February 15

Updated on Nov 21, 2024

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Day of the week 2017 Wednesday Holidays & Observances Statehood Day		Western zodiac Aquarius
Events 2016 NBA All-Star Game, 2011 Brit Awards Famous birthdays Susan B Anthony, Gloria Trevi, Jaromír Jágr, Chris Farley, Doda

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February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 319 days remaining until the end of the year (320 in leap years). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday (58 in 400 years each) than on Saturday or Sunday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Thursday (56).

Events

590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.

706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

1113 – Pope Paschal II issues a bill sanctioning the establishment of the Order of Hospitallers.

1214 – During the Anglo-French War (1213–1214), an English invasion force lands at La Rochelle in France.

1493 – While on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.

1637 – Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

1690 – Constantin Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia, and the Holy Roman Empire sign a secret treaty in Sibiu, stipulating that Moldavia would support the actions led by the House of Habsburg against the Ottoman Empire.

1764 – The city of St. Louis is established in Spanish Louisiana (now in Missouri, USA).

1798 – The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier.

1804 – The Serbian Revolution begins.

1835 – The first constitutional law in modern Serbia is adopted.

1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

1870 – Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, USA and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering.

1879 – Women's rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.

1891 – Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) (Swedish Sports Club) is founded.

1898 – The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.

1901 – The association football club Alianza Lima is founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza.

1909 – The Flores Theater fire in Acapulco, Mexico kills 250.

1921 – Kingdom of Romania establishes its legation in Helsinki.

1923 – Greece becomes the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar.

1925 – The 1925 serum run to Nome: The second delivery of serum arrives in Nome, Alaska.

1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate US 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: Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.

1944 – World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.

1944 – World War II: The Narva Offensive begins.

1945 – World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden.

1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

1949 – Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.

1952 – King George VI of the United Kingdom is buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

1954 – Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska.

1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members.

1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.

1971 – The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.

1972 – Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.

1972 – José María Velasco Ibarra, serving as President of Ecuador for the fifth time, is overthrown by the military for the fourth time.

1982 – The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.

1989 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.

1991 – The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.

1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.

1996 – At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing many people.

2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.

2003 – Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million to 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.

2012 – Three hundred sixty people die in a fire at a Honduran prison in the city of Comayagua.

2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.

Births

1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (d. 1414)

1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (d. 1490)

1471 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (d. 1503)

1506 – Juliana of Stolberg, German countess (d. 1580)

1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1642)

1571 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (d. 1621)

1612 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French soldier, founded Montreal (d. 1676)

1705 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)

1710 – Louis XV of France (d. 1774)

1725 – Abraham Clark, American surveyor, lawyer, and politician (d. 1794)

1734 – William Stacy, American colonel (d. 1802)

1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Paris Bourse (d. 1813)

1748 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)

1759 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and critic (d. 1824)

1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer and educator (d. 1837)

1797 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (d. 1871)

1809 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (d. 1857)

1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American journalist and businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)

1811 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian journalist and politician, 7th President of Argentina (d. 1888)

1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (d. 1902)

1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist and activist (d. 1906)

1825 – Carter Harrison, Sr., American lawyer and politician, 29th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)

1834 – V. A. Urechia, Moldavian-Romanian historian, author, and playwright (d. 1901)

1835 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and philanthropist (d. 1908)

1840 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian philosopher, academic, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1917)

1841 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (d. 1913)

1845 – Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)

1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1927)

1849 – Rickman Godlee, English surgeon and academic (d. 1925)

1850 – Sophie Bryant, Irish mathematician, academic and activist (d. 1922)

1851 – Spiru Haret, Romanian mathematician, astronomer, and politician, 55th Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs (d. 1912)

1856 – Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1926)

1861 – Martin Burns, American wrestler and coach (d. 1937)

1861 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)

1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1947)

1873 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-Swiss biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)

1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish captain and explorer (d. 1922)

1883 – Sax Rohmer, English-American author (d. 1959)

1890 – Robert Ley, German politician (d. 1945)

1892 – James Forrestal, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)

1892 – Roy Rene, Australian comedian (d. 1954)

1896 – Arthur Shields, Irish republican and actor (d. 1970)

1897 – Gerrit Kleerekoper, Jewish-Dutch gymnast and coach (d. 1943)

1898 – Totò, Italian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1967)

1899 – Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)

1899 – Gale Sondergaard, Danish-American actress (d. 1985)

1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist and manager (d. 1983)

1905 – Harold Arlen, Jewish-American composer (d. 1986)

1907 – Jean Langlais, French organist and composer (d. 1991)

1907 – Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)

1908 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1980)

1909 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian, helped hide Anne Frank and her family (d. 2010)

1910 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian, Righteous Gentile (d. 2008)

1912 – George Mikes, Jewish Hungarian-English journalist and author (d. 1987)

1913 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (d. 1997)

1914 – Hale Boggs, American lawyer and politician (d. 1972)

1914 – Kevin McCarthy, Jewish-Irish American actor (d. 2010)

