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Welcome to Special Events in History for February 15

Births for February 15

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1368 Sigismund, Nrnberg Germany, Holy Roman emperor (1410-37)
1483 Babur, founded Mughal dynasty in India (1526-30)
1497 Philipp Melanchthon, Germany, Protestant reformer
1519 Pedro Men‚ndez de Aviles, explored Florida, founded St Augustine
1524 Charles Guise, archbishop/cardinal of Reims
1564 Galileo Galilei, Pisa Italy, astronomer/physicist
1571 Michael Praetorius, German music theorist/composer (Syntagma music)
1620 Fran‡ois Charpentier, French scholar/archaeologist
1650 Anne Jules duke de Noailles, marshal of France (hugenot)
1666 Antonio M Valsalva, Italian anatomist (eardrums, voice cracked)
1710 Louis XV the Well-Beloved, King of France (1710-74)
1726 Abraham Clark, farmer/lawyer, signed Declaration of Independence
1748 Jeremy Bentham, Utilitarian philosopher/economist
1764 Jens I Baggesen, Danish writer/linguist (Danske V‘rker)
1774 W G Frederik, prince of Orange
1780 Carel Asser, lawyer
1795 Charles Niellon, Belgian brigade general (10 day campaign)
1797 Henry Engelhard Steinway, piano maker
1803 John Augustus Sutter, of Calif gold rush fame
1803 John Sutter, Swiss/US colonist (New Helvetia Calif)
1809 Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor (Mechanical reaper)
1812 Charles Lewis Tiffany, Killingly Ct, jeweler
1817 Charles F Daubigny, French restauranteur/painter
1820 Susan Brownell Anthony, woman's suffragette
1826 George J Stoney, Irish physicist
1828 Johan H van Dale, schoolmaster (New Dutch Language Dictionary)
1834 William Preece, English electrical engineer/wireless pioneer
1835 Alexander Stuart Webb, Major General (Union Army), died in 1911
1845 Elihu Root, (R)/US Sec of State (1905-09)/Nobel Peace Prize (1912)
1858 William Pickering, Boston, astronomer (9th & 10th moons of Saturn)
1861 Alfred North Whitehead, mathematician/philosopher
1874 Ernest H Shackleton, Ireland, explorer (Endurance, Antarctica)
1882 John Barrymore [Blythe], US actor (Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde)
1886 Sax Rohmer, England, author (Dr Fu Manchu)
1890 Robert Ley, German chemist/parliament member (NSDAP)
1892 James Forrestal, US, banker/minister of Navy
1894 Oswaldo Aranha, Brazil, lawyer/statesman (1st pres of UN)
1897 Earl H Blaik, Det, college football hall of fame coach (elected 1965)
1899 Gale Sondergard, Litchfield Mn, actress (Cat & Canary, Road to Rio)
1899 Georges Auric, Lodve France, composer (It Always Rains on Sunday)
19-- Claire Yarlett, LA Calif, actress (Rituals, Dynasty 2)
19-- Geoff Edwards, Westfield NJ, actor (Jeff-Petticoat Junction, Jackpot)
19-- Jake E Lee, rocker (Badlands-Dreams in the Dark)
19-- Kevin Cloud, Hartford Ct, rocker (Rythm Syndicate)
19-- Renee Props, Okla, actress (Ellie-As the World Turns)
1901 Christmas Humphreys, Engld, lawyer/writer/Buddhist (Awakening of Zen)
1904 Antonin Magne, French bicyclist (Tour de France 1931, 34)
1905 Harold Arlen [Hyman Arluck], US, composer (Over the Rainbow)
1907 Cesar Romero, NYC, actor (Joker-Batman, Ocean's 11, Thin Man)
1908 Ypk fan der Fear, writer (Reade runen)
1911 Leonard Woodcock, labor leader (UAW)
1912 George Mikes, Hungary, British writer (How to Be an Alien)
1913 Willy Vandersteen, Belgian cartoonist (Suske & Wiske)
1914 Kevin McCarthy, Seattle, (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Howling)
1918 Alan Arbus, NYC, actor (Dr Sidney Freedman-M*A*S*H)
1920 Piet van Aken, Flemish writer (Devil sails to us, Niggers)
1922 Herman Kahn, NJ, writer (Thinking About the Unthinkable)
1923 Keene Curtis, Salt Lake City Utah, actor (Magician, Amanda's)
1923 Yelena Bonner, Moscow, soviet disident/wife of Andre Sakharov
1927 Harvey Korman, Chicago, actor (Carol Burnett Show, Blazing Saddles)
1929 Graham Hill, auto racer (1962, 68 international racing champ)
1929 James Schlesinger, US Secretary of Defense (1973-75)
1931 [Patricia] Claire Bloom, London, actress (Charly, Look Back in Anger)
1933 Adolfo, Cardones Cuba, fashion designer (Nancy Reagan)
1934 Niklaus Wirth, Switzerland, computer programmer/inventor (PASCAL)
1935 John R Block, US Secretary of Agriculture (1981-86)
1935 Roger B Chaffee, Grand Rapids Michigan, Lt Cmdr USN/astronaut
1935 Susan Brownmiller, Brooklyn, feminist author (Against Our Wills)
1937 Terry Everett, (Rep-R-Alabama)
1939 Jo Clayton, US, sci-fi author (Irsud, Maeve, Star Hunters)
1939 Ollie Ellefs„ter, Norway, 3K steeplechase (Olympics-1960)
1943 Florinda Bolkan, actress (Damned, Last Valley, Word)
1944 Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Serebrov, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-7, T-8)
1944 Mick Avory, rock drummer (Kinks-Lola)
1944 Tineke Netelenbos, Dutch 2nd Chamber member (PvdA)
1945 Douglas R Hofstadter, NYC, author (G”del, Escher, Bach)
1947 John Adams, Worcester Mass, composerette (Nixon on China)
1947 Marisa Berenson, NY, actress (Barry Lyndon, Death in Vienna)
1947 Rusty Hamer, Tenafly NJ, actor (Rusty-Make Room for Daddy)
1948 Ron "Penguin" Cey, Tacoma Wash, 3rd baseman (LA Dodgers)
1949 Ken Anderson, NFL quarterback (Cincinnati Bengals)
1951 Jane Seymour, [Joyce Frankenberg], England, actress (Live & Let Die)
1951 Melissa Manchester, Bronx, NY, singer (Don't Cry Out Loud)
1954 Matt Groening, cartoonist (Life in Hell, Simpsons)
1955 Bev Francis, Australia, world women's power-lifting champion
1960 Mikey Craig, rock bassist (Culture Club-Do You Really Want to Hurt Me)
1968 Kurt Robin McKinney, Louisville Ky, actor (Ned-General Hospital)
1968 Michael Easton, actor (Tanner-Days of Our Lives)
1991 Nicholas Garland, son of Pamela Sue Martin

