Who are famous people born on May 15?

Famous people born on May 15 include: Haerin, Chase Hudson, Dayana Yastremska.

What famous people died on May 15?

Notable historical figures who died on May 15 include: Robert Walls, Kamla Beniwal, Frank Curry.

May 15 in History

Q: What happened on May 15 in history?

On May 15, 2010: Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.

2010 — Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo

May 15 spans 56 recorded events across recorded history — from 221 – 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · May 15 — Wikipedia

Historical Events 56 events 221 – 2024

Did you know

In 2010, Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

Jessica Rose Watson is an Australian sailor who attempted a solo circumnavigation at the age of 16 from 18 October 2009 to 15 May 2010. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

Although she circled the planet, she did it in a narrow range of latitudes relatively far from the equator that resulted in her voyage falling short of the distance criterion of 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 km) for a circumnavigation – the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth at the equator – by nearly 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km); Watson was nevertheless named 2011 Young Australian of the Year and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012 for ".service to sailing and to youth through the achievement of sailing solo and unassisted around the world, and as a role model for young Australians". This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

As of November 2022, she resides in Melbourne. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

Netflix produced a film, True Spirit (2023), about Watson's voyage. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.

Emperor of Shu Han from 221 to 223

Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande (玄德), was a Chinese warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of China.

221

Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast.

He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.

Valentinian II was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman Empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his half-brother, then was sidelined by a usurper, and finally became sole ruler after 388, albeit with limited de facto powers. He was the youngest emperor (co-ruler) in the Western Roman Empire.

392

King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I.

A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.

Authari was king of the Lombards from 584 to his death. He was considered the first Lombard king to have adopted some level of Romanitas (Roman-ness) and introduced policies that led to drastic changes, particularly in the treatment of the Romans and greater tolerance for the Christian faith.

589

Abd al-Rahman I, the founder of the Arab dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries, becomes emir of Cordova, Spain.

Emir of Córdoba from 756 to 788

Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya, commonly known as Abd al-Rahman I, was the founder and first emir of the Emirate of Córdoba, ruling from 756 to 788. He established the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus, which continued for nearly three centuries.

756

Constantine VII is crowned Byzantine co-emperor.

Byzantine emperor from 913 to 959

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor Alexander.

908

Michael the Syrian reconsecrates the Mor Bar Sauma Monastery, which he reconstructed after its destruction by a fire.

The monastery stays a center of the Syriac Orthodox Church until the end of the thirteenth century.

Michael the Syrian, also known as Michael the Great, was the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1166 until his death in 1199. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the Syriac Orthodox Church, remembered both as a saint and as a historian.

1194

Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.

Head of the Catholic Church from 1243 to 1254

Pope Innocent IV, born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.

1252

Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer are defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire.

Revolt or uprising by irregular forces

An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well-equipped, regular military force state adversary. Due to this asymmetry, insurgents avoid large-scale direct battles, opting instead to blend in with the civilian population where they gradually expand territorial control and military forces. Insurgency frequently hinges on control of and collaboration with local populations.

1525

The English church submits to the king of England in passing a convocation in which it surrenders a number of rights, such as to make provincial ecclesiastic laws independently of the king.

Anglican church in England

The Church of England is the established Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It was the initial church of the Anglican tradition. The church traces its history to the Christian hierarchy recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain by the 3rd century and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. Its members are called Anglicans.

1532

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.

Queen of England from 1533 to 1536

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading for treason, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.

1536

The wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Earl of Bothwell, the chief instigator of the murder of her previous husband Lord Darnley, takes place.

1567 wedding in Scotland

The wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots and James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell took place at Holyrood Palace on 15 May 1567.

1567

Venice, Spain, Naples, the Papal States, and other Italian states establish the Holy League to fight the Ottomans, resulting in the victory at Lepanto later that year.

