TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, FEB. 18, the 49th day of 2018. There are 316 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1678, the first part of “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” a Christian allegory by English author John Bunyan, was published in London.
In 1546, Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, died in Eisleben.
In 1913, Mexican President Francisco I. Madero and Vice President Jose Maria Pino Suarez were arrested during a military coup (both were shot to death on Feb. 22).
In 1930, photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
In 1943, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, wife of the Chinese leader, addressed members of the Senate and then the House, becoming the first Chinese national to address both houses of the U.S. Congress.
In 1953, “Bwana Devil,” the movie that heralded the 3-D fad of the 1950s, had its New York opening.
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 AntiRiot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).
In 1977, the space shuttle prototype Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its debut “flight” above Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In 1997, astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery completed their tuneup of the Hubble Space Telescope after 33 hours of spacewalking; the Hubble was then released using the shuttle’s crane.
In 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash at the Daytona 500; he was 49.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Former Sen. John Warner, R-Va., is 91. Author Toni Morrison is 87. Movie director Milos Forman is 86. Singer Yoko Ono is 85. Singer-songwriter Bobby Hart is 79. Actress Jess Walton is 72. Singer Dennis DeYoung is 71. Actress Cybill Shepherd is 68. Rock musician Robbie Bachman is
65. Actor John Travolta is 64. Actor John Pankow is 63. Game show host Vanna White is 61. Actress Greta Scacchi is
58. Actor Matt Dillon and rock musician Tommy Scott (Space) are 54. Rapper Dr. Dre is 53. Actress Molly Ringwald is 50. Actor Tyrone Burton is 39. Rock-singer musician Regina Spektor is 38. Roots rock musician Zac Cockrell (Alabama Shakes), actor Shane Lyons, and actresses Sara Sutherland and Maiara Walsh are 30.