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.
• 1797 - Battle of Cape St. Vincent - the United Kingdom maintains its naval superiority over France and Spain
• 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.
• 1852 - Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children[?], London, admits first patient
• 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.
• 1971 - Decimalization of British currency[?] 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.
• 2003 - Global protests against war on Iraq occur in over 600 cities worldwide.

Births

• 1564 - Galileo, father of modern Astronomy (+ 1642)
• 1710 - King Louis XV of France (+ 1774)
• 1759 - Friedrich August Wolf, philologist and archaeologist (+ 1824)
• 1803 - John Sutter, California pioneer (+ 1880)
• 1812 - Charles Louis Tiffany[?], jeweler (+ 1902)
• 1820 - Susan B. Anthony, feminist and suffragist[?]
• 1883 - Sax Rohmer, author (+ 1959)
• 1882 - John Barrymore, actor
• 1892 - James Forrestal, first United States Secretary of Defense (+ 1949)
• 1899 - Georges Auric, composer, member of Les Six (+ 1983)
• 1899 - Gale Sondergaard[?], actress (+ 1985)
• 1907 - Cesar Romero[?], actor (+ 1994)
• 1908 - HAP Grieshaber[?], painter and graphic artist (+ 1981)
• 1909 - Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes, Spanish football player
• 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 (+ 1975)
• 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 (+ 1997)
• 1971 - Renée O'Connor[?], actress and director
• 1972 - Jaromir Jagr, ice hockey star

Deaths

• 1965 - Nat King Cole, singer, musician
• 1967 - J. Frank Duryea[?], automobile pioneer
• 1973 - Wally Cox[?], actor
• 1981 - Mike Bloomfield[?], musician
• 1984 - Ethel Merman, singer, actress
• 1988 - Richard Feynman, physicist
• 2002 - Kevin Smith, actor
• 2002 - Howard K. Smith, journalist

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire - Lupercalia in honor of Faunus

February 14 - February 16 - January 15 - March 15 - Historical anniversaries