Today In History
Today is Saturday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2023. There are 322 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY
On Feb. 18, 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash at the Daytona 500; he was 49.
ON THIS DATE ›
1885: Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published in the U.S. for the first time (after being published in Britain and Canada).
› 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).
› 1983: Thirteen people were shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle’s Chinatown in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre. (Two men were convicted of the killings and were sentenced to life in prison; a third was found guilty of robbery and assault.)
› 1984: Italy and the Vatican signed an accord under which Roman Catholicism ceased to be the state religion of Italy.
› 1988: Anthony M.
Kennedy was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
› 1994: At the Winter Olympic Games in Norway, U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen finally won a gold medal, breaking the world record in the 1,000 meters.
› 2001: Veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia. (Hanssen later pleaded guilty to espionage and attempted espionage and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)
› 2003: An arson attack involving two South Korean subway trains in the city of Daegu claimed 198 lives. (The arsonist was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2004.)
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Singer Yoko Ono is 90. Singer-songwriter Bobby Hart is 84. Singer Irma Thomas is 82. Singer Herman Santiago (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) is 82. Actor Jess Walton is 77. Singer Dennis DeYoung is 76. Actor Sinead Cusack is 75. Actor Cybill Shepherd is 73. Singer Randy Crawford is
71. Actor John Travolta is
69. Actor John Pankow is
68. Actor Jayne Atkinson is 64. Actor Greta Scacchi is 63. Actor Matt Dillon is
59. Rock musician Tommy Scott (Space) is 59.