February 15

Today in History
• 399 - Philosopher Socrates sentenced to death
• 438 - The Theodosian Code of Roman laws proclaimed in the Eastern Empire
• 1220 - Khwarezmian city of Bukhara taken by Genghis Khan's army after a 12-day siege
• 1386 - Duke Philip the Stout forms Council of Flanders
• 1552 - Dutch coast hit by heavy storm
• 1768 - 1st mustard manufactured in America advertised, Philadelphia
• 1799 - 1st US printed ballots authorized, Pennsylvania
• 1804 - New Jersey becomes last northern state to abolish slavery


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Day of Ashakalia
• International Childhood Cancer Day
• Lantern Festival
• National Flag of Canada Day
• National Gumdrop Day
• National Wisconsin Day
• Parinirvana Day (Nirvana Day)
• Total Defense Day

Birthdays
• 37 - Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar Nero, emperor of Rome, 54-68
• 1368 - Sigismund, Nurnberg Germany, Holy Roman emperor, 1410-37
• 1483 - Babur, founder of Mughal dynasty in India 1526 - 1530
• 1519 - Pedro Menendez de Aviles, explorer, found St. Augustine Florida
• 1564 - Galileo Galilei, born in Pisa, Italy, astronomer and physicist
• 1710 - Louis XV 'Louis the Beloved', King of France (1715-74)
• 1726 - Abraham Clark, farmer/lawyer, signed Declaration of Independence
• 1809 - Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor, Mechanical reaper