February 15 : Leadership is defined by the virtues of one's behavior.

On this day, 15 Feb....

399 - Philosopher Socrates sentenced to death by the city of Athens for corrupting the minds of the youth and of impiety.

1758 - Mustard was first advertised for sale in America, by Benjamin Jackson who had set up business in Globe Mills, Germantown, Philadelphia, selling mustard packed in glass bottles with his label on them. He claimed that he had brought the art with him from London to America.

1842 - 1st adhesive postage stamps in the US.

1903 - The first teddy bear was introduced in America. It was made by Morris and Rose Michtom, Russian immigrants and owners of a toy novelty store in Brooklyn, New York. In the U.S., it is said they connected teddy bear name with President Theodore Roosevelt (also nicknamed “Teddy”). While bear hunting in Mississippi in 1902, Roosevelt decided to spare the life of a bear cub which had been orphaned during the hunt. The event was the subject of a cartoon in the Washington Post seen by the Michtoms. Inspired by the cartoon, Mrs. Michtom made a toy bear and upon being displayed as “Teddy's Bear” in the shop window, the bear proved enormously popular with the public.

1936 - Hitler announces building of Volkswagens.

1951 - The first atomic reactor to be used in medical therapy treated its first patient at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York.

1954 - An ocean exploration depth record of 13,287 feet was set when two French Navy officers, Lt. Commander Georges Houot and Lt. Pierre Willm, reached the Atlantic Ocean floor, 120 miles southwest of Dakar, Senegal, Africa. The French research submersible they used was untethered and self-propelled, designed by Auguste Piccard, and built by the French Navy. This exceeded Otis Barton's 1948 diving record of 4,500 feet off the coast of California in a tethered modified bathysphere.

1970 - A U.S. patent was issued for a "Soft Shell Mushroom Shaped Heart" to the inventor Willem J Kolff of Salt Lake City, Utah. (He also invented an artificial kidney the dialysis machine).

1988 - Kiran More stumps five West Indian batsmen at Chidambaram Stadium in Madras thus creating a world Test record.

1998 - Tennis duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were ranked No. 2 when they won Dubai Open.

2013 - In 2013, a meteor exploded in the sky over Russia's Ural Mountains. The intense shock wave injured a reported 1,000 people, mostly by flying glass fragments. Many people had been at their windows viewing the meteor when the sonic boom shattered the glass panes. It was estimated to be—very approximately—65-ft in diameter, with a mass of about 11,000 tons. It entered the Earth's atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of over 42,500 mph. The residents saw a thick, white contrail and an intense flash of light ending with a very loud thundering sound. The meteor blew apart with about 440 kilotons of total impact energy (as much as a large atomic bomb).

Born

1947 - Randhir Kapoor, actor.

1964 - Ashutosh Gowariker, screenwriter.

1981 - Kavita, actor.

RIP

1869 - Mirza "Galib" Asad Ullah Beg Khan, famous Urdu poet and writer.

You may have known....

The Manchineel tree, native to Florida is considered the most poisonous tree in the world. It causes painful blisters if one stands under it during rain, can blind one if the smoke from its burned wood touches their eyes.

Economic news

 PNB bank said it has unearthed fraudulent transactions of around Rs11400 crore in its Mumbai branch and filed a complaint with the CBI. The case pertains to jeweler Nirav Modi. After this, lenders to the Gitanjali group seeks a forensic audit of books, Sebi likely to probe disclosure lapses by banks and listed cos and ED register money laundering case.

 Sensex drops 144 points on new NPA classification.

 Sebi is readying a framework for the issuance of Participatory Notes from international financial services centers such as GIFT city.

 Trump says duty on Harley- Davidson still too high and threatened to increase the import tariff on thousands of Indian motorcycles to the US.

 The auditor of Religare Enterprises has flagged off concerns that the co may have to write off a portion of its investments in its major subsidiary Religare Finvest.

 Wind power tariff remained a record low Rs 2.43 per kWh in an auction conducted by Solar energy Corporation of India.

 Singh brothers Quit Religare Board.

 Many Shareholders, including Foreign portfolio investors, in companies and banks whose mergers have been announced but not concluded, are worried about likely impact of LTCG tax on those stocks.