February 15 in History

• 1903

  February 15, 1903:

  Morris Michtom, an inventor and toy store owner, puts out two stuffed bears marketed as “Teddy Bears” for sale, becoming the originator of the popular “teddy bear.op9”.

• 1927

  February 15, 1927:

  The silent film “It”, with actress Clara Bow as the lead character, is released.

• 1932

  February 15, 1932:

  With his Winter Olympic gold medal win as a member of the four-man bobsled team from the United States, athlete Eddie Eagan becomes the only person in history to win gold medals from different disciplines at the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics (gold medal, boxing at Antwerp in 1920).

• 1933

  February 15, 1933:

  Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak gets hit instead by a bullet which was aimed at US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

• 1950

  February 15, 1950:

  The animated film, “Cinderella” by Disney is released in US theatres.

• 1961

  February 15, 1961: All 18 members of the US figure skating team perish when the plane transporting them to the World Figure Skating Championship in Czechoslovakia crashes.

• 1965

  February 15, 1965:

  The Maple Leaf Flag is officially adopted by Canada as its national flag.

• 1978

  February 15, 1978:

  In an unexpected twist, undisputed heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali loses his titles to Leon Spinks.

• 1980

  February 15, 1980:

  Novelist Mary McCarthy is sued by playwright Lillian Hellman for $2.2 million for referring to the latter on national television as a bad and dishonest writer.

• 2008

  February 15, 2008:

  Steve Fossett, an American adventurer, is legally declared dead five months after the disappearance of his single-engine airplane.