February 15

### Up to 1900

- 1637 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor is crowned.
- 1690 – Constantin Cremer, Prince of Moldavia, and the Holy Roman Empire sign a secret treaty in Sitiu.
- 1760 – British ship HMS _Ramilles_ strands at Bolt Head near Plymouth, England, after a navigation error. Around 700 people on board are killed. 26 survive.
- 1764 – The city of St. Louis, Missouri is established.
- 1786 – The "Cat's Eye" nebula is discovered by William Herschel.
- 1794 – The Tricolore becomes the national flag of France.
- 1798 – The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon Bonaparte, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier.
- 1804 – The Serbian Revolution begins.
- 1835 – The first constitutional law in modern Serbia is adopted.
- 1855 – French frigate _La Semillante_ breaks apart in the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia, killing all 693 people on board.
- 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
- 1879 – Women's rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases at the United States Supreme Court.
- 1898 – Spanish-American War: The USS _Maine_ explodes and sinks in Havana, Cuba, killing over 260 people. This leads to the US declaring war on Spain.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1901 – Peruvian football club Alianza Lima is founded under the name "Sport Alianza".
- 1909 – The Flores Theater fire in Acapulco, Mexico, kills 250 people.
- 1923 – Greece adopts the Gregorian calendar, becoming the last European country to do so.
- 1925 – 1925 serum run to Nome: The serum arrives in Nome, Alaska, with Balto as the lead dog of the last team.
- 1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara tries to kill President–elect Franklin D. Roosevelt but instead shoots Mayor of Chicago Anton J. Cermak, who dies on March 6.
- 1942 – World War II: Singapore falls to the Japanese.
- 1944 – World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino in Italy begins.
- 1945 – World War II: Third day of the Fire Bombing of Dresden.
- 1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic  general–purpose computer is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania.
- 1952 – The funeral of King George VI of the United Kingdom is held in London.
- 1953 – Liechtenstein holds its first parliamentary election.
- 1956 – Urho Kekkonen is elected President of Finland.
- 1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73 people, including the entire US figure skating team.
- 1965 – The Maple Leaf flag becomes Canada's flag
- 1967 – Chicago, a musical group forms.
- 1970 – A Dominican DC–9 airplane crashes into the sea shortly after take–off from Santo Domingo, killing 102 people.
- 1971 – Britain adopts decimal currency.
- 1972 – Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, President of Ecuador, is overthrown by a military coup.
- 1979 – Don Dunstan resigns as Premier of South Australia.
- 1989 – The last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan.
- 1994 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes Sumatra, killing 207 people.
- 1996 – The tanker _Sea Empress_ runs aground at Milford Haven, South Wales, leaking oil.
- 2000 – The European Union starts membership talks with Slovakia, Latvia and Bulgaria.

### From 2001

- 2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in the _Nature_ journal.
- 2003 – Millions of people around the world protest against the planned US–led invasion of Iraq.
- 2005 – YouTube is founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim.
- 2012 – A major fire at a prison in Honduras kills over 360 people.
- 2013 – 2013 Russian meteor event: A meteor crashes down over Chelyabinsk, Russia, shattering windows and injuring over 1,000 people. Coincidentally, near–Earth asteroid _2012 DA14_ passed within 27,700 kilometers of distance to Earth's surface later on this date.

