What happened on May 15? There are more than 299 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About May 15
May 15 is the 136th day of the year 2024. There are 230 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 20th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Kincaid, Illinois 62540 sunrise will occur at 05:41 AM and sunset will occur at 08:06 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Taurus. The modern birthstone for this month is Emerald while the mystical birthstone is Sapphire.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 259 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 22 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For May 15
- 392Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.
- 1252Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
- 1525The battle of Frankenhausen ends the German Peasants’ War.
- 1536Anne 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.
- 1567Mary, Queen of Scots, marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband.
- 1602Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to see Cape Cod.
- 1618Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
- 1648The Treaty of Westphalia signed.
- 1701The War of the Spanish Succession begins.
- 1718James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world’s first machine gun.
- 1755Laredo, Texas is established by the Spaniards.
- 1776American Revolution: the Virginia Convention instructs its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.
- 1791Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.
- 1792War of the First Coalition: France declares war on Kingdom of Sardinia.
- 1793Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for “about 360 meters”, at a height of 5-6 meters, during one of the first attempted .
- 1796First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.
- 1800George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity.
- 1811Paraguay declares independence from Spain.
- 1817Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1829The Aaronic Priesthood is restored to Joseph Smith Jr. and Oliver Cowdery, prior to the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 1836Francis Baily observes “Baily’s beads” during an annular eclipse.
- 1849Troops of the Two Sicilies take Palermo and crush the republican government of Sicily
- 1850The Bloody Island Massacre takes place in Lake County, California, in which a large number of Pomo Indians in Lake County are slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry, led by Nathaniel Lyon.
- 1858Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
- 1862President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
- 1864American 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.
- 1864American Civil War: Battle of Resaca, Georgia ends.
- 1869Woman’s suffrage: in New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
- 1891Pope Leo XIII defends workers’ rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum Novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.
- 1904The Russian minelayer Amur laid a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur and sank Japan’s battleships Hatsuse, 15,000 tons, with 496 crew and “Yashima”.
- 1905Las Vegas, Nevada, is founded when 110 acre, in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
- 1911In 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.
- 1919Greek invasion of İzmir. During the invasion, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks. Those responsible are punished by the Greek Commander Aristides Stergiades.
- 1919The Winnipeg General Strike begins. By 11:00 am, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg, Manitoba had walked off the job.
- 1928Mickey Mouse premiered in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy
- 1929A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
- 1932The May 15 Incident: in an attempted Coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed.
- 1934Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia.
- 1935The Moscow Metro is opened to public.
- 1936Amy Johnson arrives back in England after a record-breaking return flight to Cape Town
- 1940McDonald’s opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
- 1940USS Sailfish (SS-192) recommissioned, originally the USS Squalus.
- 1940World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
- 1942World War II: in the United States, a bill creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
- 1943Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
- 1945World War II: The final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
- 1948Following the demise of the British Mandate of Palestine, Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- 1951The Polish cultural attache in Paris, Czesław Miłosz, asks the French government for political asylum.
- 1957At Malden Island in the Pacific, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple. The device fails to detonate properly.
- 1958The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
- 1960The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.
- 1963Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space.
- 1966After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky of South Vietnam’s ruling junta launches a military attack on the forces of General Ton That Dinh, forcing him to abandon his command.
- 1969People’s Park: California Governor Ronald Reagan has an impromptu student park owned by University of California at Berkeley fenced off from student anti-war protestors, sparking a riot called Bloody Thursday.
- 1970Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green are killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests.
- 1970President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals.
- 1972In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while he is campaigning to be become President.
- 1972The island of Okinawa, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
- 1974Ma'alot massacre: In an Arab terrorist attack and hostage taking at an Israeli school, a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
- 1987The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit.
- 1988Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Red Army begins its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
- 1990Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million, the most expensive painting at the time.
- 1991Edith Cresson becomes France’s first female prime minister.
- 1997The 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.
- 2008California 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.
- 2010Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
Who Were Born On May 15?
