Summary of the Day ✨ 15 February (15/02)
Global catastrophe unfolds as disasters from Congo to Russia claim hundreds of lives through boat sinkings, meteor explosions, prison fires, and train collisions, while millions worldwide stage history’s largest anti-war protests.
Historical Events 📜
- 2021: Sixty people drown and hundreds are missing after a boat sinks on the Congo River near the village of Longola Ekoti, Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 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.
- 2012: Three hundred and sixty people die in a fire at a Honduran prison in the city of Comayagua.
- 2010: Two trains collide in the Halle train collision in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 and injuring 171 people.
- 2003: Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million and 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
- 2003: The last Ariane 4 rocket is launched from the Guiana Space Centre, carrying Intelsat 907.
- 2001: The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.
- 1996: At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3B rocket carrying Intelsat 708 veers off course and crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing somewhere between six and 100 people.
- 1996: Then-Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien applies a chokehold to protester Bill Clennett, an incident later named the Shawinigan Handshake.
- 1992: Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to 15 terms of life in prison.
- 1992: Air Transport International Flight 805 crashes in Swanton, Ohio, near Toledo Express Airport, killing all four people on board.
- 1991: The Visegrád Group, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
- 1989: Soviet–Afghan War: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
- 1982: The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.
- 1972: Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Šimon Nemec, Slovak ice hockey player
- 2000: Jakub Kiwior, Polish footballer
- 1998: Zachary Gordon, American actor
- 1998: George Russell, English racing driver
- 1997: Derrick Jones Jr., American basketball player
- 1997: Justin Reid, American football player
- 1995: Megan Thee Stallion, American rapper
- 1994: Sodapoppin, American Twitch streamer and internet personality
- 1993: Ravi, South Korean rapper
- 1993: Geoffrey Kondogbia, Central African footballer
- 1993: Manuel Lanzini, Argentine footballer
- 1991: Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer
- 1991: Rich Swann, American wrestler
- 1990: Callum Turner, English actor
- 1989: Mark Canha, American baseball player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Robert Duvall, American actor and filmmaker (born 1931)
- 2025: George Armitage, American film director (born 1942)
- 2025: Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, Portuguese businessman (born 1937)
- 2025: Muhsin Hendricks, South African imam, Islamic scholar and LGBT activist (born 1967)
- 2023: Raquel Welch, American actress and singer (born 1940)
- 2022: Bappi Lahiri, Indian singer, composer and record producer (born 1952)
- 2022: P.J. O’Rourke, American author, humorist, and journalist (born 1947)
- 2020: Caroline Flack, English actress and TV presenter (born 1979)
- 2019: Lee Radziwill, American socialite (born 1933)
- 2017: Stuart McLean, Canadian radio broadcaster (born 1948)
- 2016: George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (born 1917)
- 2016: Vanity, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (born 1959)
- 2015: Haron Amin, Afghan diplomat, Afghan Ambassador to Japan (born 1969)
- 2015: Arnaud de Borchgrave, American journalist and author (born 1926)
- 2015: Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1979)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Blessed Michał Sopoćko - Christian feast day:
Claude de la Colombière - Christian feast day:
Faustinus and Jovita - Christian feast day:
Oswiu - Christian feast day:
Quinidius - Christian feast day:
Sigfrid of Sweden - Christian feast day:
Thomas Bray (Episcopal Church) - Christian feast day:
Walfrid - Christian feast day:
21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya - Christian feast day:
February 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - International Duties Memorial Day (Russia, regional)
- John Frum Day (Vanuatu)
- Liberation Day (Afghanistan)
- National Flag of Canada Day (Canada)
- Parinirvana Day, also celebrated on February 8. (Mahayana Buddhism)