TODAY IN HISTORY

FEBRUARY 18

1929:Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor are the first thespians to win best actor and best actress awards, respectively, as the first Academy Awards are announced on the back of the newsletter of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The World War I drama Wings wins the equivalent of best picture. Nearly three months later, AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks will hand out the first Oscar statuettes at an awards ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

1885: Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is first published in the United States. The novel tells the story of Tom Sawyer's best friend, Huck, and runaway slave Jim, as they travel together down the Mississippi River by raft. Although often acclaimed as a masterpiece of American literature, Twain's novel has been controversial ever since its publication because of its inclusion of the racially charged language of the antebellum South.

1978: Taxicab driver Gordon Haller is the winner of the first Ironman triathlon — composed of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run — in Kona, Hawaii. Haller completes the grueling endurance championship, organized by John and Judy Collins, in 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds, becoming the original "Ironman."