Did you know
Very little is known about Lucretius's life; the only certainty is that he was either a friend or client of Gaius Memmius, to whom the poem was addressed and dedicated.
Notable Deaths on October 15
-55 — Lucretius
Roman poet and philosopher (born 98 BC)
October 15 has 97 recorded notable deaths across history, from 55 BC to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
97 source records
55 BC – 2025
Today in history
Major events on October 15
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1994 The United States, under the Clinton administration, returns Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to the island. Source
- 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. Source
- 2003 China launches Shenzhou 5, its first crewed space mission. Source
- 1910 Airship America is launched from New Jersey in the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by a powered aircraft. Source
Did you know
William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits.
Did you know
General Sir Michael David Jackson was a British Army officer and one of its most high-profile generals since the Second World War.
Did you know
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, also known as Rhazes, 864 or 865 – 925 or 935 CE, was a Persian physician, philosopher and alchemist who lived during the Islamic Golden Age.
Did you know
Abd al-Rahman won the laqab (sobriquet) al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh in his early 20s when he supported the Maghrawa Berbers in North Africa against Fatimid expansion and later claimed the title of Caliph for himself.
More major people who died on October 15
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1983
Pat O'Brien
American actor (born 1899)
William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits.
2024
Mike Jackson
English general (born 1944)
General Sir Michael David Jackson was a British Army officer and one of its most high-profile generals since the Second World War.
925
Rhazes
Persian polymath (born 864)
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, also known as Rhazes, 864 or 865 – 925 or 935 CE, was a Persian physician, philosopher and alchemist who lived during the Islamic Golden Age.
961
Abd-al-Rahman III
caliph of Córdoba
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam al-Rabdī ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Dākhil al-Marwānī al-Umawī al-Qurashī, or simply ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, was the Umayyad Emir…
2011
Betty Driver
English actress, singer, and author (born 1920)
Elizabeth (Betty) Mary Driver was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, appearing…
1820
Karl Philipp
Prince of Schwarzenberg (born 1771)
Karl Philipp, Fürst zu Schwarzenberg was an Austrian Generalissimo and former Field Marshal. He first entered military service in 1788 and fought against the Turks.
1988
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
English composer, music critic, pianist and writer (born 1892)
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was an English composer, music critic, pianist and writer. His music, written over a period of seventy years, ranges from sets of miniatures to works lasting several hours.
892
Al-Mu'tamid
Abbasid caliph
Abu’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muʿtamid ʿalā’Llāh, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtamid ʿalā 'llāh, was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 870 to 892.
1173
Petronilla of Aragon (born 1135)
Petronilla, whose name is also spelled Petronila or Petronella, was Queen of Aragon (1137–1164) from the abdication of her father, Ramiro II, in 1137 until her own abdication in 1164.
1958
Elizabeth Alexander
British geologist, academic, and physicist (born 1908)
Frances Elizabeth Somerville Alexander was a British geologist, academic, and physicist, whose wartime work with radar and radio led to early developments in radio astronomy and whose post-war work on the geology of…
1925
Dolores Jiménez y Muro
Mexican revolutionary (born 1848?)
Dolores Jiménez y Muro was a Mexican revolutionary, schoolteacher, poet, and military commander. Born in Aguascalientes, Jiménez and her family moved to San Luis Potosí when she was young.
1978
W. Eugene Smith
American photojournalist (born 1918)
William Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist. He has been described as "perhaps the single most important American photographer in the development of the editorial photo essay." His major photo essays include…
1564
Andreas Vesalius
Belgian-Greek anatomist, physician, and author (born 1514)
Andries van Wezel, Latinized as Andreas Vesalius, was an anatomist and physician who wrote De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem, which is considered one of the most influential books on human anatomy and a major…
1389
Pope Urban VI (born 1318)
Pope Urban VI, born Bartolomeo Prignano, was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death, in October 1389. He was the last pope elected from outside the College of Cardinals.
1900
Zdeněk Fibich
Czech pianist and composer (born 1850)
Zdeněk Fibich was a Czech composer of classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works, symphonic poems, three symphonies, at least seven operas, melodramas including the substantial trilogy Hippodamia,…
1976
Carlo Gambino
Italian-American mob boss (born 1902)
Carlo Gambino was a Sicilian crime boss who was the leader and namesake of the Gambino crime family of New York City.
1080
Rudolf of Rheinfelden (born 1025)
Rudolf of Rheinfelden was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt…
1838
Letitia Elizabeth Landon
English poet and novelist (born 1802)
Letitia Elizabeth Landon was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L.
2012
Norodom Sihanouk
Cambodian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (born 1922)
Norodom Sihanouk was King, Chief of State and Prime Minister of Cambodia. He is known as Samdech Euv or by his nickname The Pink Prince.