February 15, 1947: David Brown, bassist with Santana 1967 – 71 and 1974 – 76, was born.
February 15 Music et al
The Sound of Music
February 15 – May 8, 1960: the soundtrack from the original cast for The Sound of Music was Billboard’s #1 album. Columbia Masterworks recorded the original Broadway cast album a week after the show’s 1959 opening. The album was the label’s first deluxe package in a gatefold jacket, priced $1 higher than previous cast albums. It was #1 on Billboard’s best-selling albums chart for 16 weeks in 1960.
February 15 Music et al
Meet the Beatles
February 15 – May 1, 1964: Meet the Beatles became the Billboard #1 album. Meet the Beatles! was the second Beatles album released in the United States. It was the first US Beatles album to be issued by Capitol Records, on 20 January 1964 in both mono and stereo formats. The Beatles’ Second Album replace Meet the Beatles at the number 1 spot.
The cover featured Robert Freeman’s portrait used in the United Kingdom for With the Beatles, with a blue tint added to the original stark black-and-white photograph. (see Feb 16)
The Beatles (White album)
February 15 – March 7, 1969: The Beatles again the Billboard #1 album.
The Beatles, (aka the “White Album”) was their ninth studio album. Apple released the double album on 22 November 1968. Its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band’s embossed name. It was a big contrast to the elaborate artwork of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. No singles came from the album, but Apple released “Hey Jude” and “Revolution,” recorded at the same time, in August 1968.
The Beatles wrote most of the songs during March and April 1968 at a Transcendental Meditation course in India. They began recording the album in May 1968 and continued until October. (theBeatles.com site article) (see Mar 12)
Sly and the Family Stone
February 15 – March , 1969: “Everyday People” by Sly and the Family Stone #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
February 15, 1804: New Jersey passed a law delaying the end of slavery for decades. It provided for the “gradual emancipation of slaves” and in doing so became the last Northern state to begin the process of ending enslavement within its borders. Using the language of bondage, the 1804 act provided that children of enslaved people born after July 4, 1804, would be freed when they reached the age of 21 for women and the age of 15 for men. [EJI article] (next BH, see “In January” 1805)
School Desegregation
February 15, 1848: 5-year-old Sarah Roberts (“a colored child…, a resident of Boston, and living with her father.”) had applied to a member of the (Boston) district primary school committee for a ticket of admission to her district school. The school committee refused her application “on the ground of her being a colored person.”
On this date Sarah Roberts “went into the primary schol nearest her residence, but without any ticket of admission…and was…ejected from the school by the teacher.” Benjamin Roberts, Sarah’s father, sued the City of Boston. (BH, see Mar 17; SD, see December 4, 1849; see SR for expanded chronology)
”SCOTTSBORO BOYS”
February 15, 1935: Samuel Leibowitz argued before the US Supreme Court, that blacks had been excluded from the Scottsboro jury pool because of their race. Leibowitz claimed that the black names currently on the jury rolls had been forged in after the fact. (see Scottsboro for expanded story)
The Greensboro Four
February 15 – 21, 1960: Edward R. Zane, a member of the Greensboro City Council, worked with students to reach a compromise. The Mayor agreed to appoint a committee to address the issue, and the protesters agreed to continue negotiations. Several Greensboro associations, including The Board of Directors of the Greensboro Council of Church Women, the YWCA, and several ministerial alliances came out in favor of integration. (see G4 for expanded chronology)
FREE SPEECH
February 15, 1961: more than 300 acres in which Rev Ralph Abernathy had an interest were ordered sold in order to help satisfy the libel judgment against him in the L B Sullivan suit. (BH & FS, see Feb 21)
White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
February 15, 1964: Sam Bowers viewed the original Ku Klux Klan as being too passive. On this date at a meeting in Brookhaven, Mississippi, he convinced about 200 members of the original Knights to defect and join his Klan, to be called the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, that would not hesitate to reveal the true nature of CORE, SPLC, NAACP, and SDS to achieve its goals. He became the group’s fraternal “imperial wizard”. Bowers adopted a code of secrecy with the purpose of preserving law and order in the South. (BH, see Feb 22; Bowers, see June 7)
