May 18 in History: Dracula Is Published, Tulip Time Begins, and Mount St. Helens Erupts

Discover what happened on May 18 in history, along with notable events that shaped literature, Michigan history, and modern technology.

What Happened on May 18 in History?

Important events on this day include the publication of Dracula, the first Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan, and the eruption of Mount St. Helens.

MAY 18 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1652 – In Rhode Island, a law was passed that made slavery illegal in North America. It was the first law of its kind.

1798 – The first Secretary of the U.S. Navy was appointed. He was Benjamin Stoddert.

1846 – Michigan outlawed the Death Penalty.

1897 – A novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, called “Dracula”, was published.

1912 – The Detroit Tigers staged baseball’s first strike to protest the suspension of their star, Ty Cobb, who had slugged a fan. Faced with a $100 per day fine, the team ended the strike after missing one game and rescheduling another.

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

1927 – In Bath, MI, Andrew Kehoe, a farmer and local school board member who was angry over losing an election for town clerk and under notice for foreclosure, killed his wife, detonated bombs in his house and farm buildings, and at the same time set off a bomb in the consolidated school. He drove to the school in a truck rigged with more explosives, which he detonated next to the school superintendent. In all, 44 people were killed, 38 of them children, and himself, in the worst school murders in U.S. history. Only half of the 1,000 pounds of explosives set under the school went off, greatly lowering the death toll. Thirty-eight of the 314 students, three teachers, the superintendent, the postmaster, and a local farmer assisting at the scene were killed. Most of the dead were students from second to sixth grade. Fifty-eight others were injured..

1929 – Holland, MI held its first Tulip Time Festival.

1934 – Congress approved an act, known as the “Lindberg Act,” that called for the death penalty in interstate kidnapping cases.

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.

1968 – Tiny Tim’s “Tiptoe through the Tulips” was released. It was originally a number one hit for Nick Lucas in 1929.

1969 – Apollo 10 was launched.

1980 – The Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state erupted, leaving 57 people dead or missing. It caused $3 billion in damages.

1983 – The Senate revised immigration laws and gave millions of immigrants without papers legal status under an amnesty program.

1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

1995 – Shawn Nelson stole a tank from a National Guard Armory in San Diego, CA, destroying cars and other property. He was shot to death by police after immobilizing the tank.

1998 – The TV show “Murphy Brown” aired its final episode after 10 years on the air. The show was brought back to TV in 2018.

1998 – The U.S. federal government and 20 states filed a sweeping antitrust case against Microsoft Corp., saying the computer software company had a “choke hold” on competitors which denied consumer choices by controlling 90% of the software market.

2001 – The DreamWorks animated feature film, “Shrek”, premiered in theaters.

2000 – In a malpractice lawsuit, Dana Carvey testified that, in 1998, a surgeon performed angioplasty on the wrong artery. The doctor blames the mistake on the comedian’s “unusual anatomy.”

2002 – Will Ferrell said goodbye to TV’s “Saturday Night Live” on the show’s season finale.

2004 – Martha Stewart pulled the plug on her syndicated series, “Martha Stewart Living”, until “my personal legal situation is resolved.”

2004 – The “Hee Haw Collection” was released. It was the first time that full shows of TV’s “Hee Haw” were released on VHS and DVD

2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.

2007 – TV’s “That ’70s Show” aired their 200th episode and series finale after eight seasons.

2012 – Facebook Inc. held its initial public offering and began trading on the NASDAQ. The company was valued at $104 billion making it the largest valuation for a newly listed public company.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON MAY 18:

Janet Fish – 88 years old (1938) – Painter and academic

Gail Strickland – 81 years old (1945) – Actress

Reggie Jackson – 80 years old (1946) – Baseball player and sportscaster

Tom Udall – 78 years old (1948) – Lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General , United States Senator from New Mexico

Mark Mothersbaugh – 76 years old (1950) – Singer-songwriter and painter

Jim Sundberg – 75 years old (1951) – Baseball player and sportscaster

Diane Duane – 74 years old (1952) – Author and screenwriter

George Strait – 74 years old (1952) – Singer, guitarist and producer

Jeana Yeager – 74 years old (1952) – Pilot

Sam Vincent – 63 years old (1963) – Basketball player and coach

Michael Tait – 60 years old (1966) – Singer-songwriter and producer

Nancy Juvonen – 59 years old (1967) – Screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films

Martika – 57 years old (1969) – Singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

Tina Fey – 56 years old (1970) – Actress, producer, and screenwriter

Billy Howerdel – 56 years old (1970) – Guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Brad Friedel – 55 years old (1971) – International soccer player, manager and sportscaster

Donyell Marshall – 53 years old (1973) – Basketball player and coach

Nelson Figueroa – 52 years old (1974) – Baseball player and sportscaster

Jack Johnson – 51 years old (1975) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Ron Mercer – 50 years old (1976) – Basketball player

Marcus Giles – 48 years old (1978) – Baseball player

Reggie Evans – 46 years old (1980) – Basketball player

Vince Young – 43 years old (1983) – Football player

Polina Edmunds – 28 years old (1998) – Figure skater

Emma Navarro – 25 years old (2001) – Tennis player

Travis Hunter – 23 years old (2003) – Football player

Hala Finley – 17 years old (2009) – Actress

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR MAY 18:

Today's special observances are temporarily unavailable. Please check back soon.

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.