842 – Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstates the veneration of icons in churches
1942 – Bill Longson beats Managoff and Sandor Szabo, to become wrestling champ
1949 – First Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Ezra Pound
1972 – The Asama-Sanso hostage standoff begins in Japan
1977 – Space Shuttle Enterprise makes its first test flight atop a 747 jetliner
1980 – Ulrich Wehling of East Germany wins his third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the Nordic combined event at Lake Placid; winner Sapporo (1972), Innsbruck (1976)
1980 – Washington beats Montreal, 3-1 to end the Canadiens’ 34 game unbeaten streak against Capitals; Caps 0-32-2 against Montreal since entering NHL in 1974
1987 – Musical revue “Stardust – The Mitchell Parish Musical”, featuring songs of the Lithuanian-American lyricist, opens at Biltmore Theater, NYC; runs for 101 performances
Author: gil7
Today in History for 19th February 2026
Historical Events
1869 – US Assay Office in Boise, Idaho authorized
1953 – William Inge’s “Picnic” premieres in NYC
2018 – Syrian government forces bombard Gouta in deadliest day in 3 years, killing over 100 civilians
2018 – Nigeria says 110 girls missing, presumed kidnapped by Boko Haram after attack on school in Dapchi, Yobe state
2019 – Vatican confirms secret church guidelines for children of priests
Famous Birthdays
1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer who theorized that planets revolve around the sun (Heliocentric theory), born in Toruń, Royal Prussia, Kingdom of Poland (d. 1543)
1906 – Grace Williams, Welsh composer (Penillion), and first British woman to score a feature film (Blue Scar), born in Barry, Wales (d. 1977)
1925 – Leslie Laing, Jamaican athlete (Olympic gold men’s 4x400m relay 1952 WR 3:03.9), born in Linstead, Saint Catherine, Jamaica (d. 2021)
1964 – Jennifer Doudna, American biochemist (2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for CRISPR Gene Editing), born in Washington D.C.
1971 – Glyn Milburn, American football running back/kick returner (First-team All-Pro 1999; Pro Bowl 1995, 99; Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1941 – Hamilton Harty, Irish composer and conductor called “the prince of accompanists”, dies at 61
1943 – Lynne Overman, American actor (Reap the Wild Wind), dies from a heart attack at 55
1980 – (Ronald) “Bon” Scott, Australian rock musician, singer, and lyricist (AC/DC -“It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)”), dies of acute alcohol poisoning at 33
2000 – Marin Goleminov, Bulgarian violinist, composer, and pedagogue, dies at 91
2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian rock poet, songwriter, and singer (Grazhdanskaya Oborona), dies of heart failure at 43
Famous Deaths for 18th February 2026
999 – Gregory V [Bruno], 1st German Pope, dies
1799 – Maurus Haberhauer, Czech composer, dies at 52
1829 – Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, harpsichordist, mandolin player, composer, and opera conductor, dies at 77
1833 – Georg Johann Schinn, German composer, dies at 64
1899 – Marius Sophus Lie, Norwegian mathematician (continuous symmetry), dies at 56
1938 – Alida Tartaud-Klein, Dutch actress and performance artist (Rotterdam Stage), dies at 64
1964 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, French Canadian businessman and inventor of the Bombardier snowmobile, dies of cancer at 56
1973 – Frank Costello, Italian-American gangster (The Prime Minister of the Underworld), dies of a heart attack at 82
2013 – Elspet Gray, Lady Rix, Scottish actress (4 Weddings and a Funeral, Solo, Tokyo), dies at 83
2023 – Petar Zhekov, Bulgarian soccer forward (44 caps; Beroe Stara Zagora, CSKA Sofia), dies at 78
Historical Events for 18th February 2026
1563 – Huguenot Jean de Poltrot assassinates French General Duke François de Guise with a shot from his pistol
1804 – Ohio legislature approves establishment of Ohio University at Athens as the 1st university in Ohio; first classes are held in 1809
1814 – The Battle of Montereau; victory of French under Napoleon Bonaparte against Austrians and Württembergers under the King of Württemberg.
