113 things happened on 18 February, from 3,102 BC to 2025. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1516 · 510 years ago
Mary I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and became Queen of England and Ireland in 1553. She was also Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II. Mary tried hard to undo the English Reformation and bring back the Catholic Church. Her harsh treatment of P…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of Cornwall, a Spanish fleet intercepted an Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of forty-four vessels escorted by six men-of-war, destroying or capturing twenty ships.
UK story
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana).
UK story
French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.
UK story
U-boat Campaign: The Imperial German Navy institutes unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Great Britain and Ireland.
During the Sixth Crusade, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signed a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, the Sultan of Egypt. Under the deal, Christians regained Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem without fighting a battle. The agreement led to Christians and Muslims sharing the running of Jerusalem. This made the Sixth Crusade different from the other crusades.
Mark Twain's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in the United States, two months after it came out in Britain. The story is told by Huck Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer, and follows on from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It was one of the first major American books written in everyday spoken English. It is often called one of the Great American Novels.
The first official flight carrying airmail took place in British India. A 23-year-old French pilot, Henri Pequet, flew about 6,500 letters from Allahabad to Naini, around 10 kilometres away. The journey in his biplane took 13 minutes. Airmail is still often marked 'Par avion', which is French for 'by aeroplane'.
American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto while studying photographs of the night sky taken in January. He worked at Lowell Observatory in Arizona and had taught himself astronomy. Pluto was called the ninth planet for over seven decades, but it is now known as a dwarf planet. The name Pluto was first suggested by Venetia Burney, an 11-year-old English girl.
The Gambia, a country in West Africa, became independent from the United Kingdom. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa. It is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except the west, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia celebrates 18 February every year as its Independence Day.
Enterprise, NASA's first Space Shuttle orbiter, made its first test flight riding on top of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Enterprise was built without engines or a working heat shield, so it could never fly into space. Instead, it was used for test flights in Earth's atmosphere. It is now on display at the Intrepid Museum in New York City.
NASA's car-sized rover Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater on Mars. Scientists chose the crater because it once held a lake and river delta, which may hold signs of ancient microscopic life. Perseverance carried a small helicopter called Ingenuity. In April 2021, Ingenuity became the first aircraft to make a powered, controlled flight on another world.
According to Hindu scriptures, Kali Yuga, the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas, began.
Northern Crusades: The Battle of Wesenberg (depicted) took place between Novgorodian and Pskovian forces against the Livonian Order and its allies, ending with Russian forces retreating from Danish Estonia.
Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
The ballad opera called Flora, or Hob in the Well went down in history as the first opera of any kind to be produced in North America (Charleston, S.C.)
Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.
War of the Sixth Coalition: French troops led by Napoleon forced the Army of Bohemia to retreat after it advanced dangerously close to Paris.
In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.
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.
The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Puyi as Chief Executive of the State.
World War II: American and Brazilian troops kick off Operation Encore in Northern Italy, a successful limited action in the Northern Apennines that prepares for the western portion of the Allied Spring offensive.
President Harry S. Truman signed the Rescission Act, annulling benefits payable to Filipino troops who fought for the U.S. during World War II.
First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to the mountains.
The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
WikiLeaks published the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by Chelsea Manning.
In a coup d'état, military rebels attacked the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger, and replaced President Mamadou Tandja with a ruling junta, the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year was Mary I born?
B: 1516. 1516 — that’s 510 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year was Harry Brearley born?
B: 1871. 1871 — that’s 155 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto. 1965: The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom · 1977: Space Shuttle Enterprise makes its first test flight · 1930: Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto Find it on the page
“Space Shuttle Enterprise makes its first test flight” happened in 1977. How many years ago was that?
C: 49 years. 2026 − 1977 = 49. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 18 February.
UK story
Mary I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and became Queen of England and Ireland in 1553. She was also Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II. Mary tried hard to undo the English Reformation and bring back the Catholic Church. Her harsh treatment of Protestants later earned her the nickname 'Bloody Mary'.
Alessandro Volta was an Italian chemist and physicist who is credited with inventing the electric battery. In 1799 he built the voltaic pile, which showed that electricity could be made using chemicals. Before this, many people thought only living things could produce electricity. He described his invention in a letter to the Royal Society in London.
UK story
Harry Brearley was an English metallurgist, an expert in metals, who worked in Sheffield. He is credited with discovering 'rustless steel', which later became known as stainless steel. His discovery meant that cutlery which did not rust became affordable for ordinary people. It also helped Sheffield's famous cutlery trade to grow.
Well-known people who died on 18 February.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 18 February somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “February 18” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.