On this day in History - Oct. 15

• 70 BC - Virgil was born (d. 19 BC). Roman poet (The Aeneid).
• 0412 - Theophilus dies. Patriarch of Alexandria.
• 0533 - Byzantine general Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.
• 0898 - Death of St. Euthymius the Younger.
• 0898 - Lambert dies. Holy Roman Emperor.
• 0912 - Abdullah ibn Muhammad dies. Emir of Córdoba.
• 0961 - Abd ar-Rahman III, 1st caliph of Umayyad dynasty of Spain, dies.
• 1002 - Otto-Henry, Duke of Burgundy dies (b. 0946).
• 1080 - Rudolf of Rheinfeld dies. Duke of Swabia.
• 1326 - Walter de Stapledon dies (b. 1261). English bishop.
• 1385 - Batalha de Valverde entre os exércitos português e castelhano.
• 1389 - Pope Urban VI dies (b. 1318).
• 1417 - Pope Gregory XII resigns from office.
• 1471 - Konrad Mutian was born (d. 1526). German humanist.
• 1542 - Akbar, Jellaladin Mahommed was born (d. 1605). Mughal Emperor.
• 1552 - Khanate of Kazan is conquered by troops of Ivan Grozny.
• 1564 - Vesalius dies (b. 1514). Flemish anatomist.
• 1582 - Death of St. Theresa of Avila.
• 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.
• 1590 - Election of Pope Urban VII.
• 1608 - Evangelista Torricelli was born (d. 1647). Italian physicist and mathematician. Inventor of the barometer.
• 1686 - Allan Ramsay was born (d. 1758). Scottish poet.
• 1701 - Marie-Marguerite d'Youville was born (d. 1771). Canadian saint.
• 1711 - Elisabeth Teresa of Lorraine was born (d. 1741). Queen of Sardinia.
• 1715 - Humphry Ditton dies (b. 1675). English mathematician.
• 1730 - Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, dies (b. 1658). French explorer.
• 1755 - Nascimento de Dr. Bernardo Peres da Silva. Prefeito do Estado Português na Índia em 1834.
• 1764 - Edward Gibbon observes a group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome, which inspires him to begin work on The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
• 1784 - Thomas Robert Bugeaud de la Piconnerie, was born (d. 1849). French marshal.
• 1785 - José Miguel Carrera was born. Chilean militar and politician.
• 1788 - Samuel Greig dies (b. 1735). Scottish-Russian admiral.
• 1802 - Louis-Eugène Cavaignac was born (d. 1857). French general and Governator of Algerie
• 1810 - Alfred Moore dies (b. 1755). American judge.
• 1811 - Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland dies (b. 1735). English painter.
• 1814 - Mikhail Lermontov was born (d. 1841). Russian author.
• 1815 - Napoleon I of France begins his exile on St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1817 - Tadeusz Kościuszko was born. Polish and Lithuanian national hero.
• 1819 - Sergey Vyazmitinov dies (b. 1744). Russian general and statesman.
• 1820 - Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg dies (b. 1771). Austrian field marshal.
• 1825 - Queen Marie of Prussia was born (d. 1889).
• 1829 - Asaph Hall was born (d. 1907). American astronomer.
• 1836 - James Tissot was born (d. 1902). French artist.
• 1837 - Ivan Dmitriev dies (b. 1760). Russian statesman and poet.
• 1840 - Honoré Mercier was born (d. 1894). Politician and premier of Quebec.
• 1844 - Friedrich Nietzsche was born (d. 1900). German philosopher (The Birth of Tragedy, Thoughts out of Season, Human, All Too Human, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist)
• 1858 - John L. Sullivan was born (d. 1918). American boxer. World Heavyweight champion [1881-1889].
• 1860 - Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, N.Y., wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.
• 1863 - American Civil War: The first successful submarine, the CSS Hunley sinks during a test, killing its inventor.
• 1864 - American Civil War: The Battle of Glasgow is fought, resulting in the surrender of Glasgow, Missouri, and its Union garrison, to the Confederacy.
• 1865 - Andrés Bello dies in Santiago, Chile (b. 1781). Venezuelan poet, lawmaked, teacher, philosopher and sociologist.
• 1872 - Wilhelm Miklas was born (d. 1956). Austrian president.
• 1872 - Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was born (d. 28 Dec. 1961). American first lady.
• 1874 - Prince Alfred of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born (d. 1899).
• 1874 - Academia Ecuatoriana de la Lengua is established.
• 1878 - The Edison Electric Company begins operation.
• 1878 - Paul Reynaud was born (d. 1966). French politician.
