On This Day for February 18 - Pluto discovered by Clyde Tombaugh, Toni Morrison is featured, and more

Created: 2020-02-18 11:02 Updated: 2020-02-18 11:02 Notebook: On this Day in History

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February 18

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

1931

Toni Morrison

True-colour image of Pluto, created from telescopic data collected between 1985 and 1990 during a period of mutual eclipses of Pluto and its moon Charon. Pluto's slightly reddish hue indicates that its surface does not comprise pure ices, though the nature of the material responsible for the colour remains to be determined.

FEATURED EVENT

1930

Pluto discovered by Clyde Tombaugh

MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2010: The Web site WikiLeaks began posting classified U.S. government documents provided by army intelligence analyst Bradley (later Chelsea) Manning; it was believed to be the largest unauthorized release of state secrets in U.S. history.

2006: American speed skater Shani Davis became the first black athlete to win an individual Winter Olympics gold medal when he placed first in the men's 1,000-metre long-track final at the Games in Turin, Italy. [ Test your knowledge of the Olympics .]

2001: American stock-car racer Dale Earnhardt, Sr., died from injuries suffered during a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500. [ From curling to car racing, sort through the facts in our sports quiz .]

1933: Japanese artist and musician Yoko Ono, who became internationally famous as the wife and artistic partner of musician John Lennon, was born.

Vase of Favrile glass made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York City, 1896; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

1848: Louis Comfort Tiffany—an American designer internationally recognized as one of the greatest proponents of Art Nouveau, particularly in the art of glassmaking—was born.

1836: Hindu religious leader Ramakrishna, who founded a school of thought that united diverse mystical traditions into a single belief system, was born in Hooghly, Bengal state, India. [ Test your knowledge of Hinduism .]

SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1965

Dr. Dre
American rapper, hip-hop producer, and entrepreneur

1516

Mary I
queen of England

1933

Yoko Ono
Japanese artist and musician

1950

John Hughes
American film director

1898

Enzo Ferrari
Italian automobile manufacturer