Sovereign state in Italy (697–1797)

The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and maritime republic with its capital in Venice, on the northeastern coast of Italy. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 by Paolo Lucio Anafesto, over the course of its 1,100 years of history it established itself as one of the major European commercial and naval powers. Initially extended in the Dogado area, during its history it annexed a large part of Northeast Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, the coasts of present-day Montenegro and Albania as well as numerous islands in the Adriatic and eastern Ionian seas. At the height of its expansion, between the 13th and 16th centuries, it also governed Crete, Cyprus, the Peloponnese, a number of Greek islands, as well as several cities and ports in the eastern Mediterranean.

1571

Cape Cod is sighted by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold.

Peninsula in Massachusetts, United States

Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The name Cape Cod, coined in 1602 by Bartholomew Gosnold, is the ninth-oldest English place-name in the U.S.

1602

The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty.

1648 treaty between the Netherlands and Spain

The Peace of Münster, signed on 30 January 1648, was a treaty between Philip IV of Spain and the Lords States General of the Dutch Republic. Negotiated in parallel to, but not part of, the Peace of Westphalia, under its terms Spain formally recognised the independent Dutch Republic, and ended the Eighty Years' War.

1648

Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Ich bin ein guter Hirt, BWV 85, about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

German composer (1685–1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orchestral Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the Cello Suites and Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schübler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. He is known for his mastery of counterpoint, as heard in The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue. Felix Mendelssohn precipitated the Bach Revival with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. Ever since, Bach has been acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of classical music.

1725

French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.

1789–1799 sociopolitical change in France

The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the Coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799. Many of the revolution's ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, and its values remain central to modern French political discourse. It was caused by a combination of social, political, and economic factors which the existing regime proved unable to manage.

1791

Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.

English astronomer (1774–1844)

Francis Baily was an English astronomer. He is most famous for his observations of "Baily's beads" during a total eclipse of the Sun. Baily was also a major figure in the early history of the Royal Astronomical Society, as one of the founders and as the president four times.

1836

The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.

Rebellion against Bourbon rule in the Kingdom of Sicily

The Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848 was the first of the numerous Revolutions of 1848 which swept across Europe. It was a popular rebellion against the rule of Ferdinand II of the House of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies. Three revolutions against the Bourbon ruled Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had previously occurred on the island of Sicily starting from 1800: this final one, which commenced on 12 January 1848, resulted in an independent state which survived for 16 months. The Sicilian Constitution of 1848 which survived the 16 months was advanced for its time in liberal democratic terms, as was the proposal of a unified Italian confederation of states. It was in effect a curtain-raiser to the end of the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies, finally completed by Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand in 1860, the Siege of Gaeta of 1860–1861 and the proclamation of the unified Kingdom of Italy.

1849

The Arana–Southern Treaty is ratified, ending "the existing differences" between Great Britain and Argentina.

1850 peace treaty and trade agreement between the United Kingdom and Argentina

The Arana–Southern Treaty or Convention of Settlement, formally known as the Convention for the perfect restoration of friendly relations between the Argentine Confederation and Her Britannic Majesty, was a peace treaty signed between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Argentine Confederation following the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata.

1850

The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.

Mass movement of Australians seeking gold (1851–1910s)

During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of New South Wales had suppressed the news out of the fear that it would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy.

1851

American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.

1864 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz Sigel, delaying the capture of Staunton by several weeks.

1864

Pope Leo XIII defends workers' rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.

Head of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903

Pope Leo XIII was head of the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign and third-longest verified reign of any pope, behind those of St. Peter, Pius IX, and John Paul II.

1891

In Standard Oil Co.

of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.

Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, 221 U.S. 1 (1911), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that John D. Rockefeller's petroleum conglomerate Standard Oil had illegally monopolized the American petroleum industry and ordered the company to break itself up. The decision also held, however, that U.S. antitrust law bans only "unreasonable" restraints on trade, an interpretation that came to be known as the "rule of reason".

1911

More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.

1911 killing of Chinese Mexicans and Japanese Mexicans by revolutionary forces in Mexico

The Torreón massacre was a massacre that took place from May 13 to May 15, 1911 in the Mexican city of Torreón, Coahuila. A total of 308 Cantonese were killed, amounting to half the Chinese community in Torreón. The victims, accused of collusion with Porfirio Díaz, were killed by a local mob and the revolutionary forces of Francisco I. Madero. A large number of Chinese homes and shops were looted and destroyed.

