9 Odd But True Events From February 18

What do Jefferson Davis, Pluto and Snow in the Desert have in common? All three share an important anniversary on February 18th.

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.

1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America. 

1911 – The first official flight with air mail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away.

1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.

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.

1955 – Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot "Wasp" is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots of the Teapot series. 

1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, 6 Cal.3d 628 invalidates the state's death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment.

1978 – The first Ironman Triathlon competition takes place on the island of Oahu, won by Gordon Haller.

      1979 – Snow falls in southern Algeria in the Sahara Desert for the only time in recorded history.

Image courtesy of public domain. 

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