Summary of the Day ✨ 18 February (18/02)
NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars while Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashed in the Zagros Mountains, killing all 66 people on board. Simultaneously, the Revolution of Dignity turned deadly in Ukraine with at least 76 fatalities, WikiLeaks began publishing classified documents from Chelsea Manning, and armed robbers stole $50 million in diamonds from Brussels Airport.
Historical Events 📜
- 2021: Perseverance, a Mars rover designed to explore Jezero crater on Mars, as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, lands successfully.
- 2018: Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Dena sub-range in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, Resulting in 66 Deaths
- 2014: Revolution of Dignity: At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kyiv, Ukraine.
- 2013: Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
- 2010: WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.
- 2004: Up to 295 people, 182 of which being rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes.
- 2003: 192 people die when an arsonist sets fire to a subway train in Daegu, South Korea.
- 2001: FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
- 2001: Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes.
- 1991: The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
- 1983: Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
- 1979: Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag.
- 1977: The Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire started during Chinese New Year when a firecracker ignited memorial wreaths of the late Mao Zedong, killing 694 personnel. It remains the deadliest fireworks accident in the world.
- 1977: A thousand armed soldiers raid Kalakuta Republic, the commune of Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, leading to the death of Funmilayo Anikulapo Kuti.
- 1977: The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Manu Bhaker, Indian sports shooter
- 2001: Tanguy Coulibaly, French footballer
- 2001: Jaime Jaquez Jr., American basketball player
- 2000: Zakaria Aboukhlal, Moroccan footballer
- 2000: Giacomo Raspadori, Italian footballer
- 1998: Vernon, South Korean and American rapper, singer and songwriter
- 1997: DK, South Korean singer
- 1997: Odysseas Adam, Greek volleyball player
- 1997: Brandon Jones, American racing driver
- 1996: Tyler Dorsey, American-Greek basketball player
- 1995: Nathan Aké, Dutch footballer
- 1994: J-Hope, South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, and record producer
- 1994: Paul Zipser, German basketball player
- 1993: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, American basketball player
- 1992: Le’Veon Bell, American football player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Borislav Paravac, Bosnian Serb politician, 8th Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (born 1943)
- 2025: Gene Hackman, award-winning American actor (born 1930)
- 2025: Gerald Ridsdale, Australian laicised Catholic priest and sex offender (born 1934)
- 2025: Hurricane, American secret service canine (born 2009)
- 2020: Flavio Bucci, Italian actor and voice actor (born 1947)
- 2019: Alessandro Mendini, Italian designer and architect (born 1931)
- 2015: Elchanan Heilprin, Slovak-born English rabbi (born 1920 or 1922)
- 2014: Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (born 1922)
- 2014: Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (born 1914)
- 2001: Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (born 1908)
- 2001: Dale Earnhardt, American racer and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (born 1951)
- 1982: Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (born 1895)
- 1981: Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (born 1895)
- 1977: Andy Devine, American actor (born 1905)
- 1969: Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (born 1893)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Bernadette Soubirous (France) - Christian feast day:
Colmán of Lindisfarne - Christian feast day:
Flavian of Constantinople - Christian feast day:
Geltrude Comensoli - Christian feast day:
Simeon of Jerusalem (Western Christianity) - Christian feast day:
February 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965
- Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal)