1942 – Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.

1943 – World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.

1945 – Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.

1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.

1949 – The Republic of Ireland Act comes into effect.

1949 – The keel for the aircraft carrier the USS United States is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.

1954 – Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.

1955 – Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.

1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency.

1983 – A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.

1988 – The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.

1992 – General Abdul Rashid Dostum revolts against President Mohammad Najibullah of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and allies with Ahmad Shah Massoud to capture Kabul.

1996 – In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the United Nations compound at Qana where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.

1997 – The 1997 Red River flood begins and soon overwhelms the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Fire breaks out and spreads in downtown Grand Forks, but high water levels hamper efforts to reach the fire, leading to the destruction of 11 buildings.

2007 – A series of bombings, two of them being suicides, occur in Baghdad, killing 198 and injuring 251.

2013 – A suicide bombing in a Baghdad cafe kills 27 people and injures another 65.

Born

1858 – Dhondo Keshav Karve, Indian educator, and activist, Bharat Ratna Awardee

RIP

1859 – Tatya Tope, Indian general

2014 – Guru Dhanapal, Indian director and producer