Other Notable Events, February 18

In 1841, the first filibuster in the U.S. Senate began. It ended March 11.

In 1856, The American Party, also known as the Know-Nothing Party, nominated its first presidential candidate, former U.S. President Millard Fillmore. But, he carried only Maryland and the party soon vanished.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as provisional president of the Confederate States of America.

In 1865, after a long Civil War siege, Union naval forces captured Charleston, S.C.

In 1884, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was published.

In 1930, Pluto, once identified as the ninth planet of the solar system, was discovered by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.

In 1954, the Church of Scientology was established in Los Angeles.

In 1967, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, died in Princeton, N.J., at the age of 62.

In 1979, Snow fell in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the first known time.

In 1993, a ferry carrying more than 800 people capsized off Haiti's western coast, killing at least 150 people with several hundred others missing and presumed drowned.

In 2001, a 25-year veteran of the FBI, Robert Hanssen, was arrested near his suburban Washington home and charged with spying for the Russians.

Also in 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr., stock-car racing's top driver, was killed in a crash in the final turn of the final lap of the Daytona 500. He was 49.

In 2003, around 200 people died in a South Korea subway fire set by a man authorities say apparently was upset at his doctors.

In 2004, 40 chemical and fuel-laden runaway rail cars derailed in northeastern Iran, producing an explosion that killed at least 265 people.

In 2005, a panel of experts voted to advise the FDA that popular painkillers Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx can cause heart problems.

Also in 2005, at least four blasts rocked Baghdad and killed at least 20 people as Shiites began observing the holy period of Ashura. Dozens more Iraqis died in similar sectarian attacks the next day.

In 2006, the militant Hamas party took over the Palestinian legislature as a result of the January election.

Also in 2006, 16 people died in rioting in Nigeria over published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that enraged Muslims around the world, coming one week after riots in Libya and Pakistan despite pleas for calm from Muslim governments.

In 2007, an explosion on a train in northern India and the resulting fire killed 66 people and injured more than 50 others. India's railways minister called it an act of terrorism.

In 2008, opponents of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf won the majority of seats in parliamentary elections. The winner was the Pakistan People's Party, headed by Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the assassinated Benazir Bhutto.

Also in 2008, two of four masterpieces stolen from the Zurich museum a week earlier, a Monet and a van Gogh, were found in perfect condition in the back seat of an unlocked car in Zurich.

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama announced a $75 billion plan to help struggling homeowners refinance mortgages and prevent foreclosure. He claimed the plan would help housing prices return to earlier values and improve struggling neighborhoods.

In 2010, a man reportedly holding a grudge against the U.S. government and its tax system crashed his light plane into an office of the Internal Revenue Service in Austin, Texas, killing himself and two others.

In 2011, Bahraini troops opened fire on anti-government protesters with death toll reports ranging as high as 30. Another 24 demonstrators were reported killed in Libya.

Also in 2011, the United States cast a veto to kill a U.N. Security Council resolution declaring Israel's West Bank settlement construction to be illegal. The other 14 council members voted for the proposal.

In 2012, Two Iranian warships sailed through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea amid heightened tensions in the region, only the second time such ships have crossed the canal since the Islamic Republic's 1979 revolution.