August 15
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(Redirected from 15 August)
August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining.
Contents |
Events
- 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, in which Roland is killed
- 927 - The Saracens conquered and destroyed Taranto
- 1057 - King MacBeth of Scotland is killed during the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of King Malcolm III.
- 1185 - The cave city of Vardzia was consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia
- 1309 - The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquartes on the island, and rename themselves as the Knights of Rhodes.
- 1517 - Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernao Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
- 1519 - Panama City, Panama is founded
- 1534 - The Society of Jesus is founded by Ignatius of Loyola with Francis Xavier and other students
- 1535 - Asuncion, Paraguay is founded
- 1540 - Arequipa, Peru is founded
- 1549 - Jesuit priest Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: July 22, 1549).
- 1620 - The Mayflower departs Southampton, England.
- 1824 - Freed American slaves form Liberia.
- 1843 - The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
- 1843 - Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 1863 - The Satsuma war begins between the Satsuma clan and Great Britain (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).
- 1877 - Thomas Edison makes the first-ever recording - "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
- 1914 - The Panama Canal opens to traffic
- 1920 - Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw - Poles defeat the Red Army.
- 1942 - World War II: Operation Pedestal - The SS Ohio reaches the island of Malta barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island defenses.
- 1944 - World War II: Operation Anvil - Allied forces land in southern France.
- 1945 - World War II: Victory over Japan Day - Japan surrenders.
- 1945 - World War II: Korean Liberation Day
- 1947 - India gains independence from Britain. Jawaharlal Nehru takes office as the first Prime Minister of India
- 1948 - The Republic of Korea is established south of 38th Parallel
- 1960 - Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) declares its independence from France
- 1961 - Construction begins on the Berlin Wall, Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany.
- 1965 - John Coltrane plays in Chicago, Illinois for the Downbeat Jazz Festival with Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner.
- 1969 - The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opens.
- 1971 - President Richard Nixon ends convertibility of U.S. dollar into gold
- 1973 - Vietnam War: The United States bombing of Cambodia ends
- 1974 - Yook Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea is killed amid an apparent assassination attempt upon President of the South Korea, Park Chung-hee, during the anniversarial ceremony of the Liberation day.
- 1975 - Military coup in Bangladesh
- 1975 - Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by a sitting prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
- 1977 - The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by The Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" for notation made by a volunteer on the project.
- 1978 - Foundation of Mirapuri - The City of Peace and Future Man
- 1998 - Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, becoming the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles
- 1999 - Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria; some 29 people killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco.
Births
- 1001 - King Duncan I of Scotland (d. 1040)
- 1171 - King Alfonso IX of Leon (d. 1230)
- 1195 - Anthony of Padua, Portuguese saint (d. 1231)
- 1432 - Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (d. 1484)
- 1613 - Gilles Ménage, French scholar (d. 1692)
- 1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (d. 1821)
- 1785 - Thomas De Quincey, English author (d. 1859)
- 1856 - Ivan Franko, Ukrainian writer (d. 1916)
- 1858 - E. Nesbit, English author (d. 1924)
- 1872 - Sri Aurobindo, Indian writer, nationalist, philosopher, and guru (d. 1950)
- 1875 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English composer (d. 1912)
- 1879 - Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)
- 1887 - Edna Ferber, American novelist (d. 1968)
- 1883 - Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (d. 1962)
- 1890 - Jacques Ibert, French composer (d. 1962)
- 1892 - Louis, 7th duc de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1893 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer (d. 1950)
- 1896 - Leon Theremin, Russian inventor (d. 1993)
- 1900 - Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (d. 1966)
- 1912 - Julia Child, American cook (d. 2004)
- 1912 - Dame Wendy Hiller, English actress (d. 2003)
- 1916 - Aleks Çaçi, Albanian writer
