This Day in History on 18th February

The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam. 

On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 18th February. The students can refer to them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.

Important Days

Important Events

1614: Mughal emperor Jahangir captured Mewar.

1905: Shyamji Krishnavarma founded the India Home Rule Society in London.

1911: The first official flight with airmail 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: Pluto, the ninth planet in our solar system for a long time, was discovered by Clyde Tombamg. Later on, Pluto withdrew the status of the planet.

1946: The Royal Indian Navy revolt in Mumbai.

1946: Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors

1965: the Gambia gained independence from England.

1971: India established the first satellite contact with Britain through the Arvi satellite station.

1979: Snow falls in southern Algeria in the Sahara Desert. This is the only record of snowfall in the Sahara Desert.

1998: Senior Gandhian leader, former Union Minister and former Governor of Maharashtra C. Subramanian was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honor of India.

2007: 68 people killed in a bomb blast in Samjhauta Express going from Delhi to Lahore.

2019: Gun battle in Pulwama, Indian-controlled Kashmir, killed nine with Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammad held responsible.

Birth/Birth Anniversary

1486: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534)

Swraj Paul

1745: Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist, the inventor of the electric battery, and the discoverer of methane.

1823: Gopal Hari Deshmukh, an Indian activist, thinker, social reformer, and writer.

1871: Vitthalbhai Patel, a political leader and the first Indian President of the Central Legislative Assembly of India.

Tinu Yohannan

1883: Madan Lal Dhingra, an Indian revolutionary, and pro-independence activist.

1886: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, an Indian Hindu mystic, saint, and religious leader.

1894: Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, an Indian independence activist and a socialist.

1898: Enzo Ferrari, an Italian motor racing driver, and entrepreneur, the founder of the Ferrari automobile marque.

1914: Jan Nisar Akhtar, an Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms.

1927: Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi, an Indian music director, and background score composer.

1931: Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, Indian-English businessman and philanthropist

1933: Nimmi, an Indian screen actress.

1957: Rajat Sharma, an Indian journalist and the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, India TV.

1966: Sajid Nadiadwala, an Indian film producer, and director.

1979: Tinu Yohannan, Indian cricketer

Nikhil Baran Sengupta

Death/ Death Anniversary

1294: Kublai Khan, the fifth khagan of the Mongol Empire.

1405: Taimur, the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty.

1564: Michelangelo, an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.

Abdul Rashid Khan

1967: J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist.

2014: Nikhil Baran Sengupta, Indian art director and production designer (b. 1943)

2016: Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan, an Indian vocalist of Hindustani music.

Further Reading

Month-wise This Day in History