February 18

February 18 in recent years

2024 (Sunday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Tuesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Thursday)

2015 (Wednesday)

February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 316 days remain until the end of the year (317 in leap years).

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 Order is defeated by Dovmont of Pskov in the Battle of Rakvere.
• 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 executed in private at the Tower of London.
• 1637 – Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
• 1745 – The city of Surakarta, Central Java is founded on the banks of Bengawan Solo River, and becomes the capital of the Sunanate of Surakarta Hadiningrat.
• 1766 – A mutiny by captive Malagasy begins at sea on the slave ship Meermin, leading to the ship's destruction on Cape Agulhas in present-day South Africa and the recapture of the instigators.
• 1781 – Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana).
• 1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March 1791, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.
• 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.
• 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau.
• 1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
• 1861 – With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman set the South Carolina State House on fire during the burning of Columbia.
• 1873 – Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.
• 1878 – John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
• 1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.
• 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.
• 1906 – Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.
• 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.
• 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 a puppet state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) independent from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Aisin=Gioro Puyi as Chief Executive of the State.
• 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.
• 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore.
• 1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
• 1943 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech.
• 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
• 1947 – First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains.
• 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
• 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.
• 1957 – Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.
• 1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand.
• 1965 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
• 1969 – Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 crashes into Mount Whitney 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 imprisonment.
• 1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747.
• 1978 – The first Ironman Triathlon competition takes place on the island of Oahu and is won by Gordon Haller.
• 1979 – Snow falls in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the only time in recorded history.
• 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.
• 1991 – The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
• 2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• 2001 – Seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt dies in an accident during the Daytona 500.
• 2001 – Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, that will ultimately result in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes. Many Madurese victims found decapitated by the Dayaks, showing the return of old Dayaks "Ngayau" culture, which were prohibited by the Dutch East Indies colonial governments in early 20th century.
• 2003 – Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
• 2004 – Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur in Iran when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes.
• 2007 – Terrorist bombs explode on the Samjhauta Express in Panipat, Haryana, India, killing 68 people.
• 2013 – Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
• 2014 – At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kiev, Ukraine.

