399BC Athenian philosopher Socrates' teaching was held by the authorities to be disruptive. Accused on charges of impiety and corruption of youth, Socrates was found guilty as charged on February 15, 399 BC, and sentenced to drink hemlock. He spent his last days in prison amongst fellow philosophers and consoling friends before drinking the hemlock potion.
0 The idea of a mid-February romantic celebration may have been inspired by the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia on February 15. The festival which originated in pre-Christian Rome, honored Lupercalia, the god of sheep and shepherds. That wasn't very romantic, however, and Lupercalia was later replaced by Februata June, a festival where young people chose the person they would marry.
342 The original Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was dedicated in Constantinople on February 15, 342 but was burnt down and destroyed by rioters. A second church on the site was built by Theodosius II, but a fire started during the tumult of the Nika Revolt and burned the second Hagia Sophia to the ground in January 532. Justinian I, the Byzantine (East Roman) emperor from 527 to 565, reconstructed Hagia Sophia for the third time.
1564 Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy, on February 15, 1564. He was the first of six children of Vincenzo Galilei and Giulia Ammannati. Galileo’s father Vincenzio Galilei was a professional singer and lutenist who also dabbled in cloth to make ends meet. As a teenager, Galileo's favorite hobby was making mechanical toys.
1727 On February 15, 1727, Jonathan Edwards was ordained minister at Northampton, Massachusetts and assistant to his grandfather Solomon Stoddard. He was a scholar-pastor, not a visiting pastor, his rule being 13 hours of study a day. When Solomon Stoddard died two years later, Edwards was left the difficult task of the sole ministerial charge of one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the colony. A decade later Edwards was at the forefront of the Great Awakening Christian revival.
1748 English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham was born in Houndsditch, London on February 15, 1748 to a wealthy family that supported the Tory party. Bentham showed a propensity for learning at an early age, starting to learn Latin at the age of three and attending Queen’s College Oxford when he was twelve.
1794 The flag of France is a vertical tricolor of blue, white, and red. The tricolor design by Jacques-Louis David was first adopted on February 15, 1794. The royal white flag was used during the Bourbon restoration from 1815 to 1830; the tricolor was brought back after the July Revolution and has been used ever since 1830. The Tricolor has become one of the most influential flags in history, with its three-color scheme being copied by many other nation.
1820 US social reformer and women's rights activist Susan Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. A precocious child, she learned to read and write at the age of three. Anthony took part in absolutist and temperance movements from an early age. At the age of 16, Susan collected two boxes of petitions opposing slavery, in response to the gag rule prohibiting such petitions in the House of Representatives.
1856 German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin was born on February 15, 1856. After studying patterns of symptoms among hospitalized patients and classifying them into separate disorders, Kraepelin divided them into two groups, "dementia praecox" (schizophrenia) and "manic-depressive insanity". He first published his findings on mental illness in 1883 in Compendium der Psychiatrie (Compendium of Psychiatry).
1867 Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky married his stenographer Anna Snitkina on February 15, 1867 in Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg. Anna is credited with making her husband's life more serene by relieving him of the day to day chores. She felt no physical attraction to Dostoyevsky who was 25 years her senior and an unkempt widower, with a weakness for alcohol and gambling however their marriage was happy and fulfilling.
1882 The refrigerated meat industry was launched on February 15, 1882, when the Dunedin left New Zealand for London. On board the sailing ship was a Bell-Coleman compression refrigeration machine, cooling the entire hold of 4331 mutton, 598 lamb and 22 pig carcasses, 2,226 sheep tongues. 250 kegs of butter, chicken, hare, pheasant and turkey.
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| The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David (1787) |
0 The idea of a mid-February romantic celebration may have been inspired by the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia on February 15. The festival which originated in pre-Christian Rome, honored Lupercalia, the god of sheep and shepherds. That wasn't very romantic, however, and Lupercalia was later replaced by Februata June, a festival where young people chose the person they would marry.
