Timeline February 1998

Events in February 1998 9

• 1902 – 1998 Halldor Laxness (1902-1998) Died 8 February 1998, aged 95 Halldor Laxness, the Icelandic novelist awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955 for works including Independent People, died on 8 February 1998. He remains Iceland's most celebrated writer.
• 1912 – 1998 Enoch Powell (1912-1998) Died 8 February 1998, aged 85 Enoch Powell, the British politician remembered chiefly for his 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech opposing mass immigration, died on 8 February 1998. He remained a divisive figure in British politics for the rest of his life.
• 1946 – 1998 Carl Wilson (1946-1998) Died 6 February 1998, aged 51 Carl Wilson, guitarist, singer, and the youngest founding member of the Beach Boys, died of lung cancer on 6 February 1998. His falsetto and guitar work anchored the band's sound across decades, including the landmark album Pet Sounds.
• 1957 – 1998 Falco Rock Me Amadeus The first German-speaking artist to score a number-one hit on the US Billboard charts.
• 1998 Second Olympic Gold at Nagano Won his second Olympic gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, with Oksana Kazakova — becoming the first and only male pair skater to win Olympic gold with two different partners.
• 1998 The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson dies Aged 51 The youngest Wilson brother dies of cancer.
• 1998 1998 Winter Olympics XVIII Winter Games - Nagano Snowboarding and curling returned as official sports. Winner: Germany.
• 1998 – present George Russell Mr. Consistency Mercedes driver and race winner; widely considered one of the grid’s elite modern talents.
• 1998 Aretha Franklin sings Nessun dorma at the Grammys Stand-in for Pavarotti Replaces an ill Luciano Pavarotti at a few minutes' notice.