Famous birthdays, deaths and events of February 18
Birthdays
- 1374 - Saint Jadwiga of Poland, queen of Poland (d. 1399)
- 1486 - Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Bengali saint
- 1516 - Queen Mary I of England, (d. 1558)
- 1530 - Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1578)
- 1543 - Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
- 1559 - Isaac Casaubon, French classical scholar (d. 1614)
- 1602 - Per Brahe (the younger), Swedish soldier (d. 1680)
- 1609 - Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
- 1635 - Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna, Swedish statesman (d. 1680)
- 1642 - Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698)
- 1658 - Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (d. 1743)
- 1745 - Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist (d. 1827)
- 1814 - Samuel Fenton Cary, U. S. Congressman (d. 1900)
- 1836 - Sri Ramakrishna, Bengali saint
- 1838 - Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist (d. 1916)
- 1846 - Wilson Barrett, English playwright (d. 1904)
- 1848 - Louis Comfort Tiffany, American glass artist (d. 1933)
- 1849 - Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author (d. 1906)
- 1859 - Sholom Aleichem, Russian Yiddish humorist (d. 1916)
- 1870 - William Laurel Harris, American mural painter
- 1871 - Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948)
- 1883 - Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek author (d. 1957)
- 1884 - Andrew Watson Myles, Canadian politician (d. 1970)
- 1888 - George Papandreou, Greek politician
- 1890 - Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1890 - Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)
- 1892 - Wendell Willkie, American politician (d. 1944)
- 1896 - Andre Breton, French writer (d. 1966)
- 1897 - Charles Kuentz, WW1 veteran
- 1898 - Luis Muńoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1980)
- 1901 - Reginald Sheffield, British actor (d. 1957)
- 1902 - Walter Herbert, German-born conductor and impresario (d. 1975)
- 1903 - Nikolai Podgorny, President of the Soviet Union (d. 1983)
- 1906 - Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician (d. 1980)
- 1907 - Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1909 - Wallace Stegner, American writer (d. 1993)
- 1914 - Pee Wee King, American country musician and songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1915 - Phyllis Calvert, British actress (d. 2002)
- 1916 - Jean Drapeau, Quebec politician
- 1918 - Jane Loevinger, American psychologist (d. 2008).
- 1919 - Jack Palance, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Bill Cullen, American game show host (d. 1990)
- 1920 - Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician (d. 1997)
- 1922 - Helen Gurley Brown, American editor
- 1922 - Allan Melvin, American actor (d. 2008)
- 1922 - Juhan Smuul, Estonian author (d. 1971)
- 1924 - Humberto Fernández Morán, Venezuelan scientist (d. 1999)
- 1924 - Louis Laberge, Quebec labour union leader (d. 2002)
- 1925 - George Kennedy, American actor
- 1925 - Marcel Barbeau, Quebec artist
- 1927 - John Warner, American politician
- 1927 - Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1928 - Tom Johnson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1929 - Len Deighton, British author
- 1929 - André Mathieu, Quebec composer (d. 1968)
- 1930 - Gahan Wilson, American cartoonist
- 1931 - Johnny Hart, American cartoonist (d. 2007)
- 1931 - Toni Morrison, American writer
- 1931 - Bob St. Clair, American football player
- 1932 - Miloš Forman, Czech film director
- 1933 - Yoko Ono, Japanese-born singer
- 1933 - Sir Bobby Robson, English football manager
- 1933 - Mary Ure, Scottish actress (d. 1975)
- 1934 - Audre Lord, Caribbean poet
- 1935 - Michel Aoun, Lebanese prime minister
- 1936 - Jean Auel, American writer
- 1936 - Dick Duff, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1938 - István Szabó, Hungarian film director
- 1938 - Manny Mota, Dominican baseball player
- 1939 - Dal Maxvill, American baseball player
- 1939 - Marek Janowski, Polish-born conductor
- 1939 - Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist
- 1941 - Irma Thomas, American singer
- 1943 - Graeme Garden, Scottish writer
- 1944 - Pat Bowlen, owner of the Denver Broncos
- 1945 - Judy Rankin, American golfer
- 1946 - Michael Buerk, British newsreader
- 1946 - Jean-Claude Dreyfus, French actor
- 1947 - Dennis DeYoung, American musician (STYX)
- 1947 - Princess Christina of the Netherlands,
- 1947 - Carlos Lopes, Portuguese athlete
- 1947 - Eliot Lance Engel, American politician
- 1948 - Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
- 1948 - Keith Knudsen, American drummer and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers) (d. 2005)
- 1949 - Gary Ridgway, American serial killer
- 1950 - John Hughes, American director
- 1950 - Cybill Shepherd, American actress
- 1950 - Michel Gauthier, Quebec politician
- 1951 - Isabel Preysler, Philippines-born Spanish socialite
- 1952 - Maurice Lucas, American basketball player
- 1952 - Juice Newton, American singer
- 1953 - Robbie Bachman, Canadian drummer (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
- 1954 - John Travolta, American actor
- 1955 - Miles Tredinnick, English playwright
- 1955 - Raymond Rougeau, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1956 - Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer (d. 1997)
- 1957 - Marita Koch, German athlete
- 1957 - Vanna White, American game show presenter
- 1958 - Giovanni Lavaggi, Italian racing driver
- 1958 - Gar Samuelson, American drummer (d. 1999)