1911

A seventeen-year-old farmworker, Jesse Washington, is infamously lynched in Waco, Texas, USA, after being convicted of rape and murder.

Performs agricultural labor

A farmworker or farmhand, is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harvesting. Agricultural work varies widely depending on context, degree of mechanization and crop. Low wages for farmworkers have been associated with farmworker shortages and delayed adoption of agricultural technology.

1916

The Finnish Civil War ends when the Whites take over Fort Ino, a Russian coastal artillery base on the Karelian Isthmus, from Russian troops.

1918 civil war in Finland

The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of recently independent Finland between White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic. The clashes took place in the context of the national, political, and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The belligerents were the paramilitary Red Guards, led by a section of the Social Democratic Party with backup of the Russian bolsheviks, and the paramilitary White Guards of the senate. General C. G. E. Mannerheim led the White Guards with major assistance by both the Finnish Jäger Battalion trained in Germany and the German Imperial Army, along the German goal to control Fennoscandia and Petrograd of Russia. The Reds, composed of industrial and agrarian working class people, controlled the cities and industrial centres of southern Finland. The Whites, composed of land owners and the middle and upper class, controlled the rural central and northern Finland.

1918

The Winnipeg general strike begins.

By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.

The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most dramatic and influential strikes in Canadian history. For six weeks, May 15 to June 26, more than 30,000 strikers brought economic activity to a standstill in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which at the time was Canada's third largest city.

1919

Greek occupation of Smyrna.

During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades.

The city of Smyrna and surrounding areas were under Greek military occupation from 15 May 1919 until 9 September 1922. The Allied Powers authorized the occupation and creation of the Zone of Smyrna during negotiations regarding the partition of the Ottoman Empire to protect the ethnic Greek population living in and around the city. The Greek landing on 15 May 1919 was celebrated by the substantial local Greek population but quickly resulted in ethnic violence in the area. This violence decreased international support for the occupation and led to a rise in Turkish nationalism. The high commissioner of Smyrna, Aristeidis Stergiadis, firmly opposed discrimination against the Turkish population by the administration; however, ethnic tensions and discrimination remained. Stergiadis also began work on projects involving resettlement of Greek refugees, the foundations for a university, and some public health projects. Smyrna was a major base of operations for Greek troops in Anatolia during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).

1919

A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.

1929 fire in Cleveland, Ohio

A major structure fire occurred at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on May 15, 1929. Nitrocellulose X-ray film ignited in a basement storage room, emitting a poisonous yellowish-brown gas which spread throughout much of the Clinic and subsequently exploded several times. The fire claimed 123 lives including that of one of the Clinic's founders, Dr. John Phillips. Most of the deaths from the fire were due to toxic inhalation. Many were immediate; some were delayed by hours or even days. A policeman, Ernest Staab, rescued 21 victims from the fire, and left the scene, seemingly in good health. He later collapsed while working on his lawn, was hospitalized, but contrary to many contemporaneous newspaper articles survived and worked for the police department for another 25 years.

1929

In an attempted coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan, Inukai Tsuyoshi, is assassinated.

Illegal attempt to unseat an incumbent

A coup d'état, or simply a coup, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent person or leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means.

1932

All military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany are officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military's air arm, the Luftwaffe.

Government department (1933–1945)

The Ministry of Aviation was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse in central Berlin, Germany, which houses the modern German Finance Ministry.

1933

A self coup by prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis succeeds in Latvia, suspending its constitution and dissolving its Saeima.

Self-coup by Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis

The 1934 Latvian coup d'état known in Latvia also as the 15 May Coup or Ulmanis' Coup, was a self-coup by the veteran Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis against the parliamentary system in Latvia. His regime lasted until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940.

1934

USS Sailfish is recommissioned.

It was originally the USS Squalus.

