Today in History for 17th February 2026

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Historical Events

1865 - Union forces led by William T. Sherman capture the state capital of Columbia, South Carolina. The city is ablaze by nightfall, fanned by high winds devastating much of the city. It is not known which side started the fires.
1955 - KTVF TV channel 11 in Fairbanks, AK (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
1967 - Kosmos 140 (Soyuz Test) launches into Earth orbit
1987 - New York Yankees Don Mattingly wins highest salary arbitration ($1,975,000 per year)
2017 - Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal "GSA Today"

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Famous Birthdays

1774 - Raphaelle Peale, American painter (After the Rain, 1823), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 1825)
1945 - Roy Black, American defense attorney known for representing William Kennedy Smith and Jeffrey Epstein, born in Forest Hills, New York (d. 2025)
1950 - Rickey Medlocke, American rock guitarist, vocalist, and drummer (Blackfoot, 1969-97 - "Highway Song"' "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme"; Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1971-72 and 1996-present), born in Jackson, Florida
1968 - Aaron Blaise, American animator, painter, and film director (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Brother Bear, The Lion King), born in Burlington, Vermont
1969 - David Klingler, American NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders, Cin Bengals), born in Houston, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1612 - Ernest of Bavaria, Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne, dies at 57
1951 - Nikoghayos Fadeyi Tigranyan, Armenian composer, dies at 94
1997 - Zein Isa, Palestinian militant imprisoned in the United States for the honor killing of his daughter
2003 - Frank Thistlethwaite, English academic and Vice Chancellor (University of East Anglia), dies at 87
2025 - Gerd Stern, American poet of the Beat era, multi-media artist (USCO), and cheese monger, dies at 96

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