18 May in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 18 May is the birth anniversary of Behramji Malabari, Venkataraman Radhakrishnan, H. D. Deve Gowda, Abbas Kazmi, Faggan Singh Kulaste, and Anant Bajaj.
18 May is also observed as the death anniversary of K.L Rao, and Reema Lagoo.
Birth Anniversary
18 May in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Behramji Malabari (18 May 1853 – 12 July 1912), an Indian poet, publicist, author, and social reformer. He was known for his advocacy for the protection of the rights of women and for his activities against child marriage. He was born on 18 May 1853 in Baroda, Gujarat, India.
Venkataraman Radhakrishnan (18 May 1929 – 3 March 2011), a space scientist and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was the vice president of the International Astronomical Union during 1988–1994 and served as a member of the Foreign Advisory Committee for the Netherlands Foundation for Radio Astronomy, Steering Committee of the Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Australia, Advisory Committee for the Green Bank Radio Telescope, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, USA. He ended his career as professor emeritus of the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, India. Radhakrishnan was born on 18 May 1929 in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India.
H.D. Deve Gowda, an Indian politician and former Prime Minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997. He was the 12th Prime Minister of India and before that, he was the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. Deve Gowda is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka currently. He started his political career by joining the Indian National Congress party in 1953 and remained a member until 1962 his current party is the Janata Dal of which he was President of the party. He was born on 18 May 1933 in Haradanahalli, Kingdom of Mysore, British India now Karnataka, India.
Abbas Kazmi, a criminal lawyer who received wide media coverage for representing Ajmal Kasab, the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Kazmi was also an actor and worked in a few films such as Anjaan Rahen, with Feroz Khan and Asha Parekh, and Jugnoo, with Dharmendra and Hema Malini. He was Born on 18 May 1955.
Faggan Singh Kulaste, an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He became Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel on 30 May 2019 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kulaste is elected as a member of the 17th Lok Sabha (2019–2024). Kulaste represented the Mandla constituency of Madhya Pradesh from 1996 to 2009. He was born on 18 May 1959 in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh.
Anant Bajaj (18 May 1977 – 10 August 2018), an Indian businessman and was the managing director of Bajaj Electricals Ltd. Under his leadership, Bajaj Electricals became the sponsor of many events with such as Pro Kabaddi, Badminton World Championships, and the International Federation of Sport Climbing. He was born on 18 May 1977.
Read More: 17 May in Indian and World History
Death Anniversary
18 May in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
K.L Rao (15 July 1902 – 18 May 1986), an Indian engineer who served as the Union Minister of Irrigation & Power and Member of Parliament for Vijayawada from 1962 to 1977. He also got Padma Bhushan in 1963 for his contribution in the spheres of irrigation and power. He died on 18 May 1986.
Reema Lagoo (21 June 1958 – 18 May 2017), an Indian theatre and screen actress known for her work in Hindi and Marathi cinema. She played many mother roles in her film career during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was well known for her acting as a mother in films such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Saajan (1991), Gumrah (1993), Jai Kishen (1994), and many more. Lagoo died on 18 May 2017 at the age of 58 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Read More: 16 May in Indian and World History
Notable events on 18 May in Indian and World history
18 May 1848 – The first National Assembly was inaugurated in Germany.
18 May 1872 – Bertrand Russell a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and Nobel Laureate, was born.
18 May 1901 – Vincent du Vigneaud, a renowned biochemist, and Nobel Prize Laureate, was born.
18 May 1909 – Isaac Albeniz – a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor – died.
18 May 1912 – The first Indian feature-length film Shri Pundalik was released on this day.
18 May 1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, a French physician, and Nobel Prize Laureate, died.
18 May 1974 – India became a nuclear power country with its first underground atomic bomb test in Pokhran, Rajasthan. This test was named ‘Smiling Buddha’.
18 May 1991 – On this day, Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sherman, flew to space. 27-year-old Helen Soviet Soyuz departed from Kazakhstan, sitting in Capsul.
18 May 1950 – A year after the signing of the Northern Atlantic Treaty, 12 countries of the world agreed on a permanent organization to protect America and Europe on this day.
18 May 2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, a French physicist, and Nobel Prize Laureate, died.
18 May 2009 – Sri Lankan government announced the end of the war for 25 years with the Tamil rebels. The army captured the northern part of the country and LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed.
18 May 2009 – Türkan Saylan a prominent Turkish medical doctor, academic, writer, teacher, and social activist, died.
18 May – World AIDS Vaccine Day
May 18 is observed as Worlds AIDS Vaccine Day. On this day we remind the efforts of thousands of researchers, scientists, health professionals who contributed to the finding of safe and effective AIDS medicine. We also celebrate it to increase awareness about HIV Vaccine and Aids prevention.
18 May – International Museum Day
May 18 is also observed as International Museum Day to raise awareness about the museum and its role in society. It was first time organized by The International Council of Museums (ICOM) in 1977.