- 1960 - Carol McGiffin, British TV and radio presenter
- 1960 - Greta Scacchi, Australian actress
- 1960 - Andy Moog, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1962 - Julie Strain, American actress
- 1963 - Henry Winter, English football journalist
- 1964 - Matt Dillon, American actor
- 1964 - Paul Hanley, British musician (The Fall
- 1965 - Dr. Dre, American rapper
- 1965 - Gregory Scott Johnson, American murderer (d. 2005)
- 1966 - Guy Ferland, American television director
- 1967 - Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer
- 1967 - Tracey Edmonds, American film and television producer
- 1967 - Harry Van Barneveld, Belgian judoka
- 1968 - Molly Ringwald, American actress
- 1969 - Alexander Mogilny, Russian ice hockey player
- 1969 - Jason Sutter, American drummer (Smash Mouth
- 1970 - Raine Maida, Canadian musician (Our Lady Peace)
- 1970 - Susan Egan, American actress
- 1971 - Constantin Popa, Romanian-Israeli basketball player
- 1971 - Merritt Gant, American thrash metal guitarist
- 1973 - Claude Makélélé, French footballer
- 1974 - Jamey Carroll, American baseball player
- 1974 - Ruby Dhalla, Canadian politician
- 1974 - Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
- 1975 - Sarah Brown, American actress
- 1975 - Keith Gillespie, Irish footballer
- 1975 - Gary Neville, English footballer
- 1976 - Chanda Rubin, tennis star
- 1976 - Leilani Munter, American race car driver
- 1977 - Ike Barinholtz, American actress
- 1977 - Kátia, Brazilian footballer
- 1977 - Sean Watkins, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1977 - Chrissie Wellington, British triathlete
- 1978 - Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer
- 1980 - Regina Spektor, Russian-born singer and songwriter
- 1980 - Nikolai Antropov, Kazakh ice hockey player
- 1981 - Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
- 1981 - Ivan Sproule, Irish footballer
- 1981 - Kim Jae Won, South Korean actor
- 1981 - Alex Rios, American baseball player
- 1983 - Juelz Santana, American rapper
- 1983 - Jermaine Jenas, English footballer
- 1983 - Jason Maxiell, American basketball player
- 1984 - Buddy Nielsen, American singer (Senses Fail)
- 1985 - Anton Ferdinand, English footballer
- 1985 - Lee Boyd Malvo, American serial killer
- 1986 - Marc Torrejón, Spanish footballer
- 1988 - Maiara Walsh, American actress
- 1988 - Shane Lyons, actor and private chef
- 1990 - Nao Kudo, Japanese gravure idol
Deaths
- 806 - Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 730)
- 814 - Angilbert, Frankish monk and confidant of Charlemagne
- 901 - Thabit ibn Qurra, Arab astronomer and mathematician (b. 826)
- 999 - Pope Gregory V, (b. 972)
- 1139 - Prince Yaropolk II of Kiev, (b. 1082)
- 1294 - Kublai Khan, Mongol Emperor (b. 1215)
- 1379 - Albert II of Mecklenburg, (b. 1318)
- 1405 - Tamerlane, Mongol Emperor (b. 1336)
- 1455 - Fra Angelico, Italian artist (b. 1395)
- 1478 - George, Duke of Clarence
- 1535 - Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, astrologer and alchemist (b. 1486)
- 1546 - Martin Luther, German religious reformer (b. 1483)
- 1564 - Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian artist (b. 1475)
- 1583 - Antonio Francesco Grazzini, Italian writer (b. 1503)
- 1654 - Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French writer (b. 1594)
- 1683 - Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (b. 1620)
- 1712 - Louis, duc de Bourgogne
- 1718 - Pierre Antoine Motteux, French-born English dramatist (b. 1663)
- 1743 - Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis (b. 1667)
- 1748 - Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677)
- 1772 - Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff
- 1778 - Joseph Marie Terray, French statesman (b. 1715)
- 1780 - Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1714)
- 1785 - Johnny Appleseed, American environmentalist (b.1774)
- 1788 - John Whitehurst, English clockmaker and scientist (b. 1713)
- 1803 - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (b. 1719)
- 1842 - Thomas Hazlehurst, English soap and alkali manufacturer (b. 1779)
- 1851 - Carl Gustav Jakob Jacobi, German mathematician (b. 1804)
- 1873 - Vasil Levski, Bulgarian Revolutionist (b. 1837)
- 1893 - Serranus Clinton Hastings, American politician (b. 1814)
- 1895 - Karl Abs, German professional wrestler (b. 1851)
- 1900 - Clinton L. Merriam, American politician (b. 1824)
- 1902 - Charles Lewis Tiffany, American founder of Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812)
- 1906 - John Batterson Stetson, American manufacturer (b. 1830)
- 1911 - Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
- 1931 - Milan Šufflay, Croatian politician (b. 1879)
- 1933 - James J. Corbett, American boxer (b. 1866)
- 1938 - David King Udall, American politician (b. 1851)
- 1942 - Albert Payson Terhune, American author (b. 1872)
- 1945 - Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (b. 1906)
- 1955 - Sadako Sasaki, School student(b. 1944)
- 1956 - Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)
- 1957 - Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (b. 1920)
- 1957 - Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer (b. 1877)
- 1964 - Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Quebec inventor and industrialist (b. 1907)
- 1966 - Robert Rossen, American screenwriter
- 1967 - J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1904)
- 1967 - Dragiša Cvetković, Kingdom of Yugoslavia prime minister (b. 1893)
- 1973 - Frank Costello, Italian-born gangster (b. 1891)
- 1977 - Andy Devine, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1978 - Maggie McNamara, American actress (b. 1928)
