February 14th What Happened on the day you were born on This day in History
1989 India Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 Million
14th February, 1989 : Following the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster by a Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant which released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, killing between 2500 and 5000 people in Bhopal. Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the government of India who were acting as the legal representative for victims of the disaster .
14th February, 1989 : Following the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster by a Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant which released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, killing between 2500 and 5000 people in Bhopal. Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the government of India who were acting as the legal representative for victims of the disaster .
1912 U.S.A. Arizona
14th February, : Arizona becomes the 48th state of the union .
1920 U.S.A. League of Women Voters
14th February, 1920 : The League of Women Voters is founded by Carrie Chapman Catt in Chicago during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
1929 U.S.A. St. Valentine's Day Massacre
14th February, 1929 : Seven gangster rivals of Al Capone were murdered in Chicago when Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn ordered the kill of rival George “Bugs” Moran. ( Known as St. Valentine's Day Massacre ).
1929 England Penicillin
14th February, 1929 : Sir Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin after leaving a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, he noticed that a mold that had fallen on the culture had killed many of the bacteria.
1933 U.S.A. Banking Problems
14th February, 1933: Governor William A. Comstock had declared an eight-day bank holiday-really a temporary moratorium. This decision was made in light of the current financial emergency that was taking place in the city of Detroit and the rest of the state of Michigan. The main reason for this temporary bank closure was because of the Detroit Ford Motor Company’s refusal to entrust its deposits to the Union Guardian Trust. Governor Comstock felt that it would help protect the interest of small depositors.
1937 U.S.A. United Mine Workers of America
14th February, 1937 : The United Mine Workers of America gave an ultimatum. They demanded 30 hours a week and a 15 cent pay raise or strike as of April 1st of 1937 (in a couple of months). April 1 was the time when the steel organization was to be at its height. Despite the threat of strike, coal operators are not expecting to grant wage increases and will expect to increase the work week to 40 hours. The wage increase at the time was a daily rate of $5.50 per hour in the North, and $5.10 in the Southern fields.
1939 Germany German Battleship Bismarck
14th February, 1939 : The German Reich launches the battleship Bismarck, which was the largest battleship ever commisioned up to that date. The Bismarck sunk the pride of the British fleet the battlecruiser HMS Hood in the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941, but in September after spending months trying to gain revenge The Bismarck was sunk by the British Royal Navy.
1942 U.S.A. Anti Fascist TV Broadcast
14th February, 1942 : In the midst of World War II, a new anti-fascist broadcast was aired on four major U.S. television stations. This series had lasted for 13 weeks and featured actors such as James Stewart, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Tyrone Power. The purpose of the This is War broadcast was to promote the Allied armies of the war, and branches of the military-particularly the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The United States was among one of the Allied countries that fought against the rising Nazi regime.
1943 World War II Kasserine Pass
14th February, 1943 : One of the most significant World War II American defeats occurred during the battle of the Kasserine Pass. German General Erwin Rommel and African troops headed an attack against American and other allied forces in Tunisia, North Africa. The Battle of the Kasserine Pass resulted in the death of over 1,000 American soldiers. Hundreds of others were taken prisoner. This defeat that the Americans had experienced during was one of the worst of the entire World War.
1948 U.S.A. NASCAR
14th February, 1948 : NASCAR holds its first race for modified stock cars on a 3.2 mile-course at Daytona Beach
1951 U.S.A. Teachers Strike
14th February, 1951 : Schools that were closed since a strike that took place since January 23rd were re-opened. The teachers had picketed up until a day before this date, demanding a pay raise higher than the $100.00 a year offered by the school board once a year. An agreement was made by Governor Luther W. Youngdahl to intervene with Minnesota legislators in an effort to gain more financial support for city’s schools. This strike had originally started with the Janitors, but then eventually teachers were included in it as well.
1962 U.S.A. Jacqueline Kennedy
14th February, 1962 : First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gives a tour of the White House shown on Television which 3 out of 4 Americans watch on TV.
1974 Soviet Union Alexander Solzhenitsyn
14th February, 1974 : Soviet authorities have formally charged Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn with treason one day after expelling him from the country and revoking his Russian citizenship.
1984 Yugoslavia Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean
14th February, 1984 : Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean win the Olympic ice skating championship with the free dance performance of Ravel's Bolero.
1989 Nicaragua Sandinistas
14th February, 1989 : Sandinistas, the leftist Nicaraguan government that ruled during this time, had on this date agreed to free elections. Additionally, the Sandinistas had agreed to release a certain number of political prisoners within a year. In return, the country of Honduras agreed to shut down bases used to fight against the Sandinista regime. Within a year, communist leaders were voted out by the people, as they had the chance to vote for who they would want in power.
1989 Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
14th February, 1989 : Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a ( FATWA ) death sentence on British writer Salman Rushdie for his authorship of the book Satanic Verses.
2000 U.S.A. Tornadoes
14th February, 2000 : A series of tornadoes had swept through Georgia during a more unusual time of the year-in the winter. Most tornadoes usually occur in the spring when cold air collides with warm air. Five tornadoes in all had swept through Colquitt, Tift, Mitchell and Grady counties. These counties were/are located about 200 miles south of Atlanta. The most powerful of all the twisters that moved through this area was the F3, which had torn down 200 mobile homes in Camilla (a small town). Most people were sleeping at the time this tornado had occurred, so of course it had caught them by surprise.
2005 Lebanon Terrorist Bomb
14th February, 2005 : A terrorist bomb in West Beirut kills 9 including the Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in an apparent assassination.
2006 Iran Uranium Enrichment
14th February, 2006 : Iran said it had resumed uranium enrichment; Russia and France immediately called on Iran to halt its work.
2008 U.S.A. Shooting At Northern Illinois University
14th February, 2008 : A former student of Northern Illinois University opens fire at a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University killing 7 and injuring 14 more
