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History on the 18th of April

History
Date Text
18 Apr 1521 RELIGIOUS German reformer Martin Luther, at the Diet of Worms, proclaimed that a biblical foundation supported the theological position of his "Ninety-Five Theses." Luther ended his defense with the famous words: 'Here I stand! I can do nothing else! God help me! Amen.'
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18 Apr 1606 RELIGIOUS In Rome, Julius II laid the foundation stone of the second building of St. Peter's Basilica. Completed 20 years later by Urban VIII, St. Peter's today is the largest church in Christendom, with an overall length of 619 feet.
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18 Apr 1874 RELIGIOUS In England, the remains of Scottish missionary David Livingstone (who had died the previous year in Africa at age 60) were interred in London's Westminster Abbey.
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18 Apr 1882 RELIGIOUS Birth of George S. Schuler, American music educator. Affiliated with Moody Bible Institute for 40 years, Schuler is remembered today for composing the melody to the hymn, "Make Me a Blessing."
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18 Apr 1916 WW2 Royal Sovereign was commissioned into service. 
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18 Apr 1919 WW2 Douglas MacArthur departed Brest, France. 
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18 Apr 1921 WW2 Lawrence was commissioned into service. 
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18 Apr 1922 WW2 S-33 was commissioned into service. 
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18 Apr 1927 WW2 Chinese Nationalists set up a government in Nanjing, China. 
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18 Apr 1930 RELIGIOUS American pioneer linguist Frank C. Laubach, while serving as a missionary in the Philippines, wrote in a letter: 'After an hour of close friendship with God, my soul feels clean as new fallen snow.'
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18 Apr 1934 WW2 Japan requested western powers to stay out of China. 
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18 Apr 1935 WW2 Captain Shojiro Mizusaki was named the commanding officer of Settsu. 
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18 Apr 1936 WW2 Sun Du was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. 
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18 Apr 1939 WW2 Slovakia passed anti-Semitic laws. 
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18 Apr 1940 WW2 British submarine HMS Sterlet disappeared off Norway. It was either sunk by German anti-submarine trawlers UJ-125, UJ-126, and UJ-128, or sunk after hitting a mine. 
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18 Apr 1940 WW2 The German submarine U-99 was commissioned with Captain Otto "Smiling Otto" Kretschmer in command. U-99 would be responsible for sinking 282,000 tons of Allied shipping before being cornered and sunk in Mar 1941. Depth charged to the surface and sunk, U-99's captain and crew were taken prisoner by Donald Macintyre of the corvette HMS Walker. 
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18 Apr 1940 WW2 The Norwegian government declared war on Germany after several days of fighting. On the same day, German troops advanced past Oslo, but were held up by Norwegian forces north of the city in the village of Bagn. The British 148th Brigade arrived in Åndalsnes overnight; commanding officer Brigadier Morgan was given conflicting orders, one ordering him to march north to Trondheim, while the other ordered him to march south to support Norwegian troops in the Gudbrandsdal and Østerdal valleys north of Oslo. Meanwhile, troops of the German 181st Infantry Division began to arrive at Trondheim as reinforcements via aircraft, transport ships, and submarines. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 German 3rd Regiment and 2nd Panzer Division crossed the Pinios River in Greece while German 6th Mountain Division reached Mount Olympus in Greece, putting the Australian and New Zealand troops at the Pinios Gorge in danger. As German troops continued to move south in Greece, Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis committed suicide in the evening; in response to this suicide, Athens was placed under martial law by the government to maintain stability. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 Indian 20th Infantry Brigade landed at Basra, Iraq unopposed. It was originally based in Karachi, India and had arrived in Iraq in 8 transports which were escorted by carrier HMS Hermes, cruiser HMS Emerald, cruiser HMNZS Leander, 6 sloops, and gunboat HMS Cockchafer. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 British submarine HMS Urge sank Italian tanker Franco Martelli in the Bay of Biscay north of Spain. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 British destroyers HMS Newark and HMS Volunteer collided just off the northern coast of Ireland. Both were seriously damaged and would be under repair at Belfast until Aug 1941. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 Australian General Leslie Morshead reorganized the defenses at Tobruk, Libya, creating additional reserve brigades and building secondary defensive lines, all in order to create additional depth to the city's defenses. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis attacked Egyptian passenger liner ZamZam without warning 1,400 miles west of South Africa at 0600 hours, mistaking it for a British troop ship. All 129 crew and 202 passengers escaped in lifeboats before the Germans scuttled the ship with demolition charges. Life magazine photographer David Sherman, who was aboard ZamZam during the attack, took a photograph of Atlantis. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 German dive bombers sank empty British troopship HMS Fiona 50 miles northwest of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, killing 54. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 US Navy Admiral Kimmel wrote a letter to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Stark requesting additional resources for base construction at Wake Island and for a US Marine Corps defense battalion to be stationed there. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 The groundbreaking ceremony for the future Consolidated-Vultee aircraft plant in Fort Worth, Texas, United States was held, attended by General Gerald Brant and local civic leader Amon Carter. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 The United States declared that the Pan-American Security Zone, last defined with the 3 Oct 1939 Declaration of Panama, to be extended to 26 degrees west longitude, 2,300 nautical miles east of New York on the east coast of the United States. It was just 50 nautical miles short of Iceland, which was a major Allied convoy staging area. 