- 1567(baptism) Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer (d. 1643)
- 1608René Goupil, French Catholic missionary (Canadian Martyrs) (d. 1642)
- 1720Maximilian Hell, Slovakian astronomer (d. 1792)
- 1749Levi Lincoln, Sr., American statesman (d. 1820)
- 1767Ezekiel Hart, Canadian entrepreneur and politician (d. 1843)
- 1773Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, Austrian statesman (d. 1859)
- 1786General Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek War of Independence figure (d. 1864)
- 1808Michael William Balfe, Irish composer of the opera The Bohemian Girl (d. 1870)
- 1817Debendranath Tagore, Indian religious reformer (d. 1905)
- 1848Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter (d. 1926)
- 1854Ioannis Psycharis, Greek author and linguist (d. 1929)
- 1856L. Frank Baum, American author (d. 1919)
- 1856Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer and guide (d. 1917)
- 1857Williamina Fleming, British-born astronomer (d. 1911)
- 1859Pierre Curie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
- 1862Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian dramatist (d. 1931)
- 1890Katherine Anne Porter, American author (d. 1980)
- 1891Fritz Feigl, Austria-born chemist (d. 1971)
- 1891Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian writer (d. 1940)
- 1892Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (d. 1969)
- 1895Astrid Zachrison, Swedish supercentenarian (d. 2008)
- 1895Prescott Bush, American banker, politician and member of the Bush family (d. 1972)
- 1895William D. Byron, American politician (d. 1941)
- 1898Arletty, French model and actress (d. 1992)
- 1899Jean-Étienne Valluy, French general (d. 1970)
- 1901Luis Monti, Argentine-Italian footballer (d. 1983)
- 1901Xavier Herbert, Australian author (d. 1984)
- 1902Richard J. Daley, American politician (d. 1976)
- 1903Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (d. 1998)
- 1905Abraham Zapruder, American businessman and John F. Kennedy assassination figure (d. 1970)
- 1905Joseph Cotten, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1907Sukhdev Thapar, Indian revolutionary figure who fought for independence against the British colonialists (d. 1931)
- 1909Clara Solovera, Chilean folk musician (d. 1992)
- 1909James Mason, British actor (d. 1984)
- 1910Constance Cummings, British actress (d. 2005)
- 1911Herta Oberheuser, Nazi doctor (d. 1978)
- 1911Max Frisch, Swiss author (d. 1991)
- 1912Arthur Berger, American composer (d. 2003)
- 1914Norrie Paramor, British arranger, conductor (d. 1979)
- 1914Turk Broda, Canadian hockey goaltender (d. 1972)
- 1915Gus Viseur, French button accordionist (d. 1974)
- 1915Hilda Bernstein, British-born South African author (d. 2006)
- 1915Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1915Paul Samuelson, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
- 1916Vera Gebuhr, Danish actress
- 1918Eddy Arnold, American country music singer (d. 2008)
- 1918Joseph Wiseman, Canadian actor (d. 2009)
- 1920Nasrallah Sfeir, Lebanese cardinal
- 1922Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese writer and Buddhist nun
- 1923John Lanchbery, British composer (d. 2003)
- 1923Johnny Walker, Indian actor (d. 2003)
- 1923Richard Avedon, American photographer (d. 2004)
- 1924Maria Koepcke, German ornithologist (d. 1971)
- 1925Roy Stewart, Jamacian-born British actor and fitness industry figure (d. 2008)
- 1926Anthony Shaffer, British playwright (d. 2001)
- 1926Peter Shaffer, British playwright
- 1930Jasper Johns, American painter
- 1931Ken Venturi, American golfer
- 1935Utah Phillips, American labor organizer and folk singer (d. 2008)
- 1936Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-born actress
- 1936Paul Zindel, American writer (d. 2003)
- 1936Ralph Steadman, British cartoonist
- 1936Wavy Gravy, American clown and activist
- 1937Joe Tait, American broadcaster
- 1937Madeleine Albright, American Secretary of State
- 1937Trini López, American musician
- 1938Diane Nash, American Civil Rights Movement figure
- 1938Lenny Welch, American singer
- 1938Mireille Darc, French actress
- 1939Dorothy Shirley, British athlete
- 1940Don Nelson, American professional basketball coach
- 1940Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
- 1940Roger Ailes, American businessman
- 1941K.T. Oslin, American musician
- 1942Doug Lowe, Tasmanian politician
- 1942Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian politician
- 1943David Cronenberg, Canadian screenwriter and film director
