What happened on 15 February?

9 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1564 Born: Galileo Galilei Astronomer and physicist; built one of the first scientific telescopes.
2. 1942 Fall of Singapore Largest British military surrender in history; around 80,000 captured by Japan.
3. 2011 Libyan Civil War (2011) NATO-backed rebellion overthrows Muammar Gaddafi; he is killed in Sirte; Libya descends into ongoing factional war.
4. 1820 Born: Susan B. Anthony The relentless organiser of American suffrage, arrested for voting in 1872; the 19th Amendment bore her name.
5. 1867 Strauss II's The Blue Danube Concert waltz premiered in Vienna; Austria's informal national anthem; one of the most recognisable pieces of classical music.
6. 1748 Born: Jeremy Bentham English philosopher and social reformer; founder of utilitarianism; designed the panopticon prison; advocated radical legal and political reform.
7. 1989 The Red Army leaves Afghanistan General Gromov walks alone across the Friendship Bridge — officially the last Soviet soldier out of Afghanistan, ending a nine-year war that killed 15,000 Soviet troops and broke t
8. 1971 Decimal Day UK ditches pounds-shillings-pence for decimal currency.
9. 1965 Maple Leaf flag adopted After the bitter Great Flag Debate, the red maple leaf replaces the Red Ensign — a country quietly announcing it is nobody's dominion.