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18 Apr 1941 WW2 US President Franklin Roosevelt told a Press Conference that he did not think that public opinion in America was yet fully aware of the gravity of the military crisis in Europe or its implications for the safety of the United States. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 German armed merchant cruiser Michel stopped British tanker Patella with gunfire 136 miles east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at dawn, killing 3; the remaining crew of 60 were taken off before the ship was scuttled. German submarine U-136 damaged US tanker Axtell J. Byles 5 kilometers off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 General MacArthur was appointed to command the Southwest Pacific Theater. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 USS Lexington ferried US Marine Fighter Squadron 211 and its F2A Buffalo aircraft to Palmyra Atoll, Line Islands. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Makassar, Celebes. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 The US Army Forces Far East became inactive. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 US Marine Corps Major General Charles F. B. Price arrived at Pago Pago, American Samoa to command the Headquarters Samoan Area Defense Force. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 François Darlan stepped down as the Vichy French Vice Premier as well as the Minister of the Navy. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 Hudson bombers of No. 139 Squadron RAF from Akyab island, Burma attacked Japanese facilities on the Andaman Islands which had been the Squadron's base until it was abandoned in Mar 1942. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 The I Group of the German Jagdgeschwader 27 wing was transferred for combat duties near Gazala, Egypt. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 USS Wasp passed through the Strait of Gibraltar en route to Malta. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 British submarine HMS Torbay sank German army transport Bellona 60 miles east of Cape Colonna, Italy at 1125 hours. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 B-26 Marauder bombers of US 5th Air Force attacked Simpson Harbor and Lakunai airfield at Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago at 1030 hours. Akomaki Maru was sunk (killing 11), as was Komaki Maru as her load of aviation fuel detonated. Lakunai airfield received light damage. After the attack, 80 Australian prisoners of war were executed by the Japanese for having cheered during the attack. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 Although the 113th Regiment of the Chinese 38th Division under General Sun Liren and the British 7th Armoured Brigade had reached near Yenangyaung, Burma, they could not prevent the Japanese troops from capturing the city; the final elements of British troops fleeing out of the city destroyed the power station to prevent Japanese use. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 Pierre Laval became the 123rd Prime Minister of France. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 16 US Army Air Force B-25 bombers launched from USS Hornet attacked Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, and other targets in the Japanese home islands at about 1200 hours. Most of the bombers would fly on to crash land in or bail out over China, while one landed in Russia and the crew were interned by the Soviets, who had a non-aggression treaty in place with Japan. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 Submarine tender Taigei was lightly damaged by US air attack at Yokosuka, Japan; 7 casualties were recorded. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 Nachi departed Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 The 1st Battalion of the 63rd Infantry Regiment of the 61st Philippine Division under Captain Julian Chaves pushed back Japanese troops at Mount Dila-Dila on Panay, Philippine Islands. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Mako, Pescadores Islands. 
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18 Apr 1942 WW2 USS Marlin arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 German 17.Armee attempted to eliminate the Soviet bridgehead at Novorossiysk in southern Russia. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 The Soviet Union claimed that the German Gestapo was responsible for the Katyn Massacre. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 47 P-40 and 12 Spitfire fighters intercepted a large Axis air convoy off Tunisia, shooting down 24 German transport aircraft, 10 German fighters, and some Italian fighters. So many lives were lost that the Germans dubbed the action Palm Sunday Massacre. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Philip Cabell Evans was named the commanding officer of HMCS Trillium. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 Admiral William Halsey and General Douglas MacArthur met at Brisbane, Australia. They agreed that the tentative date for the New Georgia invasion was to be 15 May, and that a US Marine Corps defense battalion, a US Navy construction battalion, and a US Army regimental combat team should be transferred to the theater to support the invasion. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 The two aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki took off from Rabaul, New Britain at 0600 hours. Over the island of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, they were shot down by American fighters over Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, killing Yamamoto. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 12th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson flew his first combat mission over the Dutch coast but saw no action. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 A transport of 2501 Jews from the ghetto in Thessaloniki, Greece arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. Only 605 were registered into the camp; the remaining 1,896 were sent to the gas chambers. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov was summoned to meet with Joseph Stalin. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 No. 619 Squadron RAF was formed at RAF Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 Submarine Dragonet was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Gingrich. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 Submarine Escolar was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. J. Bilisoly Hudgins. 
