Events on February 15 44
Year 706
Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.
Year 1113
Pope Paschal II issues a bill sanctioning the establishment of the Order of Hospitallers.
Year 1214
During the Anglo-French War (1213-1214), an English invasion force lands at La Rochelle in France.
Year 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.
Year 1690
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.
Year 1764
The city of St. Louis is established in Spanish Louisiana (now in Missouri, USA).
Year 1798
The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier.
Year 1870
Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, USA and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Year 1879
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.
Year 1898
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.
Year 1901
The association football club Alianza Lima is founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza.
Year 1925
The 1925 serum run to Nome: The second delivery of serum arrives in Nome, Alaska.
Year 1933
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.
Year 1942
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.
Year 1946
ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Year 1949
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.
Year 1952
King George VI of the United Kingdom is buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Year 1954
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.
Year 1961
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.
Year 1965
A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
Year 1972
Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
Year 1972
José María Velasco Ibarra, serving as President of Ecuador for the fifth time, is overthrown by the military for the fourth time.
Year 1982
The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.
Year 1989
Soviet war in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
Year 1991
The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
Year 1996
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.
Year 2003
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.
Year 2012
Three hundred sixty people die in a fire at a Honduran prison in the city of Comayagua.
Year 2013
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.