Events on Feb 18
- 1129Jerusalem taken by Emperor Frederik II
- 1503Henry Tudor created Prince of Wales (later Henry VIII)
- 1536France and Turkey sign milt / trade agreement against King Karel
- 1574Zeeland falls to Dutch rebels
- 1634Ferdinand II orders commander Albrecht von Wallenstein, execution
- 1688Quakers conduct 1st formal protest of slavery in Germantown, Pennsylvania
- 1713French invade under Jacques Cassard on Curacao
- 17351st opera performed in America, "Flora, " in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1745Bonnie Prince Charlies troops occupy Inverness Scotland
- 1787Austrian Emperor Jozef II bans children under 8 from labor
- 18041st US land-grant college, Ohio University, Athens Ohio, chartered
- 1828More than 100 vessels destroyed in a storm, Gibraltar
- 18341st US labor newspaper, "The Man, " published, New York City
- 1839Detroit Boat Club forms
- 18411st continuous filibuster in US Senate began, lasting until March 11
- 18491st regular steamboat service to California starts (or 02 / 28)
- 1850California Legislature creates 9 Bay Area counties
- 1856American (Know-Nothing) Party abolishes secrecy
- 1857Insurrection of Chinese in Sarawak, Borneo
- 1861Confederate President Jefferson Davis inaugurated at Montgomery Ala
- 1861King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes 1st King of Italy
- 1865Battle of Ft Moultrie, SC occupied by Federals
- 1865Union troops force Confederates to abandon Ft Anderson, North Carolina
- 1876Direct telegraph link established between Britain and New Zealand
- 1879Arabs capture Egyptian Premier Nabar Pasha
- 1884General Charles Gordon arrives in Khartoum
- 1896Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for 1st time in 50 yrs
- 1899San Francisco named as a port of dispatch for Army transports
- 1900Ajax soccer team forms in Amsterdam
- 1900Battle at Paardeberg, 1,270 British killed / injured
Born on Feb 18
- 1404Leon B Alberti: Italian humanist / architect (Della Pittura)
- 1516Mary I Tudor [Bloody Mary]: Greenwich -- Queen of England (1553-58)
- 1559Isaac Casaubon: Naturalized English classical scholar, Theologian
- 1609Edward Hyde: Earl of Clarendon, English Prime Minister (1660-67)
- 1632Giovanni Battista Vitali: Composer
- 1677Jacques Cassini: French astronomer (rings of Saturn)
- 1716Gaspard Fritz: Composer
- 1743Count Alessandro Volta: Como, Italy -- Physicist
- 1745Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta: Inventor (battery)
- 1751Karl Haack: Composer
- 1770Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck: Composer
- 1771Friedrich Christian Ruppe: Composer
- 1775Thomas Girtin: London, England -- Artist / watercolorist
- 1776John Parry: Composer
- 1781Henry Martyn: Truro -- Missionary
- 1790Marshall Hall: Basford Nottinghamshire, England -- Physician
- 1795George Peabody: South Danvers, Massachusetts -- Merchant / philanthropist
- 1805Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough: Rear Admiral (Union Navy)
- 1815Henri Leys: Flemish painter
- 1817Lewis Addison Armistead: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1863
- 1817Walter Page Lane: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1892
- 1819Joseph Philbrick Webster: Composer
- 1829Jean Jacques Alfred Mouton: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
- 1833James Deshler: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1863
- 1836Ramakrishna: Hooghly Bengal, India -- Hindu Saint (preached unity of religions)
- 1836Swami Ramakrishna [Gadadhar Chatterji]: Indian mystic / hindu leader
- 1838Ernst Mach: Chirlitz-Turas, Austria -- Physicist / philosopher / psychologist
- 1841Samuel Prowse Warren: Composer
- 1844Willem Maris: Dutch painter (Hague School)
- 1848Louis Comfort Tiffany: Glassmaker (stained glass windows)
Died on Feb 18
- 0999Gregory V [Bruno]: 1st German Pope
- 1217Alexander Neckum de Sancto Albano: Engl encyclopedist, dies at 59
- 1397Enguerrand VII: French master of Coucy / Count of Soissons, dies at 56
- 1455Fra Angelico: Italian Monk / painter
- 1478Duke of Clarence: Forced drowning in a wine barrel
- 1535Agrippa von Nettesheim: German royal astrologer, dies at 48
