February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 316 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about February 18th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about February 18th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- National Battery Day
- Pluto Day
- National Drink Wine Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – February 18
1978: Hawaii hosts the first Ironman Triathlon
Contestants have to swim 2.4 miles (3.86 km), bike 112 miles (180.25 km) and complete a marathon run measuring 26.2 miles (42.2 km).
1977: The Space Shuttle takes off on its maiden flight
The “Enterprise” was mounted on a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft; the first free flight took place on August 12, 1977
1954: The first Church of Scientology is established
Despite many controversies, Scientology has gained thousands of members since its inception.
1943: The Gestapo arrests German resistance fighter Sophie Scholl and other White Rose activists
21-year-old student Scholl and her fellow campaigners were executed for having distributed flyers criticizing the Nazi regime.
1930: Pluto is discovered
Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet when sifting through photographs taken a month earlier.
It’s the first big oil well in Iran and it sets off a wave of exploration, extraction and exploitation that will change the region’s – and the world’s – history, 1908
Test Pilot George Aird flying an English Electric Lightning F1 ejected from his plane at only about 100 feet in 1962… he survived –
Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan after the Battle of Antietam in 1862.
Battle of Antietam in 1862.
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, February 18
1974: Yevgeny KafelnikovRussian tennis player
1967: Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer
1954: John Travolta, American actor, singer, producer
1933: Yoko Ono, Japanese/American singer-songwriter
1838: Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, February 18
1967: J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist
1906: John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company
1564: Michelangelo, Italian painter, sculptor
1546: Martin Luther, German monk, priest, leader of the Protestant Reformation
1294: Kublai Khan, Mongolian Emperor
1851: Mary Shelley, English author