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18 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her sixth war patrol. 
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18 Apr 1944 WW2 Aircraft of No. 466 Squadron RAAF conducted bombing operations against Helgoland, Germany. 
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18 Apr 1944 WW2 The British Foreign Office banned all coded messages from foreign embassies and said that diplomatic bags were to be censored. Only the fighting Allies were to be excluded from the ban. 
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18 Apr 1944 WW2 RAF bombers struck Rouen, Juvisi, Noisy-le-Sec, and Tergnier, killing 1,383 French civilians. 
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18 Apr 1944 WW2 The US submarine Gudgeon was reported lost, presumed sunk, off the Maug Islands, Mariana Islands. 
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18 Apr 1944 WW2 RAF Bomber Command's No. 5 Group made a precision attack on the Juvisy rail marshalling yards south of Paris, France, virtually destroying all of this strategically important target. 
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18 Apr 1944 WW2 Evripidis Bakirtzis stepped down as the head of the Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA) of Greece. 
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18 Apr 1944 WW2 Soviet troops captured Balaklava, Russia. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Sargent Bay arrived in Okinawa. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 Ernie Pyle was killed on Ie Shima off Okinawa, Japan. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 Over 300,000 encircled German troops in the Ruhr region of western Germany surrendered. US First Army entered Düsseldorf. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 US Ninth Army captured Magdeburg, Germany. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 British Second Army captured Lüneburg and Ülzen, Germany. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 The Western Allies reported that German prisoners taken since the Normandy invasion had reached two million, with the exact count at 2,055,575. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 2nd Byelorussian Front broke the Oder defensive line between Schwedt and Stettin, Germany. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 As some German troops surrendered Helgoland to the Allies peacefully, SS men shot some of them for the traitorous act. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 Soviet 1st Byelorussian Front finally penetrated the Seelow Heights defensive lines at Berlin, Germany. Joseph Goebbels burned files in his office as Soviet troops approached. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Rock bombarded a Japanese radio station at Batan, Batanes Islands, Philippine Islands. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Cabrilla attacked a Japanese convoy off northern Japan with six torpedoes, one of which damaged a transport. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Parche attacked a Japanese transport east of Kamaichi, Japan; all 3 torpedoes missed. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Seahorse was damaged by two Japanese patrol vessels off Japan; she fired one torpedo in return, but it missed. She set sail for Guam, Mariana Islands for repairs. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Chub arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her first war patrol. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 US troops began fighting in the old city section of Nürnberg, Germany; meanwhile, US 3rd Army sent units across the Czechoslovakian border. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 German pilot Johannes Steinhoff was seriously burned during a takeoff accident with his Me 262 jet fighter at München (Munich), Germany. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 German 29th Panzergrenadier Division unsuccessfully attempted an armored counterattack against the British bridgehead north of the Fossa Marina canal near Argenta, Italy. 
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18 Apr 1945 WW2 Canadian tanks reached the shores of the Ijsselmeer lake, effectively cutting off the 120,000 strong German 25th Army in Holland. 
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18 Apr 1946 WW2 Daly was decommissioned from service. 
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18 Apr 1946 WW2 Craven was decommissioned from service. 
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18 Apr 1946 WW2 Gridley was decommissioned from service. 
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18 Apr 1947 WW2 The Royal Canadian Air Force retired its fleet of Ventura aircraft. 
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18 Apr 1947 WW2 Jozef Tiso was executed by hanging. 
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18 Apr 1947 WW2 Chiang Kaishek stepped down as the Premier of the Republic of China. 
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18 Apr 1948 WW2 Manuel Roxas passed away. 
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18 Apr 1949 WW2 Ireland (Eire) gained full independence from the United Kingdom, forming the new Republic of Ireland. It also terminated its Commonwealth membership. 
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