What Happened on February 18

Historical Events

1896 – Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for first time in 50 yrs
1957 – Dedan Kimathi, a Kenyan freedom fighter is executed by the British colonial government.
1967 – Softball pitcher Eddie Feigner strikes out 6 straight major leaguers
1980 – East German cross country skier Barbara Petzold wins first of 2 gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in women’s 10k; also takes gold as part of 4 x 5k relay team
1992 – American amateur astronomer Peter Collins discovers Nova Cygni 1992, observed from Boulder, Colorado
2022 – Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway wins his 4th biathlon gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics when he takes out the men’s mass start

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Famous Birthdays

1770 – Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck, German composer, born in Elgersburg (d. 1846)
1867 – Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German Romantic novelist whose novels sold 80 million copies (Warbride), born in Nebra (d. 1950)
1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist and critic (Pulitzer-1972 for Angle of Repose), born in Lake Mills, Iowa (d. 1992)
1936 – Jozef Vengloš, Slovak soccer manager (Australia, Czechoslovakia, Malaysia, Fenerbahçe, Aston Villa, Celtic, Slovakia), born in Ružomberok, Slovakia (d. 2021)
1955 – Miles Tredinnick, English playwright, born in Warrington, United Kingdom
1967 – Colin Jackson, Welsh 100m hurdler (Olympic silver 1988), born in Cardiff, Wales

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Famous Deaths

1546 – Martin Luther, German theologian and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, dies at 62
1743 – Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, last of the Medicis (b. 1667)
1957 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan freedom fighter, dies by execution at 36
1963 – Monte Blue, American silent film actor (Apache), dies of a heart attack at 73
1980 – Gale Robbins [Betty Gale Murphy], American singer and actress (Fuller Brush Girl, Mr Hex), dies of lung cancer at 58
1996 – Jack Thieuloy, French writer, dies at 64

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