### Up to 1825

- 1368 – Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1437)
- 1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (died 1414)
- 1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (died 1490)
- 1471 – Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian ruler (died 1503)
- 1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and mathematician (died 1642)
- 1571 – Michael Praetorius, German composer (died 1621)
- 1620 – Francois Charpentier, French archaeologist (died 1702)
- 1621 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French founder of Montreal (died 1676)
- 1710 – King Louis XV of France (died 1774)
- 1725 – Abraham Clark, American founding father (died 1794)
- 1739 – Alexander-Theodore Brogniart, French architect (died 1813)
- 1748 – Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher (died 1832)
- 1751 – Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, German painter (died 1829)
- 1759 – Friedrich August Wolf, German archaeologist (died 1824)
- 1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer (died 1837)
- 1774 – Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau (died 1799)
- 1792 – Floride Calhoun, Second Lady of the United States (died 1866)
- 1803 – John Sutter, Swiss–American pioneer (died 1880)
- 1809 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist (died 1857)
- 1809 – Cyrus McCormack, American inventor (died 1884)
- 1811 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, President of Argentina (died 1888)
- 1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American jeweller (died 1902)
- 1813 – Fredrick Holbrook, Governor of Vermont (died 1909)
- 1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American women's civil rights leader (died 1906)
- 1820 – Arvid Posse, Prime Minister of Sweden (died 1901)
- 1825 – Carter Harrison, Sr., Mayor of Chicago (died 1893)

### 1826 – 1900

- 1826 – George Johnstone Stoney, Irish physicist (d. 1911)
- 1831 – Adolf Deucher, Swiss politician (d. 1912)
- 1834 – Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia, Moldovan–Romanian politician, historian and writer (died 1901)
- 1835 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek sports official (died 1908)
- 1835 – Nguyen Khuyen, Vietnamese scholar, poet and teacher (died 1909)
- 1840 – Titu Maiorescu, Prime Minister of Romania (died 1917)
- 1841 – Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, Brazilian politician (died 1913)
- 1845 – Elihu Root, American politician (died 1937)
- 1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (died 1927)
- 1851 – Spiru Haret, Romanian–American mathematician, astronomer and politician (died 1912)
- 1856 – Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist (died 1926)
- 1858 – William Henry Pickering, American astronomer (died 1938)
- 1859 – Louis-Joseph Maurin, French cardinal (died 1936)
- 1860 – Scott C. Pone, American Territorial Governor of Alaska (died 1936)
- 1861 – Charles Edouard Guillaume, French physicist (died 1938)
- 1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, British philosopher and mathematician (died 1947)
- 1861 – Billy Adams, 24th Governor of Colorado (died 1954)
- 1873 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German chemist (died 1964)
- 1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Irish Antarctic explorer (died 1922)
- 1877 – Louis Renault, French automobile executive (died 1944)
- 1890 – Robert Ley, German Nazi official (died 1945)
- 1891 – Dino Borgioli, Italian lyric tenor (died 1960)
- 1892 – James Forrestal, United States Secretary of the Navy (died 1949)
- 1893 – Walter Donaldson, American songwriter (died 1947)
- 1899 – Gale Sondergaard, American actress (died 1985)

### 1901 – 1950

- 1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist (died 1893)
- 1905 – Harold Arlen, American composer (died 1986)
- 1907 – Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (died 1991)
- 1907 – Cesar Romero, American actor (died 1994)
- 1908 – Sarto Fournier, 38th Mayor of Montreal (died 1980)
- 1908 – Totò, Italian actor (died 1967)
- 1909 – Miep Gies, Dutch helper of Anne Frank and other Jews (died 2010)
- 1909 – Guillermo Gorostiza, Spanish footballer (died 1966)
- 1910 – Irena Sendler, Polish humanitarian (died 2008)
- 1910 – Stanley Vann, British musician (died 2010)
- 1912 – Andrei Lupan, Moldovan writer and politician (died 1992)
- 1913 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (died 1997)
- 1914 – Hale Boggs, American politician (died 1972)
- 1914 – Kevin McCarthy, American actor (died 2010)
- 1916 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress
- 1917 – Gösta Andersson, Swedish wrestler (died 1975)
- 1920 – Endicott Peabody, Governor of Massachusetts (died 1997)
- 1922 – John B. Anderson, American politician
- 1923 – Yelena Bonner, Russian activist (died 2011)
- 1927 – Carlo Maria Martini, Italian cardinal (died 2012)
- 1928 – Norman Bridwell, American writer and cartoonist (died 2014)
- 1929 – Graham Hill, British racing driver (died 1975)
- 1929 – James R. Schlesinger, American politician (died 2014)
- 1931 – Claire Bloom, British actress
- 1934 – Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist (died 2024)
- 1935 – Roger Chaffee, American astronaut (died 1967)
- 1939 – Robert Hansen, American serial killer (died 2014)
- 1940 – Hamzah Haz, 9th Vice President of Indonesia
- 1941 – Florinda Bolkan, Brazilian actress
- 1944 – Mick Avory, English drummer (The Kinks)
- 1945 – John Helliwell, English musician (Supertramp)
- 1946 – Clare Short, British politician
- 1947 – Marisa Berenson, American actress
- 1948 – Art Spiegelman, American cartoonist
- 1948 – Tino Insana, American actor, writer and movie producer
- 1948 – Bernd Pischetsrieder, German automobile engineer and manager
- 1949 – Francisco Maturana, Colombian footballer

