History of Today in India – 18 February

Explore the history of today 18 February in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 18 February 2026, 04:21 AM

📜 Important Events on 18 February in World History

18 Feb 2021: Perseverance, a Mars rover designed to explore Jezero crater on Mars, as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, lands successfully. Read more
18 Feb 2018: Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Dena sub-range in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, Resulting in 66 Deaths Read more
18 Feb 2014: At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kyiv, Ukraine. Read more
18 Feb 2013: Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium. Read more
18 Feb 2010: WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning. Read more
18 Feb 2004: Up to 295 people, 182 of which being rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes. Read more
18 Feb 2003: 192 people die when an arsonist sets fire to a subway train in Daegu, South Korea. Read more
18 Feb 2001: FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Read more
18 Feb 2001: Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes. Read more
18 Feb 1991: The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London. Read more
18 Feb 1983: Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history. Read more
18 Feb 1979: Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag. Read more
18 Feb 1977: The Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire started during Chinese New Year when a firecracker ignited memorial wreaths of the late Mao Zedong, killing 694 personnel. It remains the deadliest fireworks accident in the world. Read more
18 Feb 1977: A thousand armed soldiers raid Kalakuta Republic, the commune of Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, leading to the death of Funmilayo Anikulapo Kuti. Read more
18 Feb 1977: The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747. Read more
18 Feb 1972: The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state's death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment. Read more
18 Feb 1970: The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Read more
18 Feb 1965: The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom. Read more
18 Feb 1957: Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government. Read more
18 Feb 1957: Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand. Read more
18 Feb 1955: Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot "Wasp" is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series. Read more
18 Feb 1954: The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles. Read more
18 Feb 1947: First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to the mountains. Read more
18 Feb 1946: Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors Read more
18 Feb 1945: World War II: American and Brazilian troops kick off Operation Encore in Northern Italy, a successful limited action in the Northern Apennines that prepares for the western portion of the Allied Spring offensive. Read more
18 Feb 1943: World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement. Read more
18 Feb 1943: World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech. Read more
18 Feb 1942: World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore. Read more
18 Feb 1938: Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre, the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed "Nanking International Rescue Committee", and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart. Read more
18 Feb 1932: The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Puyi as Chief Executive of the State. Read more
18 Feb 1930: While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto. Read more
18 Feb 1930: Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft. Read more
18 Feb 1915: U-boat Campaign: The Imperial German Navy institutes unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Great Britain and Ireland. Read more
18 Feb 1911: The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away. Read more
18 Feb 1906: Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels. Read more
18 Feb 1900: Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg. Read more
18 Feb 1885: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States. Read more
18 Feb 1878: John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Read more
18 Feb 1873: Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities. Read more
18 Feb 1861: In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America. Read more
18 Feb 1861: With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy. Read more
18 Feb 1814: Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 18 February in World History

18 Feb 2002: Manu Bhaker, Indian sports shooter Manu Bhaker is an Indian sport shooter. She has 2 medals at the Olympic Games, 23 medals at the World Championships and World Cups, as well as 12 medals at the Asian Games and Asian Championships. At the 2024 Olympics, she became the first Indian woman shooter to win a medal by clinching the bronze in the 10m pistol event. She won another bronze in 10m pistol mixed team, becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic Games. Bhaker is also the youngest Indian to win gold medals at the World Cup. Read more
18 Feb 2001: Tanguy Coulibaly, French footballer Tanguy Bemin Coulibaly is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Samsunspor. Read more
18 Feb 2001: Jaime Jaquez Jr., American basketball player Jaime Jaquez Jr. is a Mexican-American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. During his senior season in 2023, he was recognized as a consensus second-team All-American and was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Over the course of his collegiate career, Jaquez was selected three times to the All-Pac-12 team, including two first-team honors, and was twice named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He was selected by the Miami Heat with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft. Jaquez is also known by the nickname "Juan Wick," which reflects his Mexican heritage and a perceived resemblance to the character John Wick. Read more
18 Feb 2000: Zakaria Aboukhlal, Moroccan footballer Zakaria Aboukhlal is a professional footballer who plays as right winger for Italian Serie A club Torino. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Morocco national team. Read more
18 Feb 2000: Giacomo Raspadori, Italian footballer Giacomo Raspadori is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Atalanta and the Italy national team. Read more
18 Feb 1998: Vernon, South Korean and American rapper, singer and songwriter Hansol Vernon Chwe, known mononymously as Vernon (Korean: 버논), is a South Korean and American rapper, singer and songwriter. Managed by Pledis Entertainment, he is a member of the South Korean boy band Seventeen and its hip hop team. Read more
18 Feb 1997: DK, South Korean singer Lee Seok-min, known professionally as Dokyeom (도겸) or DK, is a South Korean singer. Managed by Pledis Entertainment he is a member of the South Korean boy band Seventeen, its vocal team, and is the leader of its subunit BSS with Hoshi and Seungkwan. Read more
18 Feb 1997: Odysseas Adam, Greek volleyball player Odysseas Adam is a Greek volleyball player, a member of the club Foinikas Syros. Read more
18 Feb 1996: Tyler Dorsey, American-Greek basketball player Tyler Quincy Dorsey is a Greek-American professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He is also a member of the Greek national basketball team. He plays at the shooting guard position. After graduating from Maranatha High School, in Pasadena, California, he played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. Read more
18 Feb 1995: Nathan Aké, Dutch footballer Nathan Benjamin Aké is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Premier League club Manchester City and the Netherlands national team. Read more
