What happened on 18 September?

8 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1709 Born: Samuel Johnson English writer; lexicographer; author of A Dictionary of the English Language.
2. 2014 Scottish independence referendum Scotland votes 55–45 to remain in the United Kingdom.
3. 1931 Mukden Incident / Japanese invasion of Manchuria Japan seizes Manchuria, setting up the puppet state of Manchukuo.
4. 1598 Death of Hideyoshi — the regents' pact Dying with his heir aged five, Hideyoshi binds the five greatest lords by oath to rule jointly until the boy comes of age — verses on his lips about life as 'a dream within a dream
5. 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The law that made the North complicit: citizens compelled to help catch escapees, alleged fugitives denied a jury — and thousands flee onward to Canada.
6. 1898 Fashoda Incident A British-French standoff in Sudan that nearly triggered war over control of the Nile.
7. 1914 Home Rule passes — and is shelved for the war Irish Home Rule finally reaches the statute book — suspended for the duration of the European war, with Ulster's exclusion left unresolved. Redmond urges Irishmen to enlist to earn
8. 96 Reign of Nerva Senator chosen as emperor after Domitian's murder; adopts Trajan as heir, initiating the 'Five Good Emperors' succession.