January 15Birthdays & History

On this day: January 15 in history

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

1. 69Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.Europe
2. 1535King Henry VIII issues letters patent incorporating the title Supreme Head of the Church of England into his royal title.Europe
3. 1541King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the "Holy Catholic faith".EuropeNorth America
4. 1559Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey, London.Europe
5. 1582Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.Europe
6. 1759The British Museum opens to the public.Europe
7. 1777American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present-day Vermont) declares its independence.North America
8. 1782Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.North America
9. 1815War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.North AmericaEurope
10. 1818A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a "supplement" (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.Europe
11. 1822Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.Europe
12. 1865American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.North America
13. 1867Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent's Park, London, collapses.Europe
14. 1870Thomas Nast publishes a political cartoon symbolizing the Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion") for Harper's Weekly.North America
15. 1876The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.Africa
16. 1889The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.North America
17. 1892James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.North America
18. 1908The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.EuropeAfricaNorth America
19. 1910Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 99 m (325 ft).North America
20. 1911Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.Middle East
21. 1919Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.North America
22. 1919Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent communists in Germany, are clubbed and then shot to death by members of the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.Europe
23. 1934The 8.0 Mw Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.Asia
24. 1936The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.North America
25. 1937Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republicans both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.Europe
26. 1943The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington County, Virginia.North America
27. 1943World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.Europe
28. 1947The Black Dahlia murder: The dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short is found in Los Angeles.North America
29. 1949Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist government.Asia
30. 1962The Derveni papyrus, Europe's oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.Europe
31. 1962Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.EuropeOceaniaAsia
32. 1966The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d'état.Africa
33. 1967The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.North America
34. 1969The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.Europe
35. 1970Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.Africa
36. 1970Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.Africa
37. 1973Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.Asia
38. 1975The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.AfricaEurope
39. 1976Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.North America
40. 1977Linjeflyg Flight 618 crashes in Kälvesta near Stockholm Bromma Airport in Stockholm, Sweden, killing 22 people.Europe
41. 1981Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from the Polish trade union Solidarity at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.Europe
42. 1991Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.Oceania
43. 1991The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.Middle East
44. 2001Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, is launched (Wikipedia Day).North America
45. 2005ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.World
46. 2009US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off. This becomes known as "The Miracle on the Hudson" as all 155 people on board were rescued.North America
47. 2013A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.Middle East
48. 2015The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the Swiss franc's value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets.Europe
49. 2016The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.Africa
50. 2018British multinational construction and facilities management services company Carillion goes into liquidation – officially, "the largest ever trading liquidation in the UK".Europe
51. 2019Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.Africa
52. 2019Theresa May's UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.Europe
53. 2020The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare confirms the first case of COVID-19 in Japan.Asia
54. 2021A 6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia's Sulawesi island killing at least 105 and injuring 3,369 people.Asia
55. 2022The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupts, cutting off communications with Tonga and causing a tsunami across the Pacific.Oceania
56. 2023Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashes near Pokhara International Airport, killing all 72 people on board.Asia

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