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Passings for February 15

1145 Lucius II, [Gherardo Caccianemici], Italian Pope (1144-45), dies
1152 Konrad III, Roman-German King (1138-1152), dies
1580 Cunerus Petri, theologist/bishop of Leeuwarden, dies
1637 Ferdinand II, King of Bohemia/Hungarian/German Emperor (1619-37), dies
1682 Claude de la Colombire, French jesuit/writer/royal chaplain, dies
1686 Mathias Rauchmller, German sculptor (Piasten mausoleum Poland), dies
1818 Charles XIII, King of Sweden (1809-18)/Norway (1814-18), dies
1849 Pierre F Verhulst, Belgian mathematician (logistics curve), dies
1905 Lewis Wallace, US diplomat/writer (Ben Hur), dies
1919 Pieter K Pel, internist (Pel-Ebstein fever), dies at 66
1922 Clara [G Meijer-]Wichmann, German/Dutch anarchists/feminist, dies
1928 Hubert H Asquith, premier Great-Britain (1908-16), dies
1933 Anton J Cermak, (Mayor-Chic), assassinated in Miami
1939 Henri Jaspar, premier of Belgium (1926-31), dies
1943 Thomas "Fats" Waller, US jazz pianist (Hot Chocolate), dies
1955 S Z Sakall, actor (Dolly Sisters, Casablanca), dies at 71
1959 Owen W Richardson, English physicist (Nobel 1928), dies at 69
1961 Marubel Vinaon Owen, figure skater (Olympic-silver-1932), dies
1965 Nat King Cole, singer (Unforgettable, Mona Lisa), dies at 65
1967 William C Bullitt, 1st US ambassador in USSR, dies
1972 Jef [Josephus CF] Last, poet/Indonesian politician, dies
1973 Wally Cox, actor (Mr Peepers, Hollywood Squares), dies at 48
1981 Mike Bloomfield, guitarist/singer (Electric Flag), dies at 37
1982 Rolfe Sedan, actor (Mailman-George Burns Show), dies at 85
1984 Avon Long, dancer/actor, dies of cancer at 73
1984 Ethel Merman, [Zimmerman], singer/actress, dies in her sleep at 76
1984 Leamon Hunt, US director-General in Sinai, killed by communists
1988 Gardiner Means, US economist, dies at 91
1988 Neil R[onald] Jones, sf writer (Space War, Twin Worlds), dies at 78
1988 Richard P Feynman, physicist/author (Nobel 1965, Physical Law), dies
1991 Gary Gears, Chicago disk jockey, dies at 46 of a heart attack
1992 William H Schuman, US composer (2x Pulitzer)/Pres of Julliard, dies
1993 George Wallington, [Giacinto Figlia], Italian bebop-pianist/, dies
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Holidays for February 15