George Whitmore, Jr
February 15, 1965: Richard Robles indicted for the Wylie/Hoffert murders. Robles “maintains his innocence,” according to his court-appointed attorney. (see Whitmore for expanded story)
Muhammad Ali
February 15, 1978: probably taking his young challenger too lightly, Ali lost his heavyweight title to Leon Spinks in a split decision. (NY Daily News flashback article) (Ali, seeSept 15; BH see June 8)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Feminism
Supreme Court
February 15, 1879: President Rutherford B. Hayes signed legislation allowing women to be admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court. (next Feminism, see March 3)
Voting Rights
February 15, 1919: the “Prison Special” tour began when a train named “Democracy Limited” left Union Station in Washington, D.C. and traveled across country with 26 suffragists on board who had served jail sentences. Over next three weeks, the women, often dressed in prison costumes, spoke about their incarceration and sought support for federal woman suffrage amendment. (see Feb 24)
Bill Baird Abortion Clinic
February 15, 1979: Peter Burkin bombed the clinic of abortion rights activist Bill Baird in Hempstead, Long Island. . All escaped due to Baird’s training drills with his employees that prepared them for such a violent attack. Burkin was given a two-year sentence in a mental hospital. (next Feminism seeOctober 14, 1979)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
The Red Scare & US Labor History
February 15, 1950: the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) expelled the Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers; the Food, Tobacco & Agricultural Workers; and the United Office & Professional Workers for “Communist tendencies.” Other unions expelled for the same reason (dates uncertain): Fur and Leather Workers, the Farm Equipment Union, the Int’l Longshoremen’s Union, the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers. (RS, see Feb 20; LH, see October 27, 1951)
The Cold War
February 15, 1967: the March 1967 issue of Ramparts magazine created a national sensation by publishing an exposé of Central Intelligence Agency’s secret funding of education groups, including primarily the National Student Association. The article was titled, “A Short Account of International Student Politics and the Cold War with Particular Reference to the NSA, CIA, etc.” It was the first significant breach in the veil of secrecy surrounding the CIA, and the first revelation of secret funding of American organizations and journalists.
From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, Ramparts was the most important anti-war, counter-culture, general circulation magazines in the U.S. It was later revealed that the CIA learned of the forthcoming article and spied on the magazine and its writers in violation of the CIA charter that forbade the agency from spying within the United States. (2015 New Yorker magazine article on topic) (see November 17, 1969)
February 15 – May 8, 1960: the soundtrack from the original cast for The Sound of Music was Billboard’s #1 album.
The Beatles: Meet the Beatles
February 15 – May 1, 1964: Meet the Beatles became the Billboard #1 album. (see Feb 16)
The Beatles: “White” album
February 15 – March 7, 1969: The Beatles again the Billboard #1 album. (see Mar 12)
Sly and the Family Stone
February 15 – March , 1969: “Everyday People” by Sly and the Family Stone #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Vietnam War
Helicopters shot down
February 15, 1967: the Viet Cong shot down thirteen American helicopters in one day, 10 in one area. An American spokesman said that 9 or the 10 were repairable.
Based on Pentagon announcements about 685 helicopters had been destroyed in the war to this point. (see Mar 2)
Chicago 8
February 15, 1970: Judge Julius Hoffman convicted the two defense attorneys and three of the defendants to prison for contempt of court. William M Kunstler was convicted of 24 counts of contempt and sentenced to 4 years and 13 days in a Federal prison. Leonard Weinglass, the other defense attorney was found guilty on 14 counts of contempt and sentenced to 1 year 8 months and 3 days.
Hoffman also gave contempt terms to three defendants. Jerry Rubin received 2 years 1 month 23 days on 15 counts; John Froines received 6 months 15 days on 10 counts, and Lee Weiner received 2 months 18 days on 7 counts. (see Feb 18)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Soviet war in Afghanistan
February 15, 1989: The Soviet Union announced that all of its troops had left Afghanistan.