342 The original Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was dedicated in Constantinople on February 15, 342 but was burnt down and destroyed by rioters. A second church on the site was built by Theodosius II, but a fire started during the tumult of the Nika Revolt and burned the second Hagia Sophia to the ground in January 532. Justinian I, the Byzantine (East Roman) emperor from 527 to 565, reconstructed Hagia Sophia for the third time.
1564 Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy, on February 15, 1564. He was the first of six children of Vincenzo Galilei and Giulia Ammannati. Galileo’s father Vincenzio Galilei was a professional singer and lutenist who also dabbled in cloth to make ends meet. As a teenager, Galileo's favorite hobby was making mechanical toys.
1727 On February 15, 1727, Jonathan Edwards was ordained minister at Northampton, Massachusetts and assistant to his grandfather Solomon Stoddard. He was a scholar-pastor, not a visiting pastor, his rule being 13 hours of study a day. When Solomon Stoddard died two years later, Edwards was left the difficult task of the sole ministerial charge of one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the colony. A decade later Edwards was at the forefront of the Great Awakening Christian revival.
1748 English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham was born in Houndsditch, London on February 15, 1748 to a wealthy family that supported the Tory party. Bentham showed a propensity for learning at an early age, starting to learn Latin at the age of three and attending Queen’s College Oxford when he was twelve.
1794 The flag of France is a vertical tricolor of blue, white, and red. The tricolor design by Jacques-Louis David was first adopted on February 15, 1794. The royal white flag was used during the Bourbon restoration from 1815 to 1830; the tricolor was brought back after the July Revolution and has been used ever since 1830. The Tricolor has become one of the most influential flags in history, with its three-color scheme being copied by many other nation.
1820 US social reformer and women's rights activist Susan Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. A precocious child, she learned to read and write at the age of three. Anthony took part in absolutist and temperance movements from an early age. At the age of 16, Susan collected two boxes of petitions opposing slavery, in response to the gag rule prohibiting such petitions in the House of Representatives.
1856 German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin was born on February 15, 1856. After studying patterns of symptoms among hospitalized patients and classifying them into separate disorders, Kraepelin divided them into two groups, "dementia praecox" (schizophrenia) and "manic-depressive insanity". He first published his findings on mental illness in 1883 in Compendium der Psychiatrie (Compendium of Psychiatry).
1867 Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky married his stenographer Anna Snitkina on February 15, 1867 in Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg. Anna is credited with making her husband's life more serene by relieving him of the day to day chores. She felt no physical attraction to Dostoyevsky who was 25 years her senior and an unkempt widower, with a weakness for alcohol and gambling however their marriage was happy and fulfilling.
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| Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina-Dostoevskaya's portrait (1846-1918) |
1882 The refrigerated meat industry was launched on February 15, 1882, when the Dunedin left New Zealand for London. On board the sailing ship was a Bell-Coleman compression refrigeration machine, cooling the entire hold of 4331 mutton, 598 lamb and 22 pig carcasses, 2,226 sheep tongues. 250 kegs of butter, chicken, hare, pheasant and turkey.
1898 After American consul Fitzhugh Lee reported riots in Havana, US President William McKinley agreed to send the battleship USS Maine there to protect American lives and property. On February 15, 1898, the Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor with 266 men killed, having been blown up by an underwater mine. This event led to the Spanish–American War.
1903 During a hunting trip in Mississippi, President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a defenseless black bear that had been tied to a willow tree. The incident inspired Brooklyn shop owner Morris Michtom to create a tiny plush toy bear cub with his wife Rose's help. Michtom put a plush bear in the shop window with a sign "Teddy's bear" on February 15, 1903. The sale of the bears was so brisk that Michtom created the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company to make a line of teddy bears.
1910 Irena Sendler, the ‘female Schindler’ was born on February 15, 1910. A Polish Catholic nurse, Sendler helped smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II in everything from suitcases to sewer pipes. She was caught by the Gestapo, but escaped and lived to the age of 98 — cared for by a woman who, as a baby, she had smuggled out in a carpenter’s toolbox.