[Massachusetts] Spanish-American War Memorial Day (1898)
[US] Battleship Day, Remember the Maine (1898)
[US] President's Day (formerly Washington's Birthday)-legal holiday
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Interest events for February 15

[Christian] Feast of St Georgia (St Georgette)
[Orth] Meeting of Lord/Purification of Virgin (2/2 OS)
117 [RC] Commemoration of Ss Faustinus & Jovita, martyrs
1730 [Ang] Commemoration of Thomas Bray, priest/missionary
1994 [Christian] Shrove Tuesday
1999 [Christian] Shrove Monday
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Special events for February 15

[Ancient Rome] Lupercalia, fertility festival (a d xv Kal Mar) (1583)
Daytona 500 (3rd Sunday in February)
1145 Bernardo elected Pope Eugene III
1637 Ferdinand III succeeds Ferdinand II as Holy Roman Emperor
1764 St Louis founded as a French trading post by Pierre Laclade Ligue
1768 1st mustard manufactured in America advertised, Philadelphia
1797 Battle of Cape St Vincent
1799 1st US printed ballots authorized, Pennsylvania
1804 New Jersey becomes last northern state to abolish slavery
1842 1st adhesive postage stamps in US (private delivery company), NYC
1845 William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, 1st uses 72" (183 cm) reflector
1848 Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston
1851 Black abolitionists invade Boston courtroom rescueing a fugitive slave
1861 Ft Point completed & garrisoned (but has never fired cannon in anger)
1862 Grant's major assault on Ft Donelson, Tennessee
1869 Charges of Treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped
1870 Ground broken for Northern Pacific Railway near Duluth, Minn
1876 Historic Elm at Boston blown down
1879 Congress authorizes women lawyers to practice before Supreme Ct
1895 23 cm (9") of snow falls on New Orleans
1898 USS Maine blows up in Havana harbor, cause unknown-258 sailors die
1899 M Wolf & A Schwassmann discovers asteroid #442 Eichsfeldia
1902 Autobahn opens in Berlin
1903 1st Teddy Bear introduced in America, made by Morris & Rose Michtom
1905 1st race meet at Oaklawn Park (Hot Springs, Ark)
1906 British Labour Party organizes
1912 Fram reaches latitude 78ø 41' S, farthest south ever by ship
1913 1st avant-garde art show in America opens in NYC
1917 M Wolf discovers asteroid #865 Zubaida
1917 SF Public Library (Main Branch at Civic center) dedicated
1918 1st WW I US army troopship torpedoed & sunk by Germany, off Ireland
1918 Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania adopt Gregorian calendar
1919 American Legion organizes in Paris
1920 K Reinmuth discovers asteroid #926 Imhilde
1926 Contract air mail service begins in US
1930 Weona beats Toluca in Illinois Basketball Tournament in 10 overtimes
1933 Pres-elect Franklin Roosevelt survives assassination attempt
1936 -60ø F (-51ø C), Parshall, North Dakota (state record)
1936 Hitler orders building of Volkswagens
1936 Sonja Henie, Norway, wins 3rd consecutive Olympic figure skating gold
1941 Duke Ellington 1st records "Take the A Train"
1941 K Reinmuth discovers asteroids #1561 Fricke & #1785 Wurm
1942 German U-Boat shoots at Antillian oil refinery
1942 Japanese troop march into Palembang, South-Sumatra
1942 Singapore surrenders to Japanese
1944 Bombing & shooting at Monte Cassino convent Netherlands, begins
1948 Mao Tse Tung's army occupies Jenan
1950 KENS TV channel 5 in San Antonio, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
1950 WSYR (now WSTM) TV channel 3 in Syracuse, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting
1950 Walt Disney's "Cinderella" released
1954 1st bevatron in operation-Berkeley, California
1954 WRDW TV channel 12 in Augusta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1955 1st pilot plant to produce man-made diamonds announced
1956 Urho Kekkonen appointed president of Finland
1957 Andrei A Gromyko succeeds Dmitri Shepilov as Soviet foreign minister