- 1944Bill Alter, American politician
- 1944Ulrich Beck, German sociologist
- 1945Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, Portuguese noble
- 1945Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer
- 1946Aly Bain, Shetland fiddle player
- 1947Graeham Goble, Australian musician and record producer (Little River Band)
- 1948Brian Eno, British musician and record producer
- 1948Kathleen Sebelius, American politician and Obama Administration figure
- 1948Yutaka Enatsu, Japanese professional baseball pitcher
- 1949George Adams, American basketball player
- 1950Nicholas Hammond, American actor
- 1951Frank Wilczek, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1952Chazz Palminteri, American actor, writer and director
- 1953George Brett, American baseball player
- 1953Mike Oldfield, British composer
- 1954Robert P. Harrison, American thinker
- 1955Lee Horsley, American actor
- 1956Andreas Loverdos, Greek lawyer and politician
- 1956Dan Patrick, American sportscaster
- 1957Juan José Ibarretxe, Basque statesman
- 1957Kevin Von Erich, American professional wrestler
- 1958Ron Simmons, American professional wrestler
- 1959Andrew Eldritch, British singer and songwriter
- 1959Kaokor Galaxy, Thai boxer
- 1959Khaosai Galaxy, Thai boxer
- 1959Luis Perez-Sala, Spanish racing driver
- 1960Rhonda Burchmore, Australian Entertainer
- 1960Rob Bowman, American film director
- 1961Katrin Cartlidge, British actress (d. 2002)
- 1961Melle Mel, American musician
- 1962Lisa Curry-Kenny, Australian Ironwoman
- 1964Digna Ochoa, Mexican politician
- 1964Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1965André Abujamra, Brazilian film score composer
- 1965Raí, Brazilian footballer
- 1966Pete Wiggs, British musician (Saint Etienne)
- 1967John Smoltz, baseball player
- 1967Laura Hillenbrand, American author
- 1967Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress
- 1968Cecilia Malmström, Swedish politician
- 1968Seth Putnam, American musician
- 1969Asalah Nasri, Syrian singer
- 1969Emmitt Smith, American football player
- 1969Hideki Irabu, Japanese baseball player (d. 2011)
- 1970Desmond Howard, American football player
- 1970Frank de Boer, Dutch football player
- 1970Martin Rossiter, British Musician
- 1970Rod Smith, American football player
- 1970Ronald de Boer, Dutch football player
- 1971Phil Pfister, American strength athlete
- 1972David Charvet, French actor
- 1973Emilia Tsoulfa, Greek sailing champion
- 1974Ahmet Zappa, American musician
- 1974Shiney Ahuja, Indian actor
- 1974Vassilis Kikilias, Greek basketball player
- 1975Peter Iwers, Swedish Musician
- 1975Ray Lewis, American football player
- 1976Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer
- 1976Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer
- 1976Ryan Leaf, American football player
- 1976Torraye Braggs, American basketball player
- 1976Tyler Walker, American baseball player
- 1978Amy Chow, American gymnast
- 1978Caroline Dhavernas, Canadian actress
- 1978David Krumholtz, American actor
- 1978Dwayne DeRosario, Canadian footballer
- 1978Edu, Brazilian footballer
- 1978Krissy Taylor, American model (d. 1995)
- 1978Robert Royal, American football player
- 1979Chris Masoe, New Zealander rugby player
- 1980Josh Beckett, American baseball player
- 1980Rocky Marquette, American actor
- 1981Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
- 1981Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
- 1981Patrice Evra, French footballer
- 1981Zara Phillips, British royal and eventer
- 1982Alex Breckenridge, American actress
- 1982Jessica Sutta, American dancer, singer and actress (Pussycat Dolls)
- 1982Segundo Castillo, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1982Tatsuya Fujiwara, Japanese actor
- 1982Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican athlete
- 1984Sérgio Jimenez, Brazilian racing driver
- 1985Cristiane, Brazilian footballer
- 1985Tania Cagnotto, Italian diver
- 1986Adam Moffat, British football player
- 1986Matías Fernández, Chilean footballer
- 1986Thomas Brown, American football player
- 1987Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player
- 1987Ersan İlyasova, Turkish basketball player
- 1987Jennylyn Mercado, Filipina actress and singer
- 1987Mark Fayne, American ice hockey player
- 1989Sunny (Lee Soon-kyu), South Korean singer (Girls’ Generation)
- 1990Joe Mattock, English footballer
- 1990Jordan Eberle, Canadian hockey player
- 1995Ksenia Sitnik, Belarusian singer
Who Died On May 15?
