On Feb. 18, 1885, Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published in the U.S. for the first time (it had been published in Canada and England the previous December).
In 1516, Mary Tudor, the queen of England popularly known as "Bloody Mary," was born in Greenwich Palace.
In 1546, Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, died in Eisleben.
In 1564, artist Michelangelo died in Rome.
In 1735, the first opera presented in America, "Flora, or Hob in the Well," was performed in present-day Charleston, S.C. [Time travel? — Ed.]
In 1841, the first filibuster in the U.S. Senate began. It ended March 11.
In 1856, the American Party, also known as the "Know-Nothing Party," nominated its first presidential candidate, former U.S. President Millard Fillmore. But, he carried only Maryland and the party soon vanished.
In 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as the provisional president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Ala.
In 1865, after a long siege, Union naval forces captured Charleston, S.C.
In 1930, photographic evidence of Pluto (now designated a "dwarf planet") was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
In 1954, the Church of Scientology was established in Los Angeles.
In 1960, the 8th Winter Olympic Games were formally opened in Squaw Valley, Calif., by Vice President Richard M. Nixon. [Vancouverines: Kwitcher bitchin! You only had to put up w/ Biden & his motorcade. — Ed.]
In 1967, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb," died in Princeton, N.J., at the age of 62.
In 1970, the "Chicago Seven" defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).
In 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its maiden "flight" above the Mojave (moh-HAH'-vee) [That's (moh-HAH'-vay), AP cretins. And if you capitalize all the letters of the accented syllable, you really needn't put the apostrophe in there too. As if any of the morning zoo DJ morons who need pronounciation guides would know what it meant. — Ed.] Desert.
In 1979, Snow fell in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the known time.
In 1984, Italy and the Vatican signed an accord under which Roman Catholicism ceased to be the state religion of Italy.
In 1988, Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn in as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1991, one person was killed and 40 more injured when the IRA bombed two railroad stations in central London.
In 1993, a ferry carrying more than 800 people capsized off Haiti's western coast, killing at least 150 people and leaving several hundred more missing and presumed drowned.
In 1998, sportscaster Harry Caray died at age 83.
In 1999, The Clinton administration warned Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to choose peace with ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, or face a devastating military strike.
In 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt, Sr. died from injuries suffered in a crash on the final turn of the final lap at the Daytona 500; he was 49.
In 2000, Iranians voted in an election that gave reformers a majority in the parliament, long a bastion of hard-liners.
In 2003, around 200 people died and many more were hurt in a South Korea subway fire set by a man authorities say apparently was upset at his doctors.
In 2004, Howard Dean's quest for the presidency ended as the Democrat, winless in 17 contests, abandoned his bid. In Iran, runaway train cars carrying fuel and industrial chemicals derailed, setting off explosions that destroyed five villages and killed at least 265 people. Two bomb-laden trucks blew up outside a Polish-run base in Hillah, Iraq, killing about a dozen people.
In 2005, explosions tore through Baghdad and a nearby city on the eve of Shiite Muslims' holiest day, Ashura, killing three dozen people. Dozens more Iraqis died in similar sectarian attacks the next day. Also in 2005, Uli Derickson, the flight attendant who'd helped save passengers during the 1985 TWA hijacking, died in Tucson, Ariz. at age 60. And a panel of experts voted to advise the FDA that popular painkillers Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx can cause heart problems.
In 2006, Hamas took over the Palestinian legislature as a result of the January election. American Shani Davis won the men's 1,000-meter speedskating in Turin, becoming the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history. Also in 2006, a reported 16 people died in rioting in Nigeria over published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that had enraged Muslims around the world, coming one week after riots in Libya and Pakistan despite pleas for calm from Muslim governments.
In 2007, an explosion on a train in northern India and the resulting fire killed 66 people and injured more than 50 others. India's railways minister called it "an act of terrorism."
In 2008, opponents of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf won the majority of seats in the nation's parliamentary elections. The winner was the Pakistan People's Party, headed by Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the assassinated Benazir Bhutto. A suicide car bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy killed 38 civilians in southern Afghanistan. Republican John McCain picked up the support of former President George H.W. Bush. Andy Pettitte apologized to the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and his fans for the "embarrassment" he caused them by taking human growth hormone. Writer Alain Robbe-Grillet died in Caen, France, at age 85. Also in 2008, two of four art masterpieces stolen from the Zurich museum a week earlier, the Monet and the van Gogh, were found in perfect condition in the back seat of an unlocked car in Zurich.
In 2009, President Barack Obama launched a $75 billion foreclosure rescue plan aimed at saving homes. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began a two-day visit to Indonesia. Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said in a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month that the United States was "a nation of cowards" on matters of race. Pope Benedict XVI received House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Vatican, telling her that Catholic politicians had a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development." The remnants of New York's Shea Stadium were demolished.
Today's Birthdays: Author & former Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown is 88. Actor George Kennedy is 85. Former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) is 83. Author Toni Morrison is 79. Movie director Milos Forman is 78. Singer Yoko Ono is 77. Singer/songwriter Bobby Hart is 71. Singer Irma Thomas is 69. Singer Herman Santiago (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) is 69. Singer Dennis DeYoung is 63. Actress Sinead Cusack is 62. Actress Cybill Shepherd is 60. Singer Juice Newton is 58. Singer Randy Crawford is 58. Rock musician Robbie Bachman is 57. Rock musician Larry Rust (Iron Butterfly) is 57. Actor John Travolta is 56. Game show host Vanna White is 53. Actress Greta Scacchi is 50. Actor Matt Dillon is 46. Rapper Dr. Dre is 45. Actress Molly Ringwald is 42. Actress Sarah Brown is 35. Singer-musician Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) is 33. Actor Tyrone Burton is 31. Rock-singer musician Regina Spektor is 30.
Those Born On This Date Include: Stained glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848); Italian automaker Enzo Ferrari (1898); actors Merle Oberon (1911) & Jack Palance (1919); game show host Bill Cullen (1920); cartoonist Johnny Hart (1931); & film director John Hughes (1950).
Today In Entertainment February 18
In 1953, "Bwana Devil," the movie that heralded the 3-D fad of the 1950s, opened in New York.
In 1968, David Gilmour replaced Syd Barrett as lead guitarist for Pink Floyd. [And another tolerable band bit the fucking dust. — Ed.]
In 1969, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees married singer Lulu in England. Three-thousand fans showed up.
In 1972, Neil Young got a gold record for his album, "Harvest," which includes the number one single, "Heart of Gold."
In 1974, Kiss released its self-titled debut album. It only made it to 87 on Billboard's album chart, but it stayed on the chart for 23 weeks.
In 1992, fans rushed the stage at a New Kids on the Block concert in Seoul, South Korea, crushing people at the front of the crowd. A 17-year-old girl died the next day of injuries suffered in the stampede. The singers were not injured. Also in 1992, Vince Neil quit as lead singer for Motley Crue, after eleven years with the group. He said he wanted to spend more time on his race car driving. He has since returned to the band.
In 1995, Bob Stinson, a founding member of The Replacements, died in Minneapolis of complications from drug and alcohol abuse. He was 35.
In 2005, announcer Bob Hite Sr., whose rich voice introduced "The Lone Ranger" on radio, died in West Palm Beach, Fla. at age 86. [No apparent relation to Bob "The Bear" Hite. — Ed.]
Thought for Today: "What is man but his passion?" -- Robert Penn Warren, American author, poet and critic (1905-1989).
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