January 15 in History

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupts, cutting off communications with To

2022 — The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupts, cutting off communications with Tonga and causing a tsunami across the Pacific

January 15 spans 56 recorded events across recorded history — from 69 – 2023. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By · Wikipedia

Historical Events 56 events 69 – 2023

Did you know

The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai eruption was preceded by an initial eruption phase that began in December 2021 and intensified over the following weeks.

Did you know

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai is located within the Tonga-Kermadec Islands volcanic arc, a 2,500-kilometre-long zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity.

Did you know

The volcano's climax on 15 January 2022 was characterized by a series of powerful underwater explosions that displaced large volumes of rock and ash.

Did you know

The eruption was rated at least a VEI-5 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, indicating an extremely powerful explosion with significant environmental impacts.

Did you know

The Tongan government and international aid agencies responded to the disaster by providing emergency assistance to affected communities and restoring critical infrastructure.


AD_69
Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
Calendar year
AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
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69
Henry_VIII
King Henry VIII issues letters patent incorporating the title Supreme Head of the Church of England into his royal title.
King of England from 1509 to 1547
Henry VIII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 22 April 1509, and King of Ireland from 18 June 1542, until his death in 1547.
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1535
Francis_I_of_France
King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the "Holy Catholic faith".
King of France from 1515 to 1547
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a legitimate son.
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1541
Elizabeth_I
Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey, London.
Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history and culture, gave name to the Elizabethan era.
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1559
Truce_of_Yam-Zapolsky
Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1582 peace treaty between the Poland–Lithuania and Russia
The Truce or Treaty of Yam-Zapolsky (Ям-Запольский) or Jam Zapolski, signed on 15 January 1582 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia, was one of the treaties that ended the Livonian War. It followed the successful Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory, culminating in the siege of Pskov.
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1582
British_Museum
The British Museum opens to the public.
National museum in London, England
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. Established in 1753, the British Museum was the world's first public national museum. In 2025, the museum received 6,440,120 visitors and was the second most visited attraction in the United Kingdom.
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1759
American_Revolutionary_War
American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present-day Vermont) declares its independence.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war, but Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war. In 1783, in the Treaty of Paris, the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.
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1777
Robert_Morris_(financier)
Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S.
Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
Robert Morris Jr. was a British-born American merchant, investor, and politician, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Morris served in the Pennsylvania legislature, the Second Continental Congress, and the United States Senate. He was one of only two individuals to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. From 1781 to 1784, he held the post of Superintendent of Finance of the United States, a role that earned him the title "Financier of the Revolution". Alongside Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin, Morris is often regarded as a founder of the financial system of the United States.
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1782
War_of_1812
War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
1812–1815 conflict in North America
The War of 1812 was a conflict initiated by the United States against the United Kingdom and its allies fought mainly in North America and at sea during the wider Napoleonic Wars. The United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the United States Congress on 17 February 1815.
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1815
David_Brewster
A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals.
On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a "supplement" (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
Sir David Brewster was a Scottish scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics, mostly concerned with the study of the polarization of light and including the discovery of Brewster's angle. He studied the birefringence of crystals under compression and discovered photoelasticity, thereby creating the field of optical mineralogy. For this work, William Whewell dubbed him the "father of modern experimental optics" and "the Johannes Kepler of optics."
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1818
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Related questions

More questions about January 15

What happened on January 15?

A featured event on this date is 2022: The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupts, cutting off communications with Tonga and causing a tsunami across the Pacific. This page also lists 56 events from other years on the same day.

Why is January 15 remembered in history?

January 15 brings together events, births, and deaths across many eras, which makes it useful for seeing how one calendar date connects different historical turning points.

Who was born on January 15?

Notable birthdays on this date include Grace VanderWaal, Tim Stützle, Triston Casas.

See birthdays

Who died on January 15?

Notable deaths on this date include Paul Danan, David Lynch, Melba Montgomery.

See deaths
Short answer

What happened on January 15 in history?

On January 15, one notable event in history was 2022: The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupts, cutting off communications with Tonga and causing a tsunami across the Pacific..

This date currently highlights 56 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 69 – 2023.

DateJanuary 15
Featured year2022
LocationHistorical Location
Events listed56

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