April 15Birthdays & History

On this day: April 15 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 769The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.Europe
2. 1071The sharif of Mecca changes the khutbah from the Shiite Fatimid caliph in Cairo to the Sunni Abbasid Caliph in Bagdhad.Middle East
3. 1071Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to the Norman Robert Guiscard.Europe
4. 1191Henry VI, King of Germany, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by pope Celestine III.Europe
5. 1277The Mamluk Sultanate defeats the Mongols in the battle of Elbistan.Asia
6. 1450Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.Europe
7. 1632Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.Europe
8. 1642Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.EuropeNorth America
9. 1715The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.North America
10. 1736Foundation of the short-lived Kingdom of Corsica.Europe
11. 1738Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, receives its premiere performance in London, England.Europe
12. 1755Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.Europe
13. 1817Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc found the American School for the Deaf (then called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons), the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.North America
14. 1861President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 militiamen to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.North America
15. 1865President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes president.North America
16. 1892The General Electric Company is formed.North America
17. 1896Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.Europe
18. 1900Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.AsiaNorth America
19. 1912The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,224 passengers and crew on board survive.Europe
20. 1920Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.North America
21. 1922U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.North America
22. 1923Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.North America
23. 1923Racially motivated Nihon Shōgakkō fire lit by a serial arsonist kills 10 children in Sacramento, California.North America
24. 1936First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.Middle East
25. 1941World War II: In the Belfast Blitz, 200 bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing some 1,000 people.Europe
26. 1942World War II: The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta" by King George VI.Europe
27. 1945Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.Europe
28. 1947Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line.North America
29. 1952First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.North America
30. 1955McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.North America
31. 1960At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.North America
32. 1969The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board.AsiaNorth AmericaAsia
33. 1970During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.Asia
34. 1986The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.North AmericaAfricaEurope
35. 1989Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.Europe
36. 1989Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.Asia
37. 1994Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.AfricaWorld
38. 2002Air China Flight 129 crashes on approach to Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, killing 129 people.Asia
39. 2013A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.Middle East
40. 2013Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring over 500 others.North America
41. 2014In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, more than 400 civilians are gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.Africa
42. 2019The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.Europe
43. 2021A mass shooting occurs at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, killing nine and injuring seven.North America
44. 2026Twelve people and the perpetrator are killed and twelve others injured in a mass shooting at a school in Onikişubat, Turkey.Middle East

Source: Wikipedia "April 15" / CC BY-SA 4.0