February 15:

Events

• 1764 – The city of St. Louis, Missouri is established.
• 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
• 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.
• 1898 – Spanish–American War: The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing more than 260. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
• 1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
• 1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team, several coaches and family.
• 1970 – A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo, killing 102.
• 1972 – Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
• 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
• 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 Internet site on which videos may be shared and viewed by others, is launched in the United States.
• 2011 – Popular video game series Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is scheduled for release in the United States.