1919 – Cy Denneny of NHL Ottawa Senators scores record 52nd goal
1922 – WOC-AM in Davenport IA begins radio transmissions
1972 – Giulio Andreotti sworn in as premier of Italy for the 1st time
1980 – Soviet figure skater Irina Rodnina wins her 3rd consecutive Olympic pairs title at Lake Placid; gold medals with husband Alexander Zaitsev (1976, 80) and Alexei Ulanov (1972)
1984 – Revised Concordat between Italy and Vatican is signed
Today in History for 18th February 2026
Historical Events
1735 – First opera performed in America, “Flora,” in Charleston, South Carolina
1856 – The American Party (Know-Nothings) convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate its first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.
1900 – Battle at Paardeberg, 1,270 British killed/injured
1970 – US President Richard Nixon launches the “Nixon doctrine”
2019 – Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei says “There’s no way the US can crush us” in interview with BBC, saying his daughter’s arrest politically motivated
Famous Birthdays
1836 – Ramakrishna [Gadadhar Chatterji], Indian mystic and yogi (preached unity of religions), born in Kamarpukur, British India (d. 1886)
1884 – Burton “Burt” Mustin, American actor (All in the Family, The Andy Griffith Show), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1977)
1929 – Len Deighton, British spy novelist (The IPCRESS File; An Expensive Place to Die), cookbook writer, and illustrator, born in Marylebone, London
1939 – Maxine Clair, American poet and novelist (Rattlebone, October Suite), born in Kansas City, Kansas (d. 2025)
1957 – Vanna Marie White, American television host (Wheel of Fortune), born in Conway, South Carolina
Famous Deaths
1861 – Louis C Luzac, Dutch minister of Internal Affairs, dies at 74
1915 – Frank James, American outlaw (member of the James-Younger gang), dies at 72
1933 – James J. Corbett, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1892-97), dies of liver cancer at 66
1993 – Kerry Von Erich, American professional wrestler, commits suicide at 33
1996 – Nicholas Beriozoff, Lithuanian-British dancer, choreographer and ballet master, dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 17th February 2026
1768 – Arthur Onslow, English politician (Speaker of the House of Commons 1728-61), dies at 76
1854 – John Martin, English painter and engraver, dies at 64
1954 – Evert Gorter, Dutch children’s pioneering paediatrician founder of Dutch medical child care), dies at 72
1976 – Jean Servais, Belgian actor (Le Plaisir, Every Man is My Enemy), dies from heart failure at 65
2007 – Jurga Ivanauskaitė, Lithuanian writer (b. 1961)
2017 – Alan Aldridge, British artist, graphic designer and illustrator whose artwork was used in record covers for The Beatles and The Who, dies at 78
2020 – Ja’net Dubois, American actress (Willona in “Good Times”), dies from cardiac arrest at 87
2021 – Doug Grisby, American soul music bassist, composer and producer (Patti LaBelle; Teena Marie), dies after suffering a stroke at 57
2021 – Murray Weideman, Australian rules football CHF (Collingwood VFL premiers 1953, 58 [c]; BandF 1957, 61, 62; Victoria 1956-60) and coach (Collingwood 1975-76), dies at 85
2023 – (Harry Gilbert) Gil Trythall, American pianist, contemporary classical and electronic music composer (The Pastimes of Lord Chaitanya), and educator, dies at 92
Historical Events for 17th February 2026
1902 – A general strike in Barcelona and nearby towns leads to government-troop reprisals that leave 40 dead
1904 – Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly” premieres at La Scala in Milan, Italy
1927 – Toronto Maple Leafs, in the team’s first game since changing name from “St. Patricks”, beat the visiting New York Americans, 4-1 at the Mutual Street Arena
1939 – Katwijk soccer team forms in the Netherlands
1974 – 16th Daytona 500: Richard Petty first driver to win back-to-back titles at Daytona; his 5th Great American race
1985 – 3rd person to receive an artificial heart (Murray Haydon)
1997 – Weekly Standard shows evidence Larry Flint sexually abused his daughter
2014 – US Secretary of State John Kerry claims climate change requires urgent action and that only a small “window of time” remained open
Today in History for 17th February 2026
Historical Events
1865 – Union forces led by William T. Sherman capture the state capital of Columbia, South Carolina. The city is ablaze by nightfall, fanned by high winds devastating much of the city. It is not known which side started the fires.
