15 Feb 1386
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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King Jagiello of Lithuania was baptized into the Christian faith. Lithuania being the last heathen nation in Europe, Jagiello's conversion finalized the Macedonian Vision in Acts 16:9, leading St. Paul to begin taking the Gospel to Europe.
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15 Feb 1762
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.'
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15 Feb 1860
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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Wheaton College was chartered in Illinois under Methodist sponsorship. (The following year the school passed into Congregational control. Today, Wheaton is non-denominational.)
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15 Feb 1915
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history
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WW2
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Russian Sikorsky reconnaissance bombers attacked targets in the Vistula-Dobrzhani area of Poland.
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15 Feb 1917
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history
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WW2
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Quintin Brand was promoted to the rank of captain and became a flight commander of No. 1 Squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps.
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15 Feb 1918
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history
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WW2
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Friedrich Christiansen shot down a British H12B flying boat off Felixstowe, England, United Kingdom.
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15 Feb 1921
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history
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WW2
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Robert von Greim was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann.
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15 Feb 1927
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history
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WW2
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Commander Shigeru Osamu was named the chief equipping officer of Destroyer No. 34.
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15 Feb 1928
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history
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WW2
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Former British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith (Lord Oxford) of the Liberal Party died at his home at Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom.
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15 Feb 1930
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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Death of Franklin L. Sheppard, 78. He served on the editorial committee of the 1911 edition of the Presbyterian Hymnal, but is better remembered for composing the hymn tune TERRA BEATA, to which "This Is My Father's World" is most commonly sung.
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15 Feb 1932
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history
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WW2
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German President Paul von Hindenburg announced his intention to run for another term in the upcoming election.
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15 Feb 1932
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history
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WW2
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The local Chinese naval commander in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China surrendered his 5 river gunboats to the Japanese.
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15 Feb 1933
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history
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WW2
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Giuseppe Zangara made an assassination attempt on President-Elect of the United States Franklin Roosevelt in Miami, Florida, United States.
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15 Feb 1934
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history
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WW2
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Adolf Galland joined the Luftwaffe; he would complete basic military training at Dresden, Germany.
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15 Feb 1936
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history
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WW2
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Captain Kyuhachi Kudo was named the commanding officer of Tenryu.
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15 Feb 1937
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history
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WW2
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In order to restore the situation General Jose Miaja took over personal command of the dispirited Spanish Republican troops on the Jarama Front near Madrid, Spain.
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15 Feb 1938
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history
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WW2
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Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg sent a message to Franz von Papen noting his acceptance to Adolf Hitler's demands given three days prior and probed Germany for any intention of maintaining Austrian sovereignty.
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15 Feb 1939
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history
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WW2
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France ordered 100 DB-7 medium bombers from the Douglas Aircraft Company of the United States.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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North of Lake Ladoga in Finland, Finnish troops destroyed the pocket of surrounded Soviet troops near the village of Lavajärvi, capturing 2 tanks, 5 field guns, 2 anti-tank guns, 8 trucks, 3 machine guns, 4 field kitchens, and rifles. Finnish Commander-in-Chief C. G. E. Mannerheim ordered the II Army Corps to abandon the Mannerheim Line at 2000 hours.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-50 sank Danish ship Maryland west of Scotland at 0207 hours, killing the entire crew of 34.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-37 sank Danish ship Aase en route to Bristol at 0545 hours, killing 15. HMS Verity would rescue the sole survivor two days later.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-26 sank Norwegian ship Steinstad 75 miles west of Aran Island, Ireland at 0837 hours, killing 13. The 11 survivors in a lifeboat would not reach land until 20 Feb.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-48 sank Dutch tanker Den Haag (carrying 11,800 tons of oil) 150 miles west of Ouessant at the northwestern tip of France at 1400 hours, killing 26. British ship Glenorchy rescued 13 survivors in a lifeboat.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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Major General Erwin Rommel took command of the 7th Panzer Division.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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Hubert Lanz was made the Chief of Staff for XVIII Armeekorps.
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15 Feb 1940
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history
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WW2
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No. 110 Army Co-operation (Auxiliary) Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force departed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for Britain.
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15 Feb 1941
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history
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WW2
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The United Kingdom broke off diplomatic relations with Romania.
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15 Feb 1941
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-123 sank British ship Alnmoor 600 miles west of Ireland at 0038 hours, killing the entire crew of 55.
