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, Illinois Mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
- 1942 - World War II: Singapore surrendered to Japanese forces. About 130,000 Indian, Australian and British troops became prisoners of war. The fall of Singapore was the largest surrender of British 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 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, 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.
Births
- 1564 - Galileo Galilei, Tuscan astronomer, father of the scientific method, born in Pisa (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, IL (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)
- 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)
- 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
- 1943 - Elke Heidenreich, journalist and writer
- 1949 - Ken Anderson, American football quarterback
- 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
- 1974 - Seattle Slew, Triple Crown-winning race horse (d. 2002)
- 1974 - Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
- 1980 - Conor Oberst, singer/songwriter (Bright Eyes)
Deaths
- 1145 - Pope Lucius II
- 1637 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1835 - Henry Hunt, British politician (b. 1773)
- 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
- 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)
- 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)
Holidays and observances
- Roman Empire - Lupercalia in honor of Faunus
- Jon Frum - Jon Frum Day
- Flag Day in Canada
- National Day in Serbia
February 14 - February 16 - January 15 - March 15 -- listing of all days