- 1535Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim: Physician / theologian
- 1546Martin Luther: Biblical Scholar / religious reformer, dies at 62
- 1564Michelangelo Buonarroti: Italian Sculptor / Painter (David), dies at 88
- 1660Judith Jansdochter Leyster: Dutch painter, buried
- 1683Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem: Dutch landscape Painter / etcher, dies at 62
- 1745Nicola Fago: Composer, dies at 67
- 1790Wilhelm Gottfried Enderle: Composer, dies at 67
- 1799Maurus Haberhauer: Composer, dies at 52
- 1803J W L Gleim: Writer
- 1807August G Meissner: German estheticus / literary, dies at 53
- 1807S von Laroche: Writer, dies at 75
- 1817Giacomo Quarenghi: Master builder (Hermitage Theater), dies at 72
- 1829Jan Krtitel Kuchar: Composer, dies at 77
- 1830Charles G G: Earl of Merode, mayor (Brussels), dies at 67
- 1833Georg Johann Schinn: Composer, dies at 64
- 1833Ignac Ruzitska: Composer, dies at 55
- 1846Giovanni Liverati: Composer, dies at 73
- 1861Louis C Luzac: Dutch Minister of Internal affairs, dies at 74
- 1878Peter D Regout: Industrialist (Sphinx, Maastricht), dies at 76
- 1885Charlotte Helen Sainton-Dolby: Composer, dies at 61
- 1890Guyla Andr ssy, Sr.: Earl / Premier of Hungary (1867-71), dies at 66
- 1895Albrecht FR: Archduke of Austrian (Battle at Custozza), dies at 77
- 1899M Sophus Lie: Norwegian mathematician, dies at 56
- 1905Jules de Geyter: Belgian Poet (International), dies at 75
Historical events on February 19
- 0356Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples
- 0607Boniface III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0842Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstated the veneration of icons in the churches
- 1512French troops under Gaston de Foix occupy Brescia
- 1537Weavers of Leiden Neth strike
- 1539Jews of Tyrnau Hungary (then Trnava Czech), expelled
- 1574Spanish troops plunder Krommenie, Wormerveer and Jisp Neth
- 1582Francis of Valois becomes Duke of Brabant
- 1619Trial against Johan van Oldenbarnevelt begins in The Hague
- 1674Netherlands and England sign Peace of Westminster (NYC becomes English)
- 1700Last day of Julian calendar in Denmark
- 1771Messier adds M46-M49 to his catalog (galactic clusters in Puppis & Hydra & galaxy in Virgo)
- 17971 / 3 of papal domain ceded to France
- 1807British squadron under Admiral Duckworth forces passage of Dardanelle
- 1807VP Aaron Burr arrested in Alabama for treason; later found innocent
- 18311st practical US coal-burning locomotive makes 1st trial run, Penn
- 1846Texas state government formally installed in Austin
- 1856Tin-type camera patented by Hamilton Smith, Gambier, Ohio
- 1859Dan Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity 1st time this defense is successfully used
- 1864Knights of Pythias form 1st lodge in Washington DC (12 members)
- 1869US Assay Office in Boise, Idaho authorized
- 1878Thomas Alva Edison patents gramophone (phonograph)
- 1881Kansas becomes 1st state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages
- 1884Tornadoes in Miss, Ala, NC, SC, Tenn, Ky and In kill 800 people
- 1900British troops occupy Hlangwane Natal
- 1906WK Kellogg and Ch Bolin found Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company
- 19131st prize inserted into a Cracker Jack box
- 1913Mexican General V Huerta takes power with US support
- 1915British fleet fire on Dardanellen coast
- 1919Pan-African Congress, organized by W E B Du Bois (Paris)
Born on February 19
- 1588Pieter de Carpentier: Flemish Governor-General of Dutch East-Indies
- 1611Andries de Graeff: Mayor of Amsterdam (1657..71)
- 1616Jacques de Saint-Luc: Composer
- 1671Charles-Hubert Gervais: Composer
- 1687Johann Adam Birkenstock: Composer
- 1717David Garrick: Actor / producer / writer (Aboan-Oroonoko)
- 1743[Ridolfo] Luigi Boccherini: Italian composer, cellist (Minuet)
- 1751Cornelis de Gijselaar: Dutch politician / patriot
- 1754Vincenzo Monti: Italian poet / translator (Al Signor di Montgolfier)
- 1755Pieter G van Overstraten: Governor-General of the Netherlands Indies
- 1762Friedrich Franz Hurka: Composer
- 1780Friedrich H von der Hagen: German germanist (Nibelungenlied)
