September 15

Historic Events

2020

Signing of the Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement occurs in Washington, D.C., normalizing relations between Israel and two Arab nations, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. ›

2017

The Parsons Green bombing takes place in London. ›

2011

Four miners are killed in the Gleision Colliery mining accident in the Swansea Valley, Wales. ›

2008

Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. ›

2004

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players' union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office. ›

2001

During a CART race at the Lausitzring in Germany, former Formula One driver Alex Zanardi suffers a heavy accident resulting in him losing both his legs. ›

1995

Malaysia Airlines Flight 2133 crashes at Tawau Airport in Malaysia, killing 34. ›

1983

Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigns. ›

1981

The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ›

1981

The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C. ›

1978

At the Superdome in New Orleans, Muhammad Ali outpoints Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title three times. ›

1975

The French department of "Corse" (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica) and Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica). ›

1974

Air Vietnam Flight 706 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board. ›

1972

A Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm is hijacked and flown to Malmö Bulltofta Airport. ›

1971

The first Greenpeace ship departs from Vancouver to protest against the upcoming Cannikin nuclear weapon test in Alaska. ›

1968

The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. ›

1966

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation. ›

1963

Baptist Church bombing: Four children are killed in the bombing of an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. ›

1962

The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis. ›

1959

Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the United States. ›

1958

A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 48. ›

1954

Marilyn Monroe's iconic skirt scene is shot during filming for The Seven Year Itch. ›

1952

The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia. ›

1950

Korean War: The U.S. X Corps lands at Inchon. ›

1948

The Indian Army captures the towns of Jalna, Latur, Mominabad, Surriapet and Narkatpalli as part of Operation Polo. ›

1948

The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h). ›

1947

Typhoon Kathleen hits the Kantō region, in Japan killing around 1,000-2,000 people. ›

1945

A hurricane strikes southern Florida and the Bahamas, destroying 366 airplanes and 25 blimps at Naval Air Station Richmond. ›

1944

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy. ›

1944

World War II: The Battle of Peleliu begins as the United States Marine Corps' 1st Marine Division and the United States Army's 81st Infantry Division hit White and Orange beaches under heavy fire from Japanese infantry and artillery. ›

1942

World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp is sunk by Japanese torpedoes at Guadalcanal. ›

1940

World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Luftwaffe launches its largest and most concentrated attack of the entire campaign. ›

1935

Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag bearing the swastika. ›

1935

Nazi Germany announces two new laws related to race and the rights of Jews. These became known as the Nuremberg Race Laws. ›

1918

World War I: Allied troops break through the Bulgarian defenses on the Macedonian front. ›

1916

World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme. ›

1915

New Culture Movement: Chen Duxiu establishes the New Youth magazine in Shanghai. ›

1894

First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeats the Qing dynasty in the Battle of Pyongyang, causing the Qing army to withdraw to the Chinese border with Korea. ›

1873

Franco-Prussian War: The last Imperial German Army troops leave France upon completion of payment of indemnity. ›

1862

American Civil War: Confederate forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia. ›

1835

HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands. The ship lands at Chatham or San Cristobal, the easternmost of the archipelago. ›

1830

The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens; British MP William Huskisson becomes the first widely reported railway passenger fatality when he is struck and killed by the locomotive Rocket. ›

1821

The Captaincy General of Guatemala declares independence from Spain. ›

1820

Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon, Portugal. ›

1816

HMS Whiting runs aground on the Doom Bar. ›

1813

Followers of the Eight Trigram Sect loyal to Lin Qing attack the Forbidden City in a failed attempt to oust the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing dynasty. ›

1812

The Grande Armée under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow during the failed French invasion of Russia. ›

1812

War of 1812: A second supply train sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed in the Attack at the Narrows. ›

1795

Britain seizes the Dutch Cape Colony in southern Africa to prevent its use by the Batavian Republic. ›

1794

French Revolutionary Wars: Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington) sees his first combat at the Battle of Boxtel during the Flanders Campaign. ›

1789

The United States "Department of Foreign Affairs", established by law in July, is renamed the Department of State and given a variety of domestic duties. ›

1776

American Revolutionary War: British forces successfully land at Kip's Bay, forcing the Continental Army, which was already withdrawing from New York City, to cede control of the lower half of Manhattan Island. ›

1762

Seven Years' War: Battle of Signal Hill. ›

1556

Departing from Vlissingen, ex-Holy Roman Emperor Charles V returns to Spain. ›

1530

Appearance of the miraculous portrait of Saint Dominic in Soriano in Soriano Calabro, Calabria, Italy; commemorated as a feast day by the Roman Catholic Church 1644–1912. ›

1440

Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by Jean de Malestroit, Bishop of Nantes. ›

994

Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes. ›

608

Consecration of pope Boniface IV following his approval by the Byzantine emperor. ›

533

The Byzantine army under Belisarius enters Carthage following their victory over the Vandals at Ad Decimum. ›