February 18, 1780

1780 Stephen Heard took office as president of the patriot government’s Executive Council -- an office equivalent to that of governor after the Revolution.

February 18, 1833

1833 Confederate general James Deshler was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. After graduating from West Point in 1854, he served cavalry duty in the West. In 1861, Deshler resigned his U.S. Army commission to become an artillery captain and later colonel in Confederate service. In July 1863, Deshler was promoted to brigadier general and given command of his own brigade in Cleburne’s Division. He was killed in the Battle of Chickamauga on Sept. 20, 1863.

February 18, 1854

1854 Gov. Herschel Johnson signed legislation establishing Charlton County as Georgia’s 111th county. Created from portions of Camden County, the new county was named for Georgia U.S. Senator Robert M. Charlton of Savannah. Charlton, who served two years (1852-53), had been elected by the legislature to fill the seat of John Berrien, who resigned in 1852.

February 18, 1854

Georgia cities and towns first incorporated by acts approved by the governor on Feb. 18:

1854 Palmetto (then Campbell, now Fulton County), Swainsboro (Emanuel County), and Vienna (Dooly County)

February 18, 1861

1861 In Montgomery, Ala., Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens were inaugurated as provisional president and vice president of the Confederate States of America.

February 18, 1862

1862 In Richmond, Va., Georgia’s delegation to the First Confederate Congress was sworn into office. Representing Georgia’s ten congressional districts were: Julian Hartridge (1st), Charles J. Munnerlyn (2nd), Hines Holt (3rd), Augustus Kenan (4th), David Lewis (5th), William Clarke (6th), Robert Trippe (7th), Lucius Gartrell (8th), Hardy Strickland (9th), and Augustus Wright (10th).

February 18, 1879

1879 Confederate general Robert Hall Chilton died in Columbus, Ga. Born Feb. 25, 1815 in Loudoun City, Va., he graduated from West Point in 1837. During the Mexican War, Chilton was a captain of Dragoons, later serving as a paymaster. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and was given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army’s Adjutant and Inspector General’s Department. Chilton served as Robert E. Lee’s chief of staff and given the temporary rank of brigadier general (confirmed in Feb. 1864). After the war, Chilton became involved in manufacturing.

February 18, 1937

1937 Former Gov. Lamartine Hardman died in Atlanta. [Some sources cite Feb. 19.] Born in Harmony Grove (now Commerce), Ga, Hardman began his career in the field of medicine, where he was innovative in further developing the field of anesthesiology begun by fellow-Georgian Crawford Long. Hardman was also a very successful businessman, owning cotton and roller mills, a bank, a drug company, and founding the Commerce Telephone Company.

Hardman was first elected to the Georgia legislature in 1902. He served as both a representative and senator over the course of the next ten years, primarily sponsoring agricultural legislation. He also introduced the bill creating a state board of health, and wrote Georgia’s prohibition statute. After serving in the General Assembly, Hardman served as Georgia’s fuel administrator during World War I and also directed the Georgia Experiment Station in Griffin. In 1926, Hardman was elected governor after two unsuccessful attempts. He won reelection despite being seventy-six years old and in ill health. His terms as governor were noted primarily for promoting business-like efficiency in government through appointment of the Commission on Simplification and Coordination, headed by Ivan Allen, Sr.

February 18, 1960

1960 Gov. Ernest Vandiver signed legislation making it unlawful to refuse to leave a business upon request by the owner or manager of such establishment. The General Assembly enacted the law in response to the growing wave of sit-ins in the civil rights movement.

February 18, 1960

1960 Future University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt was born in Boca Raton, FL.

February 18, 1984

1984 Joe Bennett, Jimmy Carnes, George Griffin, Roger Kaiser, Oscar Keller, Mel Pender, and Bill Stanfill were inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

February 18, 1989

1989 Danny Birchmore, Joe Geri, Jimmy Hightower, Wallace Moses, Randy Rhino, Ken Rice, and L.W. (Chip) Robert Jr., were inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.