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Jack Kevorkian
February 15, 1993: Hugh Gale, a 70-year-old man with emphysema and congestive heart disease, died in his Roseville home. Prosecutors investigated after Right-to-Life advocates find papers that show Kevorkian altered his account of Gale’s death, deleting a reference to a request by Gale to halt the procedure. (see JK for expanded chronology)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Sexual Abuse of Children
February 15, 2005: defrocked Paul Shanleysentenced in to 12 to 15 years in prison on child rape charges. (NY Times article) (see Mar 30)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Cannabis
February 15, 2008: the American College of Physicians (ACP) stated its support for the use of non-smoked forms of THC, research on the benefits of medical marijuana, review of the federal scheduling of marijuana, and exemption from criminal prosecution. (Natural News article) (see Nov 4 or see CCC for expanded chronology)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
February 15, 2010: the Deepwater Horizondrilling rig, owned by Transocean, began drilling on the Macondo Prospect. (see Apr 1)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
TERRORISM
February 15, 2011: Judge Nancy G. Edmunds of Federal District Court sentenced Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner with explosives concealed in his underwear on Christmas Day in 2009. Edmunds his crime and subsequent lack of remorse demanded the maximum possible punishment.. (see November 21, 2013)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
LGBTQ
February 15, 2015: Roy Moore, the conservative chief justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court, said that if the U.S. Supreme Court decided that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, he would defy the ruling because it would alter God’s “organic law.” (see Feb 17)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Sexual Abuse of Children
February 15, 2019: the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn namedmore than 100 priests who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing a child. It was one of the largest disclosures yet in a torrent of lists recently published by the church as its handling of the problem had drawn the scrutiny of law enforcement officials.
The diocese was also one of the largest in the nation, its domain encompassing Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, an area with 1.5 million people who the church said identify as Catholic.
The disclosure covered decades of allegations involving priests who had served in the diocese’s many neighborhood parishes, as well as its schools, including Cathedral Preparatory, Christ the King, St. Francis Preparatory and Archbishop Molloy high schools. Advocates who track abuse cases said it also roughly doubled the number of suspected abusers they had been aware of in the diocese. (see Feb 16)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Trump’s Wall
February 15, 2019: President Trump declared a national emergencyon the border with Mexico in order to access billions of dollars that Congress refused to give him to build a wall there, transforming a highly charged policy dispute into a confrontation over the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution.
Trying to regain momentum after losing a grinding two-month battle with lawmakers over funding the wall, Mr. Trump asserted that the flow of drugs, criminals and illegal immigrants from Mexico constituted a profound threat to national security that justified unilateral action.
“We’re going to confront the national security crisis on our southern border, and we’re going to do it one way or the other,” he said in a televised statement in the Rose Garden barely 13 hours after Congress passed a spending measurewithout the money he had sought. “It’s an invasion,” he added. “We have an invasion of drugs and criminals coming into our country.” (IH & TW, see Feb 18)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Colin Kaepernick
February 15, 2019: Colin Kaepernick reached a settlement over his collusion grievance against the National Football League. His attorneys, Mark Geragos, and Ben Meiselas and the NFL released a joint statement announcing that a settlement had been reached by the league and the former San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback and Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid, who filed a similar grievance. (next FS, see June 24; next LH, see Feb 21; next CK, see Feb 27)
February 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Free Speech
February 15, 2022: jurors found that The New York Times did not defame Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, in a June 2017 editorial that wrongly claimed a link between an ad from her political action committee and a mass shooting many months later.
It was a one-two punch for Palin. The unanimous verdict came a day after the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, ruled that he would set aside the jury’s verdict — whatever it might be — and dismiss the case. He said Palin had failed to make a sufficient argument that the Times had acted with actual malice to let the case be determined by a jury.
That legal standard of “actual malice,” set in a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that also involved the Times, requires that the newspaper either knowingly published damning and false information or recklessly disregarded the likelihood that its claims were likely to prove false.
