February 15
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
\n* 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.\n* 1764 - The American city of St. Louis is established.\n* 1805 - Harmony Society officially formed.\n* 1852 - Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits first patient.\n* 1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.\n* 1879 - Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneyss to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.\n* 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. \n* 1903 - Morris Michtom and his wife Rose introduce the first teddy bear in America.\n* 1906 - The British Labour Party is organized.\n* 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. \n* 1942 - World War II: Singapore surrenders to Japanese forces.\n* 1944 - World War II: Assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.\n* 1950 - The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.\n* 1953 - 17-year-old Tenley Albright becomes the first American to win the world figure skating championship. \n* 1961 - A Boeing 707 crashes in Belgium killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches.\n* 1965 - A new red and white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada replacing the old Red Ensign standard.\n* 1970 - A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo killing 102\n* 1971 - Decimalization of British coinage completed.\n* 1982 - The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers.\n* 1989 - Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops had left Afghanistan. \n* 1991 - The Visegard Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.\n* 1995 - Hacking: Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the FBI and charged with breaking into some of the United States' most "secure" computer systems.\n*2000 - Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator failed.\n* 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
\n* 1564 - Galileo Galilei, astronomer, father of the Scientific method and "modern" Science (d. 1642)\n* 1710 - King Louis XV of France (d. 1774)\n* 1759 - Friedrich August Wolf, philologist and archaeologist (d. 1824)\n* 1803 - John Sutter, California pioneer (d. 1880)\n* 1812 - Charles Louis Tiffany, jeweler (d. 1902)\n* 1815 - Constantin von Tischendorf, Biblical scholar (d. 1874)\n* 1820 - Susan B. Anthony, feminist and suffragist (d. 1906)\n* 1835 - Demetrius Vikelas, Greek IOC president (d. 1908)\n* 1883 - Sax Rohmer, author (d. 1959)\n* 1882 - John Barrymore, actor (d. 1942)\n* 1892 - James Forrestal, first United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)\n* 1895 - Earl Thomson, Canadian athlete\n* 1898 - Allen Woodring, American sprinter\n* 1899 - Georges Auric, composer, member of Les Six (d. 1983)\n* 1899 - Gale Sondergaard, actress (d. 1985)\n* 1907 - Cesar Romero, actor (d. 1994)\n* 1908 - HAP Grieshaber, painter and graphic artist (d. 1981)\n* 1909 - Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes, Spanish football player (d. 1966)\n* 1909 - Miep Gies, Anne Frank friend, biographer\n* 1922 - John Bayard Anderson, U.S Representative and presidential candidate\n* 1926 - Dieter Lattmann, writer and politician\n* 1927 - Harvey Korman, actor, comedian\n* 1929 - Graham Hill, Formula One racer (d. 1975)\n* 1934 - Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist\n* 1942 - Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea\n* 1943 - Elke Heidenreich, journalist and writer\n* 1951 - Melissa Manchester, singer\n* 1951 - Jane Seymour, actress\n* 1954 - Matt Groening, cartoonist\n* 1964 - Chris Farley, actor, comedian (d. 1997)\n* 1971 - Renée O'Connor, actress and director\n* 1972 - Jaromir Jagr, ice hockey star\n* 1974 - Seattle Slew, Triple Crown-winning race horse (d. 2002)\n* 1974 - Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
Deaths
\n* 1145 - Pope Lucius II\n* 1964 - Robert L. Thornton, Dallas businessman, philanthropist and mayor (b. 1880)\n* 1965 - Nat King Cole, singer, musician (b. 1919)\n* 1967 - J. Frank Duryea, automobile pioneer\n* 1973 - Wally Cox, actor\n* 1974 - Kurt Atterberg, composer\n* 1981 - Mike Bloomfield, musician\n* 1984 - Ethel Merman, singer, actress (b. 1908)\n* 1988 - Richard Feynman, physicist (b. 1918)\n* 2002 - Kevin Smith, actor (not 'Silent Bob', the actor/director of Dogma, Mallrats, Chasing Amy etc.) (b. 1963)\n* 2002 - Howard K. Smith, journalist (b. 1914)\n* 2004 - Jan Miner, actress (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances
\n* Roman Empire - Lupercalia in honor of Faunus\n* Jon Frum - Jon Frum Day
February 14 -
February 16 -
January 15 -
March 15 --
listing of all days
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