USS Sailfish (SS-192) was a Sargo-class submarine of the United States Navy, originally named Squalus. As Squalus, the submarine sank off the coast of New Hampshire during test dives on 23 May 1939. The sinking drowned 26 crew members, but an ensuing rescue operation, using the McCann Rescue Chamber for the first time, saved the lives of the remaining 33 aboard. Squalus was salvaged in late 1939 and recommissioned as Sailfish in May 1940.

1940

World War II: The Battle of the Netherlands: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.

1939–1945 global conflict

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1940

Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald's restaurant.

American fast food company founders

Richard James McDonald and Maurice James "Mac" McDonald, known as the McDonald brothers, were American entrepreneurs who founded the fast food company McDonald's.

1940

First flight of the Gloster E.28/39, the first British and Allied jet aircraft.

British jet-engined aircraft, first flown in 1941

The Gloster E.28/39, was the first British turbojet-engined aircraft, first flying in 1941. It was the third turbojet aircraft to fly after the German Heinkel He 178 (1939) and Heinkel He 280 (1941).

1941

World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.

US Army's women's branch (1942–1978)

The Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States as the WAC on 1 July 1943. Its first director was Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby. The WAC was disbanded on 20 October 1978, and all WAC units were integrated with male units.

1942

Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Soviet revolutionary and politician who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held office as the General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1922 to 1952 and as the premier from 1941 until his death. Despite initially governing the country as part of a collective leadership, he eventually consolidated power to become a dictator by the 1930s. Stalin codified the Communist Party's official interpretation of Marxism as Marxism–Leninism, and his version of it is referred to as Stalinism.

1943

World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe, is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.

1945 battle of World War II in Yugoslavia

The Battle of Poljana took place outside of Poljana, near the town of Prevalje in Yugoslavia between the Yugoslav Army and a column of 30,000 retreating Axis soldiers, which consisted of the German Wehrmacht, the Croatian Armed Forces, the Montenegrin People's Army, the Serbian Volunteer Corps, the Slovene Home Guard, the 15th Waffen SS Cossack Cavalry Corps and other collaborationist forces who were on their way to surrender to the British in Austria. The battle was one of the last confrontations of World War II in Europe taking place on 14 and 15 May 1945, 6 days after Germany unconditionally capitulated.

1945

Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel, thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

British mandate territory (1920–1948)

Mandatory Palestine, officially known as Palestine, was a British administrative territory between 1920 and 1948 in the region of Palestine. From 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations, it was a mandated territory, administered by the British under the Mandate for Palestine.

1948

At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.

Island in the central Pacific Ocean

Malden Island, sometimes called Independence Island in the 19th century, is a low, arid, uninhabited atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, about 39 km2 (15 sq mi) in area. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to the Republic of Kiribati. The lagoon is entirely enclosed by land, though it is connected to the sea by underground channels, and is quite salty.

1957

Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board.

He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Union. Taken over from the US Air Force by the newly created civilian space agency NASA, it conducted 20 uncrewed developmental flights, and six successful flights by astronauts. The program, which took its name from Roman mythology, cost $2.83 billion. The astronauts were collectively known as the "Mercury Seven", and each spacecraft was given a name ending with a "7" by its pilot.

1963

President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P.

Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals.

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he represented California in both houses of the United States Congress before serving as the 36th vice president under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961. His presidency saw the reduction of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Nixon's second term ended early when he became the only U.S. president to resign from office, as a result of the Watergate scandal.

1970

The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S.

military governance since their conquest in 1945, revert to Japanese control.

The Ryukyu Islands , also known as the Nansei Islands or the Ryukyu Arc , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan. Administratively, they are divided between Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture. The larger ones are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island.

1972

Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.

1974 Palestinian terrorist attack in Israel

The Ma'alot massacre was a Palestinian terrorist attack that occurred on 14–15 May 1974 and involved the hostage-taking of 115 Israelis, chiefly school children, which ended in the murder of 25 hostages and six other civilians. It began when three armed members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) infiltrated Israel from Lebanon. Soon afterwards they attacked a van, killing two Israeli Arab women while injuring a third, and entered an apartment building in the town of Ma'alot, where they killed a couple and their four-year-old son. From there, they headed for the Netiv Meir Elementary School in Ma'alot, where in the early hours of 15 May 1974 they took hostage more than 115 people including 105 children. Most of the hostages were 14- to 16-years-old students from a high school in Safad on a pre-military Gadna field trip spending the night in Ma'alot.

