What happened on January 15? There are more than 311 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 January 15
January 15 is the 15th day of the year 2024. There are 351 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday. This day falls under the 3rd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Sayre, Pennsylvania 18840 sunrise occured at 07:30 AM and sunset occured at 05:00 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Capricorn. The modern birthstone for this month is Garnet while the mystical birthstone is Emerald.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 26 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
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 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For January 15
- 588 BCNebuchadnezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah’s reign. The siege lasts until July 23, 586 BC.
- 69Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.
- 1493Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World.
- 1559Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
- 1582Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1759The British Museum opens.
- 1777American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
- 1782Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
- 1815War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
- 1822Greek War of Independence: Demetrius Ypsilanti is elected president of the legislative assembly.
- 1844University of Notre Dame receives its charter from the state of Indiana.
- 1865American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
- 1870A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).
- 1889The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta.
- 1892James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
- 1908The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African-American college women.
- 1910Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, US, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft.
- 1919Boston Molasses Disaster: A large molasses tank in Boston, bursts and a wave of molasses rushes through the streets, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.
- 1919Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps.
- 1936The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
- 1943The world’s largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
- 1943World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
- 1947The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short (“The Black Dahlia”) is found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.
- 1949Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
- 1951Ilse Koch, “The Witch of Buchenwald”, wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in West Germany.
- 1966The Nigerian First Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
- 1967The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10
- 1969The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
- 1970Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
- 1970Nigerian Civil War: After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders.
- 1973Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
- 1974Dennis Rader aka the BTK Killer kills his first victims by binding, torturing and murdering Joseph, Joseph II, Josephine and Julie Otero in their house.
- 1976Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1977The Kälvesta air disaster kills 22 people, the worst air crash in Sweden’s history.
- 1986The Living Seas opens at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, Florida.
- 1990AT&T’s long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure.
- 1991Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth Realm to institute its own separate Victoria Cross award in its own honours system.
- 1991The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
- 1992The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 1993Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as “The Beast”, is arrested in Sicily after three decades as a fugitive.
- 2001Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
- 2005An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system.
- 2005ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon.
- 2007Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
- 2009US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive.
Who Were Born On January 15?
- 1342Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404)
- 1432King Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
- 1481Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (d. 1511)
- 1538Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
- 1622Molière, French playwright (d. 1673)
- 1671Abraham de la Pryme, English antiquarian (d. 1704)
- 1674Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French writer (d. 1762)
- 1716Philip Livingston, American founding father (d. 1778)
- 1747John Aikin, English doctor and writer (d. 1822)
- 1754Richard Martin, Irish animal rights activist (d. 1834)
- 1791Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (d. 1872)
- 1795Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright (d. 1829)
- 1803Marjory Fleming, Scottish writer and poet (d. 1811)
- 1809Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French anarchist (d. 1865)
- 1812Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1885)
- 1815William Bickerton, Mormon prophet (d. 1905)
- 1816Marie LaFarge, French murderer (d. 1852)
- 1824Marie Duplessis, French courtesan (d. 1847)
- 1834Samuel Arza Davenport, American politician (d. 1911)
- 1841Frederick Arthur Stanley, Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
- 1842Josef Breuer, Austrian psychiatrist (d. 1925)
- 1842Saint Mary MacKillop, Australian Saint (d. 1909)
- 1850Leonard Darwin, son of Charles Darwin (d. 1943)
- 1850Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889)
- 1850Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 1891)
- 1855Jacques Damala, Greek military officer and actor (d. 1889)
- 1859Archibald Peake, Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
- 1863Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
- 1866Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1931)
- 1869Ruby Laffoon, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
- 1869Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish dramatist (d. 1907)
- 1870Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman (d. 1954)
- 1872Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer (d. 1944)
- 1875Thomas Burke, American sprinter (d. 1929)
- 1877Lewis Terman, American psychologist (d. 1956)
- 1878Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer and pedagogue (d. 1941)
- 1879Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author (d. 1961)
- 1882Princess Margaret of Connaught (d. 1920)
- 1885Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
- 1885Huang Yuanyong, Chinese writer (d. 1915)
- 1885Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (d. 1973)
- 1890Tommy Fleming, American soccer player (d. 1965)
- 1891Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (d. 1938)
- 1891Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
- 1892Rex Ingram, Irish director (d. 1950)
- 1893Ivor Novello, Welsh composer and actor (d. 1951)
- 1895Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1973)
- 1897Xu Zhimo, Chinese poet (d. 1931)
- 1899Goodman Ace, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1900William Heinesen, Faroese writer, poet and artist (d. 1991)
- 1902King Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
- 1903Paul A. Dever, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
- 1905Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (d. 1985)
- 1905Torin Thatcher, English actor (d. 1981)
- 1906Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
- 1908Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicist (d. 2003)
- 1909Gene Krupa, American drummer (d. 1973)
- 1909Jean Bugatti, German-born automobile designer (d. 1939)
- 1912Michel Debré, French politician (d. 1996)
- 1913Alexander Marinesko, captain of the S-13 submarined. 1963)
- 1913Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
- 1913Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1913Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (d. 2005)
- 1914Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian (d. 2003)
- 1918Édouard Gagnon, Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 2007)
- 1918Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of Egypt (d. 1970)
- 1918João Figueiredo, President of Brazil (d. 1999)
- 1919Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer, first to ascend an 8000m peak, Annapurna in 1950
- 1920John Joseph O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d. 2000)
- 1920Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
- 1921Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian politician (d. 2007)
- 1921Frank Thornton, English actor
- 1922Sir Eric Willis, Australian politician (d. 1999)
- 1923Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet (d. 2006)
- 1923Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician
- 1925Ruth Slenczynska, U.S. pianist
- 1926Maria Schell, Austrian actress (d. 2005)
- 1927Phyllis Coates, American actress
- 1929Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968)
- 1930Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler (d. 1985)
- 1931Lee Bontecou, American artist
- 1933Ernest J. Gaines, American author
- 1935Malcolm Frager, American pianist
- 1937Margaret O'Brien, American actress
- 1938Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
- 1939Tony Bullimore, English sailor and adventurer
- 1940Anna Hazare, Indian social activist.
