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This day in history

This day in history: 15 February

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Born on this day · Died on this day186 · 88

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Key facts

325 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 15 February.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2021: Sixty people drown and hundreds are missing after a boat sinks on the Congo River near the village of Longola Ekoti, Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya

Christian feast day: Blessed Michał Sopoćko

Christian feast day: Claude de la Colombière

Christian feast day: Faustinus and Jovita

Christian feast day: February 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Oswiu

Christian feast day: Quinidius

Christian feast day: Sigfrid of Sweden

Christian feast day: Thomas Bray (Episcopal Church)

Christian feast day: Walfrid

International Duties Memorial Day (Russia, regional)

John Frum Day (Vanuatu)

Events

2021Sixty people drown and hundreds are missing after a boat sinks on the Congo River near the village of Longola Ekoti, Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2013A 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.

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

2010Two trains collide in the Halle train collision in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 and injuring 171 people.

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

2003The last Ariane 4 rocket is launched from the Guiana Space Centre, carrying Intelsat 907.

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

1996At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3B rocket carrying Intelsat 708 veers off course and crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing somewhere between six and 100 people.

1996Then-Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien applies a chokehold to protester Bill Clennett, an incident later named the Shawinigan Handshake.

1992Air Transport International Flight 805 crashes in Swanton, Ohio, near Toledo Express Airport, killing all four people on board.

1992Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to 15 terms of life in prison.

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

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

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

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

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

1971The decimalisation of the currencies of the United Kingdom and Ireland is completed on Decimal Day.

1970Dominicana de Aviación Flight 603 crashes into the Caribbean Sea after takeoff from Las Américas International Airport, killing 102, including members of the Puerto Rico women's national volleyball team and lightweight boxer Carlos Cruz.

1965The maple leaf is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the Canadian Red Ensign flag.

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

1954Canada 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.

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

1949Gerald 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.

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

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

1944World War II: The Narva Offensive begins.

1942World 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-

1940Paul Creston's Saxophone Sonata is officially premiered at the Carnegie Chamber Hall by saxophonist Cecil Leeson, who had commissioned it, and the composer.

1933In 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.

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

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

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

1899Tsar Nicholas II of Russia issues a declaration known as the February Manifesto, which reduces the autonomy of the Grand Duchy of Finland, thus beginning the first period of oppression.

1898The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing about 274 of the ship's roughly 354 crew. The disaster pushes the United States to declare war on Spain.

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

1872First issue of the Bulletin de la Fédération jurassienne, the first or one of the first anarchist newspapers.

1870Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, US, and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in mechanical engineering.

1862American Civil War: Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attack General Ulysses S. Grant's Union forces besieging Fort Donelson in Tennessee. Unable to break the fort's encirclement, the Confederates surrender the following da

1852The Helsinki Cathedral (known as St. Nicholas' Church at time) is officially inaugurated in Helsinki, Finland.

1835Serbia's Sretenje Constitution briefly comes into effect.

Born on this day

2004Šimon Nemec, Slovak ice hockey player

2000Jakub Kiwior, Polish footballer

1998George Russell, English racing driver

1998Zachary Gordon, American actor

1997Derrick Jones Jr., American basketball player

1997Justin Reid, American football player

1995Megan Thee Stallion, American rapper

1994Sodapoppin, American Twitch streamer and internet personality

1993Geoffrey Kondogbia, Central African footballer

1993Manuel Lanzini, Argentine footballer

1993Ravi, South Korean rapper

1991Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer

1991Rich Swann, American wrestler

1990Callum Turner, English actor

1989Mark Canha, American baseball player

1988Papu Gómez, Argentine footballer

1988Rui Patrício, Portuguese footballer

1986Amber Riley, American actress and singer

1986Johnny Cueto, Dominican baseball player

1986Laura Sallés, Andorran judoka

1986Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer

1985Natalie Morales, American actress and director

1985Serkan Kırıntılı, Turkish footballer

1984Gary Clark Jr., American singer-songwriter and musician

1984Nate Schierholtz, American baseball player

1983David Degen, Swiss footballer

1983Don Cowie, Scottish footballer

1983Eddie Basden, American basketball player

1983Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer

1983Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player

1982James Yap, Filipino basketball player

1982Shameka Christon, American basketball player

1981Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer

1981Heurelho Gomes, Brazilian footballer

1981Matt Hoopes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1981Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner

1981Vivek Shraya, Canadian singer and songwriter

1980Conor Oberst, American singer-songwriter

1979Hamish Marshall, New Zealand cricketer

1979James Marshall, New Zealand cricketer

Died on this day

2026Robert Duvall, American actor and filmmaker (born 1931)

2025George Armitage, American film director (born 1942)

2025Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, Portuguese businessman (born 1937)

2025Muhsin Hendricks, South African imam, Islamic scholar and LGBT activist (born 1967)

2023Raquel Welch, American actress and singer (born 1940)

2022Bappi Lahiri, Indian singer, composer and record producer (born 1952)

2022P.J. O'Rourke, American author, humorist, and journalist (born 1947)

2020Caroline Flack, English actress and TV presenter (born 1979)

2019Lee Radziwill, American socialite (born 1933)

2017Stuart McLean, Canadian radio broadcaster (born 1948)

2016George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (born 1917)

2016Vanity, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (born 1959)

2015Arnaud de Borchgrave, American journalist and author (born 1926)

2015Haron Amin, Afghan diplomat, Afghan Ambassador to Japan (born 1969)

2015Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1979)

2014Christopher Malcolm, Scottish-Canadian actor, director, and producer (born 1946)

2014Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (born 1924)

2013Ahmed Rajib Haider, Bangladeshi atheist blogger

2013Sanan Kachornprasart, Thai general and politician (born 1935)

2012Cyril Domb, English-Israeli physicist and academic (born 1920)

2010Jeanne M. Holm, American general (born 1921)

2008Johnny Weaver, American wrestler and sportscaster (born 1935)

2007Ray Evans, American songwriter (born 1915)

2007Walker Edmiston, American actor (born 1925)

2005Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (born 1944)

2005Sam Francis, American historian and journalist (born 1947)

2004Jens Evensen, Norwegian lawyer, judge, and politician, Norwegian Minister of Trade (born 1917)

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

2002Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (born 1963)

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

Quote of the day

“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”

Marcus Aurelius

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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