- 1812Lauro Rossi: Composer
- 1817Willem III: Last male King of the Netherlands (1849-90)
- 1819Mark Prager Lindo: English / Dutch author / Novelist / writer
- 1821Francis Preston Blair, Jr.: Lexington, Kentucky -- (Rep-Missouri)
- 1824Constantine D Uschinsky: Russian educator
- 1827Charles Robert Woods: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1855
- 1828Johannes von Miquel: German politician
- 1841Felipe Pedrell: Composer
- 1843Adelina Patti: Madrid, Spain -- Opera soprano (Lucio)
- 1859Svante August Arhenius: Swedish physicist / chemist (Nobel 1903)
- 1863Emanuel Moor: Composer
- 1864Aritius S Talma: Dutch Minister of Agriculture (Work Law of 1911)
- 1865Adrian van Oordt: Dutch writer (neo-romantic)
- 1865Sven Hedin: Sweden -- Scientist / explorer (Tibet)
- 1877Else Berg: German / Dutch painter
- 1877Louis Francois-Marie Aubert: French composer (Habanera)
- 1880Arthur Shepherd: Composer
- 1881Armin Knab: German composer (Eichendorff-cycle)
Died on February 19
- 0197D Clodius Septimus Albinus: Roman bequest in England, dies in battle
- 1401William Sawtree: 1st English religious martyr, burned in London
- 1414Thomas Arundel: Archbishop of Canterbury / chancellor of England
- 1545Pierre Brully [Peter Brulius]: Calvinist minister, burned to death
- 1553Erasmus Reinhold: German mathematician, dies at 41
- 1605Orazio Tiberio Vecchi: Composer, dies at 54
- 1620Roemer P Visscher: Poet, buried in Amsterdam
- 1653Luigi Rossi: Composer
- 1785Johann Christoph Richter: Composer, dies at 84
- 1790Jean-Baptiste Krumphultz: Composer, dies at 47
- 1815Leonhard von Call: Composer, dies at 47
- 1822Jeronymo Francisco de Lima: Composer, dies at 78
- 1858Alois Basil Nikolaus Tomasini: Composer, dies at 78
- 1864William Edwin Baldwin: US Confederate Brigadier General
- 1875Jean B Vuillaume: French violin maker (octobas), dies at 76
- 1878Charles F Daubigny: French restaurateur / painter, dies at 61
- 1887Eduard Douwes Dekker: Dutch writer (Max Havelaar), dies at 66
- 1894Ernesto Camillo Sivori: Composer, dies at 78
- 1897Karl T Weierstrass: German mathematician, dies at 81
- 1916Ernst Mach: Austrian physicist / philosopher / psychologist, dies at 78
- 1923Jeronimo Gimenez y Bellido: Composer, dies at 68
- 1927Georg Brandes [Cohen]: Danish literary-historian / critic, dies at 85
- 1927Robert Fuchs: Composer, dies at 80
- 1933Arnold Ludwig Mendelssohn: Composer, dies at 77
- 1941Hamilton Hamilton Harty: Composer / conductor, dies at 61
- 1944Siegfried Garibaldi Kallenberg: Composer, dies at 76
- 1945Wim Speelman: Dutch resistance fighter, executed at 26
- 1949Auguste Jean Maria Charles Serieyx: Composer, dies at 83
- 1950Edyth Walker: US singer, dies at 82
- 1951Andre[-Paul-Guillaume] Gide: French writer (Nobel 1947), dies at 82
Events on Feb 20
- 1547King Edward VI of England was enthroned following death of Henry VIII
- 1613Gerard Reynst appointed Dutch Governor-General of East-Indies
- 1653Defeat of Dutch fleet under Admiral Van Tromp by Admiral Blake off Portsmouth
- 16731st recorded wine auction held (London)
- 1710Johan Willem Friso becomes Viceroy of Groningen Neth
- 1732Estates of Holland ratifies Treaty of Vienna
- 1737French Minister of Finance, Chauvelin, resigns
- 1745Bonnie Prince Charlies troops occupy Fort August, Scotland
- 17681st American chartered fire insurance company opens (Penn)
- 1809Supreme Court rules federal government power greater than any state
- 1811Austria declares bankruptcy
- 1831Polish revolutionaries defeat Russians in battle of Growchow
- 1832Charles Darwin visits Fernando Noronha in Atlantic Ocean
- 1839Congress prohibits dueling in District of Columbia
- 1846British occupy Sikh citadel of Lahore
- 1856John Rutledge, Liverpool-NY steamer, hits iceberg; many die
- 1861Department of Navy of Confederacy forms
- 1861Steeple of Chichester Cathedral blown down during a storm
- 1864Civil War battle of Olustee, Florida
- 1865M I T forms 1st US collegiate architectural school
- 1869Tenn Gov W C Brownlow declares martial law in Ku Klux Klan crisis
- 1872Hydraulic electric elevator patented by Cyrus Baldwin
- 1872Luther Crowell patents a machine that manufactures paper bags