- 392Valentinian II, Roman Emperor (b. 371)
- 913Hatto I, Archbishop of Mainz
- 1036Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (b. 1008)
- 1157Yury Dolgoruky, Russian prince
- 1174Nur ad-Din Zangi, ruler of Syria (b. 1118)
- 1381Eppelein von Gailingen, German robber baron
- 1470Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)
- 1585Niwa Nagahide, Japanese warlord (b. 1535)
- 1591Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsarevich (b. 1582)
- 1609Giovanni Croce, Italian composer (b. 1557)
- 1634Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (b. 1585)
- 1698Marie Champmeslé, French actress (b. 1642)
- 1699Edward Petre, British Jesuit and privy councilor (b. 1631)
- 1700John Hale, pastor during the Salem witch hunt (b.1636)
- 1714Roger Elliott, British general and Governor of Gibraltar
- 1740Ephraim Chambers, British encyclopaedist (b. 1680)
- 1773Alban Butler, British Catholic priest and writer (b. 1710)
- 1782Marquis of Pombal, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1699)
- 1845Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican Head of State (b. 1800)
- 1879Gottfried Semper, German architect (b. 1803)
- 1886Emily Dickinson, American poet (b. 1830)
- 1924Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1852)
- 1928Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (b. 1845)
- 1935Kazimir Malevich, Polish/Ukrainian artist (b. 1878)
- 1937Phillip Snowden, British politician (b. 1864)
- 1940Menno ter Braak, Dutch author and polemicist (b. 1902)
- 1945Charles Williams, British writer (b. 1886)
- 1948Edward Flanagan, American priest and founder of Boys Town (b. 1886)
- 1954William March, American writer (b. 1893)
- 1956Austin Osman Spare, British artist and magician (b. 1886)
- 1964Vladko Maček, Kingdom of Yugoslavia deputy prime minister (b. 1879)
- 1967Edward Hopper, American painter (b. 1882)
- 1971Tyrone Guthrie, British director, producer, and writer (b. 1900)
- 1978Sir Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- 1982Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (b. 1946)
- 1984Francis Schaeffer, American theologian, philosopher, and pastor (b. 1912)
- 1986Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
- 1986Theodore White, American writer (b. 1915)
- 1989Johnny Green, American songwriter (b. 1908)
- 1991Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Malian writer (b. c. 1900)
- 1991Andreas Floer, German mathematician (b. 1956)
- 1991Ronald Lacey, British actor (b. 1935)
- 1992Jovy Marcelo, Filipino race car driver (b. 1965)
- 1993Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese writer, poet, and diplomat (b. 1933)
- 1994Gilbert Roland, Mexican actor (b. 1905)
- 1995Eric Porter, British actor (b. 1928)
- 1996Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (b. 1910)
- 1998Earl “The Goat” Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
- 2003George Francis, British gangster (b. 1940)
- 2003June Carter Cash, American musician and singer (b. 1929)
- 2005Alan B. Gold, Quebec Chief Justice (b. 1917)
- 2007Jerry Falwell, Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Founder of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA (b. 1933)
- 2007Yolanda King, American actress and activist, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1955)
- 2008Alexander Courage, composer of original Star Trek theme (b. 1919)
- 2008Astrid Zachrison, Swedish supercentenarian (b. 1895)
- 2008Robert Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer, younger brother of Joey Dunlop (b. 1960)
- 2008Tommy Burns, Scottish footballer (b. 1956)
- 2009Charles ‘Bud’Tingwell, Australian actor (b. 1923)
- 2009Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player (b. 1964)
- 2010Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (b. 1987)
- 2010Loris Kessel, Swiss racing driver (b. 1950)
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