18 Feb 1994: J-Hope, South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, and record producer Jung Ho-seok, known professionally as J-Hope, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer, and record producer. He made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS in 2013, under Big Hit Entertainment. J-Hope released his first solo mixtape, Hope World, in 2018. It was received positively by critics and peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard 200, the highest-charting album by a Korean solo artist at the time. He became the first member of BTS to enter the Billboard Hot 100 as a soloist in 2019, when his single "Chicken Noodle Soup", featuring singer Becky G, debuted at number 81. In 2022, J-Hope released his debut studio album Jack in the Box. In 2023, he released his single "On the Street" with J. Cole. Read more
18 Feb 1994: Paul Zipser, German basketball player Paul Victor Louis Zipser is a German professional basketball player for MLP Academics Heidelberg of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). Standing at 2.03 m, he mainly plays at the small forward position. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 48th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Read more
18 Feb 1993: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, American basketball player Kentavious Tannell Caldwell-Pope, also known by his initials KCP, is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named a McDonald's All-American as one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2011. He played college basketball for two years with the Georgia Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and was voted the SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2013. Read more
18 Feb 1992: Le'Veon Bell, American football player Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. is an American professional boxer and former football running back. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. Bell also played for the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Read more
18 Feb 1992: Martin Marinčin, Slovak ice hockey player Martin Marinčin is a Slovak professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for HC Oceláři Třinec of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He was drafted in the second round, 46th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL entry draft. Read more
18 Feb 1992: Logan Miller, American actor Logan Miller is an American actor. He is known for starring in the Disney XD sitcom I'm in the Band (2009–2011) and for voicing Sam Alexander / Nova in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man (2012–2017) and Johnny in the Disney Channel and Disney XD animated series Phineas and Ferb (2010–2014). In films, he has starred in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015), A Dog's Purpose (2017), Love, Simon (2018), Escape Room (2019), and Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021). Read more
18 Feb 1991: Sebastian Neumann, German footballer Sebastian Neumann is a German football coach, official and a former defender. He is the sporting director of Würzburger Kickers. Read more
18 Feb 1990: Monica Aksamit, American saber fencer Monica Aksamit is an American former Olympic saber fencer. She represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, earning a bronze medal in the Women's Saber Team competition. She won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2019 Pan American Games. In 2022, she was a contestant on Fox’s dating and relationship reality television series revival, Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer. Read more
18 Feb 1990: Didi Gregorius, Dutch baseball player Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius is a Curaçaoan professional baseball shortstop for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies. Read more
18 Feb 1990: Cody Hodgson, Canadian ice hockey player Cody Douglas Hodgson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
18 Feb 1990: Bryan Oviedo, Costa Rican footballer Bryan Josué Oviedo Jiménez is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left midfielder for the Costa Rica national team. Read more
18 Feb 1989: Sonja Vasić, Serbian basketball player Sonja Vasić is a Serbian former professional women's basketball player. Standing at 1.89 m, she played at the small forward position. She represented the Serbia women's national basketball team, and is a current member of the FIBA Central Board. Read more
18 Feb 1988: Roman Neustädter, German-Russian footballer Roman Petrovich Neustädter is a professional footballer who plays for Belgian First Division A club Westerlo. Read more
18 Feb 1988: Sarah Sutherland, American actress Sarah Jude Sutherland is a Canadian-American actress known for her role as Catherine Meyer in Veep. Read more
18 Feb 1988: Maiara Walsh, American-Brazilian actress Maiara Walsh is a Brazilian-American actress and singer. She played Ana Solis on the sixth season of the ABC show Desperate Housewives, Meena Paroom on the Disney Channel sitcom Cory in the House and Simone Sinclair on the Freeform series Switched at Birth. She also portrayed Vicky Patterson in the film Identity Theft of a Cheerleader by Lifetime and Mandi Weatherly in the film Mean Girls 2 on Freeform. Read more
18 Feb 1986: Kyle Weaver, American basketball player Kyle Donovan Weaver is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Washington State University, and was drafted 38th overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2008 NBA draft. Weaver, a 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m) shooting guard-small forward, was born in Beloit, Wisconsin. His father, LaMont Weaver, played collegiate basketball at the University of Wisconsin. Read more
18 Feb 1984: Carlos Kameni, Cameroonian footballer Idris Carlos Kameni is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Read more
18 Feb 1983: Kara Braxton, American basketball player Kara Liana Braxton is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Read more
18 Feb 1983: Jermaine Jenas, English footballer Jermaine Anthony Jenas is an English television presenter, football commentator and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and Queens Park Rangers, scoring a career total of 39 goals from 341 league appearances. He also appeared 21 times for the senior England national football team, scoring one goal. Read more
18 Feb 1983: Jason Maxiell, American basketball player Jason Dior Maxiell is an American former professional basketball player best known for his tenure with the Detroit Pistons from 2005 to 2013. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the University of Cincinnati and professionally in the NBA, China, and Turkey before retiring on August 4, 2017. Read more
18 Feb 1982: Christian Tiffert, German footballer Christian Tiffert is a German football manager and a former midfielder. He was most recently the manager of Chemnitzer FC. Read more
18 Feb 1981: Andrei Kirilenko, Russian-American basketball player Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko, nicknamed AK-47, is a Russian basketball executive and former professional basketball player. He played 10 seasons for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2001 and 2011. Read more
18 Feb 1981: Alex Ríos, American baseball player Alexis Israel Ríos is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals. A World Series champion with the Royals in 2015, Rios is a two-time MLB All-Star. In 2007, he was a Fielding Bible Award winner for right fielders. In 2013, he hit for the cycle and achieved six hits in one game. Rios is a three-time World Baseball Classic participant with the Puerto Rico national baseball team. Read more
