This day in history

[February 15, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2010. There are 319 days left in the year. This is Presidents Day.

Today's highlight in history:

On Feb. 15, 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

On this date:

In 1710, King Louis XV of France was born.

In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau.

In 1820, American suffragist Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Mass.

In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later.

In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World War II.

In 1944, Allied bombers destroyed the monastery atop Monte Cassino (MAWN'-tay kah-SEE'-noh) in Italy.

In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U.S. figure skating team en route to Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.

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.

Ten years ago: Republican presidential rivals George W. Bush and John McCain fought over campaign financing and the tenor of their nomination contest in a testy debate in Columbia, S.C. that included Alan Keyes. Fox aired "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?," a TV special which generated huge ratings and much controversy.

Five years ago: Defrocked priest Paul Shanley was sentenced in Boston to 12 to 15 years in prison on child rape charges. Christopher Pittman, a teen who claimed the antidepressant Zoloft had driven him to kill his grandparents at age 12, was found guilty in Charleston, S.C. of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

One year ago: President Hugo Chavez (OO'-goh CHAH'-vez) of Venezuela won a referendum to eliminate term limits, paving the way for him to run again in 2012. The Western Conference beat the East 146-119 in the NBA All-Star game. Matt Kenseth won the rain-shortened Daytona 500.

Today's birthdays: Actor Kevin McCarthy is 96. Actor Allan Arbus is 92. Former Illinois Congressman John Anderson is 88. Former Defense and Energy Secretary James Schlesinger is 81. Actress Claire Bloom is 79. Author Susan Brownmiller is 75. Songwriter Brian Holland is 69. Rock musician Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 66. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 66. Actress Jane Seymour is 59. Singer Melissa Manchester is 59. Actress Lynn Whitfield is 57. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening (GREE'-ning) is 56. Model Janice Dickinson is 55. Actor Christopher McDonald is 55. Reggae singer Ali Campbell is 51. Actor Joseph R. Gannascoli is 51. Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 50. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green is 50. Country singer Michael Reynolds (Pinmonkey) is 46. Actor Michael Easton is 43. Rock musician Stevie Benton (Drowning Pool) is 39. Actress Renee O'Connor is 39. Actress Sarah Wynter is 37. Rock singer Brandon Boyd (Incubus) is 34. Rock musician Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers) is 34. Actress Ashley Lyn Cafagna is 27.

Thought for today: "We live by encouragement and die without it -- slowly, sadly and angrily." -- Celeste Holm, American actress

[Associated Press]

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