February 15

Events

• 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1764 - The American city of St. Louis is established.
• 1805 - Harmony Society officially formed.
• 1852 - Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits first patient.
• 1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
• 1879 - Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
• 1898 - Spanish-American War: The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor, Cuba for then unknown reasons killing more than 260. This event led the United States to declare war on Spain.
• 1903 - Morris Michtom and his wife Rose introduce the first teddy bear in America.
• 1906 - The British Labour Party is organized.
• 1933 - In Miami, Florida a man attempts to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago, Illinois Mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
• 1942 - World War II: Singapore surrenders to Japanese forces.
• 1944 - World War II: Assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.
• 1950 - The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.
• 1953 - 17-year-old Tenley Albright becomes the first American to win the world figure skating championship.
• 1961 - A Boeing 707 crashes in Belgium killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches.
• 1965 - A new red and white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada replacing the old Red Ensign standard.
• 1970 - A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo killing 102
• 1971 - Decimalization of British coinage completed.
• 1982 - The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers.
• 1989 - Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops had left Afghanistan.
• 1991 - The Visegard Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
• 1995 - Hacking: Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the FBI and charged with breaking into some of the United States' most "secure" computer systems.
• 2000 - Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator failed.
• 2003 - Global protests against war on Iraq occur in over 600 cities worldwide. Estimates from 10,000,000-15,000,000 make this the largest day of protest in history.

Births

• 1564 - Galileo, astronomer, father of the Scientific method and "modern" Science, (d. 1642)
• 1710 - King Louis XV of France, (d. 1774)
• 1759 - Friedrich August Wolf, philologist and archaeologist, (d. 1824)
• 1803 - John Sutter, California pioneer, (d. 1880)
• 1812 - Charles Louis Tiffany, jeweler, (d. 1902)
• 1815 - Constantin von Tischendorf, Biblical scholar, (d. 1874)
• 1820 - Susan B. Anthony, feminist and suffragist, (d. 1906)
• 1835 - Demetrius Vikelas, Greek IOC president, (d. 1908)
• 1883 - Sax Rohmer, author, (d. 1959)
• 1882 - John Barrymore, actor, (d. 1942)
• 1892 - James Forrestal, first United States Secretary of Defense, (d. 1949)
• 1899 - Georges Auric, composer, member of Les Six, (d. 1983)
• 1899 - Gale Sondergaard, actress, (d. 1985)
• 1907 - Cesar Romero, actor, (d. 1994)
• 1908 - HAP Grieshaber, painter and graphic artist, (d. 1981)
• 1909 - Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes, Spanish football player, (d. 1966)
• 1909 - Miep Gies, Anne Frank friend, biographer
• 1922 - John Bayard Anderson, U.S Representative and presidential candidate
• 1926 - Dieter Lattmann, writer and politician
• 1927 - Harvey Korman, actor, comedian
• 1929 - Graham Hill, Formula One racer, (d. 1975)
• 1934 - Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist
• 1942 - Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea
• 1943 - Elke Heidenreich, journalist and writer
• 1951 - Melissa Manchester, singer
• 1951 - Jane Seymour, actress
• 1954 - Matt Groening, cartoonist
• 1964 - Chris Farley, actor, comedian, (d. 1997)
• 1971 - Renée O'Connor, actress and director
• 1972 - Jaromir Jagr, ice hockey star

Deaths

• 1965 - Nat King Cole, singer, musician, (b. 1919)
• 1967 - J. Frank Duryea, automobile pioneer
• 1973 - Wally Cox, actor
• 1981 - Mike Bloomfield, musician
• 1984 - Ethel Merman, singer, actress, (b. 1908)
• 1988 - Richard Feynman, physicist, (b. 1918)
• 2002 - Kevin Smith, actor (not 'Silent Bob', the actor/director of Dogma, Mallrats, Chasing Amy etc.), (b. 1963)
• 2002 - Howard K. Smith, journalist, (b. 1914)
• 2004 - Jan Miner, actress (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire - Lupercalia in honor of Faunus

February 14 - February 16 - January 15 - March 15 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By