- 1919 - Huntz Hall, actor (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Lukas Foss, German-born composer
- 1923 - Rose Marie, American actress
- 1924 - Robert Bolt, English screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1925 - Mike Connors, American actor
- 1925 - Willie Jones, baseball player (d. 1983)
- 1925 - Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist
- 1928 - Nicolas Roeg, English film director
- 1933 - Jim Lange, American game show host
- 1935 - Vernon Jordan Jr., U.S. Presidential advisor
- 1935 - Lionel Taylor, American football player
- 1938 - Janusz A. Zajdel, Polish writer
- 1944 - Linda Ellerbee, American journalist
- 1944 - Sylvie Vartan, French pop singer
- 1945 - Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Indian guru
- 1946 - Jimmy Webb, American musician and composer
- 1947 - Raakhee Gulzar, Indian actress
- 1948 - Uschi Digard, American erotic actress and figure model
- 1949 - Richard Deacon, Welsh sculptor
- 1950 - Princess Anne of the United Kingdom
- 1951 - Daba Diawara, Malian politician
- 1958 - Victor Shenderovich, Russian satirist
- 1965 - Rob Thomas, author and screenwriter
- 1968 - Debra Messing, American actress
- 1972 - Ben Affleck, American actor
- 1974 - Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress
- 1977 - Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast
- 1975 - Kara Wolters, American basketball player
- 1976 - Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch football player
- 1978 - Tim Foreman, American bassist (Switchfoot)
- 1978 - Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast
- 1992 -Bianca Bancroft, American dancer in Jamaica
Deaths
- 778 - Roland, Frankish commander (killed in battle)
- 1040 - King Duncan I of Scotland (b. 1001)
- 1057 - King Macbeth I of Scotland
- 1118 - Alexius I Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1048)
- 1196 - Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1173)
- 1274 - Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and founder of the Sorbonne (b. 1201)
- 1369 - Philippa of Hainault, queen of Edward III of England
- 1528 - Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, French military leader (b. 1485)
- 1552 - Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (b. 1477)
- 1621 - John Barclay, Scottish writer (b. 1582)
- 1666 - Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
- 1714 - Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia (b. 1654)
- 1728 - Marin Marais, French composer and viol player (b. 1656)
- 1799 - Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet (b. 1729)
- 1907 - Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b. 1831)
- 1935 - Wiley Post, American pilot (b. 1898)
- 1935 - Will Rogers, American humorist and actor (b. 1879)
- 1936 - Grazia Deledda, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
- 1951 - Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (b. 1882)
- 1953 - Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist (b. 1875)
- 1959 - Blind Willie McTell, American singer (b. 1901
- 1962 - Lei Feng, Chinese revolutionary (b. 1940)
- 1967 - René Magritte, Belgian painter (b. 1898)
- 1971 - Paul Lukas, Hungarian-born actor (b. 1887)
- 1975 - Clay Shaw, John F. Kennedy assassination investigator (b. 1913)
- 1975 - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (b. 1920)
- 1990 - Viktor Tsoi, Russian musician (b. 1962)
- 1995 - John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (b. 1906)
- 1999 - Sir Hugh Casson, British architect and artist (b. 1910)
- 2001 - Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete (brain tumour) (b. 1972)
- 2003 - Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish songwriter and singer (heart attack) (b. 1957)
- 2004 - Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (b. 1941)
Holidays and observances
- Eastern Orthodoxy – Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, the commemoration of the death of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
- RC Saints – Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Holy Day of Obligation. Public Holiday in: Austria, Belgium, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, East Timor, France, Greece, India, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Poland, Portugal, Seychelles, Slovenia and Spain.
- Acadie – National Day
- Egypt – Flooding of the Nile Day
- Hawaii – Toro Nagashi (Floating Lantern Ceremony) to commemorate the end of the second world war
- India – Independence Day (from Britain, 1947)
- Italy – "Ferragosto", remembrance of an ancient Roman holiday in honor of Augustus (Feriae Augusti)
- Korea – Liberation Day
- Ancient Latvia – Maras
- Liechtenstein – Liechtenstein Day
- Poland – Polish Armed Forces Day
- Jamaica– Jamaican national dance Day(Bianca Day)
- Tuva – Tuva Republic Day, Naadym
External links
August 14 - August 16 - July 15 - September 15 -- listing of all days
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