This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened today!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – February 15”.
399
Today we respect Socrates, the Greek philosopher from Athens but this was not the case always. He is credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Additionally, he is known as the first moral philosopher of the Western ethical tradition of thought. However, he was tried for accusations of corruption and impiety. The jury voted to convict him of the charges and consequently he sentenced to death. The execution was by Socrates’s drinking a poisonous beverage on February 15, 399.
1564
Galileo Galilei also known as the “father of modern physics” was born on February 15, 1564 in Pisa (Italy). He was an astronomer, natural philosopher, and mathematician who made major contributions to the science of astronomy and motion. Other than he also worked on the strength of materials and development of the scientific method. However, his revolutionizing Copernican heliocentric system lead to an inquisition process against him.
1869
Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan or today known as Mirza Ghalib was born in Agra. The Indian poet wrote in Urdu and Persian. His Persian Divan is at least five times longer than his Urdu. However, his fame rests in his Urdu poetry. The declining Mughal empire was displaced by British Raj during his lifetime. Hence, this is also described in his work. However, Ghalib died on 15 February, 1869 at his house (Ghalib ki Haveli) in Delhi. Today this is converted into Ghalib Memorial meant for exhibition of his literary works. Along with this, he is a popular name among the Hindustani diaspora all around the world.
1879
February 15, 1879 is an important day in the history of America as President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a new law. According to this, women were allowed to admit as members of the Supreme Court Bar which means they could submit and argue cases at the high court.
This became possible because of the efforts of the teacher, suffragette, lawyer and presidential candidate Belva Lockwood. She was denied the same several times. However, Lockwood worked to change the law which only allowed men in that position. As a result, when Rutherford passed the new law she became the first female attorney to appear before the Court. This is how US Supreme Court allowed female lawyers to fight lawsuits.
1976
The Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering at Bhopal was established on February 15, 1976. This institute was meant to provide research platform for Agricultural Engineering. According to the early mandate, farm machinery, post harvest technology and energy in agriculture were the areas to be addressed. However, the range of activity then extended to include Irrigation, Drainage Engineering, Instrumentation and Agro-Industrial Extension.
