February 15
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 , Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate President -elect Franklin D. Roosevelt , but instead shoots Chicago 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 , British 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 - 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 Canadian Red Ensign banner.
1970 - A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo killing 102
1971 - Decimalization 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 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 , was 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 failed.
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 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.
2004 - John Daly the PGA golfer, won 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 .
2005 - G4TechTv which is owned by Comcast closed their doors and turned back into G4
Births
1471 - Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici , ruler of Florence (d. 1503 )
1564 - Galileo Galilei , Tuscan astronomer , father of the scientific method (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 )
1809 - Cyrus McCormick , inventor (d. 1884 )
1812 - Charles Louis Tiffany , jeweler (d. 1902 )
1815 - Constantin von Tischendorf , Biblical scholar (d. 1874 )
1820 - Susan B. Anthony , feminist and suffragist (d. 1906 )
1825 - Carter Harrison, Sr. , mayor of Chicago (d. 1893 )
1835 - Demetrius Vikelas , Greek IOC president (d. 1908 )
1874 - Sir Ernest Shackleton , British polar explorer (d. 1922)
1883 - Sax Rohmer , author (d. 1959 )
1882 - John Barrymore , US actor (d. 1942 )
1892 - James Forrestal , first United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949 )
1895 - Earl Thomson , Canadian athlete
1898 - Allen Woodring , American sprinter
1899 - Georges Auric , French composer (d. 1983 )
1899 - Gale Sondergaard , actress (d. 1985 )
1905 - Harold Arlen , American composer (d. 1986 )
1907 - Jean Langlais , French composer and organist (d. 1991 )
1907 - Cesar Romero , actor (d. 1994 )
1908 - HAP Grieshaber , painter and graphic artist (d. 1981 )
1909 - Miep Gies , Anne Frank friend, biographer
1909 - Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes , Spanish football player (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 , former Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996 )
1922 - John Bayard Anderson , U.S Representative and presidential candidate
1923 - Keene Curtis , American actor (d. 2002 )
1926 - Dieter Lattmann , writer and politician
1927 - Harvey Korman , actor, comedian
1929 - Graham Hill , Formula One racer (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 )
1943 - Elke Heidenreich , journalist and writer
1946 - Marisa Berenson , American actress
1947 - Rusty Hamer , American actor (d. 1990 )
1948 - Ron Cey , American baseball player
1949 - Ken Anderson , American football quarterback
1951 - Melissa Manchester , singer
1951 - Jane Seymour , actress
1954 - Matt Groening , cartoonist
1960 - Mikey Craig , British musician (Culture Club )
1964 - Chris Farley , actor, comedian (d. 1997 )
1971 - Renée O'Connor , actress and director
1972 - Jaromir Jagr , ice hockey star
1973 - Sarah Wynter , Australian actress
1974 - Seattle Slew , Triple Crown -winning race horse (d. 2002 )
1974 - Ugueth Urbina , Venezuelan baseball pitcher
1976 - Brandon Boyd , American musician (Incubus )
1980 - Conor Oberst , singer/songwriter (Bright Eyes )
1986 - Tom Gray , comedian (The Oasis Show )
Deaths
1145 - Pope Lucius II
1637 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
1835 - Henry Hunt , British politician (b. 1773 )
1857 - Mikhail Glinka , Russian composer (b. 1804 )
1932 - Minnie Maddern Fiske , Broadway actress, (b. 1865 )
1964 - Robert L. Thornton , Dallas businessman, philanthropist and mayor (b. 1880 )
1965 - Nat King Cole , singer, musician (b. 1919 )
1967 - J. Frank Duryea , automobile pioneer
1973 - Wally Cox , actor
1973 - Tim Holt , American actor
1974 - Kurt Atterberg , composer
1981 - Mike Bloomfield , musician
1981 - Karl Richter , German conductor (b. 1926 )
1984 - Ethel Merman , singer, actress (b. 1908 )
1988 - Richard Feynman , physicist (b. 1918 )
1996 - Tommy Rettig , American actor
1996 - McLean Stevenson , American actor
1999 - Big L (Lamont Coleman) , rap musician
2002 - Howard K. Smith , journalist (b. 1914 )
2002 - Kevin Smith , actor (b. 1963 )
2004 - Jan Miner , actress (b. 1917 )
2004 - Jens Evensen , Norwegian minister, International Court of Justice judge (b. 1917 )
2005 - Samuel Francis , columnist
Holidays and observances
External links
February 14 - February 16 - January 15 - March 15 -- listing of all days
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