February 18: Holidays, Historical Events, Famous Birthdays & Zodiac Sign
On February 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh spotted Pluto on photographic plates—and the same date in 2021 saw NASA's Perseverance rover touch down on Mars.
About February 18
February 18 is a day that reaches for the stars. In 1930, a 24-year-old astronomer named Clyde Tombaugh was poring over photographs taken the previous month at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona when he identified a tiny shifting point of light—Pluto, the solar system's ninth body. Exactly 91 years later, on February 18, 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover successfully landed inside Jezero Crater on Mars, beginning a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life.
Back on Earth, the date has delivered its share of landmarks. Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in the United States in 1885, reshaping American literature. In 1911, a young French pilot named Henri Pequet carried 6,500 letters by airplane from Allahabad to Naini in British India—the world's first official airmail delivery. And in a feat of agricultural aviation, Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft in 1930—and the first to be milked mid-flight, naturally inspiring the wonderfully specific holiday "Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day."
It is also Independence Day in the Gambia, which broke free from British rule in 1965, and National Democracy Day in Nepal, commemorating the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty. Meanwhile, those born under Aquarius—the sign of innovators and independent thinkers—share the birthday with physicist Alessandro Volta, who literally invented the battery, making National Battery Day an especially fitting tribute.
Holidays & Observances on February 18
- Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965
- Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal)
Fun & National Days on February 18
- Pluto Day — Honor the dwarf planet Clyde Tombaugh discovered on this date in 1930—still beloved despite its 2006 demotion.
- National Battery Day — Check your smoke detector batteries and spare birthday boy Alessandro Volta, who invented the battery in 1800.
- Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day — Raise a glass of milk to Elm Farm Ollie, who achieved this singular bovine aviation milestone on February 18, 1930.
- National Drink Wine Day — Pour a glass and toast the fact that February 18 has given humanity plenty to celebrate—and to ponder.
- Crab-Stuffed Flounder Day — Head to your favorite seafood spot and order this classic surf-and-surf pairing in all its buttery glory.
- Eat Ice Cream For Breakfast Day — Embrace the rebellion—scoop your favorite flavor into a bowl and call it the most important meal of the day.
- Ash Wednesday
- The Start of Ramadan
- Thumb Appreciation Day
On This Day in History
- 1229 — Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signed a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem through diplomacy rather than battle during the Sixth Crusade.
- 1735 — The ballad opera Flora, or Hob in the Well debuted in Charleston, South Carolina, becoming the first opera of any kind staged in North America.
- 1791 — The U.S. Congress passed legislation admitting Vermont to the Union, effective March 4, after it had spent 14 years as a de facto independent republic.
- 1861 — Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as provisional President of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama, on the same day Victor Emmanuel II assumed the title King of Italy.
- 1885 — Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in the United States, cementing its place as a cornerstone of American literature.
- 1911 — French pilot Henri Pequet delivered 6,500 letters from Allahabad to Naini in British India, completing the first official airmail flight in history.
- 1930 — Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto by studying January photographs, while Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft—and the first milked in flight.
- 1943 — Nazi authorities arrested members of the White Rose resistance movement, the same day propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels delivered his infamous Sportpalast speech.
- 1965 — The Gambia gained full independence from the United Kingdom, becoming the smallest mainland African nation to achieve sovereignty.
- 1977 — NASA's Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle was carried atop a Boeing 747 on its maiden flight, a pivotal step toward the shuttle program's orbital missions.
- 2001 — FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested for espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union, exposing one of the most damaging spy cases in American history.
- 2021 — NASA's Perseverance rover successfully touched down in Jezero Crater on Mars, launching a mission to search for evidence of ancient microbial life.
Famous Birthdays on February 18
- 1745 — Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist who invented the electric battery in 1800, transforming the study of electricity—and lending his name to the volt.
- 1838 — Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher whose work on supersonic motion gave us the Mach number, still used to measure speeds faster than sound.
- 1931 — Toni Morrison, American novelist and Nobel Prize laureate whose works, including Beloved, transformed the landscape of modern American literature.
- 1933 — Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist, musician, and peace activist whose avant-garde work has influenced art and popular culture for decades.
- 1954 — John Travolta, American actor and producer who became a cultural icon through Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction, with a career spanning over five decades.
- 1965 — Dr. Dre, American rapper, producer, and entrepreneur who helped shape West Coast hip-hop and co-founded Beats Electronics, reshaping the music industry.
- 1967 — Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer renowned for his elegant playmaking and the iconic ponytail, voted FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993.
- 1968 — Molly Ringwald, American actress who defined the teen movie genre in the 1980s through John Hughes classics like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.