Today In History Spotlights Feb. 15, 1898, USS Maine Explodes

Today’s History Spotlight

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The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor, Cuba. This was the catalyzing event that lead to the US declaration of war against Spain. President William McKinley had hoped to avoid war, while his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, pushed for it. Stationed in Cuba during the Cuban War for Independence, the USS Maine was originally thought to have been sunk at the hands of the Spanish. Two months later, President McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war.

The explosion killed 260 men, with six more later dying from their wounds. The Spanish-American War began on April 21, 1898, and lasted nearly four months. The sinking triggered a boost in Yellow Journalism during the era. “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain” became a popular rallying cry. Even today, the cause of the sinking is debated.

What Happened On This Day – February 15

2003 The largest peace demonstration in history takes place. Up to 30 million people in 600 cities around the world protested against the Iraq War.
2001 The first draft of the human genome is published. The human genome contains the complete human genetic information.
1989 The Soviet Union pulls out of Afghanistan. Despite their military superiority, the Soviet and Afghan armies did not succeed in breaking the Mujahideen insurgents’ resistance.
1971 The United Kingdom and Ireland decimalize their currencies. Before the change, a pound sterling was made up of 240 pence, or 20 shillings.
1965 Canada adopts its current national flag showing a maple leaf. The leaf symbolizes the country’s forests, the middle white stripe the arctic snow, and the red stripes the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Births On This Day – February 15

1954 Matt Groening – American animator, screenwriter, producer
1934 Graham Kennedy – Australian actor
1874 Ernest Shackleton – Irish explorer
1710 Louis XV of France
1564 Galileo Galilei – Italian astronomer, physicist

Deaths On This Day – February 15

2005 Samuel T. Francis – American journalist
1988 Richard Feynman – American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1965 Nat King Cole – American singer, pianist, television host
1928 H. H. Asquith – English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1781 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing – German author, philosopher

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Garrett Smith

Garrett Smith is a writer for NRN and recent graduate from Western Carolina University. He is a history major with a minor in political science. As a Conservative, Smith believes that the Left has taken over America's education system, which means they now control its history. To make their fellow Americans feel guilty, they often invoke a feeling of "American Shame" in students, indoctrinating them with radical, un-American ideas. It is Smith's goal to teach Americans the true history of America, and along with this, use its history to explain what makes us great.