1974

Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes near Viktorivka, Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, killing 52.

1976 aviation accident

Aeroflot Flight 1802 was a commercial flight from Vinnytsia to Moscow that crashed after the rudder deflected sharply and the propellers feathered on 15 May 1976. All 52 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft perished in the crash.

1976

Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.

1979–1989 armed conflict in South Asia

The Soviet–Afghan War took place in Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 47-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Communist-led Afghan military fight against the rebelling Afghan mujahideen, aided by Pakistan. While backed by various countries and organizations, the majority of the mujahideen's support came from Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Iran, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, in addition to a large influx of foreign fighters known as the Afghan Arabs. American and British involvement on the side of the mujahideen escalated the Cold War, ending a short period of relaxed Soviet Union–United States relations.

1988

Édith Cresson becomes France's first female Prime Minister.

Prime Minister of France from 1991 to 1992

Édith Jeanne Thérèse Cresson is a French politician of the Socialist Party. She served as Prime Minister of France from 1991 to 1992, the first woman to do so and only woman until Élisabeth Borne's appointment in 2022. Her political career ended in scandal as a result of corruption charges dating from her tenure as European Commissioner for Research, Science and Technology.

1991

The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.

1959–1975 conflict in Laos

The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert theater during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. The fighting also involved the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, American and Thai armies, both directly and through irregular proxies. The war is known as the "Secret War" among the American CIA Special Activities Center, and Hmong and Mien veterans of the conflict.

1997

The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.

Space Shuttle orbiter (1985–2011)

Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.

1997

A CSX EMD SD40-2 8888 rolls out of a train yard in Walbridge, Ohio, with 47 freight cars, including some tank cars with flammable chemical, after its engineer fails to reboard it after setting a yard switch.

It travels south driverless for 66 miles (106 km) until it is brought to a halt near Kenton. The incident became the inspiration for the 2010 film Unstoppable.

CSX Transportation, known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track, it is the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

2001

Arsenal F.C.

go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C. with the right to claim the title "The Invincibles".

The Arsenal Football Club is an English professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Domestically, Arsenal have won 14 league titles, a record 14 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 17 FA Community Shields and a Football League Centenary Trophy. In European football, they have won one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In terms of trophies won, it is the third-most successful club in English football, and one of the most successful clubs in world football.

2004

California becomes the second U.S.

state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in California since June 28, 2013. The State of California first issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples from June 16, 2008 to November 5, 2008, as a result of the Supreme Court of California finding in the case of In re Marriage Cases that barring same-sex couples from marriage violated the Constitution of California. The issuance of such licenses was halted from November 5, 2008 through June 27, 2013 due to the passage of Proposition 8—a state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages. The granting of same-sex marriages resumed following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which restored the effect of a federal district court ruling that overturned Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. In 2024, the passage of Proposition 3 repealed Proposition 8.

2008

An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.

2013 violence throughout cities in Iraq during the post-U.S. insurgency

From 15 to 21 May 2013, a series of deadly bombings and shootings struck the central and northern parts of Iraq, with a few incidents occurring in towns in the south and far west as well. The attacks killed at least 449 people and left 732 others injured in one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence in years.

2013

Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is shot and critically injured while meeting with supporters at an event in Handlová.

Head of government of Slovakia

The prime minister of Slovakia, officially the chairman of the government of the Slovak Republic, commonly referred to in Slovakia as Predseda vlády or informally as Premiér, is the head of the government of the Slovak Republic. Officially, the officeholder is the third-highest constitutional official in Slovakia after the president of the Republic (appointer) and chairman of the National Council; in practice, the appointee is the country's leading political figure.

2024

Born on May 15

20 people 1987 – 2006

Haerin

Korean singer

Kang Hae-rin, known mononymously as Haerin, is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group NewJeans, which debuted on July 22, 2022, under the record label ADOR.

