Did you know
Fairtrade Nederland is the Dutch member of Fairtrade International, a global network of 23 Fairtrade certification producer and labelling initiatives.
November 15 in History
1988 — The first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, is launched in the Netherlands
November 15 spans 61 recorded events across recorded history, from 655 to 2022. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
61 events
655 – 2022
Today in history
More major events on November 15
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1976 René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois take power to become the first Quebec government of the 20th century clearly in favor of independence. Source
- 1933 Thailand holds its first election. Source
- 1917 Eduskunta declares itself the supreme state power of Finland, prompting its declaration of independence and secession from Russia. Source
Did you know
The Max Havelaar label was named after a fictional character in a 19th-century Dutch novel, Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company, written by Multatuli.
Did you know
Fairtrade International has members across Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Did you know
The Stichting Max Havelaar foundation was established to promote fair trade practices in the Netherlands and beyond.
Did you know
Fairtrade Nederland, formerly known as Max Havelaar, works to unite producers, consumers, and businesses in the pursuit of fairer trade practices and sustainable development.
655
Battle of the Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria.
655 battle between Mercia and Bernicia
1315
Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy: The Schweizer Eidgenossenschaft ambushes the army of Leopold I in the Battle of Morgarten.
Aspect of Swiss history in the late Middle Ages
1532
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Commanded by Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistadors under Hernando de Soto meet Incan Emperor Atahualpa for the first time outside Cajamarca, arranging for a meeting in the city plaza the following day.
Period of the Spanish conquest in South America
1533
Francisco Pizarro arrives in Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire.
Spanish conquistador (1478–1541)
1705
Rákóczi's War of Independence: The Habsburg Empire and Denmark win a military victory over the Kurucs from Hungary in the Battle of Zsibó.
Insurrection in Hungary against Habsburg rule
1760
The secondly-built Castellania in Valletta is officially inaugurated with the blessing of the interior Chapel of Sorrows.
Maltese government building
1777
American Revolutionary War: After 16 months of debate the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1806
Pike Expedition: Lieutenant Zebulon Pike spots a mountain peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
It is later named Pikes Peak in his honor.
1842
A slave revolt in the Cherokee Nation commences.
Escape of enslaved people to Mexico
1849
Boilers of the steamboat Louisiana explode as she pulls back from the dock in New Orleans, killing more than 150 people.
Catastrophic failure of a boiler
1864
American Civil War: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins his March to the Sea through Georgia towards the city of Savannah.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1884
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 met on 15 November 1884, and after an adjournment concluded on 26 February 1885, with the signature of a General Act, regulating the European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period.
1884–85 European meeting on colonisation in Africa
1889
Brazil is declared a republic by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca as Emperor Pedro II is deposed in a military coup.
Country in South America
1899
Second Boer War: Battle of Chieveley, a British armored train is ambushed and partially derailed.
British lose the battle, with 80 soldiers captured, along with war correspondent Winston Churchill.
1917
Eduskunta declares itself the supreme state power of Finland, prompting its declaration of independence and secession from Russia.
Supreme unicameral legislature of Finland
1920
The first assembly of the League of Nations is held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Intergovernmental organisation (1920–1946)
1920
The Free City of Danzig is established.
Semi-autonomous European city-state (1920–1939)
1922
At least 300 are massacred during a general strike in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Labor dispute in Ecuador
1928
The RNLI lifeboat Mary Stanford capsizes in Rye Harbour with the loss of the entire 17-man crew.
Rescue charity operating in Britain and Ireland
1938
Nazi Germany bans Jewish children from public schools in the aftermath of Kristallnacht.
German state from 1933 to 1945
1942
World War II: The Battle of Guadalcanal ends in a decisive Allied victory.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1943
The Holocaust: German SS leader Heinrich Himmler orders that Gypsies are to be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps".
Genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany
1951
Nikos Beloyannis, along with 11 comrades, is sentenced to death for attempting to reestablish the Communist Party of Greece.
Greek resistance leader during World War II; leading cadre of the Greek Communist Party
1955
The first part of the Saint Petersburg Metro is opened.
