Today in Labor History February 18, 1885: Mark Twain published the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
1940s
Today in Labor History February 18, 1943: The Nazis arrested the members of the White Rose movement. The activist group called for opposition to the Nazi regime through an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign.
The Nazis put on a show trial and refused to allow any of the defendants to speak. They executed Hans and Sophie Schol, and Christoph Probst on February 22, 1943. White Rose leaflets openly denounced the persecution and mass murder of the Jews. They might have taken their name from the poem “Cultivo una rosa blanca,” by Cuban revolutionary and poet, Jose Marti. Alternatively, they may have gotten it from the B. Traven novel, “Die Weiße Rose” (The White Rose).” Traven served on the Central Council of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic. He escaped the terror that followed the crushing of the Republic and fled to Mexico, where he wrote numerous novels, including “Death Ship” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”
Today in Labor History February 18, 1946: Sailors in the Royal Indian Navy mutinied in Bombay harbor. Their rebellion spread throughout the Provinces of British India. 20,000 sailors participated on 78 ships and 20 shore establishments. British troops and Royal Navy warships ultimately suppressed the mutiny. The Indian National Congress and Muslim League both condemned the mutiny, while the Communist Party of India supported the rebellion.
1950s-1970s
Today in Labor History February 18, 1955: The U.S. launched Operation Teapot at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. Teapot included 14 nuclear bomb tests. Wasp was the first, detonated on February 18. It had a yield of 1.2 kilotons. During shot Wasp, ground forces participated in Exercise Desert Rock VI. This included an armored task force moving to within 3,000 ft of ground zero, while the mushroom cloud was still growing.
Today in Labor History February 18, 1970: A jury found the Chicago Seven not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. However, Judge Julius Hoffman still convicted all the defendants with contempt and sentenced them to jail time ranging from 3 months to over 4 years. These were all reversed on appeal. Black Panther Bobby Seale had been a co-defendant, but his case was declared a mistrial. Judge Hoffman had ordered him physically gagged during the trial.