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15 Feb 1941
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history
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WW2
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German cruiser Admiral Hipper arrived at Brest, France, after a short but successful cruise that sank 8 Allied ships totalling 34,000 tons.
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15 Feb 1941
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history
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WW2
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British General Platt suspended the piecemeal attacks on Italian positions at Dongolaas Gorge near Keren, Eritrea, Italian East Africa. Instead, he began to plan for a larger offensive.
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15 Feb 1941
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history
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WW2
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The US Congress approved the construction of a new base for the US Marine Corps' Fleet Marine Force at New River, North Carolina, United States.
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15 Feb 1941
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history
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WW2
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An advance echelon of the US Marine Corps 1st Defense Battalion departed San Diego, California, United States aboard USS Enterprise for Johnston Island and Palmyra Atoll via Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Dutch destroyer HNLMS Van Ghent ran aground en route to Palembang, and was scuttled.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-432 sank Brazilian ship Buarque 40 kilometers east of Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Archibald Wavell recovered from his fall at Singapore and was released by the hospital.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Japanese submarine I-165 sank Danish ship Johanne Justesen off the southern tip of India, killing 1.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Dispersed ships of Allied convoy QP-7 began to arrive in Allied waters.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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An Allied troop convoy consisted of four transports (with Australian and American troops aboard) departed from Darwin, Australia for Timor, escorted by cruiser USS Houston, destroyer USS Peary, sloop HMAS Swan, and sloop HMAS Warrego.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Japanese troops penetrated Indian 17th Infantry Division positions on the Bilin River north of Rangoon, Burma.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Akagi departed Palau with Kaga, Carrier Division 2, and Cruiser Division 8, screened by Destroyer Squadron 1 for the attacks on Davao and Port Darwin, Australia.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Kaga departed Palau Islands, Caroline Islands.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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100 additional Japanese paratroopers arrived at Palembang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, helping with the securing oil refineries and other facilities. 200 kilometers to the south, British troop transport Ocrades arrives at Oosthaven with 3,400 Australian troops, but the ship would continue on to Java without disembarking the troops. North of Palembang, Japanese troops disembarked at the mouth of the Musi River; the British RAF interfered by attacking the landing with over 50 aircraft, sinking 20 landing craft and killing 100 Japanese. Finally, in the Bangka Strait, Japanese naval gunfire sank British tug HMS Yin Ping; 50 were killed, 25 survived.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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No. 94 Squadron RAF lost four Kittyhawk fighters in combat over Martuba, Egypt. Squadron Leader Ernest M. Mason's aircraft was among the four, shot down and killed by German ace Oberfeldwebel Otto Schulz.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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USS Yorktown departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for Marcus Island. Before she departed, she took on cryptanalyst and linguist Forrest "Tex" Biard.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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USS Grayback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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While escorting German bombers over Gambut, Libya, Hans-Joachim Marseille spotted enemy fighters taking off from a nearby airfield to challenge them. He would shoot down two P-40 fighters, Flight Sergeant Frank Reid at 1300 hours as his 47th kill and Flight Officer P. J. Briggs at 1303 hours as his 48th kill.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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With Winston Churchill's permission, Arthur Percival decided to surrender Singapore. A delegation bearing a white flag was dispatched at 1130 hours, but it was turned back by the Japanese, who requested Percival to surrender in person, which Percival complied at 1715 hours. At the Ford Motor Factory at Bukit Timah, Percival signed the surrender document at 2030 hours, making the biggest capitulation in British militay history official.
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15 Feb 1942
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history
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WW2
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Repair ship Akashi departed Davao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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American forces in Tunisia launched a counterattack at Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. Though achieving some results, the Americans suffered heavy casualties and lost 46 medium tanks.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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The US military established Commander, Aircraft, Solomons in the Solomon Islands with Rear Admiral Charles Mason as its head. It was to oversee all air operations in the region across Army, Navy, and Marine ground-based aircraft.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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Lieutenant Colonel M. Z. Kiani took command of the Indian National Army.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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Starting at 0340 hours, a total of 34 US B-17 bombers in four waves attacked Rabaul, New Britain, dropping 98,000 pounds of various bombs including flares, 300-pound demolition bombs, 100-pound daisy cutter bombs, 20-pound fragmentation bombs, and incendiary bombs, damaging aircraft and destroying food stores, oil drums, and ammunition dumps; three bombs were lost on this mission.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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Repair ship Akashi began repairing transport Nankai Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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Oberst Edgar Gläsche was relieved from his position as the commandant of the Oflag IV-C prisoners of war camp at Colditz Castle, Germany as he was transferred to Ukraine. He was to be replaced by Oberstleutnant Gerhard Prawitt.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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British prisoner of war Lieutenant Michael Alexander, who had conjured up a relationship with General Harold Alexander, was transferred to the Oflag IV-C camp at Colditz Castle in Germany; he was placed in the same cell with Giles Romilly, Winston Churchill's nephew.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Fighting Squadron 11 (VF-11; Model F4F) arrived. Departed 18 Feb 1943.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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USS Wahoo completed her scheduled overhaul at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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Allied convoy JW-53 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
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15 Feb 1943
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history
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WW2
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Yolande Unternahrer joined the British Special Operations Executive (SOE).
