February 15th
February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 319 days remaining (320 in leap years).
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
See also:
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
John Frum | Jon Frum | Peeps
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