1916 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)

1918 – Allan Arbus, Jewish-American actor and photographer (d. 2013)

1918 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)

1919 – Ducky Detweiler, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)

1920 – Endicott Peabody, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)

1920 – Eio Sakata, Japanese Go player (d. 2010)

1922 – John B. Anderson, Swedish-American lawyer and politician

1923 – Yelena Bonner, Jewish Soviet-Russian activist (d. 2011)

1924 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (d. 2014)

1925 – Angella D. Ferguson, American pediatrician

1927 – Frank Dunlop, English actor and director

1927 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (d. 2008)

1927 – Yehoshua Neuwirth, Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2013)

1928 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (d. 2014)

1928 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (d. 2014)

1929 – Graham Hill, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1975)

1929 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2014)

1930 – Bruce Dawe, Australian poet and academic

1931 – Claire Bloom, English actress

1931 – Jonathan Steele, English journalist and author

1934 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)

1934 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (d. 2005)

1934 – Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist, created the Pascal programming language

1934 – Abe Woodson, American football player and minister (d. 2014)

1935 – Susan Brownmiller, American journalist and author

1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)

1935 – Gene Hickerson, American football player (d. 2008)

1937 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author (d. 2008)

1937 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)

1940 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2007)

1940 – John Hadl, American football player and coach

1940 – Hamzah Haz, Indonesian journalist and politician, 9th Vice President of Indonesia

1940 – Vaino Vahing, Estonian psychiatrist, author, and playwright (d. 2008)

1941 – Florinda Bolkan, Brazilian actress

1941 – Brian Holland, American songwriter and producer

1944 – Mick Avory, English drummer

1945 – Jack Dann, American-Australian author and poet

1945 – John Helliwell, English saxophonist and keyboard player

1945 – Douglas Hofstadter, American author and academic

1946 – Clare Short, English civil servant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development

1947 – John Adams, American composer

1947 – Marisa Berenson, American model and actress

1948 – Art Spiegelman, Swedish-American cartoonist and critic

1949 – Ken Anderson, American football quarterback and coach

1951 – Markku Alén, Finnish race car driver

1951 – Melissa Manchester, American singer-songwriter and actress

1951 – Jane Seymour, English-American actress, producer, and jewelry designer

1952 – Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian politician, 4th President of Serbia

1952 – Nikolai Sorokin, Russian actor and director (d. 2013)

1953 – Tony Adams, Irish-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)

1954 – Matt Groening, American animator, producer, and screenwriter

1955 – Janice Dickinson, American model, agent, and author

1955 – Christopher McDonald, American actor

1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricketer and coach

1956 – Ann Westin, Swedish comedian

1957 – Jake E. Lee, American guitarist and songwriter

1957 – Jimmy Spencer, American race car driver and sportscaster

1958 – Chrystine Brouillet, Canadian author

1958 – Tony McKegney, Canadian ice hockey player

1958 – Matthew Ward, American singer-songwriter

1959 – Adam Boulton, English journalist

1959 – Ali Campbell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

1959 – Brian Propp, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster

1959 – Martin Rowson, English author and illustrator

1959 – Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian wrestler and sportscaster

1960 – Darrell Green, American football player

1960 – Jock Hobbs, New Zealand rugby player

1962 – Milo Đukanović, Montenegrin politician, 29th Prime Minister of Montenegro

1964 – Chris Farley, American comedian and actor (d. 1997)

1964 – Leland D. Melvin, American engineer and astronaut

1964 – Mark Price, American basketball player and coach

1965 – Craig Matthews, South African cricketer

1967 – Jane Child, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer

1967 – Syed Kamall, English academic and politician

1967 – Craig Simpson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster

1969 – Birdman, American rapper and producer

1971 – Alex Borstein, American actress, voice artist, producer, and screenwriter

1971 – Renee O'Connor, American actress, director, and producer

1972 – Jaromír Jágr, Czech ice hockey player

1973 – Kateřina Neumannová, Czech skier

1973 – Amy van Dyken, American swimmer

1974 – Miranda July, American actress, director, and screenwriter

1974 – Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball player

1974 – Alexander Wurz, Austrian race car driver and businessman

1975 – Serge Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

1975 – Annemarie Kramer, Dutch sprinter

1975 – Brendon Small, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor

1976 – Brandon Boyd, American singer-songwriter

1976 – Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist

1979 – Josh Low, English footballer

1979 – Hamish Marshall, New Zealand cricketer

1979 – James Marshall, New Zealand cricketer

1979 – Scott Severin, Scottish footballer

1979 – Gordon Shedden, Scottish race car driver

1980 – Conor Oberst, American singer-songwriter

1981 – Matt Hoopes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1981 – Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner

