On this day in History - Feb. 18

• 3102 BC - Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga.
• 0814 - Angilbert dies. Frankish monk and confidant of Charlemagne .
• 0901 - Thabit ibn Qurra, dies, (b. 826) Arab astronomer and mathematician who greatly contributed to preparing the way for such important mathematical discoveries as the extension of the concept of number to (positive) real numbers, integral calculus, theorems in spherical trigonometry, analytic geometry, and non-euclidean geometry. In astronomy he was one of the first reformers of the Ptolemaic system, writing Concerning the Motion of the Eighth Sphere .
• 0999 - Pope Gregory V dies, (b. ca. 972).
• 1201 - Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi was born (d. 26 Jun 1274). Outstanding Persian philosopher, scientist, mathematician and astronomer. When The Mongol invasion, started by Genghis Khan, reached him in 1256, he escaped likely death by joining the victorious Mongols as a scientific advisor.
• 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.
• 1478 - George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London .(b. 1449) .
• 1516 - Queen Mary I of England was born (d. 1558); also known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants.
• 1530 - Uesugi Kenshin, was born, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1578) .
• 1546 - Martin Luther, dies, religious reformer (b. 1483) .
• 1564 - Michelangelo Buonarroti, dies (b. 6 Mar 1475). Italian Renaissance artist and sculptor, known primarily for his works of art, but he also prepared extremely accurate anatomical drawings of the human body.
• 1626 - Francesco Redi, was born, physician, refuted abiogenesis (d. 1697) .
• 1665 - Portugal cede Bombaim, na Índia, aos britânicos.
• 1685 - Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.
• 1745 - Alessandro Volta, was born in Como, Lombardy physicist, eponym for the unit of the electric potential (d. 1827) .
• 1755 - Em Lisboa, a rua do Príncipe é destruída por um vigoroso incêndio.
• 1790 - Marshall Hallb was born (d. 11 Aug 1857). English physiologist who was the first to advance a scientific explanation of reflex action.
• 1797 - Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby.
• 1800 - Nace Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield, jurisconsulto autor del Código Civil Argentino y coautor del Código de Comercio.
• 1800 - La escuadra inglesa de Nelson derrota a la francesa cerca de Malta.
• 1806 - En medio del entusiasmo que despiertan los éxitos de Napoleón, se acuerda la construcción del Arco del Triunfo en París.
• 1814 - Battle of Montereau occurs.
• 1827 -Heinrich Karl Brugsch was born (d. 9 Sep 1894). German Egyptologist who pioneered in deciphering demotic, the simplified script of the later Egyptian periods.
• 1832 - Octave Chanute was born (d. 23 Nov 1910). U.S. aeronaut whose work and interests profoundly influenced Orville and Wilbur Wright and the invention of the airplane.
• 1834 - El Congreso de Venezuela decreta el establecimiento de la libertad de cultos.
• 1834 - Portugal: Trava-se a batalha de Almoster a 12 km a oeste de Santarém entre as forças liberais, comandadas pelo marechal Saldanha, e as forças miguelistas, lideradas pelo general Lemos, terminando com a derrota dos absolutistas.
• 1838 - Ernst Mach was born (d. 19 Feb 1916). Austrian physicist and philosopher who established important principles of optics, mechanics and wave dynamics.
• 1841 - The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate begins and lasts until March 11.
• 1841 - É proclamada a República de El Salvador.
• 1846 - Wilson Barrett, was born, actor and playwright (d. 1904) .
• 1848 - Louis Comfort Tiffany, was born, American glass artist (d. 1933) .
• 1848 - Battle of Montereau occurs.
• 1849 - Alexander Kielland, was born, Norwegian author .
• 1856 - The American Party (Know-Nothings) convene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate their first Presidential candidate, former President (Millard Fillmore).
• 1858 - Louise-Marie Amélie, was born, daughter of Leopold II of Belgium, wife of Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1924).
• 1859 - Sholom Aleichem, [Solomon Rabinowitz], was born, Yiddish author, author (Fiddler on the Roof). (d. 1916) .
• 1861 - In Montgomery, Alabama Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the first and only 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 as King of Italy.
• 1865 - In the U.S., Delaware voters reject the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and vote to continue the practice of slavery. (Delaware finally ratified the amendment on February 12, 1901) .
• 1867 - Hedwig Courths-Mahler, was born, novelist (d. 1950) .
• 1871 - Harry Brearley, was born (d. 1948). English metallurgist who invented stainless steel which is an alloy of steel with chromium and nickel.
• 1878 - The Lincoln County War begins in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
• 1880 - Nace en Buenos Aires el notable cirujano y profesor Pedro Chutro.
• 1885 - Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published for the first time.
• 1887 - Nikos Kazantzakis, was born, poet (d. 1957) .
• 1890 - Adolphe Menjou, was born, actor (d. 1963) .
• 1892 - Wendell Wilkie, was born, politician, Presidential candidate (d. 1944) .
• 1894 - Aleksandr Oparin -was born (d. 21 Apr 1980). Russian biochemist noted for his studies on the origin of life from chemical matter.