18 Feb 1980: Nik Antropov, Kazakhstani-Canadian ice hockey player Nikolai Alexandrovich Antropov is a Kazakh-Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets. He received Canadian citizenship in May 2007. Internationally Antropov played for Kazakhstan at several junior and senior tournaments, including the 2006 Winter Olympics. Read more
18 Feb 1980: Regina Spektor, Russian-American musician and songwriter Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Read more
18 Feb 1977: Ike Barinholtz, American actor and comedian Ike Barinholtz is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series MADtv (2002–2007), Eastbound & Down (2012), The Mindy Project (2012–2017), Bless the Harts (2019–2021), The Afterparty (2022), History of the World, Part II (2023), and The Studio (2025–present), the last having earned him a Critics' Choice Award and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Actor Awards. Read more
18 Feb 1977: Kristoffer Polaha, American actor Kristoffer Polaha is an American actor. He is best known for his starring roles on television as Jason Matthews in North Shore, Nathaniel "Baze" Bazile in Life Unexpected, and Henry Butler in Ringer. He has also appeared in films Devil's Knot (2013), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). Read more
18 Feb 1975: Gary Neville, English footballer Gary Alexander Neville is an English football pundit and former professional player. A right-back, he spent his entire career with Manchester United, serving as captain for five years. He is one of the most decorated English and European footballers of all time, winning 20 trophies, including eight Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League titles. In 2025, he was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. Read more
18 Feb 1974: Carrie Ann Baade, American painter and academic Carrie Ann Baade is an American painter whose work has been described by Curator of Contemporary Art Margaret Winslow as "autobiographical parables combin(ing) fragments of Renaissance and Baroque religious paintings, resulting in surreal landscapes inhabited by exotic flora, fauna, and figures." The context and the compositional building blocks of her work are fragments of historical masterpieces, which Baade reinterprets using her original feminist and autobiographical perspective. She currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida, where she is a professor in the Department of Art at Florida State University. Read more
18 Feb 1974: Radek Černý, Czech footballer Radek Černý is a Czech former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played principally for Slavia Prague in the Czech First League between its inception in 1993 and 2005, when he moved to England. Černý spent eight years in England with Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers before returning to his former club Slavia in 2013, where he played one season before his retirement. Černý enjoyed a brief international career, making three appearances for the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2002. Read more
18 Feb 1974: Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author Julia Lorraine Hill, best known as Julia Butterfly Hill, is an American environmental activist and tax redirection advocate. She lived in a 200-foot (61 m)-tall, approximately 1,000-year-old California redwood tree for 738 days between December 10, 1997, and December 18, 1999. Hill lived in a tent near the top of a tree, affectionately known as Luna, to prevent Pacific Lumber Company loggers from cutting it down. She ultimately reached an agreement with the lumber company to save the tree. Hill is the author of the book The Legacy of Luna (2000) and co-author of One Makes the Difference. Read more
18 Feb 1974: Jillian Michaels, American personal trainer and television personality Jillian Leigh McKarus, known professionally as Jillian Michaels, is an American fitness trainer, nutritionist, businesswoman, media personality, and author. She is best known for her appearances on NBC series such as The Biggest Loser. She has also made an appearance on the talk show The Doctors. In 2015, she hosted and co-judged a series on Spike titled Sweat, INC. In 2016, her reality television series Just Jillian premiered on E!. Read more
18 Feb 1971: Thomas Bjørn, Danish golfer Thomas Bjørn is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won fifteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1997 he also became the first Dane to qualify for a European Ryder Cup team. He captained the winning European side at the 2018 Ryder Cup. Read more
18 Feb 1969: Alexander Mogilny, Russian ice hockey player Alexander Gennadevich Mogilny is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the current president of Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Over a 16-season career in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1989 to 2005, he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Read more
18 Feb 1968: Molly Ringwald, American actress Molly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, writer, and translator. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life before being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her starring role in the drama film Tempest (1982). Ringwald became a teen idol following her lead roles in filmmaker John Hughes's teen films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986). These films led to the media referring to her as a member of a group of actors known as the "Brat Pack." Read more
18 Feb 1968: Tommy Tallarico, American video game music composer Tommy Tallarico is an American video game music composer, sound designer, and television producer. Since the 1990s, his company Tommy Tallarico Studios has produced audio for many video games. He co-hosted the television series Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run from 1997 until 2006. In 2002, he created Video Games Live (VGL), a concert series featuring orchestral performances of video game music. Read more
18 Feb 1967: Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer Roberto Baggio is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation. A technically gifted creative playmaker and set piece specialist, renowned for his curling free-kicks, dribbling skills, and goalscoring, Baggio is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Read more
18 Feb 1967: Colin Jackson, Welsh sprinter and hurdler Colin Ray Jackson, is a Welsh former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became world champion twice, world indoor champion once, was undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and was twice Commonwealth champion. His world record of 12.91 seconds for the 110 m hurdles stood for nearly 13 years and his 60 metres hurdles world record stood for nearly 27 years. Read more
18 Feb 1966: Phillip DeFreitas, Dominican-English cricketer Phillip Anthony Jason "Daffy" DeFreitas is an English former cricketer. He played county cricket for Leicestershire, Lancashire and Derbyshire, as well as appearing in 44 Test matches and 103 ODIs. Cricket writer Colin Bateman noted that "DeFreitas was an explosive hitter when the mood took him, an aggressive pace bowler, inclined to pitch everything short and a spectacular fielder". He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1987 Cricket World Cup and as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Read more
18 Feb 1966: Ryan Wesley Routh, American attempted assassin of Donald Trump Ryan Wesley Routh is an American former roofer and activist who attempted to assassinate then-former U.S. president Donald Trump at his golf course during his 2024 presidential campaign. Routh was motivated to assassinate Trump to prevent him from being elected. The incident occurred two months after Trump survived a previous assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Read more
