On February 18, 2010, the transparency organization WikiLeaks began publishing the first in what would become one of the largest classified disclosures in American history — a torrent of U.S. government documents provided by the Army intelligence analyst now known as Chelsea Manning. At…
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On February 18, 1979, NASCAR had its coming-out party. For the first time, the Daytona 500 was broadcast live from start to finish on national television, and it delivered in spectacular fashion. Richard Petty took advantage of a dramatic last-lap wreck between Donnie Allison…
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First published in the United Kingdom in 1884, Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” hit the book stores in the United States on February 18, 1885 as a sequel to Twain’s earlier novel, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” The novel is narrated by Huck…
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On February 17, 1944, U.S. forces launched a decisive assault on the Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, marking another critical step in the Central Pacific drive toward Japan. The operation—part of a broader campaign following the capture of Kwajalein earlier that month—reflected the…
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The presidential election of 1800 was one of the most pivotal and contentious moments in American political history, revealing both the strengths and weaknesses of the nation’s young electoral system. The contest between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both representing the Democratic-Republican Party, resulted…
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On February 17, 1820, hoping to end the question of the future of slavery in the United States, Congress introduced the Missouri Compromise. Henry Clay, a prominent statesman, orchestrated the compromise with the intent of preserving harmony in the Union by delicately balancing the…
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On February 16, 1959, Fidel Castro formally assumed the office of Prime Minister of Cuba, six weeks after the flight of Fulgencio Batista ended his military-backed regime. Batista had ruled Cuba as an elected president in the early 1940s. But after seizing power in…
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On February 16, 1923, British archaeologist Howard Carter opened the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, marking a landmark moment in Egyptology. This breakthrough was the result of years of excavation in the Valley of the Kings, driven by Carter’s firm belief that the tomb…
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Carsten Borchgrevink’s Southern Cross Expedition, which took place in 1898-1900, marked a significant chapter in Antarctic exploration. Borchgrevink, a Norwegian-born explorer, aimed to establish the first wintering-over party on the continent. Departing from London on the ship Southern Cross, the expedition included a diverse…
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On February 15, 1933, in Miami, a single handgun cracked through the warm evening air and altered the course of American political history. The target was President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. The man who would die instead was Anton J. Cermak, the sitting mayor of…
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