• 1896 - Andre Breton, was born, poet and principal theorist of surrealism (d. 1966) .
• 1898 - Enzo Ferrari was born, (d. 14 Aug 1988). Italian automobile manufacturer, designer, and racing-car driver whose Ferrari cars often dominated world racing competition in the second half of the 20th century.
• 1899 - Nasce em Vila Real de Santo António o poeta português António Aleixo (m. 16 Nov 1949) / António Aleixowas born in Vila Real de Santo António (d. 16 Nov 1949 in Loulé). Portuguese poet.
• 1899 -Sir Gilbert Roberts was born (d. 1 Jan 1978). British civil engineer who pioneered new designs, construction methods and use of high-tensile steels for several major bridges including the 3,300-foot (1,006-metre) Firth of Forth Road bridge in Scotland, one of the longest in the world .
• 1900 - É formado, em Amsterdão , o clube de futebol Ájax, várias vezes campeão europeu e base das seleções holandesas de 1994 e 1998, a “laranja mecânica” que assombrou o mundo.
• 1900 - Boer War - The Battle of Paardeburg commenced.
• 1901 - Vacuum cleaner - a dust removing suction cleaner was patented by Hubert Cecil Booth, a bridge engineer (U.K. No. 17,433).
• 1909 - Wallace Stegner was born. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (Angle of Repose).
• 1911 - Foi instituido o Registo Civil obrigatório (Portugal) .
• 1911 - The first official flight with air mail took place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivered 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 km away.
• 1912 - Heinz Kühn, was born, politician (d. 1992) .
• 1913 - Raymond Poincaré becomes President of France.
• 1920 -Vuillemin and Chalus are the first to successfully fly across the Sahara Desert.
• 1920 - Bill Cullen, was born, game show host (d. 1990) .
• 1920 - Jack Palance, was born, actor .
• 1922 - Helen Gurley Brown, was born, editor, publisher .
• 1925 - George Kennedy, was born, actor .
• 1929 - Len Deighton, was born, author .
• 1929 - 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 an airplane and also the first cow to be milked in an airplane.
• 1931 - Johnny Hart, was born, cartoonist .
• 1931 - Toni Morrison, was born, writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature 1993 .
• 1931 - Bob St. Clair, was born, American football star .
• 1931 - Milan Sufflay, dies, Croat politician (b. 1879) .
• 1932 - Milos Forman, was born, film director .
• 1932 - The Empire of Japan declares Manzhouguo (Japanese name for Manchuria) independent from China.
• 1933 - Yoko Ono, was born, singer, artist, wife of John Lennon .
• 1933 - James J. Corbett, dies, boxer .
• 1934 - Paco Rabanne,was born, fashion designer .
• 1934 - Noruega promulga lei que permite às mulheres acesso a todos cargos oficiais do Estado e da Igreja.
• 1938 - Se suicida el escritor Leopoldo Lugones en una isla del Tigre.
• 1938 - István Szabó, was born, director .
• 1942 - Albert Payson Terhune, dies, author (b. 1872) .
• 1943 - Graeme Garden,was born, writer, comedian, actor .
• 1943 - The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
• 1943 - Joseph Goebbels delivered the Sportpalast speech .
• 1943 - World War II: North AfricaVon Arnim's troops capture Sbeitla and Fondouk, Tunisia.
• 1944 - Charles Benedict Davenport dies (b. 1 Jun 1866). American zoologist who contributed substantially to the study of eugenics (the improvement of populations through breeding) and heredity and who pioneered the use of statistical techniques in biological research .
• 1947 - Carlos Lopes was born at Vildemoinhos, Viseu. Portuguese athlete, he was the first Portuguese to be Olympic Champion, winning the Marathon in Los Angeles (12 Aug 1984)
• 1947 - Princess Christina of the Netherlands was born.
• 1947 - Dennis DeYoung, was born, musician (Styx) .
• 1948 - Eamon de Valera resigns as Taoiseach of Ireland.
• 1949 - Gary Ridgway, was born, the Green River killer .
• 1950 - John Hughes, was born, director, producer, writer .
• 1950 - Cybill Shepherd, was born, actress .
• 1952 - Juice Newton, was born, country music entertainer .
• 1952 - Enrique Jardiel Poncela, muere, literato español.
• 1953 - The first 3D film, Bwana Devil opens.
• 1953 - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz sign an $8,000,000 contract to continue the I Love Lucy television series through 1955.
• 1954 - John Travolta,was born, singer, actor .
• 1957 - Christiane Torloni, nasce, atriz brasileira .
• 1957 - Vanna White, was born, game show presenter .
• 1957 - Henry Norris Russell, dies, American astronomer (b. 1877) .
• 1957 - President Habib ibn Ali Bourguiba of Tunisia demands the evacuation of French troops stationed in the country.
• 1957 - Henry Norris Russell was born (d. 25 Oct 1877). American astronomer and astrophysicist who showed the relationship between a star's brightness and its spectral type, in what is usually called the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and who also devised a means of computing the distances of binary stars.