18 Feb 1965: Dr. Dre, American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur Andre Romell Young, known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of Death Row Records. Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1984, and later found fame with the gangsta rap group N.W.A, which he formed in 1987 with Eazy-E, Ice Cube and Arabian Prince. The group popularized explicit lyrics in hip-hop to detail the violence of street life. N.W.A's debut album Straight Outta Compton (1989) was one of the most successful albums in the West Coast hip-hop scene, and is often credited for the rise in popularity of gangsta rap. During the early 1990s, Dre was credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a subgenre of hip-hop characterized by a synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy production. Read more
18 Feb 1964: Matt Dillon, American actor Matthew Raymond Dillon is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award. Read more
18 Feb 1961: Douglas Rushkoff, American media and cultural theorist, author, and documentarian Douglas Mark Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, professor, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist, documentarian and podcaster. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems, his critique of technocapitalism, and his call to retrieve our humanity in a digital age. Read more
18 Feb 1960: Andy Moog, Canadian ice hockey player Donald Andrew Moog is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Moog played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, and also for the Canadian national team. Moog is a three-time Stanley Cup champion: 1984, 1985 and 1987. He earned the William M. Jennings Trophy in the 1989–90 NHL season for fewest total goals against the team during the regular season, sharing the trophy with his goaltending partner, Réjean Lemelin. Read more
18 Feb 1960: Greta Scacchi, Italian-Australian actress Greta Scacchi is an actress. Born in Italy to a British-Italian couple, she was raised in Britain and finally settled in Australia, becoming a naturalized citizen. Read more
18 Feb 1959: Jayne Atkinson, English-American actress Jayne Atkinson is a British-American actress. She is best known for the role of Karen Hayes on 24, as well as her Tony Award–nominated roles in The Rainmaker and Enchanted April. She has also appeared in Criminal Minds as BAU Section Chief Erin Strauss, Madam Secretary as United States Vice President Teresa Hurst, and House of Cards as U.S. Secretary of State Catherine Durant. In films, Atkinson notably played foster mother Annie Greenwood in the Free Willy franchise. Read more
18 Feb 1957: Marita Koch, German sprinter Marita Koch is a German former sprint track and field athlete. During her career she set 16 world records in outdoor sprints as well as 14 world records in indoor events. Her record of 47.60 in the 400 metres, set on 6 October 1985, still stands. Read more
18 Feb 1957: Vanna White, American television personality Vanna Marie White is an American television personality. She is best known as the co-host of the game show Wheel of Fortune, a position she has held since 1982. She began her career as a model while studying fashion, competing in Miss Georgia USA in 1978. In addition to her work on Wheel of Fortune, she has played minor characters or appeared as herself in many films and television series, and is the author of the 1987 autobiography Vanna Speaks. She also participates in real-estate investment, owns the yarn brand Vanna's Choice, and is a patron of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Read more
18 Feb 1955: Lisa See, American writer and novelist Lisa See is an American writer and novelist. Her books include On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family (1995), a detailed account of See's family history, and the novels Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999), Dragon Bones (2003), Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005), Peony in Love (2007) and Shanghai Girls (2009), which made it to the 2010 New York Times bestseller list, and The Island of Sea Women (2019). Both Shanghai Girls and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan received honorable mentions from the Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. Read more
18 Feb 1954: John Travolta, American actor, singer and producer John Joseph Travolta is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. Read more
18 Feb 1952: Randy Crawford, American jazz and R&B singer Veronica "Randy" Crawford is an American retired jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has appeared on the Hot 100 singles chart twice. The first time was in 1979 as a guest vocalist on the Crusaders' top-40 hit "Street Life". She also dueted with Rick Springfield on the song "Taxi Dancing", which hit number 59 as the B-side of Springfield's hit "Bop Til You Drop". She has had five top-20 hits in the UK, including her 1980 number-two hit, "One Day I'll Fly Away", as well as six UK top-10 albums. Despite her American nationality, she won Best British Female Solo Artist in recognition of her popularity in the UK at the 1982 Brit Awards. In the late 2000s, she received her first two Grammy Award nominations. Read more
18 Feb 1952: Maurice Lucas, American basketball player (died 2010) Maurice "Luke" Lucas was an American professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a four-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977. He was named to the ABA All-Time Team. Read more
18 Feb 1952: Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Juice Newton is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categories – winning once in 1983 – as well as an ACM Award for Top New Female Artist and two consecutive Billboard Female Album Artist of the Year awards. Newton's other awards include a People's Choice Award for "Best Female Vocalist" and the Australian Music Media's "Number One International Country Artist". Read more
18 Feb 1951: Queen Komal of Nepal Komal Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah is a member of the Nepalese royal family who was the last Queen of Nepal as the wife of King Gyanendra of Nepal until the monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008. She is also known by the name Komal Shah. Read more
18 Feb 1951: Isabel Preysler, Filipino-Spanish journalist María Isabel Preysler Arrastía is a Spanish and Filipino socialite and television host. She is the mother of singers Enrique Iglesias and Julio Iglesias Jr., journalist Chábeli Iglesias, Tamara Falcó, 6th Marchioness of Griñón, and Ana Boyer Preysler. Read more
18 Feb 1950: Nana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and advocate Nana Amba Eyiaba I, known non-formally as Eunice Amba Amoah, is a Ghanaian queen mother from the Effutu Municipal District of Central Region, Ghana. She is the former Director of Education for Central Region. From 2004 to 2010, Eyiaba was appointed by President John Kufuor to serve as a member of the national Electoral Commission of Ghana, co-organizing and supervising the parliamentary and presidential elections of 2004 and 2008. Read more
18 Feb 1950: John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2009) John Wilden Hughes Jr. was an American filmmaker. He is best known for writing, directing, and producing the films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), and Uncle Buck (1989), in addition to writing the films Pretty in Pink (1986), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Home Alone (1990), 101 Dalmatians (1996), and Flubber (1997). Read more
18 Feb 1950: Cybill Shepherd, American actress Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. She also had roles as Kelly in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Betsy in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), and Nancy in Woody Allen's Alice (1990). Read more
