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
Author: gil7
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
Today in History for 16th February 2026
Historical Events
1840 – American Charles Wilkes discovers the Shackleton Ice Shelf in Antarctica
1959 – Leonard Spigelgass’ “Majority of One” premieres in NYC
1965 – Pegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors
1973 – West Indies v Australia at Kingston, 1st time since 1955 without Garfield Sobers
2021 – Athens and parts of Greece covered in unusual heavy snowfall
Famous Birthdays
1953 – André St. Laurent, Canadian NHL hockey forward, 1973-90 (New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, and 2 other teams), born in Rouyn, Quebec
1953 – George Martin, NFL defensive end, 1975-88 (NY Giants), born in Greenville, South Carolina
1958 – Ice-T [Tracy Marrow], American rapper (“O.G. Original Gangster”), and actor (New Jack City; Tank Girl; Law and Order: Special Victims Unit), born in Newark, New Jersey
1961 – Andy Taylor, British rock guitarist (Duran Duran – “Hungry Like the Wolf”; The Power Station), born in Tynemouth, England
1965 – Lucinda Riley, Northern Irish historical fiction and romance author (The Seven Sisters series, The Hidden Girl, The Italian Girl, The Angel tree), born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland (d. 2021)
Famous Deaths
1531 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer, dies at 78
1857 – Auguste-Gaspard-Louis Desnoyers, French engraver, dies at 77
1933 – Archie Jackson, Australian cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 164; NSWCA), dies from tuberculosis at 23
1968 – (James) Healey Willan, British-Canadian organist, composer, and educator, dies at 87
2023 – Chuck Jackson, American pop and RandB singer (“Any Day Now”; “I Don’t Want to Cry”; “I Keep Forgettin'”), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 15th February 2026
1835 – Henry Hunt, British politician, radical reformer (universal suffrage), dies at 61
1841 – Sibrandus Stratingh, Dutch phyisican and chemist (electrical car), dies at 53
1865 – Nicholas Wiseman, 1st Archbishop of Westminster (1850-65), dies at 62
1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer, and conductor (New York Oratorio Society. 1873-85; New York Symphony, 1878-85), dies at 52
1896 – E. J. Nicholson [Eliza Jane], American publisher (New Orleans’ “Daily Picayune”), dies at 47
1967 – William C Bullitt, 1st US ambassador in USSR, dies at 76
1996 – Oscar Abrams, Guyanese-born British architect and community organizer (Keskidee Centre – UK’s 1st Black arts center), dies at 58
2004 – Jan Miner, American actress (Crime Photographer), dies at 86
2012 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (Conan the Barbarian), dies at 57
2025 – Gran Hamada [Hiroaki Hamada], Japanese professional wrestler (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), dies at 74
Historical Events for 15th February 2026
1898 – USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor, cause unknown, 258 sailors die
1933 – Social-democratic newspaper “Vorwarts” banned again in Berlin
1956 – Pirates and KC As cancel an exhibition game in Birmingham, Alabama, due to a local ordinance barring Black players from playing against White players
1959 – Antonio Segni forms Italian government
1985 – World chess championship match abandoned with Anatoly Karpov 25 leading Garry Kasparov 23
2000 – Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York State vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator fails
2001 – First draft of the complete human genome is published in the journal “Nature”
2002 – At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find uncremated bodies disposed of in the woods and buildings on crematorium’s property. One of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.