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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Captain Juji Kakumu became the new commanding officer of hospital ship Hikawa Maru.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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1,500 prisoners arrived at Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria from Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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Hitler not only authorized Model to withdraw to the Panther Line, but authorized a breakout from the Korsun pocket in Ukraine.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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USS Snook sank Japanese cargo ship Hoshi Maru Number 2 in the East China Sea, hitting with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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Despite being seriously wounded by cannon fire from a German night fighter (his foot had been almost shot off), Australian Flight Sergeant Geoffrey C. C. Smith of 156 Pathfinder Squadron RAF, the rear-gunner of Lancaster bomber GT-0 (ND444), refused to leave his position until the aircraft had safely recrossed the coast. For his stubborn heroism, Smith would be awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for staying at his post to protect the bomber and its crew from further attack.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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New Zealand troops landed on Nissan Island, Green Islands, Australian New Guinea.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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A Japanese G4M bomber attempted to transfer six prisoners of war (including Gregory Boyington) from Rabaul in New Britain to Truk in the Caroline Islands, but the flight resulted in an emergency landing on another New Britain airfield as an Allied air raid was detected.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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Anglo-Indian troops recaptured a hill they lost on the previous night at Sinzweya, Burma, suffering heavy casualties in the process.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for tanker Hoyo Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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891 RAF aircraft (561 Lancaster, 314 Halifax, and 16 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany, dropping over 2,500 tons of bombs in what was the heaviest raid to date. The industrial Siemensstadt area was damaged. 26 Lancaster and 17 Halifax bombers were lost.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Photographic Squadron 4 (VD-4) arrived on board.
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15 Feb 1944
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history
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WW2
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142 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, 47 B-25 Mitchell bombers, and 40 B-26 Marauder bombers dropped 1,150 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the historic Benedictine monastery atop Monte Cassino, Italy. The aerial bombing was augmented by artillery shelling as well. In the evening, a company of 1st Battalion of British Royal Sussex Regiment of Indian 4th Division attacked neraby Point 593, but failed to capture the position.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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The Ohka Model 22 variant design efforts began.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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Rear Admiral Zensuke Kanome was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Navy 12th Air Fleet.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Astoria's crew found out the task force was en route to attack Tokyo, Japan; the carrier fleet USS Astoria was escorting was to launch attack planes on the following day.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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Soviet 3rd Guards Tank Army and Soviet 4th Tank Army surrounded Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland).
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Gabilan arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fourth war patrol.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Boarfish arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her first war patrol.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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German 11.SS-Armee launched Operation Sonnenwende in Pommern, Germany, although only III.SS-Panzer Korps started the attack on time.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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Japanese Shinyo explosive motor-boats sank three American LCS(L) armoured support craft at Mariveles Harbour, Bataan, Philippine Islands.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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Allied convoy JW-64 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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The Takao Prisoners of War Camp near Takao (now Kaohsiung), Taiwan was closed; the prisoners were transported to Fukuoka, Japan in the preceding several weeks.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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Takao Naval Air Group was dissolved at Takao Guard District in southern Taiwan.
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15 Feb 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Ticonderoga arrived at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, United States for extensive repairs.
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15 Feb 1946
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history
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WW2
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Allied repatriation ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Fauro Island, Solomon Islands and embarked Japanese personnel.
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15 Feb 1947
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history
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WW2
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Shigeru Yoshida stepped down as the Minister of Agriculture.
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15 Feb 1947
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history
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WW2
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USS Saint Paul completed training operations off San Diego, California, United States.
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15 Feb 1986
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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Living Bibles International moved to its present headquarters in Naperville, IL. Founded in 1968 by Ken Taylor, editor of the Living Bible, LBI is an interdenominational Bible distributing agency, working in 45 countries.
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