18 Feb 1947: Dennis DeYoung, American musician, singer, and songwriter Dennis DeYoung is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was the band's most prolific and successful writer, having been credited as the writer of more Styx songs than any other band member. DeYoung penned seven of the band's eight Billboard top 10 singles as well as a solo top 10 single. Read more
18 Feb 1946: Michael Buerk, English journalist Michael Duncan Buerk is a British journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama 999 from 1992 to 2003. From 2017, Buerk also presented the TV programme Royal Recipes which ran for two series. Read more
18 Feb 1946: Jess Walton, American actress Jess Walton is a Canadian-American actress, best known for her role as Kelly Harper in CBS soap opera Capitol and as Jill Abbott on the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Read more
18 Feb 1944: Elizabeth Nunez, American novelist (died 2024) Elizabeth Nunez was a Trinidadian-American novelist academic who was a Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College, New York City. Read more
18 Feb 1941: Irma Thomas, American singer-songwriter Irma Thomas is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Read more
18 Feb 1940: Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1999) Fabrizio Cristiano De André was an Italian singer-songwriter and the most-prominent cantautore of his time. He is also known as Faber, a nickname given by the friend Paolo Villaggio, as a reference to his liking towards Faber-Castell's pastels and pencils, aside from the assonance with his own name, and also because he was known as "il cantautore degli emarginati" or "il poeta degli sconfitti". His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political protest, and French music. He is considered a prominent member of the Genoese School. He sang in both Italian and in other languages such as Genoese. Because of the success of his music in Italy and its impact on the Italian collective memory, many public places such as roads, squares, and schools in Italy are named after De André. Read more
18 Feb 1939: Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist and academic (died 1996) Claude Ake was a Nigerian political scientist from Omoku, in Rivers State, Nigeria. Ake was considered "one of Africa's foremost political philosophers." He specialized in political economy, political theory, and development studies and is well known for his research on development and democracy in Africa. He was professor of political economy and dean of the University of Port Harcourt's Faculty of Social Sciences for some years in the 1970s and 1980s after having taught at Columbia University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1966. He held various academic positions at institutions around the world, including at Yale University, University of Nairobi (Kenya), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria). He was active in Nigerian politics, a critic of corruption and authoritarian rule in Africa. His permanent home was in Port Harcourt. Read more
18 Feb 1936: Jean M. Auel, American author Jean Marie Auel is an American writer who wrote the Earth's Children books, a series of novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores human activities during this time, and touches on the interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals. Her books have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. Read more
18 Feb 1934: Audre Lorde, American writer and activist (died 1992) Audre Lorde was an American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet" who dedicated her life and talents to confronting all forms of injustice and oppression. She believed that there could be "no hierarchy of oppressions" among "those who share the goals of liberation and a workable future for our children". Read more
18 Feb 1933: Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician Yoko Ono is a Japanese artist, musician, activist, and filmmaker. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Read more
18 Feb 1933: Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (died 2009) Sir Robert William Robson was an English football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town. Read more
18 Feb 1933: Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (died 1975) Eileen Mary Ure was a British actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role in the 1960 film Sons and Lovers. Read more
18 Feb 1932: Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2018) Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman was a Czech-American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Throughout Forman's career he won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Bear, a César Award, and the Czech Lion. Read more
18 Feb 1931: Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (died 2007) John Lewis Hart was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips B.C. and The Wizard of Id. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including the Swedish Adamson Award and five from the National Cartoonists Society. In his later years, he was known for incorporating Christian themes and messages into his strips and seeming to denigrate other religions. Hart was referred to by Chuck Colson in a Breakpoint column as "the most widely read Christian of our time", over C. S. Lewis, Frank E. Peretti, and Billy Graham. Read more
18 Feb 1931: Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019). Chloe Anthony Wofford "Toni" Morrison was an American novelist and editor. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987). Read more
18 Feb 1929: Len Deighton, English historian and author Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. Read more
18 Feb 1929: André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (died 1968) André Mathieu was a Canadian pianist and composer. Read more
18 Feb 1927: Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (died 2005) Fazal Mahmood PP, HI was a Pakistani international cricketer. He played in 34 Test matches and took 139 wickets at a bowling average of 24.70. The first Pakistani to pass 100 wickets, he reached the landmark in his 22nd match. Read more
18 Feb 1926: Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (died 1976) Wallace "Wally" Berman was an American experimental filmmaker, assemblage, and collage artist and a crucial figure in postwar California art. Read more
18 Feb 1925: George Kennedy, American actor (died 2016) George Harris Kennedy Jr. was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in Cool Hand Luke (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role and being nominated for the corresponding Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport (1970). Read more
18 Feb 1922: Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (died 1997) Sir Eric Matthew Gairy PC was the first Prime Minister of Grenada, serving from his country's independence in 1974 until his overthrow in a coup by Maurice Bishop in 1979. Gairy also served as head of government in pre-independence Grenada as Chief Minister from 1961 to 1962 and as Premier from 1967 to 1974. Read more
18 Feb 1922: Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (died 2012) Helen Gurley Brown was an American author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years. Read more
18 Feb 1922: Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (died 1995) Constance Wisniewski was a starting pitcher and outfielder who played from 1944 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5' 8", 147 lb., she batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Read more
