Did you know
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee played a key role in the civil rights movement, with affiliates such as the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Lowndes County Freedom Organization in Alabama.
April 15 in History
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
April 15 spans 44 recorded events across recorded history, from 769 to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
44 events
769 – 2026
Today in history
More major events on April 15
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1861 President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 militiamen to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War. Source
- 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. Source
- 1755 Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London. Source
Did you know
SNCC committed to the registration and mobilization of black voters in the Deep South from 1962, with the support of the Voter Education Project.
Did you know
Ella Baker's leadership at the conference at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, was instrumental in the creation of SNCC.
Did you know
SNCC emerged in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Did you know
The Committee sought to coordinate and assist direct-action challenges to the civic segregation and political exclusion of African Americans during the 1960s.
769
The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
Synod held in Rome
1071
Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to the Norman Robert Guiscard.
City in Apulia, Italy
1071
The sharif of Mecca changes the khutbah from the Shiite Fatimid caliph in Cairo to the Sunni Abbasid Caliph in Bagdhad.
Leader of the Sharifate of Mecca
1191
Henry VI, King of Germany, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by pope Celestine III.
Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197
1277
The Mamluk Sultanate defeats the Mongols in the battle of Elbistan.
State in Egypt, Hejaz and Syria (1250–1517)
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.
1450 battle of the Hundred Years' War
1632
Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.
1632 battle of the Thirty Years' War
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.
Ethno-religious conflict within Ireland between 1641 and 1653
1715
The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
War between Carolinian settlers and Native tribes in 1700s
1736
Foundation of the short-lived Kingdom of Corsica.
Unrecognized Mediterranean island from March–November
1738
Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, receives its premiere performance in London, England.
1738 opera seria by Handel
1755
Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
English writer and lexicographer (1709–1784)
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.
American educator (1787–1851)
1861
President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 militiamen to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.
President of the United States from 1861 to 1865
1865
President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth.
Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes president.
1892
The General Electric Company is formed.
American multinational conglomerate (1892–2024)
1896
Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
Multi-sport event in Athens, Greece
1900
Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S.
infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
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.
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.
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.
1923
Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
Peptide hormone
1923
Racially motivated Nihon Shōgakkō fire lit by a serial arsonist kills 10 children in Sacramento, California.
1923 anti-Japanese arson in California
1936
First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.
Popular uprising by Palestinian Arabs
1941
World War II: In the Belfast Blitz, 200 bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing some 1,000 people.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1942
World War II: The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta" by King George VI.
1942 award by King George VI to the people of Malta
1945
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
Nazi concentration camp in Germany (1940–1945)
1947
Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line.
American baseball player (1919–1972)
1952
1955
McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
American fast food restaurant chain
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.
Downing of a U.S. Navy aircraft by North Korea over the Sea of Japan
1970
During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.
1967–1975 conflict in Cambodia
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.
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.
Fatal crowd crush during 1989 FA Cup semi-final
1989
Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.
Chinese politician (1915–1989)
1994
Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.
April 1994 international free trade agreement signed in Marrakech, Morocco
2002
Air China Flight 129 crashes on approach to Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, killing 129 people.
2002 aviation accident in South Korea
2013
Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring over 500 others.
2013 domestic terrorist attack in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
2013
A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.
2013 series of nationwide bombings and shootings in Iraq during the post-U.S. insurgency
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.
2014 mass killing of civilians during the South Sudanese Civil War
2019
The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.
Cathedral in Paris, France, built 1163–1345
2021
A mass shooting occurs at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, killing nine and injuring seven.
Mass shooting in Indianapolis, Indiana
2026
Twelve people and the perpetrator are killed and twelve others injured in a mass shooting at a school in Onikişubat, Turkey.
2026 mass shooting in Turkey