October 15

Historic Events

2018

13-year-old American girl, Jayme Closs, is kidnapped from her Barron, Wisconsin home after her parents were both murdered. ›

2016

One hundred and ninety-seven nations amend the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons. ›

2013

The 7.2 Mw Bohol earthquake strikes the Philippines. At least 215 were killed. ›

2008

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow's history. ›

2007

Seventeen activists in New Zealand are arrested in the country's first post-9/11 anti-terrorism raids. ›

2006

The 6.7 Mw Kiholo Bay earthquake rocks Hawaii, causing property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and the closure of Honolulu International Airport. ›

2003

China launches Shenzhou 5, its first crewed space mission. ›

2001

NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles (180 km) of Jupiter's moon Io. ›

1997

The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn. ›

1994

The United States, under the Clinton administration, returns Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to the island. ›

1991

The "Oh-My-God particle", an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray measured at 40,000,000 times that of the highest energy protons produced in a particle accelerator, is observed at the University of Utah HiRes observatory in Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. ›

1991

The leaders of the Baltic States, Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia and Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania, signed the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland. ›

1990

Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation. ›

1989

Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL. ›

1987

Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 460 crashes near Conca di Crezzo, Italy, killing all 37 people on board. ›

1987

A coup d'état in Burkina Faso overthrows and kills then President Thomas Sankara. ›

1979

Supporters of the Malta Labour Party ransack and destroy the Times of Malta building and other locations associated with the Nationalist Party. ›

1979

A coup d'état in El Salvador overthrows President Carlos Humberto Romero and begins the 12 year-long Salvadoran Civil War. ›

1970

During the construction of Australia's West Gate Bridge, a span of the bridge falls and kills 35 workers. The incident is the country's worst industrial accident to this day. ›

1966

The Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. ›

1965

Vietnam War: A draft card is burned during an anti-war rally by the Catholic Worker Movement, resulting in the first arrest under a new law. ›

1956

FORTRAN, the first modern computer language, is first shared with the coding community. ›

1954

Hurricane Hazel devastates the eastern seaboard of North America, killing 95 and causing massive floods as far north as Toronto. ›

1951

Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes completes the synthesis of norethisterone, the basis of an early oral contraceptive. ›

1944

World War II: Germany replaces the Hungarian government after Hungary announces an armistice with the Soviet Union. ›

1940

President Lluís Companys of Catalonia is executed by the Francoist government. ›

1939

The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed LaGuardia Airport) is dedicated. ›

1932

Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight. ›

1928

The airship Graf Zeppelin completes its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States. ›

1923

The German Rentenmark is introduced in Germany to counter hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic. ›

1910

Airship America is launched from New Jersey in the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by a powered aircraft. ›

1888

The "From Hell" letter allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper is received by investigators. ›

1864

American Civil War: The Union garrison of Glasgow, Missouri surrenders to Confederate forces. ›

1815

Napoleon begins his exile on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. ›

1793

Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried and convicted of treason. ›

1783

The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon makes the first human ascent, piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier. ›

1781

The Battle of Raft Swamp marks the last battle fought in North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War with a Patriot victory. It occurred four days before the British surrender at Yorktown. ›

1651

Qing forces capture the island of Zhoushan. Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu, resident of the island and regent of the Southern Ming, flees to Kinmen. ›

1582

Adoption of the Gregorian calendar begins, eventually leading to near-universal adoption. ›

1529

The Siege of Vienna ends when Austria routs the invading Ottoman forces, ending its European expansion. ›

1211

Battle of the Rhyndacus: The Latin emperor Henry of Flanders defeats the Nicaean emperor Theodore I Laskaris. ›

1066

Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later. ›