1981 – Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer

1981 – Vivek Shraya, Canadian singer and songwriter

1982 – Shameka Christon, American basketball player

1982 – James Yap, Filipino basketball player

1983 – Don Cowie, Scottish footballer

1983 – David Degen, Swiss footballer

1983 – Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer

1983 – Alan Didak, Australian footballer

1983 – Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player

1985 – Serkan Kırıntılı, Turkish footballer

1986 – Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer

1986 – Johnny Cueto, Dominican baseball player

1987 – Jarrod Sammut, Australian rugby league player

1988 – Jarryd Hayne, Australian rugby league player and football player

1988 – Hironori Kusano, Japanese singer and actor

1988 – Tim Mannah, Australian rugby league player

1988 – Rui Patrício, Portuguese footballer

1990 – Charles Pic, French race car driver

1991 – Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer

1992 – Johanna Hyoty, Finnish tennis player

Deaths

670 – Oswiu of Northumbria (b. 612)

706 – Leontios, Byzantine emperor

706 – Tiberios III, Byzantine emperor

1145 – Pope Lucius II

1152 – Conrad III of Germany (b. 1093)

1382 – William de Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk (b. c. 1339)

1417 – Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English commander (b. 1385)

1508 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, tyrant of Bologna (b. 1443)

1621 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1571)

1637 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1578)

1738 – Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)

1781 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1729)

1818 – Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (b. 1746)

1835 – Henry Hunt, English farmer and politician (b. 1773)

1839 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian rebel (b. 1803)

1842 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (b. 1754)

1844 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)

1847 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (b. 1794)

1848 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1771)

1849 – Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician and theorist (b. 1804)

1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)

1869 – Ghalib, Indian poet and educator (b. 1796)

1885 – Gregor von Helmersen, Estonian-Russian geologist and engineer (b. 1803)

1897 – Dimitrie Ghica, Romanian lawyer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1816)

1905 – Lew Wallace, American general and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (b. 1827)

1911 – Theodor Escherich, German-Austrian pediatrician and academic (b. 1859)

1924 – Lionel Monckton, English composer (b. 1861)

1928 – H. H. Asquith, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1852)

1932 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress and playwright (b. 1865)

1933 – Pat Sullivan, Australian animator and producer, co-created Felix the Cat (b. 1887)

1935 – Basil Hall Chamberlain, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1850)

1939 – Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Russian painter and author (b. 1878)

1956 – Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French lawyer and politician (b. 1878)

1959 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)

1961 – Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)

1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and pianist (b. 1919)

1966 – Gerard Antoni Ciołek, Polish architect and historian (b. 1909)

1966 – Camilo Torres Restrepo, Colombian priest and theologian (b. 1929)

1967 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-American actor and director (b. 1887)

1970 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish air marshal (b. 1882)

1973 – Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)

1973 – Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)

1974 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer and engineer (b. 1887)

1981 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1943)

1981 – Karl Richter, German organist and conductor (b. 1926)

1984 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (b. 1910)

1984 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (b. 1908)

1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)

1992 – María Elena Moyano, Peruvian activist (b. 1960)

1992 – William Schuman, American composer and academic (b. 1910)

1996 – McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)

1998 – Martha Gellhorn, American journalist and author (b. 1908)

1999 – Henry Way Kendall, American physicist and mountaineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)

2000 – Angus MacLean, Canadian commander and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (b. 1914)

2002 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (b. 1914)

2002 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)

2004 – Jens Evensen, Norwegian lawyer, judge, and politician, Norwegian Minister of Trade (b. 1917)

2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)

2005 – Samuel T. Francis, American historian and journalist (b. 1947)

2007 – Walker Edmiston, American actor (b. 1925)

2007 – Ray Evans, American songwriter (b. 1915)

2008 – Johnny Weaver, American wrestler and sportscaster (b. 1935)

2010 – Jeanne M. Holm, American general (b. 1921)

2012 – Cyril Domb, English-Israel physicist and academic (b. 1920)

2013 – Sanan Kachornprasart, Thai general and politician (b. 1935)

2013 – Ahmed Rajib Haider, Bangladeshi atheist blogger

2014 – Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1924)

2014 – Christopher Malcolm, Scottish-Canadian actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)

2015 – Haron Amin, Afghan diplomat, Afghan Ambassador to Japan

2015 – Arnaud de Borchgrave, American journalist and author (b. 1926)

2015 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1979)

2016 – George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (b. 1917)

2016 – Vanity, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (b. 1959)

2017 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio broadcaster (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

Blessed Michał Sopoćko

Claude de la Colombière

Faustinus and Jovita

Quinidius

Sigfrid of Sweden

Thomas Bray (Episcopal Church)

February 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Earliest day on which Family Day can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (parts of Canada)

Earliest day on which Washington's Birthday can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (United States)

Candlemas (Eastern Orthodox Church)

International Duties Memorial Day (Russia, regional)

International Childhood Cancer Day

John Frum Day (Vanuatu)

Liberation Day (Afghanistan)

National Flag of Canada Day (Canada)

Parinirvana Day, also celebrated on February 8. (Mahayana Buddhism)

Statehood Day (Serbia)

Susan B. Anthony Day (Florida, United States)

The ENIAC Day (Philadelphia)

Total Defence Day (Singapore)

References

February 15 Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA