February 15: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 1898 - Spanish-American War: The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
4. 1933 - In Miami, Florida, 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.
5. 1946 - ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
6. 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.
7. 1965 - A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
8. 1971 - The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
9. 2001 - First draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.
10. 2003 - Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between 8 million to 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
11. Famous Birthdays: Galileo Galilei (Italian astronomer and physicist), Louis XV of France, Susan B. Anthony (American activist), Robert Fuchs (Austrian composer and educator), Charles édouard Guillaume (French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: February 14

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: February 16

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.