Ralph Dale Earnhardt (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)

Dale Earnhardt is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history and was named as one of the NASCAR’s 50
Greatest Drivers class in 1998.

J. Robert Oppenheimer (April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was
an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of
the Manhattan Project‘s Los Alamos Laboratory during World
War II. He is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his
role in overseeing the development of the first nuclear weapons.

Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves Jr., military head of the Manhattan Project, with Oppenheimer in 1942.

The Trinity test was the first detonation of a nuclear device.

(TMZ) – Kevyn Major Howard, the actor best known for playing
Rafterman in the war movie Full Metal Jacket, has died.

Howard’s family told TMZ that he died at a Las Vegas hospital surrounded by loved ones on Friday, Feb. 14.

According to the outlet, Howard had been in hospital in the
weeks before his death due to respiratory issues. His official
cause of death, however, has yet to be determined.

1987

On February 15, 1961, the entire 18-member U.S. figure skating
team was killed in a plane crash in Berg-Kampenhout, Belgium.

The team was on its way to the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Among those killed in the crash was 16-year-old Laurence Owen,
who had won the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in the ladies’ division the previous month.

She was featured on the February 13, 1961, cover of Sports
Illustrated, which called her the “most exciting U.S. skater.”

Shortly after the 1961 crash, the U.S. Figure Skating Memorial
Fund was established; to date, it has provided financial
assistance to thousands of elite American skaters.

 
On Februa14, around the year A.D. 270, Valentine, a holy
priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, is said
to have been beheaded.

Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in
many unpopular and bloody campaigns.

Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the
army because of their strong attachment to their wives and
families.

To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the
decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages
for young lovers in secret.

   
1909