Today in History
Today is Wednesday, February 15, the 46th day of 2023. There are 319 days left in the year.
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Today’s highlight in the story:
On February 15, 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases in the Supreme Court.
To this date :
In 1764, the site of the current Saint-Louis was established by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau.
In 1898, the American battleship Maine mysteriously exploded in the port of Havana, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.
In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that fatally injured Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later.
In 1944, Allied bombers destroyed the monastery atop Monte Cassino in Italy.
In 1950, Walt Disney’s animated film “Cinderella” premiered in Boston.
In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member American figure skating team en route to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.
In 1965, singer Nat King Cole, 45, died in Santa Monica, California.
In 1967, the rock band Chicago was founded by Walter Parazaider, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow and Robert Lamm; the group was originally called The Big Thing, then Chicago Transit Authority.
In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that its last troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention.
In 1992, a Milwaukee jury found Jeffrey Dahmer sane when he killed and maimed 15 men and boys. (The decision meant that Dahmer, who had already pleaded guilty to the murders, would receive a mandatory life sentence on each count; Dahmer was beaten to death in prison in 1994.)
In 2003, millions of demonstrators around the world demonstrated against the prospect of a US attack on Iraq.
In 2005, defrocked priest Paul Shanley was sentenced in Boston to 12 to 15 years in prison for child rape.
In 2020, the US government said Americans who were on board a quarantined cruise ship in Japan due to the coronavirus would be repatriated by chartered flight, but would face another two-week quarantine; about 380 Americans were on board the Diamond Princess.
Ten years ago: With blinding lightning and a booming shock wave, a meteor streaked across Russia’s western Siberian skies and exploded, injuring more than 1,000 people as it shattered windows. Making his case in Chicago, the city that launched his political career, President Barack Obama called on the government to play an active and far-reaching role in ensuring that every American has a “ladder of opportunity” in the middle class.
Five years ago: The last of the bodies of 17 Florida school shooting victims were removed from the building after authorities analyzed the crime scene; 13 injured survivors are still hospitalized. In response to the shooting, President Donald Trump, in an address to the nation, promised to “address the difficult issue of mental health” but avoided any mention of guns. Nikolas Cruz, the suspect in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was held without bond in a brief hearing. American Mikaela Shiffrin enjoyed an intense final race to win the women’s giant slalom at the Olympic Winter Games in South Korea.
A year ago: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he welcomed a security dialogue with the West after his military reported withdrawing some of its troops near Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said the United States had “not yet verified” Russia’s claim and that an invasion still remains a distinct possibility. (Russia would invade Ukraine five days later.) The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have agreed to a $73 million settlement from a lawsuit against the maker of the gun used to killing 20 first graders and six educators in 2012.
Today’s birthdays: Actress Claire Bloom is 92 years old. Author Susan Brownmiller is 88 years old. Songwriter Brian Holland is 82 years old. Rock musician Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 79 years old. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 79. Actress-model Marisa Berenson is 76 years old. Actress Jane Seymour is 72 years old. Singer Melissa Manchester is 72 years old. Actor Lynn Whitfield is 70 years old. The creator of the “Simpsons” Matt Groening is 69 years old. Model Janice Dickinson is 68 years old. Actor Christopher McDonald is 68 years old. Reggae singer Ali Campbell is 64 years old. Actor Joseph R. Gannascoli is 64 years old. Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 63 years old. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green is 63 years old. Actor-comedian Steven Michael Quezada is 60 years old. Actor Michael Easton is 56 years old. Latin singer Gloria Trevi is 55 years old. Drowning Pool) is 52 years old. Actor Alex Borstein is 52 years old. Actress Renee O’Connor is 52 years old. Actress Sarah Wynter is 50 years old. Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen is 50 years old. Actress-director Miranda July is 49 years old. Rock singer Brandon Boyd (Incubus) is 47. Rock musician Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers) is 47.
