A look at things that have happened on this date in history.
In 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as provisional president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama.
This is an undated photo of Jefferson Davis prior to his inauguration on Feb. 18, 1861 as president of the newly formed Confederate States during the American Civil War.
(AP Photo)
AP Photo
In 1930, photographic evidence of Pluto, now designated a “dwarf planet,” was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
This image made available by NASA on Friday, July 24, 2015 shows Pluto made by combining several images from two cameras on the New Horizons spacecraft, the first spacecraft to visit and photograph the celestial body. The images were taken when the spacecraft was 280,000 miles (450,000 kilometers) away from Pluto.
(NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI via AP)
NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI via AP
In 1943, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, wife of the Chinese leader, addressed members of the Senate and then the House, becoming the first Chinese national to address both houses of the U.S. Congress.
In this photo Gen. George C. Marshall, left, special envoy of U.S. President Harry Truman to China with rank of ambassador, poses with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, right, and Madame Chiang at Chiang’s Nanking home shortly after his arrival in Nanjing.
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
In 1970, the “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).
These five defendants were convicted by federal court jury of inciting bloody violence, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1970 in Chicago at time of 1968 Democratic Convention. Top, left to right: Jerry Rubin, Dave Dellinger and Abbie Hoffman. Bottom, left to right: Thomas Hayden and Rennie Davis.
(AP Photo)
AP Photo
In 1997, astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery completed their tune-up of the Hubble Space Telescope after 33 hours of spacewalking; the Hubble was then released using the shuttle’s crane.
In this April 25, 1990 photograph provided by NASA, most of the giant Hubble Space Telescope can be seen as it is suspended in space by Discovery’s Remote Manipulator System (RMS) following the deployment of part of its solar panels and antennae. This was among the first photos NASA released on April 30 from the five-day STS-31 mission. The Hubble Space Telescope, one of NASA’S crowning glories, marks its 25th anniversary on Friday, April 24, 2015. With more than 1 million observations, including those of the farthest and oldest galaxies ever beholden by humanity, no man-made satellite has touched as many minds or hearts as Hubble.
(NASA via AP)
NASA via AP
In 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash at the Daytona 500; he was 49.
Workers try to remove Dale Earnhardt (3) from his vehicle after a crash also involving Ken Schrader (36) during the Daytona 500 in this Feb. 18, 2001 photo at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Earnhart was killed in the crash.
(AP Photo/Greg Suvino)
AP Photo/Greg Suvino
Ten years ago: Eric Holder, the nation’s first black attorney general, said in a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month that the United States was “a nation of cowards” on matters of race.
Attorney General Eric Holder makes remarks commemorating African American History Month, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, during a ceremony at the Justice Department in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009.
(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
Today is Monday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2019. There are 316 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 18, 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash at the Daytona 500; he was 49.
On this date:
In 1546, Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, died in Eisleben.
In 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as provisional president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama.
In 1913, Mexican President Francisco I. Madero and Vice President Jose Maria Pino Suarez were arrested during a military coup (both were shot to death on Feb. 22).
In 1930, photographic evidence of Pluto (now designated a “dwarf planet”) was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
In 1943, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, wife of the Chinese leader, addressed members of the Senate and then the House, becoming the first Chinese national to address both houses of the U.S. Congress.
In 1970, the “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).
In 1972, the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s death penalty.
In 1977, the space shuttle prototype Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its debut “flight” above Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In 1983, 13 people were shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle’s Chinatown in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre. (Two men were convicted of the killings and are serving life sentences; a third was found guilty of robbery and assault.)
In 1988, Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1997, astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery completed their tune-up of the Hubble Space Telescope after 33 hours of spacewalking; the Hubble was then released using the shuttle’s crane.
In 2003, an arson attack involving two South Korean subway trains in the city of Daegu claimed 198 lives. (The arsonist was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2004.)
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama launched a $75 billion foreclosure rescue plan aimed at saving homes. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began a two-day visit to Indonesia. Eric Holder, the nation’s first black attorney general, said in a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month that the United States was “a nation of cowards” on matters of race. Pope Benedict XVI received House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Vatican, telling her that Catholic politicians had a duty to protect life “at all stages of its development.”
Five years ago: Megan Rice, an 84-year-old nun, was sentenced in Knoxville, Tennessee, to nearly three years in prison for breaking into a nuclear weapons complex and defacing a bunker holding bomb-grade uranium, a demonstration that exposed serious security flaws at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Two other activists received sentences of just over five years.) Maria Franziska von Trapp, 99, the last surviving member of the seven original Trapp Family Singers of “Sound of Music” fame (and stepdaughter of “the” Maria von Trapp), died in Stowe, Vermont.
One year ago: “Black Panther,” the Marvel superhero film from the Walt Disney Co., blew past expectations to take in $192 million during its debut weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters. LeBron James scored 29 points and won his third NBA All-Star Game MVP award as his team beat the rival squad headed by Stephen Curry, 148-to-145.
