What are the important events that happened on February 15? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
February 15: Facts & Myths About This Day
February 15 is the 46th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 320 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 2, 2024 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,465,920 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘tetracontahexagon’ day.
Aquarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Amethyst is the modern birthstone for this month. Bloodstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 349 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,073 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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February 15 Historical Events
- 1493 –While on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.
- 1804 –The Serbian revolution begins.
- 1835 –The first constitutional law in modern Serbia is adopted.
- 1879 –Women’s rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 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.
- 1961 –New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Metal Ox in Chinese astrology.
- 1970 –A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo, killing 102.
- 1971 –The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
- 1989 –Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
Who were born on February 15?
- 1458 –Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (d. 1490)
- 1739 –Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d. 1813)
- 1820 –Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist (d. 1906)
- 1847 –Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (d. 1927)
- 1892 –James Forrestal, American civil servant, 47th United States Secretary of the Navy and 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
- 1914 –Hale Boggs, American politician (d. 1972)
- 1943 –Griselda Blanco, Colombian drug queen, Medellín Cartel
- 1980 –Josh Sole, New Zealand-born Italian rugby player
- 1982 –Shameka Christon, American basketball player
- 1983 –Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer
Who died on February 15?
- 1835 –Henry Hunt, British politician (b. 1773)
- 1844 –Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)
- 1849 –Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician (b. 1804)
- 1932 –Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress (b. 1865)
- 1956 –Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French criminal attorney (b. 1878)
- 1959 –Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1879)
- 1961 –Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)
- 1981 –Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
- 1999 –Henry Way Kendall, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1926)
- 2010 –Jeanne M. Holm, American, first woman to receive general’s stars in the USAF (b. 1921)
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