TODAY is Friday, February 15, the 46th day of 2002. There are 319 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

ON THIS DATE<$>

In 1564, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa.

In 1820, American suffragist Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Mass.

In 1879, President Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

In 1898, the US battleship Maine <$>mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbour, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that claimed the life of Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak.

In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during the Second World War.

In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member US figure skating team en route to Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.

In 1965, Canada’s new maple leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa.

In 1982, 84 men were killed when a huge oil-drilling rig, the Ocean Ranger<$>, sank off the coast of Newfoundland during a fierce storm.

In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“We live by encouragement and die without it — slowly, sadly and angrily.” — Celeste Holm, American actress.