18 Feb 1921: Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (died 1998) Mary Ochsenhirt Amdur was an American toxicologist and public health researcher who worked primarily on pollution. She was charged with studying the effects of the 1948 Donora smog, specifically looking into the effects of inhaling sulfuric acid by experimenting on guinea pigs. Her findings on the respiratory effects related to sulfuric acid led to her being threatened, her funding being pulled, and her losing her job at the Harvard School of Public Health in 1953. Undeterred, she carried on her research in a different role at Harvard, and subsequently at MIT and New York University. Despite the early controversy related to her work, it was used in the creation of standards in air pollution, and towards the end of her life she received numerous awards and accolades. Read more
18 Feb 1921: Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (died 2013) Oscar Borisovich Feltsman was a Ukrainian-born composer. Read more
18 Feb 1920: Rolande Falcinelli, French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue (died 2006) Rolande Roberte Ginabat-Falcinelli was a French organist, pianist, composer, and music educator. Read more
18 Feb 1919: Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (died 2006) Walter Jack Palance was an American screen and stage actor, known to film audiences for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his roles in Sudden Fear (1952) and Shane (1953), and winning almost 40 years later for City Slickers (1991). Read more
18 Feb 1915: Phyllis Calvert, English actress (died 2002) Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill, known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s such as The Man in Grey (1943) and was one of the most popular movie stars in Britain in the 1940s. She continued her acting career for another 50 years. Read more
18 Feb 1915: Joe Gordon, American baseball player and manager (died 1978) Joseph Lowell Gordon, nicknamed "Flash", in reference to the comic-book character Flash Gordon, was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians from 1938 to 1950. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. Read more
18 Feb 1914: Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (died 2000) Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski, known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "Tennessee Waltz". Read more
18 Feb 1909: Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (died 1993) Wallace Earle Stegner was an American novelist, writer, environmentalist, and historian. He was often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award in 1977. Read more
18 Feb 1906: Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (died 1980) Johann Friedrich Karl Asperger was an Austrian physician. Noted for his early studies on atypical neurology, specifically in children, he is the namesake of the autism spectrum disorder, Asperger syndrome. He wrote more than 300 publications on psychological disorders that posthumously acquired international renown in the 1980s. His diagnosis of autism, which he termed "autistic psychopathy", garnered controversy. Read more
18 Feb 1903: Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (died 1983) Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny was a Soviet statesman who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the head of state of the Soviet Union, from 1965 to 1977. Read more
18 Feb 1899: Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (died 1985) Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant, was an English historian, columnist for The Illustrated London News and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history, and a life of George V. He moved in high government circles, where his works were influential, writing histories of three prime ministers: Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, and Harold Wilson. Read more
18 Feb 1898: Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (died 1980) José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín, most commonly known as Luis Muñoz Marín, was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, and Puerto Rican autonomist (Pro-ELA) who served as the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico from 1949 to 1965. He previously served as the fourth president of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1941 to 1948. Read more
18 Feb 1896: Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (died 1970) Li Linsi, born Li Jiaxiang (厉家祥), was a Chinese educator, diplomat, and scholar who has been recognized as one of the key figures in modern Chinese cultural and diplomatic history. Hailed as China's Mahatma Gandhi, Li was the leader of China's nonviolent resistance against Japanese aggression. His military research contributed to China in the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was known for his efforts to save hundreds of Jews fleeing to Shanghai during World War II. A diplomatic consultant to Chiang Kai-shek, Li was a key facilitator of the China–Germany relationship during the 1930s, and a major proponent of China's League of Nations diplomacy. Read more
18 Feb 1893: Maksim Haretski, Belarusian prose writer, journalist and activist (died 1938) Maksim Haretski, also known as Maksim Harecki and Maksim Goretsky, was a Belarusian prose writer, journalist, activist of the Belarusian national renewal, folklorist, lexicographer, and professor. Maksim Harecki was also known by his pen-names Maksim Biełarus, M.B. Biełarus, M.H., A. Mścisłaŭski, Dzied Kuźma, Maciej Myška, and Mizeryjus Monus. In his works he often appeared as Kuźma Batura, Liavon Zaduma. Read more
18 Feb 1892: Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (died 1944) Wendell Lewis Willkie was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for president of the United States. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican field's only interventionist: although the U.S. remained neutral prior to Pearl Harbor, he favored greater U.S. involvement in World War II to support Britain and other Allies. His Democratic opponent, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had made campaign pledges against U.S. involvement in World War II, won the 1940 election with about 55% of the popular vote and took the electoral college vote by a wide margin. Read more
18 Feb 1890: Edward Arnold, American actor (died 1956) Günther Edward Arnold Schneider was an American actor of the stage and screen. Read more
18 Feb 1890: Adolphe Menjou, American actor (died 1963) Adolphe Jean Menjou [/'ædɒlf 'mɒnʒuː/] was an American actor whose career spanned both silent films and talkies. He became a leading man during the 1920s, known for his debonair and sophisticated screen presence. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Front Page (1931). Read more
18 Feb 1885: Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (died 1954) Henri Laurens was a French sculptor and illustrator. Read more
18 Feb 1883: Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (died 1957) Nikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer, journalist, politician, poet and philosopher. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years, and remains the most translated Greek author worldwide. Read more
18 Feb 1871: Harry Brearley, English inventor (died 1948) Harry Brearley
was an English metallurgist, credited with the discovery of "rustless steel". Based in Sheffield, he enabled affordable cutlery for the masses, and an expansion of the city's traditional cutlery trade. Read more
18 Feb 1870: William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (died 1924) William Laurel Harris was an American muralist, educator, editor, and arts organizer. Read more
18 Feb 1867: Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German writer (died 1950) Hedwig Courths-Mahler, née Ernestine Friederike Elisabeth Mahler was a German writer of formula fiction romantic novels. She used the pseudonyms Relham, H. Brand, Gonda Haack and Rose Bernd. Read more
18 Feb 1862: Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (died 1939) Charles Michael Schwab was an American steel magnate. Under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second-largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturers in the world. Read more