2006

Chase Hudson

American internet celebrity, singer, actor

Cole Chase Hudson, known professionally as Huddy, is an American social media personality, singer, and actor known for co-founding the TikTok collective the Hype House, and popularizing the e-boy fashion style and…

2002

Dayana Yastremska

Ukrainian tennis player

Dayana Oleksandrivna Yastremska is a Ukrainian professional tennis player and musician. She has been ranked as high as world No. 21 in singles by the WTA, and No. 82 in doubles, both achieved in January 2020. Yastremska…

2000

Anastasia Gasanova

Russian tennis player

Anastasia Dmitriyevna Gasanova is a Russian tennis player. Gasanova has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of 121, achieved on 10 January 2022. She also has a career-high WTA ranking of 224 in doubles, reached on…

1999

Lucrezia Stefanini

Italian tennis player

Lucrezia Stefanini is an Italian tennis player. Stefanini has career-high WTA rankings of 99 in singles and 393 in doubles. She has won ten singles titles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She was finalist for…

1998

Ousmane Dembélé

French footballer

Masour Ousmane Dembélé is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward or right winger for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Regarded as one of the best players in the world, he…

1997

Scott Drinkwater

Australian rugby league player

Scott Drinkwater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).

1997

Birdy

English singer-songwriter

Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde, known professionally as Birdy, is a British singer. She won the music competition Open Mic UK in 2008, at the age of 12.

1996

Jeremy Hawkins

New Zealand rugby league player

Jeremy Hawkins is a retired New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup. He plays at centre and wing and previously played for the Canberra Raiders.

1993

Tomáš Kalas

Czech international footballer

Tomáš Kalas is a Czech professional footballer who plays for Schalke 04 and the Czech Republic national team. He plays as a centre-back, but has also been played as a right-back.

1993

Jordan Eberle

Canadian ice hockey player

Jordan Leslie Christopher Eberle is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a right winger and captain of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round in the 2008…

1990

Lee Jong-hyun

Korean guitarist

Lee Jong-hyun, also known by his mononym Jonghyun, is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He was the former lead guitarist and vocalist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE. He made his acting debut in an…

1990

Stella Maxwell

New Zealand model

Stella Maynes Maxwell is a British-Irish model. She is a former Victoria's Secret Angel, and is also the face of the cosmetics brand Max Factor.

1990

Susan Soonkyu Lee

Korean-American singer and entertainer

Susan Soonkyu Lee, known professionally as Sunny (Korean: 써니), is a South Korean and American singer and entertainer based in South Korea. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which…

1989

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa

French footballer

Mapou Nzapali Yanga-Mbiwa is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for FC Istres who are in Championnat National.

1989

Indrek Kajupank

Estonian basketball player

Indrek Kajupank is an Estonian professional basketball player for BC Tallinna Kalev of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. He is a 2.00 m tall small forward and power forward. He also represents the Estonian…

1988

Scott Laird

English footballer

Scott Benjamin Laird is an English professional footballer and football manager who is player-manager of Western League Premier Division club Street. Primarily a left-back, he has also been deployed as a central…

1988

David Adams

American baseball player

David Lee Adams is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees in 2013.

1987

Michael Brantley

American baseball player

Michael Charles Brantley Jr., is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and the Houston Astros. The son of former MLB player and hitting…

1987

Brian Dozier

American baseball player

James Brian Dozier is an American former professional baseball second baseman. The Minnesota Twins selected Dozier in the eighth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He made his MLB debut in 2012 and he played…

1987

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Died on May 15

20 people 2009 – 2025

Robert Walls

Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (born 1950)

Robert Walls was an Australian rules footballer who represented Carlton and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s and 1970s.

2025

Kamla Beniwal

Indian politician (born 1927)

Kamla Beniwal was an Indian independence activist and veteran politician who served as the deputy chief minister of Rajasthan. A leader of the Indian National Congress, she was the first female minister and held cabinet…

2024

Frank Curry

Australian rugby league player and coach (born 1950)

Frank Curry Jr. was an Australian rugby league player and coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs club.