1958 Sjafroeddin Prawiranegara forms anti-govt of Middle Sumatra
1959 Antonio Segni forms Italian cabinet
1961 Entire US figure skating team of 18, dies in Belgian Sabena 707 crash
1963 1st US female world figure skating champ (Tenley Albright)
1963 Ken Lynch records "Misery," 1st Lennon-McCartney song by someone else
1964 Beatles' "Meet the Beatles!," album goes #1 & stays #1 for 11 weeks
1964 Bill Bradley scores 51 points for Princeton
1964 Goethe Link Observatory discovers asteroid #2417 McVittie & #3717
1965 Canada replaces Union Jack flag with Maple Leaf
1965 John Lennon passes his driving test
1967 1st anti-bootleg recording laws enacted
1967 D66 (D'66) wins 7 seats in Dutch 2nd Chamber
1967 French Diadme 1-D satellite launches into Earth orbit
1967 Longest dream (REM sleep) on record, Bill Carskadon, Chicago (2:23)
1968 Anaheim's Les Salvage scores 10, 3-pt baskets in ABA game vs Denver
1968 WVUT TV channel 22 in Vincennes, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
1970 KAMU TV channel 15 in College Station, TX (PBS) begins broadcasting
1970 Nationalists disrupt UN session on Congo
1971 After 1200 years Britain abandons 12-shilling system for decimal
1972 Bill Torrey becomes 1st Islander GM
1973 Friendsville Academy (Tenn) ends 138-game basketball losing streak
1973 USSR launches Prognoz 3 to study sun (589/200,300 km)
1977 W Sebok discovers asteroid #2491
1978 Escaped mass murderer Ted Bundy recaptured, Pensacola, Fla
1978 Leon Spinks beats Muhammad Ali for world heavyweight crown
1978 Zaire revises constitution
1979 Paul Shirley (21) of Australia, sucked a lifesaver for 4 hrs 40 mins
1979 Temple City Kazoo Orchestra appears on Mike Douglas Show
1980 Wayne Gretzy assists on NHL-record-tieing 7 goals
1980 Z Vavrova discovers asteroid #3592
1981 Rocket-powered ice sled attains 399 kph, Lake George, NY
1982 Dan Issel (NBA-Nuggets), begins streak of 63 consecutive free throw
1982 Ocean Ranger oil-drilling platform lost off Newfoundland-84 die
1983 N Thomas discovers asteroid 3367 Alex, 3413 Andriana, 3525 Paul & 3580
1985 STS 51-E vehicle moves to launch pad
1985 World chess championship match abandoned-Karpov 25, Kasparov 23
1986 44,180 largest NBA crowd to date-Phila at Detroit
1986 Phil Natl Assembly authorizes 6 more years for Ferdinand Marcos
1987 ABC-TV begins broadcasting "Amerika" mini-series
1989 Israel attacks border strip Taba near Egypt
1989 Soviet military occupation of Afgh nist n ends
1990 Baseball owners lock out players
1991 Airship with dynamite explodes in Phang Nga Thailand, 120 die
1992 100th episode of "Cops" airs on Fox network
1992 Jeffrey Dahmer found sane & guilty of killing 15 boys
1993 Bomb strike on mafia drug lords in Bogot , Colombia; kills 14
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Facts for February 15

46th day of the year with 319 days left (Numerology = 8)
1943 -8øF lowest temperature for this date in NYC
1949 73øF highest temperature for this date in NYC
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Songs released on February 15

02/15/52 --- Perfidia --- Four Aces
02/15/60 --- Sweet Nothin's --- Lee, Brenda
02/15/60 --- Harbor Lights --- Platters
02/15/64 --- See The Funny Little Clown --- Goldsboro, Bobby
02/15/64 --- I Love You More And More Every Day --- Martino, Al
02/15/64 --- Navy Blue --- Renay, Diane
02/15/69 --- Dizzy --- Roe, Tommy
02/15/75 --- You Are So Beautiful --- Cocker, Joe
02/15/75 --- Lovin' You --- Riperton, Minnie
02/15/86 --- R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. (A Salute To 60's --- Cougar, John
02/15/86 --- What You Need --- INXS
02/15/86 --- This Could Be The Night --- Loverboy
02/15/86 --- Let's Go All The Way --- Sly Fox
02/15/92 --- Tears In Heaven --- Clapton, Eric
02/15/92 --- I Can't Dance --- Genesis
02/15/92 --- Save The Best For Last --- Williams, Vanessa

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