# What happened on April 15 in history?

**Date:** April 15  
**Events recorded:** 44  
**Years spanned:** 769 – 2026  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/april/15/

---

## Featured Event

**1989** — Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster)

---

## Events on this date

- **769** — The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Council_(769)))
- **1071** — Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to the Norman Robert Guiscard. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bari))
- **1071** — The sharif of Mecca changes the khutbah from the Shiite Fatimid caliph in Cairo to the Sunni Abbasid Caliph in Bagdhad. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharif_of_Mecca))
- **1191** — Henry VI, King of Germany, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by pope Celestine III. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VI%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor))
- **1277** — The Mamluk Sultanate defeats the Mongols in the battle of Elbistan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk_Sultanate))
- **1450** — Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Formigny))
- **1632** — Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rain))
- **1642** — Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Confederate_Wars))
- **1715** — The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamasee_War))
- **1736** — Foundation of the short-lived Kingdom of Corsica. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Corsica_(1736)))
- **1738** — Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, receives its premiere performance in London, England. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serse))
- **1755** — Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson))
- **1817** — Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc found the American School for the Deaf (then called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons), the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hopkins_Gallaudet))
- **1861** — President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 militiamen to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln))
- **1865** — President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Three hours later, Vice President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as president. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln))
- **1892** — The General Electric Company is formed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric))
- **1896** — Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics))
- **1900** — Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War))
- **1912** — The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,224 passengers and crew on board survive. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic))
- **1920** — Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braintree%2C_Massachusetts))
- **1922** — U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Kendrick))
- **1923** — Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin))
- **1923** — Racially motivated Nihon Shōgakkō fire lit by a serial arsonist kills 10 children in Sacramento, California. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mission_school_fire))
- **1936** — First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936%E2%80%931939_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine))
- **1941** — World War II:  In the Belfast Blitz, 200 bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing some 1,000 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1942** — World War II:  The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta" by King George VI. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Award_of_the_George_Cross_to_Malta))
- **1945** — Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen-Belsen_concentration_camp))
- **1947** — Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson))
- **1952** — First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress))
- **1955** — McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's))
- **1960** — At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaw_University))
- **1969** — The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_EC-121_shootdown_incident))
- **1970** — During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_Civil_War))
- **1986** — The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_United_States_bombing_of_Libya))
- **1989** — Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster))
- **1989** — Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu_Yaobang))
- **1994** — Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrakesh_Agreement))
- **2002** — Air China Flight 129 crashes on approach to Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, killing 129 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_China_Flight_129))
- **2013** — Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring over 500 others. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombing))
- **2013** — A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_April_2013_Iraq_attacks))
- **2014** — In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, more than 400 civilians are gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentiu_massacre))
- **2019** — The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris))
- **2021** — A mass shooting occurs at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, killing nine and injuring seven. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Indianapolis_FedEx_shooting))
- **2026** — Ten people and the perpetrator are killed and twelve others injured in a mass shooting at a school in Onikişubat, Turkey. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Oniki%C5%9Fubat_school_shooting))

---

## Notable births on April 15

- **2001** — **Shanti Dope** — Filipino rapper ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Dope))
- **1998** — **Sexyy Red** — American rapper ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexyy_Red))
- **1997** — **Ashleigh Gardner** — Australian cricketer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashleigh_Gardner))
- **1997** — **Maisie Williams** — English actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maisie_Williams))
- **1995** — **Leander Dendoncker** — Belgian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leander_Dendoncker))
- **1994** — **Brodie Grundy** — Australian rules football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodie_Grundy))
- **1994** — **Shaunae Miller-Uibo** — Bahamian sprinter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaunae_Miller-Uibo))
- **1993** — **Felipe Anderson** — Brazilian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felipe_Anderson))
- **1992** — **Remo Freuler** — Swiss footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remo_Freuler))
- **1992** — **John Guidetti** — Swedish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Guidetti))

---

## Notable deaths on April 15

- **2026** — **José Santamaría** — Uruguayan-Spanish footballer and manager (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Santamar%C3%ADa))
- **2025** — **Wink Martindale** — American DJ, radio personality, and TV personality (born 1933) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wink_Martindale))
- **2024** — **Whitey Herzog** — American professional baseball outfielder and manager (born 1931) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_Herzog))
- **2024** — **Josip Manolić** — Croatian politician, prime minister, and speaker of the Chamber of Counties (born 1920) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Manoli%C4%87))
- **2022** — **Bilquis Edhi** — Pakistani philanthropist and wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilquis_Edhi))
- **2022** — **Henry Plumb** — British politician and farmer (born 1925) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Plumb%2C_Baron_Plumb))
- **2022** — **Liz Sheridan** — American actress (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Sheridan))
- **2018** — **R. Lee Ermey** — American actor (born 1944) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Lee_Ermey))
- **2018** — **Vittorio Taviani** — Italian film director and screenwriter (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_and_Vittorio_Taviani))
- **2017** — **Clifton James** — American actor (born 1920) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_James))

---

## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/april/15/](https://thisday.info/events/april/15/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.