Births

• 1372 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (d. 1448)
• 1486 – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534)
• 1516 – Mary I of England (d. 1558)
• 1530 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese daimyo (d. 1578)
• 1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
• 1559 – Isaac Casaubon, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1614)
• 1602 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1680)
• 1609 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English historian and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1674)
• 1632 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1692)
• 1642 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698)
• 1658 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French philosopher and author (d. 1743)
• 1732 – Johann Christian Kittel, German organist and composer (d. 1809)
• 1745 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, invented the battery (d. 1827)
• 1814 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (d. 1900)
• 1817 – Lewis Armistead, American general (d. 1863)
• 1836 – Ramakrishna, Indian mystic and guru (d. 1886)
• 1838 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916)
• 1846 – Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (d. 1904)
• 1848 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
• 1849 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (d. 1906)
• 1850 – George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 1934)
• 1855 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (d. 1932)
• 1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
• 1870 – William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (d. 1924)
• 1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek-German philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957)
• 1885 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1954)
• 1890 – Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956)
• 1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)
• 1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944)
• 1898 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (d. 1988)
• 1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (d. 1980)
• 1899 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (d. 1985)
• 1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983)
• 1905 – Queenie Leonard, English-American actress and singer (d. 2002)
• 1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980)
• 1909 – Wallace Stegner, American environmentalist, historian, and author (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2000)
• 1915 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (d. 2002)
• 1916 – Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Jack Palance, American actor and singer (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Bill Cullen, American game show host and actor (d. 1990)
• 1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997)
• 1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Allan Melvin, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1922 – Joe Tipton, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1994)
• 1922 – Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Nicola Rizzuto, Italian-Canadian mob boss (d. 2010)
• 1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
• 1925 – Halit Kıvanç, Turkish journalist and sportscaster
• 1926 – A. R. Ammons, American poet and academic (d. 2001)
• 1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976)
• 1927 – Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican baseball player, manager, and scout (d. 2016)
• 1927 – John Warner, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Navy
• 1929 – Len Deighton, English historian and author
• 1929 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 1968)
• 1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Toni Morrison, American author, playwright, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1931 – Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, Indian-English businessman and philanthropist
• 1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American singer-songwriter (Plastic Ono Band)
• 1933 – Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (d. 2009)
• 1933 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (d. 1975)
• 1934 – Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter and bass player (The Byrds, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and The Flying Burrito Brothers) (d. 2003)
• 1934 – Audre Lorde, American author, poet, and activist (d. 1992)
• 1934 – Paco Rabanne, Spanish-French fashion designer
• 1936 – Jean M. Auel, American author
• 1938 – Manny Mota, Dominican baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1938 – Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 50th Yokozuna
• 1938 – István Szabó, Hungarian director and screenwriter
• 1939 – Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist and academic (d. 1996)
• 1939 – Marek Janowski, Polish-German conductor
• 1939 – Dal Maxvill, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1940 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
• 1941 – Herman Santiago, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (The Teenagers)
• 1941 – Irma Thomas, American singer-songwriter
• 1943 – Graeme Garden, Scottish comedian, actor, and author
• 1944 – Pat Bowlen, American businessman
• 1945 – Judy Rankin, American golfer and sportscaster
• 1946 – Michael Buerk, English journalist
• 1946 – Jean-Claude Dreyfus, French actor
• 1947 – Dennis DeYoung, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Styx)
• 1947 – Eliot Engel, American educator and politician
• 1947 – Princess Christina of the Netherlands
• 1947 – Carlos Lopes, Portuguese runner
• 1977 – Sean Watkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nickel Creek, Fiction Family and Works Progress Administration)
• 1948 – Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
• 1948 – Keith Knudsen, American singer-songwriter and drummer (The Doobie Brothers and Southern Pacific) (d. 2005)