- 1872Metropolitan Museum of Art opens (NYC)
- 1872Silas Noble and JP Cooley patents toothpick manufacturing machine
- 1873University of California gets its 1st Med School (UC / SF)
- 18771st cantilever bridge in US completed, Harrodsburg, Kentucky
- 1877International Association (minor baseball league) organizes
- 18871st minor league baseball association organizes (Pittsburgh)
- 1887Germany, Austria-Hungary and France end Triple Alliance
Born on Feb 20
- 1494Johan Friis: Chancellor (Denmark, helped formed Lutheranism)
- 1507Gentile Bellini: Italian artist (Sultan Mohammed II)
- 1523Jan Blahoslav: Czechoslovakia -- Humanist / Bishop (Bohemian brothers)
- 1632Thomas Osborne: Duke of Leeds, English Prime Minister (1690-94) / founder (Tories)
- 1633Jan de Baen: Portrait painter / etcher
- 1734Franz Ignaz Beck: Composer
- 1745Johann Peter Salomon: Composer
- 1752Charles Broche: Composer
- 1770Ferdinando Carulli: Composer
- 1784Adam Black: Edinburgh, Scotland -- Politician / publisher
- 1791Carl Czerny: Vienna, Austria -- Pianist / composer (Schule der Virtuosen)
- 1796Eduard W van Dam van Isselt: Dutch military / liberal politician
- 1802Charles-Auguste de Beriot: Belgian violinist / composer
- 1803Friedrich Theodor Frohlich: Composer
- 1805Angelina Grimke: Reformer / abolitionist / politician / lawyer
- 1808Daumier: Marseilles, France -- Artist
- 1809Albertus J Duymaer van Twist: Governor-General of the Netherlands Indies
- 1809Henry Walton Wessells: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1889
- 1816Josef Michal Ksawery Jan Poniatowski: Composer
- 1820Mahlon Dickerson Manson: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1895
- 1827Edward Stuyvesant Bragg: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1912
- 1838James Barbour Terrill: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
- 1844Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann: Austria -- Physicist (statistical mechanics)
- 1854Louis F M van Westerhoven: Actor / singer / opera director (Youth)
- 1861Nicolaas van Meeteren: Folklorist
- 1870Pieter Cornelis Boutens: Holland, Netherlands -- Mystic poet / Scholar (Verzen)
- 1874Mary Garden: Aberdeen, Scotland -- Opera star
- 1876Fyodor Akimenko: Composer
- 1883Shiga Naoya: Japan -- Novelist (Road Through Dark Night)
- 1886Bela Kun: Cehu Silvaniei, Romania -- Head of Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)
Died on Feb 20
- 1054Yaroslav I [the Wise]: Ruler (Kiev)
- 1194Tancredo of Lecce: King of Sicily
- 1431Martinus V [Oddo Colonna]: Italian Pope
- 1569Mark van Vaernewijck: Flemish nobleman / politician, dies at 50
- 1595Ernst: Archduke of Austria, dies at 41
- 1628Gregor Aichinger: German Composer / organist, dies at about 63
- 1656James Ussher: Irish bible Scholar / anglican Archbishop, dies at 76
- 1667David ben Samuel Halevi: Rabbi / Author (Shulchan Aruch)
- 1731Frederich Karl Erbach: Composer, dies at 50
- 1737Elizabeth Rowe: Poet
- 1746Guillaume Coustou, Sr.: French Sculptor (Mary Leszczynska), dies at 68
- 1773Charles Emanuel I: King of Sardinia / Duke of Savoy (CE III), dies at 71
- 1786Johann Wolfgang Kleinknecht: Composer, dies at 70
- 1788Gijsbert John van Hardenbroeck: Dutch regent (Utrecht), dies at 68
- 1790Joseph II: Emperor of Holy Roman empire, dies at 48
- 1809Johann Joseph Emmert: Composer, dies at 76
- 1810Johann Friedrich Kranz: Composer, dies at 57
- 1817Martin de Ron: Composer, dies at 27
- 1845Pavel Ivanovich Dulgorukov: Composer, dies at 57
- 1848[Willem] Alexander FCNM: Prince of the Netherlands / General Major, dies at 29
- 1851Josef Alois Ladurner: Composer, dies at 81
- 1855Joseph Hume: Social reformer
- 1860Henry Drummond: English banker / religious leader, dies at 69
- 1892Hermann Kopp: German chemist (Law of Kopp), dies at 74
- 1895Frederick Douglass: Escaped slave, anti-slavery leader, dies at 77
- 1904Gustav Adolf Heinze: Composer, dies at 83
- 1907[Ferdinand-Frederic-]Henri Moissan: Chemist (Nobel 1906), dies at 54
- 1910Boetros Ghali: Egyptian Premier, murdered
- 1911Alexander Alexandrovich Kopilov: Composer, dies at 56
- 1911Peter Nicolai von Wilm: Composer, dies at 76