Milestones: February 15, 2024

February 15, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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THE USS MAINE — A MASSIVE EXPLOSSION ON FEB. 15, 1898, SANK THE AMERICAN BATTLESHIP USS MAINE IN CUBA’S HAVANA HARBOR, killing a majority of the American crew members and thus igniting the Spanish-American War. The explosion, with an unknown cause, was blamed on Spain, as the USS Maine was in Cuban waters for a friendly mission, protecting Americans and locals who had the previous month rebelled against Spanish rule. A Naval Court of Inquiry initially determined that a mine had been detonated. American public opinion, particularly in Congress, was squarely against Spain, particularly after that nation suppressed the Cuban rebellion. After diplomacy failed, the U.S. declared war on Spain that April, but the conflict lasted only three months, as the U.S. soon defeated Spanish forces on both land and sea. An armistice was signed leading to the Treaty of Paris, which essentially handed the United States an overseas empire, with Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines part of the package.

It would take seven decades for American naval investigators to conclude in 1976 that neither sabotage nor a Spanish mine caused the Feb. 15, 1898 explosion. Instead, the probable cause was a fire that ignited the ship’s stock of ammunition.

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A FRACTURED ALLIANCE? — THE SOVIET UNION AND THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, THE WORLD’S TWO LARGEST COMMUNIST NATIONS, ON FEB. 15, 1950, signed a mutual defense and assistance treaty. The parties, PRC leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou En-lai, joined Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and Foreign Minister Andrei Vishinsky in Moscow, The treaty’s terms stipulated that the Soviets give a $300 million credit to the People’s Republic of China, as well as return to China control of a major railroad that Russian forces had taken during World War II. The two Communist powers also agreed to defend each other against Japanese aggression.

However, cracks soon appeared in the alliance, as China charged that the Soviet Union was getting too friendly with the West, particularly the United States, with which the USSR had been an ally of convenience during World War II. Mao Zedong went as far as publicly that the U.S. and USSR were conniving against the Chinese revolution.

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SINGAPORE FALLS TO JAPAN — JAPANESE FORCES INVADED AND SEIZED THE BRITISH ASIAN STRONGHOLD OF SINGAPORE, on Feb. 15, 1942. Called the “Gibraltar of the East,” Singapore which sits on the Malay peninsula, had been part of Great Britain since the 19th century, until Japan, already occupying French Indochina (later called Vietnam). decided to requisition the land. Japan transported its troops to Singapore on the eve of the Pearl Harbor attack, and began attacking from air, killing 61 Singapore civilians. A combination of tactical miscalculations on the part of British forces, the destruction of Singapore’s main line of defense — its tactic guns, and poor communications, led to its fall to Japan.

Japan’s invasion and attack gave it 62,000 POWs, more than half of whom died.

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OVERCAME POLIO TO WIN GOLD — THE FIRST AMERICAN FEMALE TO WIN THE WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP ON FEB. 15, 1953, WAS A 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL who had conquered the limitations of polio. Tenley Albright, from Boston, won the championship, with all seven judges gave her a first-place vote, leading the youth to call her performance her “best.” Albright would also become America’s first female skating gold medalist at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. After winning the 1956 Olympics, Albright retired in favor of Harvard Medical School. Her father, a surgeon, was determined that college was a priority over professional skating.

Albright, for her part, said she wanted to keep skating fun, and so stayed on the amateur track. Like her father, she became an acclaimed surgeon.

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EXPANDED ORCHESTRA BROUGHT MUSIC TO SCHOOLS — HENRY LEWIS AT AGE 36 BECAME THE first Black conductor of a major U.S. orchestra on Feb. 15, 1968, joining the New Jersey Symphony. The New York Tims referred to Lewis as “the Jackie Robinson of classical music.” Lewis turned the regional New Jersey State Orcheestra, that presented two dozen performances annually. into a major U.S, ensemble whose schedule increased to more than 100 concerts per year. He also got them booked at the prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in Manhattan and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Lewis, who stayed in the position until 1976, was also committed to bringing to bringing the orchestra — and classical music — to underserved audiences, with concert tickets ranging around $1.00. He also brought the orchestra into local schools and community centers.

See previous milestones, here.