1955 – KTVF TV channel 11 in Fairbanks, AK (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
1967 – Kosmos 140 (Soyuz Test) launches into Earth orbit
1987 – New York Yankees Don Mattingly wins highest salary arbitration ($1,975,000 per year)
2017 – Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal “GSA Today”
Famous Birthdays
1774 – Raphaelle Peale, American painter (After the Rain, 1823), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 1825)
1945 – Roy Black, American defense attorney known for representing William Kennedy Smith and Jeffrey Epstein, born in Forest Hills, New York (d. 2025)
1950 – Rickey Medlocke, American rock guitarist, vocalist, and drummer (Blackfoot, 1969-97 – “Highway Song”‘ “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme”; Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1971-72 and 1996-present), born in Jackson, Florida
1968 – Aaron Blaise, American animator, painter, and film director (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Brother Bear, The Lion King), born in Burlington, Vermont
1969 – David Klingler, American NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders, Cin Bengals), born in Houston, Texas
Famous Deaths
1612 – Ernest of Bavaria, Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne, dies at 57
1951 – Nikoghayos Fadeyi Tigranyan, Armenian composer, dies at 94
1997 – Zein Isa, Palestinian militant imprisoned in the United States for the honor killing of his daughter
2003 – Frank Thistlethwaite, English academic and Vice Chancellor (University of East Anglia), dies at 87
2025 – Gerd Stern, American poet of the Beat era, multi-media artist (USCO), and cheese monger, dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 16th February 2026
1279 – Afonso III, King of Portugal (1248-79), dies at 68
1834 – Lionel Lukin, British life boat pioneer, dies at 91
1899 – Félix Faure, 6th President of the French Third Republic (1895-99), dies at 57
1928 – Eddie Foy Sr. [Edwin Fitzgerald], Irish-American actor, singer and dancer (A Favorite Fool), dies at 71
1992 – Janio Quadros, president of Brazil (1961), dies
1996 – Edmund Gerald “Pat” Brown, American politician and Governor of California (D: 1959-67), dies at 90
1999 – Michael Larson, American “Press Your Luck” scandal big-winning contestant, dies of cancer at 49
1999 – Betty Roché [Mary Elizabeth Roach], American jazz singer (Duke Ellington – “Take The ‘A’ Train”), dies at 81
2002 – Walter Winterbottom, England soccer manager (first manager England national football team 1946–62; FA Director of Coaching), dies at 88
2025 – Luis Estaba, Venezuelan boxer (WBC light flyweight champion 1975-78), dies at 86
Historical Events for 16th February 2026
1900 – Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Shamrocks beat Winnipeg Victorias, 5-4 to take challenge series, 3-1
1942 – Bangka Island massacre: Japanese soldiers machine-gun 22 Australian Army nurses and 60 Australian and British soldiers and crew members from two sunken ships. Only one nurse and two soldiers survive.
1966 – Australian cricket batsman Bob Cowper makes a patient 307 (727 mins, 20 x 4s) in drawn 5th Test v England in Melbourne
1969 – “Andrei Rublev”, Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, starring Anatoly Solonitsyn and Ivan Lapikov, premieres in Moscow after a limited release in 1966
1972 – American guitar legend Chuck Berry and former Beatle John Lennon perform together, with Yoko Ono, on ‘The Mike Douglas Show’ TV program
1985 – Largest NBA crowd to date, 43,816, sees Philadelphia at Detroit
1999 – O.J. Simpson’s 1968 Heisman Trophy is sold for $230,000 to help settle a $33.5 million civil judgement against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend
2021 – Athens and parts of Greece covered in unusual heavy snowfall