18 Feb 1860: Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (died 1920) Anders Leonard Zorn was a Swedish artist who attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. His portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three American Presidents: Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt. At the end of his life in 1920, he established the Swedish literary Bellman Prize. Read more
18 Feb 1855: Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (died 1932) Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand was a French author and diplomat. He was the French Ambassador to the United States from 1903 to 1925 and played a major diplomatic role during World War I. Read more
18 Feb 1850: George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (died 1934) Sir Isidor George Henschel was a German-born British baritone, pianist, conductor, composer and academic teacher. First trained as a pianist, he was a concert singer who sometimes sang to his own accompaniment. He was a close friend of Johannes Brahms. His first wife Lillian was also a singer. He was the first conductor of both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He taught at the Institute of Musical Art in New York City. Read more
18 Feb 1849: Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (died 1906) Alexander Lange Kielland was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Jonas Lie. Read more
18 Feb 1848: Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (died 1933) Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in art glass, especially stained glass and Favrile glass. He is associated with the art nouveau and aesthetic art movements. He was affiliated with a prestigious collaborative of designers known as the Associated Artists, which included Lockwood de Forest, Candace Wheeler, and Samuel Colman. Tiffany designed stained glass windows and lamps, glass mosaics, blown glass such as vases, ceramics, jewelry, enamels, and metalwork. Glass work by Tiffany Studios is known as Tiffany glass. He was the first design director at his family company, Tiffany & Co., founded by his father Charles Lewis Tiffany. Read more
18 Feb 1846: Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (died 1904) Wilson Barrett was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his success with melodrama, an instance being his production of The Silver King (1882) at the Princess's Theatre of London. The historical tragedy The Sign of the Cross (1895) was Barrett's most successful play, both in England and in the United States. Read more
18 Feb 1838: Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (died 1916) Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was an Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher who contributed to the understanding of the physics of shock waves. The ratio of the speed of a flow or object to that of sound is named the Mach number in his honor. As a philosopher of science, he was a major influence on logical positivism and American pragmatism. Through his criticism of Isaac Newton's theories of space and time, he foreshadowed Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Read more
18 Feb 1836: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and yogi (died 1886) Ramakrishna, also called Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Ramakrishna Chattopadhyay, was an Indian Hindu mystic. He was a devotee of the goddess Kali, but adhered to various religious practices from the Hindu traditions of Vaishnavism, Tantric Shaktism, and Advaita Vedanta, as well as Christianity and Sufi Islam. His parable-based teachings advocated the essential unity of religions and proclaimed that world religions are "so many paths to reach one and the same goal". He is regarded by his followers as an avatar. Read more
18 Feb 1818: John O'Shanassy, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Victoria (died 1883) Sir John O'Shanassy, KCMG, was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the 2nd Premier of Victoria. O'Shanassy was born near Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland, the son of a surveyor, and came to the Port Phillip District in 1839. He went into business in Melbourne as a draper, and by 1846 he was rich enough to be elected to the Melbourne City Council and to become the founding chairman of the Colonial Bank of Australasia. By the 1850s he was a major landowner and one of the wealthiest men in the colony. He also became a recognised leader of the large Irish Catholic community. Read more
18 Feb 1818: Konstanty Schmidt-Ciążyński, Polish collector and art connoisseur who donated a large collection to the National Museum in Kraków (died 1889) Konstanty Aleksander Wiktor Schmidt-Ciążyński was a Polish collector and art connoisseur, who donated a large collection to the National Museum in Kraków. Read more
18 Feb 1817: Lewis Armistead, American general (died 1863) Lewis Addison Armistead was a career United States Army officer who became a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. On July 3, 1863, as part of Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg, Armistead led his brigade to the farthest point reached by Confederate forces during the charge, a point now referred to as the high-water mark of the Confederacy. However, he and his men were overwhelmed, and he was wounded and captured by Union troops. He died in a field hospital two days later. Read more
18 Feb 1814: Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (died 1900) Samuel Fenton Cary was an American politician who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio and significant temperance movement leader in the 19th century. Cary became well known nationally as a prohibitionist author and lecturer. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 18 February in World History

18 Feb 2025: Gene Hackman, award-winning American actor (born 1930) Eugene Allen Hackman was an American actor. Considered one of the greatest actors of his generation and a paragon of the New Hollywood movement, Hackman's mainstream acting career spanned over four decades. He received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, one Silver Bear and four Golden Globe Awards. Read more
18 Feb 2025: Gerald Ridsdale, Australian laicised Catholic priest and sex offender (born 1934) Gerald Francis Ridsdale was an Australian laicised Catholic priest and prolific sex offender. Read more
18 Feb 2025: Hurricane, American secret service canine (born 2009) Hurricane was a Special Operations canine of the United States Secret Service. He was a black Belgian Malinois recognized for his valor and bravery in 2014. He is considered the most decorated dog in American history. Read more
18 Feb 2020: Flavio Bucci, Italian actor and voice actor (born 1947) Flavio Bucci was an Italian actor, voice actor and film producer. Read more
18 Feb 2019: Alessandro Mendini, Italian designer and architect (born 1931) Alessandro Mendini was an Italian designer and architect. He played an important part in the development of Italian, Postmodern, and Radical design. He also worked, aside from his artistic career, for Casabella, Modo and Domus magazines. Read more
18 Feb 2015: Elchanan Heilprin, Slovak-born English rabbi (born 1920 or 1922) Elchanan Halpern was a Rabbi in the Golders Green neighbourhood of London and President of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. He was also known as the Av Beit Din of Radomishl after the town of his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Engel, Rav of Radomishl. Read more
18 Feb 2014: Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (born 1922) Mavis Leslie de Trafford Gallant,, was a Canadian writer who spent much of her life and career in France. Best known as a short story writer, she also published novels, plays and essays. Read more
