What Happened on February 15
Significant Events
- 399 BC Philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by the city of Athens for corrupting the minds of the youth of the city and for impiety
- 590 Khosrau II, the last great Sasanian king is crowned King of Persia
- 1763 Austria, Prussia & Saxony sign Treaty of Hubertusburg, marking the end of the French and Indian War and of the Seven Years War
- 1986 Ferdinand Marcos wins rigged presidential election in the Philippines
- 2001 First draft of the complete human genome is published in the journal "Nature"
- 2003 An estimated 6-11 million people around the world take to the streets to protest against war with Iraq
February 15 in Film & TV
- 2005 YouTube, Internet site on which videos may be shared and viewed by others, is launched in the United States
February 15 in Music
- 1941 Duke Ellington first records "Take the A Train"
February 15 in Sport
- 1932 US bobsled team member Eddie Eagan becomes only athlete to win gold in both Summer & Winter Olympics (1920 boxing gold)
Did You Know?
1st Teddy Bear introduced in America, made by Morris & Rose Michtom
On February 15, 1903
Galileo Galilei
Cyrus McCormick
Susan B. Anthony
Ernest Shackleton
Alfred Carlton Gilbert
Cesar RomeroWould You Believe?
Longest dream (REM sleep) on record, Bill Carskadon, Chicago (2:23)
On February 15, 1967
Famous Weddings
- 1867 Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky (45) weds Anna Snitkina at Trinity Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 1919 Author Maurice Maeterlinck (56) weds actress Renée Dahon (27) in Nice, France
- 1943 Model Bettie Page (19) weds high school sweetheart Billy Neal in Gallatin, Tennessee
- 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully (30) weds model Joan (not the actress) Crawford in California
- 1991 Baseball superstar George Brett (37) weds Leslie Davenport in Manhattan Beach, California
Henry Addington
H. H. Asquith
Nat King Cole
Kevin SmithFebruary in History
Ancient Dresden Reduced to Rubble
The blanket bombing of Dresden in East Germany which began on this day, cost thousands of lives and remains highly controversial.
February 13, 1945
Last Adventure of Captain Cook
Explorer James Cook was the first European to set foot on Hawaii, where he was thought to be a god. But he would never leave the island alive.
February 14, 1779
A Deadly Bite, Or King Tut's Revenge?
It was one of the most spectacular archaeological finds – but was the disturbed Tutankhamun a sleeping tiger?
February 16, 1923
Buried at Sea: The Casket That Carried JFK
John F. Kennedy's aides struggling to load the casket containing the slain President aboard Air Force One is an enduring image. But what happened to the casket?
February 18, 1966