Famous people born on February 15th
February 15 gathers an unusually wide mix of minds and makers, spanning foundational science, political reform, modern comedy, and pop culture. The date links early modern inquiry with Enlightenment philosophy, then jumps forward to animation, literature, and film. It is a day that highlights how ideas travel from laboratories and lecture halls into everyday life.
Notable highlights
- Galileo Galilei (1564) - Helped reshape astronomy and physics by insisting that nature be tested through observation and experiment.
- Susan B. Anthony (1820) - A central strategist of the U.S. women\"s suffrage movement, she turned organizing into a lifelong campaign for the vote.
- Jeremy Bentham (1748) - Advanced utilitarianism and argued for legal and social reforms aimed at maximizing public well-being.
- Alfred North Whitehead (1861) - Co-authored Principia Mathematica and later developed a sweeping philosophical system about process and reality.
- Matt Groening (1954) - Created The Simpsons, redefining prime-time animation with long-running satire and cultural commentary.
- John Barrymore (1882) - A celebrated stage and screen performer whose Shakespearean roles helped set a benchmark for American acting.
- Chris Farley (1964) - A defining physical comedian of 1990s sketch comedy, remembered for high-energy characters and fearless commitment.
- Niklaus Wirth (1934) - Designed influential programming languages including Pascal, shaping how generations learned structured programming.
- Art Spiegelman (1948) - Elevated comics as serious literature with Maus, blending personal history with Holocaust testimony.
On this day
- 1564 - Galileo Galilei is born in Pisa, later becoming a pivotal figure in the Scientific Revolution.
- 1898 - The USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor, an event that helped propel the Spanish-American War.
- 1965 - Canada adopts the Maple Leaf flag, replacing earlier national symbols with a modern emblem.
- 2003 - Massive global protests oppose the impending Iraq War, among the largest coordinated demonstrations in history.