2022

Kay Mellor

English actress (born 1951)

Kay Mellor was an English actress, scriptwriter, producer and director. She was known for creating television series such as Band of Gold, Fat Friends, and The Syndicate, as well as co-creating CITV's children's dramas…

2022

Oliver Gillie

British journalist and scientist (born 1937)

Oliver J. Gillie was a British journalist and scientist. He previously served as the medical correspondent for The Sunday Times, and later medical editor for The Independent.

2021

Fred Willard

American actor, comedian, and writer (born 1933)

Frederic Charles Willard was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with Christopher Guest in his mockumentary films This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A…

2020

Herbert R. Axelrod American tropical fish expert

publisher of pet books, and entrepreneur (born 1927)

Herbert Richard Axelrod was an American tropical fish expert, a publisher of pet books, and an entrepreneur. In 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for tax fraud.

2017

Elisabeth Bing

German-American physical therapist and author (born 1914)

Elisabeth Dorothea Bing was a German physical therapist, co-founder of Lamaze International, and proponent of natural childbirth. She trained as a physical therapist in England after fleeing Nazi Germany due to her…

2015

Jackie Brookner

American sculptor and educator (born 1945)

Jackie Brookner was an ecological artist, writer, and educator. She worked with ecologists, design professionals, engineers, communities, and policy-makers on water remediation/public art projects for parks, wetlands,…

2015

Flora MacNeil

Scottish Gaelic singer (born 1928)

Flora MacNeil, MBE was a traditional singer of Scottish Gaelic folk music. MacNeil gained prominence after meeting Alan Lomax and Hamish Henderson during the early 1950s, and continued to perform into her later years.

2015

Garo Yepremian

Cypriot-American football player (born 1944)

Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian was an Armenian-Cypriot American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Miami Dolphins. During his nine seasons with the…

2015

Jean-Luc Dehaene

French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (born 1940)

Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber", as well as "The…

2014

Noribumi Suzuki

Japanese director and screenwriter (born 1933)

Norifumi Suzuki , was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the Torakku Yarō series.

2014

Henrique Rosa

Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (born 1946)

Henrique Pereira Rosa was a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 2003 to 2005. He was born in 1946 in Bafatá.

2013

Carlos Fuentes

Mexican novelist and essayist (born 1928)

Carlos Fuentes Macías was a Mexican novelist, essayist and ambassador to France. Among his works are The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962), Aura (1962), Terra Nostra (1975), The Old Gringo (1985) and Christopher Unborn…

2012

Arno Lustiger

German historian and author (born 1924)

Arno Lustiger was a German historian and author of Jewish origin. Lustiger made significant contributions to research and document the history of Jewish resistance under Nazi rule.

2012

Zakaria Mohieddin

Egyptian soldier and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1918)

Zakaria Mohieddin was an Egyptian military officer, politician who served as the 3rd prime minister of Egypt and head of the first Intelligence body in Egypt, the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate.

2012

Besian Idrizaj

Austrian footballer (born 1987)

Besian Idrizaj was an Austrian professional footballer. He played in the Football League for Crystal Palace and Luton Town both whilst on loan from Liverpool for whom he did not make a League appearance. He also played…

2010

Loris Kessel

Swiss race car driver (born 1950)

Loris Kessel was a racing driver from Switzerland.

2010

Bud Tingwell

Australian actor, director, and producer (born 1923)

Charles William Tingwell AM, known professionally as 'Bud' Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian actor. One of the veterans of Australian film, he acted in his first motion picture in 1946 and went on to…

2009

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May 15 in the Blog

Las Vegas Founding — May 15, 1905

25 people became 24,000 by 1940 in Las Vegas, Nevada, after its 1905 founding, transforming the US desert landscape into a city

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What happened on May 15 in history?

On May 15, one notable event in history was 2010: Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo..

This date currently highlights 56 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 221 – 2024.

DateMay 15

Featured year2010

LocationHistorical Location

Events listed56

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2010 — Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo

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May 15 in History

2010 — Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo

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Died on May 15

May 15 in the Blog

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