18 February in World History

 

1766: The British Parliament Repeals The Stamp Act, A Tax On Printed Materials, Which Had Been A Source Of Tension Between Britain And Its American Colonies.
1861: In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis Is Inaugurated As The First And Only President Of The Confederate States Of America.
1930: Pluto Is Discovered By Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh At The Lowell Observatory In Flagstaff, Arizona.
1970: The Chicago Seven Defendants Are Found Not Guilty Of Conspiracy To Incite A Riot At The 1968 Democratic National Convention.
2001: FBI Agent Robert Hanssen Is Arrested And Charged With Spying For The Soviet Union And Later Russia, In One Of The Most Damaging Espionage Cases In U.S. History.
2005: The Kyoto Protocol, An International Treaty Aimed At Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Comes Into Force After Being Ratified By Enough Countries.

 

1478: George Plantagenet, Duke Of Clarence, Is Executed In The Tower Of London For Treason Against His Brother King Edward IV.
1885: Mark Twain's Famous Novel "The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn" Is Published In The United States.
1932: Japan Declares Manchukuo, A Puppet State In Northeast China, As Independent.
1977: The Space Shuttle Enterprise, Mounted Atop A Boeing 747, Goes On Its Maiden "Flight" Above The Mojave Desert In California.

2008: Kosovo Declares Independence From Serbia, Leading To International Recognition And Diplomatic Tensions.
2021: NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Successfully Lands On Mars, Beginning Its Mission To Search For Signs Of Ancient Microbial Life On The Planet
1546: Martin Luther, The German Religious Leader And Theologian, Dies In Eisleben, Germany.
1688: Quakers In Germantown, Pennsylvania, Issue A Protest Against Slavery, Making It One Of The Earliest Known Antislavery Statements In American History.

 

1885: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, A Novel By American Author Mark Twain, Is Published In The United Kingdom.
1938: The World's First Superhero, Superman, Makes His Debut In Action Comics #1.
1943: The Nazis Arrest The Members Of The White Rose, A Nonviolent Resistance Group In Germany, Who Had Been Distributing Anti-Nazi Leaflets.
1965: The Gambia Becomes An Independent Country, Ending More Than 300 Years Of British Colonial Rule.
2003: Nearly 200 People Die In A Terrorist Attack On A Nightclub In The Indonesian Island Of Bali.
 

1478: Queen Isabella I Of Castile Issues A Decree Establishing The Spanish Inquisition.
1767: The Province Of Massachusetts Bay Is Ordered By The British Parliament To Pay For The Costs Of The British Army In The Colony.
1815: The Congress Of Vienna, Which Sought To Re-Establish A Balance Of Power In Europe After The Napoleonic Wars, Begins Its First Session.

 

1861: In Italy, Victor Emmanuel II Is Proclaimed The First King Of A United Italy Since The 6th Century.
1930: The Planet Pluto Is Discovered By American Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh At The Lowell Observatory In Flagstaff, Arizona.
1967: The United States And Soviet Union Sign The Outer Space Treaty, Which Prohibits The Placing Of Nuclear Weapons In Space.
1978: The First Ironman Triathlon Is Held In Hawaii, Consisting Of A 2.4-Mile Swim, A 112-Mile Bike Ride, And A 26.2-Mile Run.
2001: Dale Earnhardt, One Of The Most Successful And Popular NASCAR Drivers, Dies In A Crash During The Daytona 500.