Today in History: February 18, Dale Earnhardt Sr. dies in Daytona crash

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2026. There are 316 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 18, 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500; he was 49.

Also on this date:

In 1885, Mark Twain's ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' was published in the U.S.

In 1930, the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.

In 1970, the ''Chicago Seven'' defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).

In 1994, in the final race of his Olympic career at the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen broke the world record in the 1,000 meters, winning the gold medal.

In 2001, veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia. (Hanssen later pleaded guilty to espionage and attempted espionage and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; he died in prison in 2023.)

In 2003, an arson attack involving two South Korean subway trains in the city of Daegu claimed nearly 200 lives.

In 2013, some $42 million (40 million euros) worth of diamonds and other gems were stolen at Brussels' international airport by eight gunmen who cut through a perimeter fence, drove onto the tarmac and took the gemstones as they were being transferred from an armored car to a plane bound for Switzerland.

In 2021, the NASA rover Perseverance successfully landed on Mars, where it continues to explore the planet's surface.