On This Day for February 15 - USS Maine destroyed, leading to Spanish-American War, Galileo is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. February 15 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Galileo READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1898 USS Maine destroyed, leading to Spanish-American War READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2008: More than five months after his single-engine airplane went missing in Nevada, American adventurer Steve Fossett was legally declared dead; his body was recovered later in the year. [ Read about nine mysterious disappearances of people other than Amelia Earhart.] 1965: Canada officially adopted the Maple Leaf Flag following a royal proclamation. [Test your knowledge of Canada.] 1954: American cartoonist and animator Matt Groening , who created the comic strip Life in Hell and the television series The Simpsons and Futurama, was born. [Take our Simpsons quiz.] 1927: The silent film It was released in American theatres, and Clara Bow, the star, became Hollywood's first "It girl." [ How much do you know about women in classic cinema?] 1861: English mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, who was perhaps best known for his work on Principia Mathematica, was born in Ramsgate, Isle of Thanet, Kent, England. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about mathematics.] 1820: Susan B. Anthony, a pioneer crusader for the women's suffrage movement in the United States, was born in Adams, Massachusetts. [ Test your knowledge of the Nineteenth Amendment and women's suffrage.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1564 Galileo Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician 1820 Susan B. Anthony American suffragist 1972 Jaromir Jagr Czech hockey player 1710 Louis XV king of France 1874 Ernest Shackleton Anglo-Irish explorer 1483 Bābur Mughal emperor SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2021 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help