- 1941Captain Beefheart, American musician and visual artist (d. 2010)
- 1943Ashraf Aman, first Pakistani to reach the summit of K2
- 1943Mike Marshall, American baseball player
- 1943Stuart E. Eizenstat, adviser to American Presidents Carter and Clinton
- 1944Jenny Nimmo, British author
- 1945Princess Michael of Kent, British royal
- 1945Vincent Foster Jr., American lawyer (d. 1993)
- 1945William R. Higgins, USMC colonel (d. 1990)
- 1947Andrea Martin, Canadian actress
- 1948Ronnie Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
- 1949Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2001)
- 1949Panos Mihalopoulos, Greek actor
- 1950Marius Trésor, French footballer
- 1952Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
- 1953Kent Hovind, American evangelist
- 1953Randy White, American football player
- 1953Ta-Tanisha, American actress
- 1954Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino writer
- 1954Nikos Sarganis, Greek footballer
- 1955Nigel Benson, English author
- 1956Marc Trestman, CFL head coach
- 1956Mayawati, Indian politician
- 1956Miki Fujimura, Japanese singer
- 1957Mario Van Peebles, American actor
- 1957Marty Lyons, American football player
- 1957Patrick Dixon, English entrepreneur
- 1958Boris Tadić, President of Serbia
- 1959Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian climber (d. 2008)
- 1959Pete Trewavas, English musician
- 1959Sister Carol, Jamaican reggae singer
- 1960Aaron Jay Kernis, American composer
- 1960Kelly Asbury, American director and actor
- 1961Yves P. Pelletier, Canadian comedian and film director
- 1963Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer, security expert, and writer
- 1963Conrad Lant, English musician
- 1964Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
- 1965Adam Jones, American musician (Tool)
- 1965Bernard Hopkins, American boxer
- 1965James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
- 1965Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
- 1967Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
- 1968Chad Lowe, American actor
- 1968Iñaki Urdangarín, Spanish royalty
- 1969Delino DeShields, American baseball player
- 1969Huck Seed, American professional poker player
- 1969Meret Becker, German actress and singer
- 1970Shane McMahon, American professional wrestler
- 1971Regina King, American actress
- 1972Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
- 1972Claudia Winkleman, English television presenter
- 1972Ernie Reyes, Jr. American actor and martial artist
- 1972Kobe Tai, American porn star
- 1973Essam El-Hadary, Egyptian footballer
- 1974Edith Bowman, Scottish television and radio presenter
- 1974Ray King, American baseball player
- 1974Tim Shaw, British radio DJ and television presenter
- 19759th Wonder, American producer
- 1975Mary Pierce, French tennis player
- 1976Corey Chavous, American football player
- 1976Doug Gottlieb, American basketball analyst
- 1976Scott Murray, Scotland rugby player
- 1978Eddie Cahill, American actor
- 1978Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
- 1978Ryan Sidebottom, English Cricketer
- 1979Drew Brees, American football player
- 1979Ken Chu, Taiwanese singer-actor and taichi champ
- 1979Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1979Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
- 1979Young Dro, American rapper
- 1980Matt Holliday, American baseball player
- 1981El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
- 1981Howie Day, American singer
- 1981Pitbull, American rapper
- 1981Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby union footballer
- 1982Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1982Benjamin Agosto, American skater
- 1982Brett Lebda, American hockey player
- 1982Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
- 1982Neil Nitin Mukesh, Indian actor
- 1982Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
- 1983Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
- 1983Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
- 1983Matic Kralj, Slovenian ice hockey player
- 1984Megan Jendrick, American swimmer
- 1984Victor Rasuk, American actor
- 1985Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
- 1985Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
- 1985Rene Adler, German footballer
- 1986Fred Davis, American football player
- 1986Isaia Toeava, New Zealand All Black rugby player
- 1986Jessy Schram, American actress
- 1987Aria C Jalali, American musician
- 1987David Knight, English footballer
- 1987Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
- 1987Kelly Kelly, American WWE Diva
- 1987Michael Seater, Canadian actor
- 1988Sonny Moore (a.k.a Skrillex, American musician (From First to Last)
- 1989Alexei Cherepanov, Russian hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1989Keiffer Hubbell, American ice dancer
- 1990Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
- 1990Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
- 1992Joshua King, Norwegian footballer
Who Died On January 15?
