February 15

Events
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, Alaska: 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.
Births
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-Francois 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 - Andre 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 - Toto, 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 - Gosta 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 author 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
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 author 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
Deaths
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, Furst 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 Francois 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 - Andre Prevost, 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 Ciolek, 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 author (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)
Days of the year