• 1949 – Gary Ridgway, American serial killer
• 1950 – Cristina Ferrare, American model, actress, author, and television host
• 1950 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1950 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress and singer
• 1951 – Queen Komal of Nepal
• 1951 – Isabel Preysler, Filipino-Spanish journalist
• 1952 – Randy Crawford, American singer
• 1952 – Maurice Lucas, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
• 1952 – Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1952 – Bernard Valcourt, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1953 – Robbie Bachman, Canadian drummer (Brave Belt and Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
• 1953 – Derek Pellicci, English-Australian drummer (Little River Band and Mississippi)
• 1954 – Charlie Fowler, American mountaineer, author, and photographer (d. 2006)
• 1954 – John Travolta, American actor, singer, and producer
• 1955 – Cheetah Chrome, American guitarist (Rocket From the Tombs and The Dead Boys)
• 1955 – Raymond Rougeau, Canadian wrestler and sportscaster
• 1955 – Miles Tredinnick, English singer-songwriter and playwright (London)
• 1956 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
• 1956 – Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian businessman and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Georgia
• 1957 – Marita Koch, German sprinter
• 1957 – George Pelecanos, American author, screenwriter, and producer
• 1957 – Vanna White, American model and game show host
• 1958 – Gar Samuelson, American drummer (Megadeth) (d. 1999)
• 1959 – Jayne Atkinson, English-American actress
• 1959 – Hallgrímur Helgason, Icelandic painter and author
• 1959 – Christian Koeberl, Austrian geologist and academic
• 1959 – James Metzger, American businessman and philanthropist
• 1960 – Greta Scacchi, Italian-Australian actress
• 1961 – Hironobu Kageyama, Japanese singer (Lazy and JAM Project)
• 1961 – Douglas Rushkoff, American theorist and author
• 1962 – Julie Strain, American model and actress
• 1963 – Rob Andrew, English rugby player and cricketer
• 1964 – Matt Dillon, American actor and director
• 1964 – Paul Hanley, English drummer and songwriter (The Fall and Tom Hingley and the Lovers)
• 1965 – Dr. Dre, American rapper, producer, and actor (World Class Wreckin' Cru and N.W.A)
• 1966 – Phillip DeFreitas, Dominican-English cricketer
• 1967 – Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer
• 1967 – Colin Jackson, Welsh sprinter and hurdler
• 1967 – John Valentin, American baseball player and coach
• 1968 – Molly Ringwald, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1969 – Tomaž Humar, Slovenian mountaineer (d. 2009)
• 1969 – Alexander Mogilny, Russian ice hockey player
• 1970 – Susan Egan, American actress and singer
• 1970 – James H. Fowler, American political scientist and author
• 1970 – Raine Maida, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Our Lady Peace)
• 1971 – Merritt Gant, American guitarist (Overkill)
• 1972 – Fabian Picardo, Gibraltarian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Gibraltar
• 1973 – Shawn Estes, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1973 – Claude Makélélé, French footballer and manager
• 1974 – Carrie Ann Baade, American painter and academic
• 1974 – Jamey Carroll, American baseball player
• 1974 – Radek Černý, Czech footballer
• 1974 – Ruby Dhalla, Canadian chiropractor and politician
• 1974 – Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author
• 1974 – Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
• 1974 – Jillian Michaels, American fitness trainer and author
• 1975 – Gary Neville, English footballer and coach
• 1976 – Leilani Munter, American race car driver and environmentalist
• 1976 – Chanda Rubin, American tennis player
• 1976 – Bernadette Sembrano, Filipino journalist
• 1977 – Ike Barinholtz, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Chrissie Wellington, English triathlete
• 1978 – Lena Burke, Cuban singer-songwriter
• 1978 – Oliver Pocher, German comedian and actor
• 1978 – Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer
• 1980 – Aivar Anniste, Estonian footballer
• 1980 – Nik Antropov, Kazakhstani-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Regina Spektor, Russian-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1981 – Kim Jaewon, South Korean actor
• 1981 – Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
• 1981 – Alex Ríos, American baseball player
• 1981 – Ivan Sproule, Irish footballer
• 1981 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (d. 2011)
• 1982 – Courtney Act, Australian drag queen performer and singer
• 1982 – Kaspars Cipruss, Latvian basketball player
• 1982 – Juelz Santana, American rapper and actor (Skull Gang and The Diplomats)
• 1982 – Christian Tiffert, German footballer
• 1983 – Jermaine Jenas, English footballer
• 1983 – Jason Maxiell, American basketball player
• 1984 – Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
• 1984 – Idriss Carlos Kameni, Cameroonian footballer
• 1985 – Anton Ferdinand, English footballer
• 1985 – Todd Lasance, Australian actor
• 1985 – Lee Boyd Malvo, Jamaican-American murderer
• 1985 – Jos van Emden, Dutch cyclist
• 1986 – Robert DeLong, American singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Marc Torrejón, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Crystallia, Greek singer-songwriter and dancer (OtherView)
• 1987 – Vicente Guaita, Spanish footballer
• 1988 – Changmin, South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (TVXQ and SM the Ballad)
• 1990 – Didi Gregorius, Dutch baseball player
• 1990 – Cody Hodgson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1990 – Park Shin-hye, South Korean actress and singer
• 1990 – Kang So-ra, South Korean actress and singer
• 1991 – Sebastian Neumann, German footballer
• 1991 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (d. 2009)
• 1992 – Le'Veon Bell, American football player
• 1994 – Ulrik Munther, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1995 – Samantha Crawford, American tennis player