- 1981 - John Knudsen Northrop, American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1895)
- 1982 - Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (b. 1895)
- 1993 - Kerry Von Erich, American professional wrestler (b. 1960)
- 1993 - Jacqueline Hill, British actress (b. 1929)
- 1995 - Bob Stinson, American guitarist (b.1959)
- 1997 - Emily Hahn, American writer (b. 1905)
- 1998 - Harry Caray, American baseball broadcaster (b. 1914)
- 1998 - Robbie James, Welsh footballer (b. 1957)
- 1999 - Noam Pitlik, American actor and director (b. 1932)
- 2000 - Willy Maltaite, Belgian comics creator (b. 1927
- 2001 - Balthus, Polish-born painter (b. 1908)
- 2001 - Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (b. 1951)
- 2001 - Eddie Mathews, American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 2003 - Isser Harel, Israeli Mossad leader (b. 1912)
- 2003 - Johnny Paycheck, American country singer/songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2004 - Jean Rouch, French filmmaker and ethnologist (b. 1917)
- 2006 - Richard Bright, American actor (b. 1937)
- 2008 - Sir Richard Knowles, British politician (b. 1917)
- 2008 - Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress
- 2008 - Mickey Renaud, Canadian professional ice hockey player (b. 1988)
- 2009 - Andrew Tsien Chih-ch'un, 83, Taiwanese Roman Catholic Bishop of Hwalien (1992–2001), heart attack.
- 2009 - Kamila Skolimowska, 26, Polish hammer thrower, 2000 Olympics gold medalist, pulmonary embolism.
- 2009 - Al-Tayyib Salih, 80, Sudanese writer (Season of Migration to the North).
- 2009 - Musa Khan Khel, 29, Pakistani journalist, shot.
- 2009 - John Kanzius, 64, American inventor, pneumonia.
- 2009 - Snooks Eaglin, 73, American guitarist, heart attack.
- 2009 - J. Max Bond, Jr., 73, American architect, cancer.
- 2009 - Viking Björk, 90, Swedish surgeon.
- 2009 - Jacques Bino, 50, French Guadeloupean trade union official, shot.
Events
- 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
- 1268 - The Livonian Brothers of the Sword are defeated by Dovmont of Pskov in the Battle of Rakovor.
- 1332 - Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
- 1478 - George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London.
- 1685 - Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.
- 1797 - Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby.
- 1814 - The Battle of Montereau occurs.
- 1841 - The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate begins and lasts until March 11.
- 1856 - The American Party (Know-Nothings) convene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate their first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.
- 1861 - In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
- 1861 - With the Italian unification almost complete, King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
- 1865 - Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman set the South Carolina State House on fire during the burning of Columbia.
- 1878 - John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jessie Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
- 1885 - Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published for the first time.
- 1901 - Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the British House of Commons.
- 1911 - The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 km away.
- 1913 - Raymond Poincaré becomes President of France.
- 1929 - The first Academy Awards are announced.
- 1930 - While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
- 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.
- 1932 - The Empire of Japan declares Manzhouguo (obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) independent from the Republic of China.
- 1943 - The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
- 1943 - Joseph Goebbels delivers the Sportpalast speech.
- 1948 - Eamon de Valera resigns as Taoiseach of Ireland.
- 1954 - The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California.
- 1955 - The Shot Teapot-Wasp is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp would be the first of fourteen shots of the Teapot series.
- 1957 - Dedan Kimathi, a Kenyan rebel leader is executed by the British colonial government.
- 1965 - The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1969 - The Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 disaster occurs, killing all on board.
- 1970 - The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
- 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 in prison.
- 1977 - The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle goes on its maiden "flight" while sitting on top of a Boeing 747.
- 1979 - Snow fell in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the first and only recorded time in history.
- 1983 - Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee Massacre in Seattle, Washington. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
- 1991 - The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
- 1998 - Two white separatists are arrested in Nevada and accused of plotting a biological attack on New York City subways.
- 2000 - Stjepan Mesić becomes the second president of Croatia.
- 2001 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
- 2003 - Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
- 2003 - Comet C/2002 V1 (NEAT) makes perihelion, seen by SOHO.
- 2004 - Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Neyshabur in Iran when a run-away freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertiliser catches fire and explodes.
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