Did you know
In 1934, A self coup by prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis succeeds in Latvia, suspending its constitution and dissolving its Saeima. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
May 15 in History
1934 — A self coup by prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis succeeds in Latvia, suspending its constitution and dissolving its Saeima
May 15 spans 56 recorded events across recorded history, from 221 to 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
56 events
221 – 2024
Today in history
More major events on May 15
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1963 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. Source
- 1851 The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier. Source
- 1970 President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals. Source
Did you know
The prime minister of Latvia is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
The officeholder is nominated by the president of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a parliamentary majority in the Saeima. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
In 1934, A self coup by prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis succeeds in Latvia, suspending its constitution and dissolving its Saeima had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 1934, A self coup by prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis succeeds in Latvia, suspending its constitution and dissolving its Saeima had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
221
Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
Emperor of Shu Han from 221 to 223
392
Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast.
He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.
589
King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I.
A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.
756
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
908
1194
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.
1252
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
1525
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
1532
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
1536
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
1567
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
1571
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.
Maritime republic in Italy (697–1797)
1602
Cape Cod is sighted by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold.
Peninsula in Massachusetts, United States
1648
The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty.
1648 treaty between the Netherlands and Spain
1725
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)
1791
French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.
1789–1799 sociopolitical change in France
1836
Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.
English astronomer (1774–1844)
1849
The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.
Rebellion against Bourbon rule in the Kingdom of Sicily
1850
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
1851
The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.
Mass movement of Australians seeking gold (1851–1910s)
1864
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
1891
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
1911
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.
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
1916
A seventeen-year-old farmworker, Jesse Washington, is infamously lynched in Waco, Texas, USA, after being convicted of rape and murder.
Performs agricultural labor
1918
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
1919
The Winnipeg general strike begins.
By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.
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.
1929
A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
1929 fire in Cleveland, Ohio
1932
In an attempted coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan, Inukai Tsuyoshi, is assassinated.
Illegal attempt to unseat an incumbent
1933
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)
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.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1940
Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald's restaurant.
American fast food company founders
1941
First flight of the Gloster E.28/39, the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
British jet-engined aircraft, first flown in 1941
1942
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)
1943
Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953
1945
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
1948
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)
1957
At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
Island in the central Pacific Ocean
1963
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.
1970
President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P.
Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals.
1972
The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S.
military governance since their conquest in 1945, revert to Japanese control.
1974
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
1976
Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes near Viktorivka, Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, killing 52.
1976 aviation accident
1988
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
1991
Édith Cresson becomes France's first female Prime Minister.
Prime Minister of France from 1991 to 1992
1997
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
1997
The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
Space Shuttle orbiter (1985–2011)
2001
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.
2004
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".
2008
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.
2010
Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
Australian sailor (born 1993)
2013
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
2024
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is shot and critically injured while meeting with supporters at an event in Handlová.
Head of government