18 FEBRUARY

1903 - Tiburcio T. Hilario, patriot during the Philippine Revolution and the Filipino-American War, dies from scarlet fever, a rare disease in the Southeast Asian country; elected revolutionary governor of his province and known as the "Brains of the Revolution in Pampanga," Hilario is a cousin of the "Great Propagandist," Marcelo H. del Pilar.

1856 - The Imperial Rescript proclamation that emphasizes the principle of the equality of both Muslims and non-Muslims is issued by the Ottoman Empire; the proclamation has been worked out by English, French, Austrian ambassadors, Sultan Abdülmecid I's allies against Russia during the Crimean War.

1930 - Planet Pluto is discovered orbiting the edge of our Solar System by famed astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh; dubbed then as "Planet X," Pluto will be considered the 9th planet for some six decades until its controversial reclassification as dwarf planet in 2006.

1943 - Germany's auxiliary cruiser Schiffe 28 lands in Singapore and the commander will turn over the captured American merchant and Armed Guard sailors to the Japanese, their fellow Axis power during World War II; the US sailors are survivors from the SS Sawokla freighter that the Germans sank earlier on November 29, 1942.