18 Feb 2014: Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (born 1914) Maria Agatha Franziska Gobertina von Trapp was the second-oldest daughter of Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp. She was a member of the Trapp Family Singers, whose lives inspired the musical and film The Sound of Music. She was portrayed by Heather Menzies as the character "Louisa". She died at age 99, and was the last surviving sibling portrayed in the film. Read more
18 Feb 2001: Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (born 1908) Balthasar Klossowski, known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of young girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his imagery. Read more
18 Feb 2001: Dale Earnhardt, American racer and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (born 1951) Ralph Dale Earnhardt was an American professional stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. His aggressive driving style earned him the nicknames "the Intimidator", "the Man in Black" and "Ironhead"; after his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the Cup Series circuit in 1999, Earnhardt was generally known by the retronyms Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dale Sr. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history and was named as one of the NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers class in 1998. Read more
18 Feb 1982: Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (born 1895) Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand writer. Read more
18 Feb 1981: Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (born 1895) John Knudsen Northrop was an American aircraft industrialist and designer who founded the Northrop Corporation in 1939. Read more
18 Feb 1977: Andy Devine, American actor (born 1905) Andrew Vabre Devine was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature films. He also appeared alongside John Wayne in films such as Stagecoach (1939), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won. He is also remembered as Jingles on the TV series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958, as Danny McGuire in A Star Is Born (1937), and as the voice of Friar Tuck in the Disney Animation Studio film Robin Hood (1973). Read more
18 Feb 1969: Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (born 1893) Dragiša Cvetković was a Yugoslav politician active in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1939 to 1941. He developed the federalization of Yugoslavia through the creation of the Banovina of Croatia via the Cvetković–Maček Agreement with Croat leader Vladko Maček. He signed the Yugoslav accession to the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941. Two days later, on 27 March, a group of officers carried out a military coup, and arrested Dragiša Cvetković and other ministers. German authorities arrested him on two occasions and took him to Banjica concentration camp. He fled on 4 September 1944 for Bulgaria. He spent the rest of his life in Paris. Read more
18 Feb 1967: J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (born 1904) J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in overseeing the development of the first nuclear weapons. Read more
18 Feb 1966: Grigory Nelyubov, Soviet pilot and military officer (born 1934) Grigory Grigoryevich Nelyubov was one of the original 20 Soviet cosmonauts, who was dismissed from the Soviet space program in 1963 for drunk and disorderly conduct. His existence in the program was kept secret until the advent of Soviet glasnost in the late 1980s. He killed himself on 18 February 1966. Read more
18 Feb 1960: Gertrude Vanderbilt, American stage actress (born c. 1885) Gertrude Vanderbilt, also known as Gertie Vanderbilt, was an American stage actress and Vaudeville performer. Read more
18 Feb 1956: Gustave Charpentier, French composer (born 1860) Gustave Charpentier was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise. Read more
18 Feb 1938: David King Udall, American missionary and politician (born 1851) David King Udall, Sr. was an American politician who was a representative to the Arizona Territorial Legislature and the founder of the Udall political family. Read more
18 Feb 1933: James J. Corbett, American boxer and actor (born 1866) James John Corbett was an American professional boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated John L. Sullivan. Despite a career spanning only 20 bouts, Corbett faced the best competition his era had to offer, squaring off with a total of nine fighters who would later be enshrined alongside him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Read more
18 Feb 1915: Frank James, American soldier and criminal (born 1843) Alexander Franklin James was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla; who became an outlaw in the post-Civil War period. The older brother of outlaw Jesse James, Frank was also part of the James–Younger Gang. Read more
18 Feb 1910: Lucy Stanton, American activist (born 1831) Lucy Stanton Day Sessions was an American abolitionist and feminist figure, notable for being the first African-American woman to complete a four-year course of a study at a college or university. She completed a Ladies Literary Course from Oberlin College in 1850. Read more
18 Feb 1902: Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (born 1812) Charles Lewis Tiffany was an American businessman and jeweler who founded New York City's Tiffany & Co. in 1837. Known for his jewelry expertise, Tiffany created the country's first retail catalog and introduced the English standard of sterling silver in imported jewelry in 1851. Read more
18 Feb 1893: Serranus Clinton Hastings, American lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Justice of California (born 1814) Serranus Clinton Hastings was an American politician, rancher and lawyer in California. He studied law as a young man and moved to the Iowa District in 1837 to open a law office. Iowa became a territory a year later, and he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the Iowa Territorial General Assembly. When the territory became the state of Iowa in 1846, he won an election to represent the state in the United States House of Representatives. After his term ended, he became Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Read more
18 Feb 1880: Nikolay Zinin, Russian organic chemist (born 1812) Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin was a Russian organic chemist. Read more
18 Feb 1873: Vasil Levski, Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (born 1837) Vasil Levski, born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev, was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed the Apostle of Freedom, Levski ideologised and strategised a revolutionary movement to liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. Levski founded the Internal Revolutionary Organisation, and sought to foment a nationwide uprising through a network of secret regional committees. Read more
18 Feb 1851: Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (born 1804) Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi was a German mathematician who made fundamental contributions to elliptic functions, dynamics, differential equations, determinants and number theory. Read more
18 Feb 1803: Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet and educator (born 1719) Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim was a German poet, commonly associated with the Enlightenment and Rococo movements. Read more

Why is 18 February Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 18 February, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 18 February in World history?

On 18 February, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

Is History of Today important for competitive exams?

Yes, History of Today is frequently asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, and State PSC exams as part of static GK and current awareness sections.