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On this day in History Archives

 
At PaulsQuiz.com we aim to provide you with as much information as we possibly can. That's why we have built our On This Day in History section, to do just that. Our database is forever growing, we're adding more and more events from history to help you write your quiz questions.

Simply enter a date using the drop-down boxes below and click the 'Go' button to display events from the past that ocurred on that day.
 

 
18 February, 2008
Fidel Castro released his statement saying that he will no longer seek office as Cubas president.
18 February, 2005
The United Kingdom bans fox hunting, hare coursing and other sports which domestic animals kill wild mammals.
18 February, 2004
Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Neyshabur in Iran when a run-away freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertiliser catches fire and explodes.
18 February, 2003
Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
18 February, 2003
Comet C/2002 V1 (NEAT) makes perihelion, seen by SOHO.
18 February, 2001
FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
18 February, 2001
Dale Earnhardt is killed in a crash during the final lap of the Daytona 500, which was won by Michael Waltrip, driving in a car that Earnhardt owned. His son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished second.
18 February, 2000
Stjepan Mesic becomes the second president of Croatia.
18 February, 1998
Two white separatists are arrested in Nevada and accused of plotting a biological attack on New York City subways.
18 February, 1991
The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
18 February, 1983
Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee Massacre in Seattle, Washington. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
18 February, 1979
Snow fell in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the first and only recorded time in history.
18 February, 1977
The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle goes on its maiden "flight" while sitting on top of a Boeing 747.
18 February, 1972
The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, 6 Cal.3d 628 invalidates the states death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life in prison.
18 February, 1970
The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
18 February, 1969
The Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 disaster occurs, killing all on board.
18 February, 1965
The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
18 February, 1957
Dedan Kimathi, a Kenyan rebel leader is executed by the British colonial government.
18 February, 1955
The Shot Teapot-Wasp is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp would be the first of fourteen shots of the Teapot series.
18 February, 1954
The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California.
18 February, 1948
Eamon de Valera resigns as Taoiseach of Ireland.
18 February, 1943
The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
18 February, 1943
Joseph Goebbels delivers the Sportpalast speech.
18 February, 1932
The Empire of Japan declares Manzhouguo (obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) independent from the Republic of China.
18 February, 1930
While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
18 February, 1930
Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.
18 February, 1929
The first Academy Awards are announced.
18 February, 1913
Raymond Poincaré becomes President of France.
18 February, 1911
The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 km away.
18 February, 1901
Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the British House of Commons.
18 February, 1885
Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published for the first time.
18 February, 1878
The Lincoln County War begins in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
18 February, 1865
Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman set the South Carolina State House on fire during the burning of Columbia.
18 February, 1861
In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
18 February, 1861
With the Italian unification almost complete, King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
18 February, 1856
The American Party (Know-Nothings) convene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate their first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.
18 February, 1841
The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate begins and lasts until March 11.
18 February, 1814
The Battle of Montereau occurs.
18 February, 1797
Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby.
18 February, 1685
Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for Frances claim to Texas.
18 February, 1478
George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London.
18 February, 1332
Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
18 February, 1268
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword are defeated by Dovmont of Pskov in the Battle of Rakovor.
18 February, 1229
The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.

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January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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