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
   * 1805 - Harmony Society officially formed
   * 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, astronomer, father of the Scientific method and
     "modern" Science (+ 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 - RenŽe 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