Rapid transit system in Russia
1959
Four members of the Clutter family are murdered near Holcomb, Kansas, by Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, a crime later detailed by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.
1959 killings in Kansas, US
1965
Craig Breedlove sets a land speed record of 600.601 mph (966.574 km/h) in his car, the Spirit of America, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
American race driver (1937–2023)
1966
Project Gemini: Gemini 12 completes the program's final mission, when it splashes down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
1961–1966 US human spaceflight program
1967
The only fatality of the North American X-15 program occurs during the 191st flight when Air Force test pilot Michael J.
Adams loses control of his aircraft which is destroyed mid-air over the Mojave Desert.
1968
The Cleveland Transit System becomes the first transit system in the western hemisphere to provide direct rapid transit service from a city's downtown to its major airport.
Public transit agency for the Cleveland, Ohio, area
1969
Cold War: The Soviet submarine K-19 collides with the American submarine USS Gato in the Barents Sea.
1947–1991 geopolitical rivalry between US and USSR
1969
Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 250,000–500,000 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the war, including a symbolic "March Against Death".
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1971
Intel releases the world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, the 4004.
American multinational technology company
1976
René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois take power to become the first Quebec government of the 20th century clearly in favor of independence.
Premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985
1978
A chartered Douglas DC-8 crashes near Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 183.
American four-engined jet airliner family
1979
A package from Unabomber Ted Kaczynski begins smoking in the cargo hold of a flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C., forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
American domestic terrorist (1942–2023)
1983
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declares independence; it is only recognized by Turkey.
De facto state in West Asia and the Mediterranean Sea
1985
A research assistant is injured when a package from the Unabomber addressed to a University of Michigan professor explodes.
American domestic terrorist (1942–2023)
1985
The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed at Hillsborough Castle by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.
1985 treaty between Ireland and the UK
1987
In Brașov, Romania, workers rebel against the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu.
City in Romania
1987
Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crashes during takeoff from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, killing 25.
1987 aviation accident in Colorado
1988
In the Soviet Union, the uncrewed Shuttle Buran makes its only space flight.
Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
1988
Israeli–Palestinian conflict: An independent State of Palestine is proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council.
Ongoing military and political conflict in West Asia
1990
The Communist People's Republic of Bulgaria is disestablished and a new republican government is instituted.
Bulgarian state from 1946 to 1990
1990
Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-38, a classified mission for the Department of Defense.
Space Shuttle orbiter (1985–2011)
1994
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits the central Philippine island of Mindoro, killing 78 people, injuring 430 and triggering a tsunami up to 8.5 m (28 ft) high.
Earthquake in the Philippines
2000
A chartered Antonov An-24 crashes after takeoff from Luanda, Angola, killing more than 40 people.
Soviet turboprop airplane
2000
Jharkhand officially becomes the 28th state of India, formed from eighteen districts of southern Bihar.
State in eastern India
2001
Microsoft launches the Xbox game console in North America.
American multinational technology company
2002
Hu Jintao becomes General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and a new nine-member Politburo Standing Committee is inaugurated.
Leader of China from 2002 to 2012
2003
The first day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings, in which two car bombs, targeting two synagogues, explode, kill 25 people and wound 300 more.
Al-Qaeda suicide bombings in Istanbul, Turkey
2007
Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 5,000 people and destroying parts of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.
North Indian Ocean cyclone in 2007
2010
A fire in a high-rise apartment building in Shanghai, China kills 58 people.
Fire in 2010 that destroyed a building in Shanghai
2012
Xi Jinping becomes General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and a new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee is inaugurated.
Leader of China since 2012
2016
Hong Kong's High Court bans elected politicians Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung from the city's Parliament.
Superior court of record
2017
A flood a few miles outside of Athens results in the death of 25 people.
Natural disaster in Greece
2020
Lewis Hamilton wins the Turkish Grand Prix and secures his seventh drivers' title, equalling the all-time record held by Michael Schumacher.
British racing driver (born 1985)
2022
