History Events on February 15

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

#George_VI

A 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.

#Chelyabinsk_meteor

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

#José_María_Velasco_Ibarra

World 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-led military personnel in history.

#World_War_II

The first constitutional law in modern Serbia is adopted.

#Constitutional_law

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

#American_Civil_War

Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

#Byzantine_Empire

At an assembly at Pavia of Lombard nobles, Arduin of Ivrea is restored to his domains and crowned King of Italy.

#Pavia

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.

#Niña

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

#Women's_rights

The association football club Alianza Lima is founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza.

#Association_football

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

#Halle_train_collision

Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

#Ferdinand_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor

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

#ENIAC

Canada 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.

#Distant_Early_Warning_Line

Gerald 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.

#Gerald_Lankester_Harding

The city of St. Louis is established in Spanish Louisiana (now in Missouri, USA).

#St._Louis

Kingdom of Romania establishes its legation in Helsinki.

#Kingdom_of_Romania

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

#Sabena_Flight_548

World War II: The Narva Offensive begins.

#Narva_Offensive_(15-28_February_1944)

The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier.

#Roman_Republic_(18th_century)

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

#Greece

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

#Sound_recording_and_reproduction

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

#Drilling_rig

World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden.

#Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II

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

#1925_serum_run_to_Nome

The Flores Theater fire in Acapulco, Mexico kills 250.

#Acapulco

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

#Air_Transport_International_Flight_805

Constantin Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia, and the Holy Roman Empire sign a secret treaty in Sibiu, stipulating that Moldavia would support the actions led by the House of Habsburg against the Ottoman Empire.

#Constantin_Cantemir

During the Anglo-French War (1213-1214), an English invasion force led by John, King of England, lands at La Rochelle in France.

#Anglo-French_War_(1213-1214)

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

#Human_genome

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

#Battle_of_Monte_Cassino

At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing many people.

#Xichang_Satellite_Launch_Center

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

#Soviet-Afghan_War

In 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, 1933.

#Miami

A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.

#Maple

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

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

Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.

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

The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.

The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.

Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) (Swedish Sports Club) is founded.

Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, USA and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Pope Paschal II issues Pie Postulatio Voluntatis, recognizing the Order of Hospitallers.

Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.