On this day, Feb. 18

1819 Pittsburgh Academy was rechartered by the Legislature and renamed Western University of Pennsylvania. It was on Third Avenue. It is now the University of Pittsburgh.

1930 Photographic evidence of Pluto (now designated a “dwarf planet”) was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.

1970 The “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).

1995 A funeral was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral for three Pittsburgh firefighters — Patricia Ann Conroy, 43; Thomas Brooks, 42; and Marc Kolenda, 27 — who lost their lives in a house fire on Valentine’s Day.

2001 Auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash at the Daytona 500. He was 49.

2010 President Barack Obama personally welcomed the Dalai Lama to the White House, but their get-together was kept offcamera and low-key in an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions with China.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Alyssa Brown Today’s birthdays: Former Sen. John Warner, R-Va.,, 93. Singer Yoko Ono, 87. Singer-songwriter Bobby Hart, 81. Singer Irma Thomas, 79. Singer Herman Santiago (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers), 79. Actress Jess Walton, 74. Singer Dennis DeYoung (Styx), 73. Actress Sinead Cusack, 72. Actress Cybill Shepherd, 70. Singer Randy Crawford, 68. Rock musician Robbie Bachman (Bachman–Turner Overdrive), 67. Actor John Travolta, 66. Actor John Pankow, 65. Game show host Vanna White, 63. Actress Jayne Atkinson, 61. Actor Matt Dillon, 56. Rock musician Tommy Scott (Space), 56. Rapper Dr. Dre, 55. Actress Molly Ringwald, 52. Country musician Trevor Rosen (Old Dominion), 45. Actor Ike Barinholtz, 43. Singer-musician Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek), 43. Actor Tyrone Burton, 41. Rock-singer musician Regina Spektor, 40. Roots rock musician Zac Cockrell (Alabama Shakes), 32.

Thought for Today: “Opinion is that exercise of the human will which helps us to make a decision without information.”