- 69Galba, Roman Emperor (b. 3 BC)
- 570Saint Ita, Irish nun (b. 475)
- 936King Rudolph of France
- 1345Martin Zaccaria, Italo-Greek ruler
- 1595Murat III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
- 1623Fra Paolo Sarpi, Italian patriot, scholar, scientist and church reformer (b. 1552)
- 1672John Cosin, English clergyman (b. 1594)
- 1683Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (b. 1609)
- 1775Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian composer
- 1781Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, queen regent of Portugal (b. 1718)
- 1790John Landen, English mathematician (b. 1719)
- 1804Dru Drury, English entomologist (b. 1725)
- 1815Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Lord Nelson (b. 1761)
- 1864Isaac Nathan, UK-Australian composer (b. 1792)
- 1876Eliza Johnson, U.S. First Lady (b. 1810)
- 1885Leopold Damrosch, German-American orchestral conductor (b. 1832)
- 1893Fanny Kemble, British actress and author (b. 1809)
- 1896Mathew Brady, U.S. photographer (b. 1822)
- 1909Arnold Janssen, German missionary (b. 1837)
- 1916Modest Tchaikovsky, Russian writer (b. 1850)
- 1919Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
- 1919Rosa Luxemburg, German politician (b. 1871)
- 1926August Sedláček, Czech historian (b. 1843)
- 1926Enrico Toselli, Italian composer (b. 1883)
- 1936Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
- 1944Robert J. Kirby, Warden of New York’s Sing Sing Prison (b. 1890)
- 1945Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian mathematician (b. 1865)
- 1947Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia (b. 1924)
- 1948Josephus Daniels, American publisher and United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
- 1950General Henry “Hap” Arnold, U.S. General of the Air Force (b. 1886)
- 1952Ned Hanlon, Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
- 1955Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
- 1964Jack Teagarden, American musician (b. 1905)
- 1967David Burliuk, Ukrainian artist (b. 1882)
- 1968Bill Masterton, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
- 1970William T. Piper, American aircraft designer (b. 1881)
- 1972Daisy Ashford, English child writer (The Young Visiters) (b. 1881)
- 1973Coleman Francis, American film director (b. 1919)
- 1973Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
- 1983Meyer Lansky, Russian-born gangster (b. 1902)
- 1983Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1987Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- 1988Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1904)
- 1990Dame Peggy van Praagh, British ballet dancer, choreographer, director (b. 1910)
- 1992Dee Murray, English bassist (b. 1946)
- 1993Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1994Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist (b. 1921)
- 1994Harilal Upadhyay, Gujarati-Indian author, poet, astrologist (b. 1916)
- 1994Harry Nilsson, American musician (b. 1941)
- 1995Vera Maxwell, American fashion designer (b. 1901)
- 1996Les Baxter, American musician and composer (b. 1922)
- 1996Minnesota Fats, American billiards player (b. 1913)
- 1996Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
- 1998Junior Wells, American musician (b. 1934)
- 1999Betty Box, British film producer (b. 1915)
- 2000Željko Ražnatović, aka Arkan, Serbian paramilitary leader (b. 1952)
- 2000Fran Ryan, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2000Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
- 2001Leo Marks, English cryptographer, screenwriter and playwright (b. 1920)
- 2001Ted Mann, American screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 2002Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
- 2002Steve Gromek, American baseball player (b. 1920)
- 2003Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
- 2005Dan Lee, Canadian animator (b. 1969)
- 2005Elizabeth Janeway, American author (b. 1913)
- 2005Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1915)
- 2005Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923)
- 2005Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
- 2006Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
- 2007Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court (b. 1945) (executed)
- 2007Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein (b. 1951) (executed)
- 2007Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (b. 1908)
- 2007David Vanole, American soccer player (b. 1963)
- 2007James Hillier, Canadian inventor of electron microscope (b. 1915)
- 2007Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino writer and diplomat (b. 1905)
- 2008Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
- 2008Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, English game designer (b. 1964)
- 2011Nat Lofthouse, English footballer (b. 1925)
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