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Jane Seymour, British actress
- 1951 – Melissa Manchester, American singer
- 1952 – Tomislav Nikolic, President of Serbia
- 1953 – Derek Conway, English politician
- 1954 – Matt Groening, American writer and cartoonist, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama
- 1954 – Armand Parmentier, Belgian athlete
- 1955 – Janice Dickinson, American supermodel
- 1955 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
- 1956 – Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese racing driver (died 1992)
- 1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricketer
- 1957 – Jimmy Spencer, American racing driver
- 1959 – Ali Campbell, British musician (UB40)
- 1959 – Martin Rowson, English writer and illustrator
- 1960 – Mikey Craig, English musician (Culture Club)
- 1960 – Roman Kostrzewski, Polish musician
- 1961 – Neale Daniher, Australian rules footballer
- 1962 – Milo Dukanovic, 29th Prime Minister of Montenegro
- 1964 – Chris Farley, American comedian (died 1997)
- 1964 – Leland D. Melvin, American engineer and astronaut
- 1964 – Mark Price, American basketball player and coach
- 1967 – Craig Simpson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Gloria Trevi, Mexican singer and actress
- 1972 – Anna-Jane Casey, English actress, writer and dancer
- 1972 – Jaromir Jagr, Czech ice hockey player
- 1973 – Katerina Neumannova, Czech cross–country skier
- 1973 – Alex Borstein, American actress
- 1973 – Amy Van Dyken, American swimmer
- 1974 – Toni Puutansuu, Finnish singer (Lordi)
- 1974 – Omarosa Manigault Newman, American businesswoman and actress
- 1974 – Miranda July, American actress, screenwriter and director

### From 1976

- 1976 – Brandon Boyd, American musician
- 1976 – Oscar Freire, Spanish cyclist
- 1976 – Giorgos Karagoutis, Greek basketball player
- 1976 – Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., American musician (The Killers)
- 1979 – Scott Severin, Scottish footballer
- 1980 – Conor Oberst, American singer and songwriter
- 1980 – Josh Sole, New Zealand–Italian rugby player
- 1981 – Heurelho Gomes, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 – Olivia, American singer
- 1981 – Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
- 1983 – David Degen, Swiss footballer
- 1983 – Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer
- 1983 – Ashley Tesoro, American actress and singer
- 1984 – Dorota Rabczewska, Polish singer
- 1986 – Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1986 – Gabriel Paletta, Argentine footballer
- 1986 – Amber Riley, American actress and singer
- 1987 – Jarrod Sammut, Australian rugby player
- 1988 – Hironori Kusano, Japanese singer
- 1988 – Rui Patricio, Portuguese footballer
- 1988 – Tim Mannah, Australian rugby player
- 1990 – Erwin Sak, Polish footballer
- 1990 – Charles Pic, French racing driver
- 1990 – Stephanie Vogt, Liechtenstein tennis player
- 1991 – Angel Sepulveda, Mexican footballer
- 1991 – Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Greek footballer
- 1992 – Greer Grammer, American actress
- 1995 – Sara Daebritz, German footballer
- 1998 – Zachary Gordon, American actor

