February 15
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 319 days remaining (320 in leap years).
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Events
- 399 - The philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death.
- 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1764 - The city of St. Louis, Missouri 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 leads 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, Giuseppe Zangara 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: The Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
- 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 - Seventeen-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 Canadian Red Ensign banner.
- 1970 - A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo, killing 102
- 1971 - Decimalisation of British coinage completed on Decimal Day.
- 1980 - Television One and Television Two (formerly South Pacific Television) under the newly formed Television New Zealand goes to air for the first time
- 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 Visegrád 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.
- 1999 - Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers Party, is arrested in Kenya by Turkish agents.
- 2000 - Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator fails.
- 2002 - At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find that bodies that were supposed to have been cremated were in fact disposed of in the woods and buildings on the crematorium's property. The discovery reveals one of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.
- 2003 - Global protests aganinst the Iraq war occur in over 600 cities worldwide. Estimates from 10,000,000-15,000,000 make this the largest day of protest in history.
- 2004 - John Daly the PGA golfer, wins his first PGA TOUR event in 9 years by winning the Buick Invitational golf tournament on the first hole of a playoff in San Diego, California.
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Births
- 1458 - Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (d. 1490)
- 1471 - Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1503)
- 1543 - Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
- 1564 - Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and physicist (d. 1642)
- 1620 - François Charpentier, French archaeologist (d. 1702)
- 1705 - Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)
- 1710 - King Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
- 1739 - Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d. 1813)
- 1759 - Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and archaeologist (d. 1824)
- 1803 - John Sutter, California pioneer (d. 1880)
- 1809 - Cyrus McCormick, American inventor (d. 1884)
- 1812 - Charles Lewis Tiffany, American jeweler (d. 1902)
- 1815 - Constantin von Tischendorf, German Biblical scholar (d. 1874)
- 1820 - Susan B. Anthony, American feminist and suffragist (d. 1906)
- 1825 - Carter Harrison, Sr., Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)
- 1835 - Demetrius Vikelas, Greek International Olympic Committee president (d. 1908)
- 1845 - Elihu Root, American statesman and diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1937)
- 1847 - Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (d. 1927)
- 1856 - Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist (d. 1926)
- 1861 - Charles Edouard Guillaume, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
- 1873 - Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
- 1874 - Sir Ernest Shackleton, British polar explorer (d. 1922)
- 1882 - John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942)
- 1883 - Sax Rohmer, English author (d. 1959)
- 1892 - James Forrestal, first United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
- 1895 - Earl Thomson, Canadian athlete (d. 1971)
- 1896 - Arthur Shields, Irish actor (d. 1970)
- 1898 - Totò, Italian actor, writer, and composer (d. 1967)
- 1898 - Allen Woodring, American runner (d. 1982)
- 1899 - Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)
- 1899 - Gale Sondergaard, American actress (d. 1985)
- 1905 - Harold Arlen, American composer (d. 1986)
- 1907 - Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (d. 1991)
- 1907 - Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1909 - Miep Gies, Dutch biographer of Anne Frank
- 1909 - Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes, Spanish footballer (d. 1966)
- 1914 - Hale Boggs, American politician (d. 1972)
- 1914 - Kevin McCarthy, American actor
- 1916 - Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1918 - Allan Arbus, American actor
- 1919 - Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
- 1922 - John Bayard Anderson, U.S Congressman and presidential candidate
- 1927 - Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian
- 1929 - Graham Hill, British race car driver (d. 1975)
- 1929 - James Schlesinger, American politician
- 1931 - Claire Bloom, British actress
- 1934 - Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist
- 1935 - Susan Brownmiller, American feminist and writer
- 1935 - Roger Chaffee, astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1940 - John Hadl, American football player
- 1943 - Geoff Edwards, American television game show host
- 1946 - Marisa Berenson, American actress
- 1947 - Rusty Hamer, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1948 - Ron Cey, baseball player
- 1948 - Art Spiegelman, American cartoonist
- 1949 - Ken Anderson, American football player
- 1951 - Melissa Manchester, American singer
- 1951 - Jane Seymour, British actress
- 1954 - Matt Groening, American cartoonist
- 1955 - Christopher McDonald, American actor
- 1960 - Mikey Craig, British musician (Culture Club)
- 1964 - Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
- 1971 - Renée O'Connor, American actress and director
- 1972 - Jaromír Jágr, Czech hockey player
- 1973 - Sarah Wynter, Australian actress
- 1974 - Seattle Slew, American racehorse (d. 2002)
- 1974 - Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- 1976 - Brandon Boyd, American musician ("Incubus")
- 1979 - Alenka Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
- 1980 - Conor Oberst, American singer and songwriter (Bright Eyes)
- 1984 - Dorota Rabczewska, controversial Polish rock singer ("Virgin")
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Deaths
- 1145 - Pope Lucius II
- 1621 - Michael Praetorius, German composer
- 1637 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
- 1738 - Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)
- 1775 - Peter Dens, Belgian Catholic theologian (b. 1690)
- 1781 - Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German author and philosopher (b. 1729)
- 1818 - Friedrich Ludwig, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, Prussian general (b. 1746)
- 1835 - Henry Hunt, British politician (b. 1773)
- 1848 - Hermann von Boyen, Prussian field marshal (b. 1771)
- 1857 - Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)
- 1932 - Minnie Maddern Fiske, Broadway actress (b. 1865)
- 1959 - Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1964 - Robert L. Thornton, American businessman, philanthropist, and Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. 1880)
- 1965 - Nat King Cole, American singer and musician (b. 1919)
- 1973 - Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1973 - Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1974 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (b. 1887)
- 1981 - Mike Bloomfield, American musician (b. 1944)
- 1981 - Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
- 1984 - Ethel Merman, American singer and actress (b. 1908)
- 1988 - Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 1996 - Tommy Rettig, American actor (b. 1941)
- 1996 - McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1999 - Big L (Lamont Coleman), American rapper (b. 1974)
- 1999 - Henry Way Kendall, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2002 - Howard K. Smith, American journalist (b. 1914)
- 2002 - Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
- 2004 - Jens Evensen, Norwegian minister and International Court of Justice judge (b. 1917)
- 2004 - Jan Miner, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Samuel Francis, American journalist (b. 1947)
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Holidays and observances
- Roman Empire - Lupercalia in honor of Faunus
- Vanuatu - Jon Frum Day
- Flag Day in Canada
- National Day in Serbia
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External links
February 14 - February 16 - January 15 - March 15 -- listing of all days
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