1928 After suffering three strokes, H. H. Asquith, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916,. died on February 15, 1928. He passed away aged 75 at The Wharf, a country house at Sutton Courtenay in Berkshire which he'd bought in 1912. Asquith was buried in the churchyard of All Saints' at Sutton Courtenay. Asquith’s best-known descendant today is the actress Helena Bonham Carter, who is a great-granddaughter.
1936 North Dakota's all-time low temperature was -60 degrees below zero at Parshall in the north west of the state on February 15, 1936. North Dakota is not close to any oceans or seas. Because of this, the state has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters.
1942 Japanese forces led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita captured Singapore on February 15, 1942. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history
1946 ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose digital computer, was formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on February 15, 1946. It had a speed on the order of one thousand times faster than that of electro-mechanical machines and was heralded as a "Giant Brain" by the press. ENIAC was designed and primarily used to calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory.
1952 King George VI of the UK's funeral took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on February 15, 1952. Thousands saw the event on television. Shortly after 9:00 am, the funeral procession arrived at Westminster Hall where his body had been lying in state. More than 300,000 people paid homage to the body of the king, who was in chapel for three days.
1954 On February 15, 1954 Canada and the United States agreed to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations stretching across 3,000 miles (4,800 km)in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska. The purpose of the DEW Line was to provide early warning of any incoming Soviet bombers or missiles during the Cold War. The system became operational in 1957 and remained in use until the mid-1980s, when it was replaced by a newer and more advanced system.
1961 The 1961World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia were canceled after the entire United States team of ice skaters, officials, leaders and chaperones all died on February 15 in a plane crash just outside of Belgium while traveling to the competition.
1962 Ray Charles recorded his version of Don Gibson's."I Can't Stop Loving You" at United Studios in California on February 15, 1962. The tune would go on to top both the US and UK charts and would be included on the LP Modern Sounds In Country / Western Music, which would lead the Billboard album chart for 14 weeks.
1965 A new red-and-white maple leaf design was adopted as the flag of Canada on February 15, 1965, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner. The new flag design was chosen through a national competition, and the winning design was created by George Stanley, a Canadian historian and professor.
1971 The UK Parliament passed the Decimal Currency Act in 1969. No longer would there be 240 pennies in a pound, but instead it was divided into 100 "new pence." A massive publicity campaign was launched in the weeks leading up to Decimal Day on February 15, 1971.
1976 The 1976 constitution of Cuba, providing for a system of government and law based on those of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, was adopted by a national referendum on February 15, 1976. It was approved by 99.02% of voters, in a 98% turnout. It was replaced by a new constitution in 2019.
2002 A Charolais cow called Charlene Mooken was slated to meet her end at an Ohio slaughterhouse. On February 15, 2002 Charlene Mooken jumped a 6 foot fence at a slaughterhouse in Cincinnati, and evaded pursuers for almost two weeks, making national news headlines. Impressed with her show of spirit, she was given a stay of execution and allowed to live out her days at an animal welfare sanctuary.
2003 On February 15, 2003, there was a coordinated day of protests against the Iraq war in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between six and eleven million people people participated, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
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| Anti war protests New York City |
2003 The Iraq War peace protest in Rome on February 15, 2003 involved around three million people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the single largest anti-war rally in history. The Rome protest was significant not only for its sheer size but also because it brought together a diverse range of participants, including students, trade unionists, environmentalists, religious groups, and ordinary citizens.
2012 A fire at the National Penitentiary at Comayagua, Honduras on February 15, 2012, killed 361 people, making it the deadliest prison fire ever. The fire started late at night and quickly spread through the prison, which was overcrowded and poorly maintained. Many of the victims were trapped in their cells and unable to escape the flames, while others were burned or suffocated to death.
2013 On February 15, 2013, a meteor burst into a fireball 30 times brighter than the sun over central Russia. Shock waves from the explosion of the meteorite over the Chelyabinsk region, injured more than 1,000 people, mainly due to widespread broken glass. It was the largest recorded impact event on Earth since the Siberian Tunguska event in 1908.
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