Deaths

• 814 – Angilbert, Frankish monk and diplomat (b. 760)
• 901 – Thābit ibn Qurra, Iraqi physician, astronomer, and mathematician (b. 826)
• 999 – Pope Gregory V (b. 972)
• 1139 – Yaropolk II of Kiev (b. 1082)
• 1218 – Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen (b. 1160)
• 1294 – Kublai Khan, Mongolian emperor (b. 1215)
• 1379 – Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1318)
• 1405 – Timur, Mongol ruler (b. 1336)
• 1455 – Fra Angelico, Italian priest and painter (b. 1395)
• 1478 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence (b. 1449)
• 1535 – Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German magician, astrologer, and theologian (b. 1486)
• 1546 – Martin Luther, German priest and theologian, leader of the Protestant Reformation (b. 1483)
• 1564 – Michelangelo, Italian sculptor and painter (b. 1475)
• 1654 – Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French author (b. 1594)
• 1683 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (b. 1620)
• 1712 – Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1682)
• 1743 – Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, French wife of Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (b. 1667)
• 1748 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677)
• 1772 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician (b. 1712)
• 1778 – Joseph Marie Terray, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1715)
• 1780 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (b. 1714)
• 1788 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (b. 1713)
• 1803 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet and educator (b. 1719)
• 1836 – Cornplanter, American tribal chief (b. 1732)
• 1851 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (b. 1804)
• 1873 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (b. 1837)
• 1893 – Serranus Clinton Hastings, American lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Justice of California (b. 1814)
• 1895 – Carl Abs, German wrestler (b. 1851)
• 1895 – Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen (b. 1817)
• 1902 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812)
• 1906 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (b. 1830)
• 1910 – Lucy Stanton, American activist (b. 1831)
• 1911 – Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
• 1923 – Alois Rašín, Czech economist and politician (b. 1867)
• 1931 – Milan Šufflay, Croatian historian, author, and politician (b. 1879)
• 1931 – Louis Wolheim, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1933 – James J. Corbett, American boxer and actor (b. 1866)
• 1938 – David King Udall, American missionary and politician (b. 1851)
• 1942 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (b. 1872)
• 1945 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (b. 1906)
• 1956 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)
• 1957 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (b. 1920)
• 1957 – Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and academic (b. 1877)
• 1964 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (b. 1907)
• 1966 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1904)
• 1969 – Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1893)
• 1973 – Frank Costello, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1891)
• 1976 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
• 1977 – Andy Devine, American actor and singer (b. 1905)
• 1978 – Maggie McNamara, American actress (b. 1928)
• 1981 – Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (b. 1895)
• 1982 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (b. 1895)
• 1989 – Mildred Burke, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
• 1990 – Richard de Zoysa, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1958)
• 1993 – Jacqueline Hill, English actress (b. 1929)
• 1993 – Kerry Von Erich, American wrestler (b. 1960)
• 1995 – Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler and booker (b. 1961)
• 1995 – Bob Stinson, American guitarist (The Replacements and Static Taxi) (b. 1959)
• 1997 – Emily Hahn, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
• 1998 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (b. 1914)
• 2001 – Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1908)
• 2001 – Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (b. 1951)
• 2001 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
• 2003 – Isser Harel, Belarusian-Israeli intelligence officer (b. 1912)
• 2006 – Richard Bright, American actor (b. 1937)
• 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer and guitarist (The Cowsills) (b. 1948)
• 2008 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French author and director (b. 1922)
• 2009 – Tayeb Salih, Sudanese journalist and author (b. 1929)
• 2009 – Miika Tenkula, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Sentenced) (b. 1974)
• 2010 – John Babcock, Canadian soldier (b. 1900)
• 2012 – George Brizan, Grenadian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Elizabeth Connell, South African-English soprano (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Cal Murphy, Canadian football player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Soft Machine and The Wilde Flowers) (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (b. 1933)
• 2013 – B. G. Dyess, American minister and politician (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Damon Harris, American singer (The Temptations) (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Viscera, American wrestler and actor (b. 1971)
• 2014 – Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Kristof Goddaert, Belgian cyclist (b. 1986)
• 2014 – Nikhil Baran Sengupta, Indian art director and production designer (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1914)
• 2015 – Cass Ballenger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Jerome Kersey, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
• 2016 – Abdul Rashid Khan, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1908)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Bernadette Soubirous (France)
  • Colmán of Lindisfarne
  • Flavian of Constantinople
  • Geltrude Comensoli
  • Simeon of Jerusalem (Western Christianity)
  • February 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Wife's Day (Konudagur) can fall, while February 24 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday between 18 and 24 February (Iceland)
• National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal)
• Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan)
• Independence Day (Gambia), celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965.
• Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History