History of the Day for:
February 15
- 1564: Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa.
- 1764: The city of St. Louis was established as a French trading post by Pierre Laclade Ligue.
- 1804: New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish slavery.
- 1820: American suffragist Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Mass.
- 1842: A private mail service in New York City introduced the first adhesive postage stamps.
- 1879: President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- 1898: The U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members. The explosion, the cause of which has never been satisfactorily explained, brought the U.S. closer to war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence.
- 1903: The first Teddy Bear was introduced in America.
- 1932: George Burns and Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on "The Guy Lombardo Show" on CBS Radio; U.S. bobsled team member Eddie Eagan became the only athlete to win gold in both summer and winter games.
- 1933: President-elect Franklin Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that claimed the life of Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak.
- 1942: World War II: The 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. The Sook Ching massacre begins.
- 1944: World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy, begins.
- 1950: The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.
- 1950: Walt Disney's animated film "Cinderella" was released in movie theaters.
- 1965: Canada's new flag, with its maple leaf design, was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa.
- 1986: The Philippines National Assembly proclaimed Ferdinand E. Marcos president for another six years, following an election marked by allegations of fraud.
- 1992: A Milwaukee jury rejected mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer's insanity plea and held him responsible for the brutal murders of at least 15 people. The judge sentenced him to 15 consecutive life prison terms.
- 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.
- 1999: Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party, widely recognized as terrorist organization), is arrested in Kenya.
- 2000: Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York State vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator fails.
- 2001: First draft of the complete Human Genome is published in Nature
- 2002: At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find uncremated bodies disposed of in the woods and buildings on the crematorium's property. The discovery reveals one of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.
- 2003: Protests against the Iraq war occur in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between 8 million to 30 million people took part, making this the largest peace demonstration in the history of the world.
- 2005: YouTube, the popular Internet site on which videos may be shared and viewed by others, is launched in the United States.