Date·Lore

On This Day · The 49th day of the year

February 18

February 18 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1637 and 2014. Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.

♒ZodiacAquarius ◈BirthstoneAmethyst ❀Birth flowerViolet

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on February 18?

February 18 is the 49th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1637 and 2014. Famous people born on February 18 include Alessandro Volta, Dr. Dre and Fabrizio De André.

The shape of the day

25 years on from Federal Bureau of Investigation, February 18 is a date with an anniversary worth pausing on. Most of the weight falls in the 21st century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

Aquarius is the sign for February 18 — read more on the Aquarius page, or see February's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on February 18

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown
  • TV 56 Days

2025

  • Game Avowed
  • Game Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
  • TV The First Frost

2022

  • Game Horizon Forbidden West

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1637

    Eighty Years' War

    Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.

  2. 1873

    Bulgaria

    Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.

  3. 1930

    January

    While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.

  4. 1957

    Kenya

    Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.

  5. 1977

    Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire

    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.

  6. 2001

    Federal Bureau of Investigation

    FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

  7. 2001

    Sampit conflict

    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.

  8. 2010

    WikiLeaks

    WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.

  9. 2013

    Brussels Airport diamond heist

    Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.

  10. 2014

    Revolution of Dignity

    Revolution of Dignity: At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Famous birthday twins

Born on February 18

Alessandro Volta

b. 1745

Italian physicist, invented the battery

Dr. Dre

b. 1965

American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur

Fabrizio De André

b. 1940

Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Roman Neustädter

b. 1988

German-Russian footballer

Cody Hodgson

b. 1990

Canadian ice hockey player

Miloš Forman

b. 1932

Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter

George Henschel

b. 1850

German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor

Hedwig Courths-Mahler

b. 1867

German writer

Deaths

  • 1873Vasil Levski
  • 1564Michelangelo
  • 1546Martin Luther
  • 1455Fra Angelico
  • 1294Kublai Khan

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

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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