Year 15 February Major Events 399 BC Philosopher Socrates sentenced to death by the City of Athens. Socrates was accused of corrupting the minds of the city’s youth and spreading atheism. 1763 Austria, Persia and Saxony signed the Habsburg Treaty, ending the French-Indian War. 1798 Louis Alexandre Bardier, after conquering Rome, proclaimed the Roman Republic there. 1879 The US Congress gave women lawyers the right to practice in the US Supreme Court. 1898 Due to an explosion, the American warship USS Maine sank in Havana Harbor, which had about 260 soldiers on board. Most of them died. 1903 The first teddy bear was introduced in America. It was created by Morris & Rose Mishtam. 1906 The British Labor Party was formed. 1922 Inventor and Nobel laureate Marconi started regular radio broadcasting from Essex. 1936 Adolf Hitler announced the creation of the Volkswagen Beetle. It was also called the People’s Car. 1942 During World War-2, Singapore had to surrender to Japan, which was earlier ruled by Britain. 1955 The first pilot plant for making manmade diamonds was announced. 1961 America’s entire figure skating team lost its life in a plane crash. This crash happened near Brussels Airport when the plane was going to Belgium. This team, which had 73 people, was going from New York for the World Championship to be held in Prague. Of these, 34 were American skaters, coaches, officials and other team members. 1965 The red maple leaf became the official flag of Canada. 1971 After 1200 years, Great Britain abolished the pence and shilling system and adopted decimal currency. 1971 Sound recordings received protection under US federal copyright for the first time. 1989 Soviet military occupation of Afghanistan ended. The last contingent of Soviet soldiers also left the Afghan border. 2019 US President Donald Trump declared a national emergency so that funds could be diverted to build the border wall. 2021 Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iwala became the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO). 2024 Greece became the first Christian Orthodox country to legalize gay marriage and adoption.