“You decided the facts. I decided the law,” Rakoff told jurors on Tuesday. “It turns out they were both in agreement, in this case.” NPR article] (next FS, see June 12, 2023)
February 14, 1859: Oregon granted statehood in 1859. It was the only state in the Union admitted with a constitution that forbade black people from living, working, or owning property there. It was illegal for black people even to move to the state until 1926. (see Mar 3)
National Negro Congress forms
February 14, 1936: The National Negro Congress(NNC) (formed in 1935 at Howard University) held its first national meeting in Chicago. The NCC was a confluence of civic, civil rights, labor, and religious groups from across the nation; over 800 delegates representing 551 organizations and over 3 million constituents attended. A. Philip Randolph was elected President and John P. Davis was elected National Secretary. In keeping with their Popular Front orientation, the Communists in attendance did not attempt to hide their affiliation but consciously deferred to non-Communist delegates. (next BH, see Apr 28)
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
February 14, 1957: a follow-up to the January 10 meeting was held in New Orleans. Out of these two meetings came a new organization with Dr. King as its president. Initially called the “Negro Leaders Conference on Nonviolent Integration,” then “Southern Negro Leaders Conference,” the group eventually chose “Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (SCLC) as its name, and expanded its focus beyond busses to ending all forms of segregation. A small office was established on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta with Ella Baker as SCLC’s first — and for a long time only — staff member. (see Mar 26)
Malcolm X
February 14, 1965: Malcolm X’s home firebombed. He and his family escaped injury. A week later, after his return from Detroit, on February 21st, 1965 he would be assassinated at the age of 40. (BH, see Feb 15; MX, see Feb 21)
George Whitmore, Jr.
February 14, 1965: District Attorney Aaron E Koota agreed to reopen the David Coleman case. (see Whitmore for expanded story)
BLACK & SHOT
February 14, 2011: a Westchester County grand jury concluded that there was “no reasonable cause” to indict Officer Aaron Hess who shot and killed Danroy Henry Jr in a car outside a bar last fall in Thornwood, prosecutors announced.
The Westchester district attorney, Janet DiFiore, said the grand jury had heard testimony from 85 witnesses in its investigation into the death of Henry .Hess of the Pleasantville Police Department fired through the windshield of Mr. Henry’s car, killing him and wounding his best friend from high school, Brandon Cox, 20. (B & S, and Henry, see Apr 13 )
Stop and Frisk Policy
February 14, 2012: The NYPD conducted about 685,000 stops in 2011, the highest number on record since the City Council started collecting stop-and-frisk data in 2002. (see Feb 29)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Voting Rights
February 14, 1899: Congress approved the use of voting machines in federal elections. (see April 27, 1903)
February 14, 2014: employees at Volkswagon’s Chattanooga, TN plantvoted against representation by United Auto Workers, leaving the factory as the only Volkswagen plant worldwide without a formal mechanism for workers’ representation. (see Mar 26)
Denver Teacher Strike
February 14, 2019: Denver teachers returned to the classroom after the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools reached a tentative labor agreement.
At issue had been teacher pay — specifically, a system that granted certain teachers incentives for working in high-poverty schools or in hard-to-staff subjects. Union leaders wanted higher base salaries for more teachers and more opportunities to work toward a higher pay grade through professional development.
The tentative agreement includes a base salary increase, between 7 to 11 percent, and changes to the incentive system. (see Feb 15)
February 14, 1969: now known as NARAL Pro Choice America, NARAL was founded as the National Association for Repeal of Abortion Laws, and later became the National Abortion Rights Action League. It was founded at the first National Conference on Reform of Abortion Laws in Chicago. 21 organizations and 350 individuals sponsored the conference . (Feminism, see Feb 20; WH, see Mar 21)
TERRORISM
February 14, 2018: Marckles Alcius, of Lowell, Massachusetts, crashed a stolen bakery delivery truck into an East Orange (NJ) Planned Parenthood clinic. Three people, a staff member and two patients, including a pregnant woman, sustained minor injuries in the attack. All three went to the hospital, and were treated for their injuries and released.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office charged Alcius with attempting to cause widespread injury or damage, six counts of aggravated assault, theft and weapons offenses. (WH, see Mar 20; T, see Feb 27)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Technological & Cultural Milestones
Penicillin
February 14, 1929: Alexander Fleming introduced his mold by-product called penicillin to cure bacterial infections. (see January 31, 1930)
ENIAC
February 14, 1946: the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was unveiled. The device, built at the University of Pennsylvania, was the world’s first general purpose electronic computer. (see February 21, 1947)
Pale Blue Dot
February 14, 1990: Voyager 1 sent back the Pale Blue Dot picture. The satellite was around 3.5 billion miles away from earth. (see May 31)
YouTube
February 14 2005: the video sharing website YouTube founded. (see Apr 23)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Calvin Graham
Payment request
February 14, 1944, : Graham filed an application with the Chief of Naval Personnel for mustering-out payment.
