February 18 is the 49th day of the year.
The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.
Read more at brainyquote.com
National “Drink Wine” Day
1546 – Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, died in Eiselben, Germany.
The artist Michelangelo died in Rome in 1564. Several scholars have described Michelangelo as the greatest artist of his age and even as the greatest artist of all time. Examples of his work can be found at Wikiart.org including painting (the Sistine Chapel) and sculptures (David).
In 1678, John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” was published.
1885 – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was published in the United States. Now in public domain and available at Nextdoorestore.com
1913 – Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country. President Madero of Mexico was overthrown in a coup by General Victoriano Huerta. Under the 1857 Constitution of Mexico, the vice-president, the attorney general, the foreign minister and then the interior minister stood next in line to the presidency. As well as Madero, Huerta had ousted Vice-President José María Pino Suárez and Attorney General Adolfo Valles Baca. To give the coup d’état some appearance of legality, he had Lascuráin, as foreign minister, assume the presidency, appoint him (Huerta) as his interior minister – making Huerta next in line to the presidency. Pedro Lascuráin then resigned, Huerta became president.
February 18, 1930 – Clyde Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet Pluto.
Seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt died in an accident during the Daytona 500, on February 18, 2001.