What are the important events that happened on February 18? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

February 18: Facts & Myths About This Day

February 18 is the 49^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 316 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 5, 2025 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 483,288 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘tetracontaenneagon’ day.

Aquarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Amethyst is the modern birthstone for this month. Bloodstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 364 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,442 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

February 18 Historical Events

• 1865 –
  Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman set the South Carolina State House on fire during the burning of Columbia.
• 1878 –
  John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
• 1900 –
  Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
• 1954 –
  The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California.
• 1955 –
  Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot “Wasp” is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots of the Teapot series.
• 1958 –
  New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Earth Dog in Chinese astrology.
• 1970 –
  The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
• 1977 –
  The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
• 1991 –
  The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
• 2001 –
  FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Who were born on February 18?

• 1849 –
  Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author (d. 1906)
• 1862 –
  Charles M. Schwab, American steel magnate (d. 1939)
• 1870 –
  William Laurel Harris, American mural painter and writer (d. 1924)
• 1884 –
  Andrew Watson Myles, Canadian politician (d. 1970)
• 1924 –
  Louis Laberge, Canadian labour union leader (d. 2002)
• 1932 –
  Miloš Forman, Czech film director
• 1934 –
  Audre Lorde, Caribbean poet and activist (d. 1992)
• 1947 –
  Dennis DeYoung, American musician (Styx)
• 1962 –
  Julie Strain, American actress
• 1988 –
  Shane Lyons, American actor and chef

Who died on February 18?

• 814 –
  Angilbert, Frankish monk and confidant of Charlemagne
• 1405 –
  Tamerlane, Mongol Emperor (b. 1336)
• 1455 –
  Fra Angelico, Italian artist (b. 1395)
• 1772 –
  Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff, Danish statesman (b. 1712)
• 1788 –
  John Whitehurst, English clockmaker and scientist (b. 1713)
• 1893 –
  Serranus Clinton Hastings, American politician (b. 1814)
• 1906 –
  John Batterson Stetson, American manufacturer (b. 1830)
• 1938 –
  David King Udall, American politician (b. 1851)
• 1995 –
  Bob Stinson, American guitarist (b. 1959)
• 2004 –
  Jean Rouch, French filmmaker and ethnologist (b. 1917)