Back-pay denied
February 14, 1979: Graham’s claim for back-pay from his World War II service was denied on the basis that the claim was filed more than 6 years after discharge and, by statute, the claim was too late. The existence of the earlier claim (within the 6-year limit) was not known at the time of this decision. The Navy reinstated all of his medals with the exception of the Purple Heart. He was awarded $337 in back pay but was denied health benefits except for disability. (see Grahamfor expanded story)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Vietnam
Military Advisors
February 14, 1962: President John F. Kennedy authorized U.S. military advisors in Vietnam to return fire if fired upon. At a news conference, he said, “The training missions we have [in South Vietnam] have been instructed that if they are fired upon, they are of course to fire back, but we have not sent combat troops in [the] generally understood sense of the word.” (seeFeb 18)
Chicago 8
February 14, 1970: Judge Julius Hoffman sentenced four of the defendants to lengthy prison terms for contempt of court. After sending the jury to begin its deliberations, Hoffman started convicting the defendants and their lawyers for “numerous acts that add up to a total disregard for the conduct of this trial.” David Dellinger was found guilty on 31 counts and sentenced to 2 years 5 months 16 days; Renny Davis on 23 counts was sentenced to 2 years 1 month 14 days; Thomas Hayden on 11 counts was sentenced to 1 year 1 month 14 days; and Abbie Hoffman found guilty on 24 counts and sentenced to 8 months. (see Feb 15)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Nuclear/Chemical Weapons News
Treaty of Tlatelolco
February 14, 1967: the Treaty of Tlatelolcowas signed. The nations of Latin America and the Caribbean drafted this treaty to keep their region of the world free of nuclear weapons. Whereas Antarctica had earlier been declared a nuclear-weapon-free zone under the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, this was the first time such a ban was put in place over such a vast, populated area.
The Latin American countries other than Cuba all signed the treaty in 1967, along with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and all of these ratified the treaty by 1972. The treaty came into force on 22 April 1968, after El Salvador had joined Mexico in ratifying it and waived the conditions for its entry into force in accordance with its Article 28. (US Dept of State article) (see Feb 18)
Iran uranium
February 14, 2006: Iran said it had resumed uranium enrichment, prompting Russia and France to call on Tehran to halt its work. (Washington Post article) (see Sept 7)
Soviet cruise missiles
February 14, 2017: the New York Times reported that “Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile that American officials say violates a landmark arms control treaty, posing a major test for President Trump as his administration is facing a crisis over its ties to Moscow.” (NYT article) (see Mar 17)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
February 14 Music et al
The Beatles
February 14, 1972: John Lennon and Yoko Ono began a week long stay as co-hosts on “The Mike Douglas Show.”
Here’s a clip. Mike does “Michelle.” Yikes! Slide up to 4:40 for John and Yoko. (see Feb 19)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Iran hostage crisis
February 14, 1979: in Kabul, Muslim extremists kidnapped the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, who was later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police. (2017 Washingtonian article) (see Oct 20)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Environmental Issues
Union Carbide
February 14, 1989: Union Carbide agreed to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal Disaster. (NYT article) (see Mar 24)
February 14, 2011: The Long Walkers 3 left La Jolla, California. Walkers split into two routes: North and South. Along the way, they will hold community talks about reversing diabetes and heart disease through diet and exercise. Their statement read, in part, “This is a 5,000+ mile Walk Across America to bring awareness of the devastating effects of diabetes and how it can be reversed by changing our entire diet and lifestyle! This disease is at epidemic levels across America, and throughout Indian Country.” (seeJuly 8)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Cannabis
February 14, 2013: the Obama administration gave the banking industry the green lightto finance and do business with legal marijuana sellers, a move that could further legitimize the burgeoning industry. For the first time, legal distributors will be able to secure loans and set up checking and savings accounts with major banks that have largely steered clear of those businesses. The decision eliminates a key hurdle facing marijuana sellers, who can now legally conduct business in 20 states and the District. (next Cannabis, see Mar 21or see CCC for expanded chronology)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
Pledge of Allegiance
February 14, 2018: Boulder County District Attorney’s office announced that it had charged Karen Smith with child abuse and third-degree assault after allegedly assaulting a student on February 1 for not standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. (Smith & Pledge, see Aug 30)
February 14 Peace Love Art Activism
What's so funny about peace, love, art, and activism?