• 1959 - Gago Coutinho dies in Lisbon (b. 17 Feb 1869). Portuguese aviation pioneer
• 1960 - Firma del Tratado de Montevideo que crea la ALALC.
• 1960 - The 1960 Winter Olympics opened in Squaw Valley, Idaho, USA.
• 1960 - Greta Scacchi was born. Actress.
• 1964 - The Papandreou government took power in Greece.
• 1964 - Matt Dillon, was born. Actor .
• 1965 - Dr. Dre was born, rap music performer, music producer .
• 1965 - The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
• 1967 - Roberto Baggio,was born, Italian football player .
• 1967 - J. Robert Oppenheimer, dies (b. 22 Apr 1904). American physicist and science administrator, noted as director of the Los Alamos laboratory during development of the atomic bomb (1943-45) and as director of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (1947-66).
• 1968 - David Gilmour joined rock group Pink Floyd.
• 1968 - The 10th Winter Olympics games closed at Grenoble, France.
• 1970 - The Chicago Eight are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic Party national convention.
• 1970 - Michael (Raine) Maida, was born, frontman for Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace.
• 1972 - The California Supreme Court invalidates the state's death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life in prison.
• 1974 - Manuel A. Odría, muere, presidente del Perú (1948-1956).
• 1974 - The game show Tattletales debuts in the slot vacated by the long-running soap opera The Secret Storm.
• 1974 - KISS releases their self-titled debut album.
• 1977 - The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle goes on its maiden "flight" while sitting on top of a Boeing 747.
• 1977 - Incêndio no cinema da cidade chinesa de Xinjinag deixa 694 mortos.
• 1978 - Winners at this years Grammy Awards included Fleetwood Mac, Album of the year for Rumours, The Eagles, Record of the year for Hotel California and Best pop vocal performance, The Bee Gees for How Deep Is Your Love.
• 1979 - President Zia ur-Rahman's National Party won the elections in Bangladesh.
• 1980 - No Canadá, o líder do Partido Liberal, Pierre Trudeau volta a ser primeiro-ministro.
• 1981 - Andrei Kirilenko was born. Russian NBA star .
• 1982 - Mexico devalued the peso by 30 percent to fight an economic slide.
• 1982 - Ngaio Marsh, dies (b. 1895). Mystery fiction author.
• 1983 - 13 people lose their lives and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee Massacre in Seattle, Washington, said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in American history.
• 1983 - Two Libyan MIG-23s are chased away from the US carrier Nimitz.
• 1985 - The legendary "mirror globe" ident, first used in 1969 is seen for the last time in regular rotation on BBC1.
• 1985 - At least eight people are killed by South African police during clashes with rioters in the shanty town of Crossroads, Cape Town.
• 1985 - Lee Boyd Malvo, was born, convicted Beltway sniper .
• 1986 - Nelson Cavaquinho dies. Brazilian musician.
• 1986 - Realiza-se no Hospital de Santa Cruz, em Carnaxide, a primeira transplantação cardíaca em Portugal.
• 1988 - El Politburó del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de la URSS destituye a Borís Yeltsin.
• 1991 - The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
• 1992 - Un incendio accidental devasta el pabellón de los Descubrimientos, edificio emblemático de la "Expo-92" de Sevilla.
• 1993 - Josefina Silva dies (b. 10 Jan 1898). Portuguese actress.
• 1994 - Selfotel Stroke damage- In 1994, the medicine selfotel offering benefits for stroke victims was announced at a conference in San Diego, saying that it appeared to alleviate the brain damage that follows when a blood clot in the brain causes a stroke. However the drug's side effects included hallucinations and agitation that mimic PCP (which binds at a similar site in the brain.
• 1996 - Uma explosão causada pelo grupo terrorista IRA destroça um ônibus em Londres, matando uma pessoa e ferindo outras nove.
• 1997 - Emily Hahn, dies, writer (b. 1905) .
• 1998 - Two white separatists were arrested in Nevada and accused of plotting a biological attack on New York City subways.
• 1998 - Harry Caray, dies, TV and radio broadcaster for three Major League Baseball teams (b. 1917) .
• 1999 - Noam Pitlik, dies, actor/director (b. 1932) .
• 2001 - Balthus dies. French painter .
• 2001 - Dale Earnhardt dies (b. 1951). NASCAR race car driver.
• 2001 - Eddie Mathews dies (b. 1931). Baseball Hall of Famer
• 2003 - Isser Harel dies (b. 1912). Mossad leader.
• 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 Neyshabur in Iran when a run-away freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertiliser catches fire and explodes.
• 2004 - Jean Rouch dies (b. 1917). French filmmaker and ethnologist.
• 2005 - The United Kingdom law banning fox hunting, hare coursing and other sports which kill wild mammals is enforced from this date.
• 2005 - It is discovered that the tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake uncovered an ancient city near the coastal town of Mahabalipuram in India.
• 2005 - The 42nd known Mersenne prime is discovered by Martin Nowak of Germany, a participant of the GIMPS distributed computing project. The prime number is the largest known Mersenne prime at the time of its discovery, and is nearly eight million digits long.