February 15 ...

In 1564 Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy. In 1764 the city of St. Louis was established. In 1809 farmer, inventor, businessman, and newspaper editor Cyrus McCormick was born in Rockbridge County, VA. In 1820 American suffragist Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, MA. In 1898 the USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor, killing 260 officers and enlisted men. In 1933 President-elect Franklin Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami. Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak was shot in the attack and died March 6. In 1941 Duke Ellington made his first recording of the jazz classic, Take the A Train. In 1942 Japanese troops captured Singapore. In 1946 ENIAC (for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer"), the first general-purpose electronic computer, was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1965 Canada's new maple-leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa. In 1989 the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention. In 1996 Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin announced he would run for re-election. In 2005 the video-sharing Web site YouTube was founded.