1861Months before the Civil War breaks out, Jefferson Davis is sworn in as president of the newly formed Confederate States of America.

1970Five of the Chicago Seven defendants are found guilty of conspiring to incite riots  at the 1968 Democratic national convention. The convictions are later overturned.

2001Veteran FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested accused of spying for Moscow for years. At first, Hanssen pleads innocent but then changes his plea to guilty and is sentenced to life in prison.

Also that same year,"We've lost Dale Earnhardt." In Florida, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. dies from injuries received in a crash at the Daytona 500. He was 49.

And in 1954"You know, I work on my hair a long time and you hit it. He hits my hair." Actor John Travolta, whose movie roles include Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Pulp Fiction is born in Englewood, New Jersey.

Today in History, February 18th, Jon Belmont, the Associated Press.