### Up to 1900

- 670 – Oswiu of Northumbria (b. 612)
- 706 – Leontios, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
- 706 – Tiberios III, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
- 1145 – Pope Lucius II
- 1152 – Conrad, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1621 – Michael Praetorius, German composer (b. 1571)
- 1637 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1578)
- 1738 – Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)
- 1775 – Peter Dens, Belgian Catholic theologian (b. 1690)
- 1781 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German writer and philosopher (b. 1729)
- 1818 – Friedrich Ludwig, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, Prussian general (b. 1746)
- 1835 – Henry Hunt, British politician (b. 1773)
- 1844 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)
- 1847 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (b. 1794)
- 1848 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian field marshal (b. 1771)
- 1849 – Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician (b. 1804)
- 1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)
- 1864 – Adam Wilhelm Moltke, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1785)
- 1869 – Mirza Ghalib, poet of Urdu (b. 1796)
- 1897 – Dimitrie Ghica, Romanian politician (b. 1816)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1905 – Lew Wallace, American politician (b. 1827)
- 1911 – Theodor Escherich, German paediatrician (b. 1859)
- 1919 – André Prévost, French tennis player (b. 1880)
- 1924 – Lionel Monckton, English composer (b. 1861)
- 1926 – Piero Gobetti, Italian publisher, activist and politician (b. 1901)
- 1928 – H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1852)
- 1932 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, Broadway actress (b. 1865)
- 1933 – Pat Sullivan, Australian cartoonist, animator and producer (b. 1887)
- 1953 – Karl Staaf, Swedish athlete (b. 1881)
- 1959 – Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Bradley Lord, American figure skater (b. 1939)
- 1961 – Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)
- 1964 – Robert L. Thornton, American businessman, philanthropist, and Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. 1880)
- 1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and musician (b. 1919)
- 1966 – Gerard Ciołek, Polish architect and historian of gardens (b. 1909)
- 1967 – William Christian Bullitt, Jr., American diplomat (b. 1891)
- 1968 – Little Walter, American singer and guitarist (b. 1930)
- 1970 – Hugh Dowding, English RAF commander (b. 1882)
- 1973 – Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1973 – Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1974 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (b. 1887)
- 1981 – Mike Bloomfield, American musician (b. 1944)
- 1981 – Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
- 1984 – Ethel Merman, American singer and actress (b. 1908)
- 1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 1991 – Birger Malmsten, Swedish actor (b. 1920)
- 1996 – Tommy Rettig, American actor (b. 1941)
- 1996 – McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1999 – Big L (Lamont Coleman), American rapper (b. 1974)
- 1999 – Henry Way Kendall, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2000 – Angus MacLean, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (b. 1914)

### From 2001

- 2002 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
- 2004 – Jens Evensen, Norwegian minister and International Court of Justice judge (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Jan Miner, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Hasse Ekman, Swedish actor and director (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Samuel Francis, American journalist (b. 1947)
- 2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer and songwriter (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Ray Evans, American songwriter (b. 1915)
- 2013 – Todor Kolev, Bulgarian actor (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Federico Campbell, Mexican writer (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Christopher Malcolm, Scottish actor (b. 1946)
- 2015 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1979)
- 2015 – Haron Amin, Afghan diplomat (b. 1969)
- 2015 – Eileen Essell, English actress (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Vanity, Canadian singer (b. 1959)
- 2016 – Fighton Simukonda, Zambian footballer (b. 1958)
- 2016 – George Gaynes, Finnish–born American actor (b. 1917)
- 2016 – Salman Natour, Israeli–Palestinian writer (b. 1949)
- 2017 – Infante Henrique, Duke of Coimbra, Portuguese royal (b. 1949)
- 2017 – Manfred Kaiser, German footballer (b. 1929)
- 2017 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio broadcaster (b. 1948)

## Observances

- Day of the Flag of Canada
- Liberation Day (Afghanistan)
- National Day (Serbia)
- Candlemas (Eastern Orthodox Church)