• 1879 - Jane Darwell was born (d. 1967). Academy Award-winning American actress.
• 1879 - Tomás Meabe was born. Spanish politician and writer.
• 1880 - Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.
• 1880 - Marie C. C. Stopes was born (d. 2 Oct 1958). Scottish scientist and advocate of birth control.
• 1880 - Victorio dies. Apache leader.
• 1881 - P. G. Wodehouse was born (d. 1975). British novelist.
• 1882 - Charley O'Leary was born (d. 1941). American baseball player.
• 1883 - The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional.
• 1884 - Arch Hoxsey was born (d. 1910). Pioneer aviator.
• 1888 - The "From Hell" letter sent by Jack the Ripper is received by the investigators.
• 1888 - S. S. Van Dine was born (d. 11 Apr. 1939). American critic, editor and author of popular detective novels.
• 1891 - Gilbert Arthur a Beckett dies (b. 1837). English writer.
• 1893 - King Carol II of Romania was born (d. 1953).
• 1894 - Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying - Dreyfus affair begins.
• 1894 - Moshe Sharett was born (d. 1965). Second Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1896 - Celestin Freinet was born. French educator.
• 1898 - Zeta Tau Alpha is founded at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.
• 1898 - Boughera El Ouafi was born (d. 1951). Algerian athlete.
• 1900 - Mervyn LeRoy was born (d. 1987). American film director.
• 1900 - Zdeněk Fibich dies (b. 1850). Czech composer.
• 1901 - Enrique Jardiel Poncela was born. Spanish writer.
• 1904 - The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.
• 1904 - Theta Tau, the Professional Engineering Fraternity, is founded at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• 1905 - C. P. Snow was born (d. 1980). British writer.
• 1906 - Hiram Leong Fong was born (d. 2004). American politician.
• 1907 - Varian Fry was born (d. 1987). American journalist and rescuer.
• 1908 - John Kenneth Galbraith was born. Canadian economist.
• 1908 - José Maria Nicolau was born (d. 1969). Portuguese cyclist.
• 1909 - Robert Trout was born (d. 2000). American reporter.
• 1909 - Jesse Leonard Greenstein was born (d. 2002). American astronomer.
• 1910 - Stanley Ketchel dies murdered (b. 1886). Boxeur.
• 1911 - Manuel da Fonseca was born in Santiago de Cacém (d. 1993). Portuguese writer.
• 1915 - Antônio Houaiss was born (d. 1999). Brazilian writer, diplomat, lexicographer and essayst.
• 1915 - Yitzhak Shamir was born. Israeli politician.
• 1917 - World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany.
• 1917 - Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was born. American political commentator and author. Pulitzer Prize-winning author/historian (The Age of Jackson [1946 prize in history], A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House [1966 prize in biography]; The Age of Roosevelt, The Imperial Presidency, Robert F. Kennedy and His Times).
• 1917 - Jan Miner was born (d. 2004). American actress.
• 1917 - World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany.
• 1917 - Mata Hari dies (b. 1876) Dutch exotic dancer and spy.
• 1918 - Shirdi Sai Baba dies (b. c. 1838). Indian guru.
• 1919 - Malcolm Ross was born (d. 1985). American balloonist and atmospheric physicist.
• 1920 - Mario Puzo was born (d. 1999). American novelist ( The Godfather, Fourth K.).
• 1920 - Henri Verneuil was born (d. 2002). French film director.
• 1921 - Portugal: É publicado o primeiro número da revista Seara Nova, na qual participam, entre outros, Aquilino Ribeiro, Raul Brandão, Raul Proença e Jaime Cortesão.
• 1922 - Alfons Figueras was born. Spanish short-story writer.
• 1922 - Agustina Bessa-Luís was born in Vila Meã, Amarante. Portuguese writer. 2004 Camões Prize awarded.
• 1923 - Italo Calvino was born (d. 1985). Italian writer.
• 1924 - Lee Iacocca was born. American industrialist.
• 1924 - Mark Lenard was born (d. 1996). American actor.
• 1924 - Marguerite Andersen was born. German writer.
• 1925 - Mickey Baker was born. American guitarist (Mickey & Sylvia).
• 1926 - Michel Foucault was born (d. 1984). French philosopher.
• 1926 - Evan Hunter was born (d. 2005). American author.
• 1926 - Jean Peters was born (d. 2000). American actress.
• 1926 - Karl Richter was born (d. 1981). German conductor.
• 1928 - The airship, the Graf Zeppelin completed its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA.
• 1930 - FM-2030 [Fereydun M. Esfandiary] was born (d. 2000). Iranian philosopher.
• 1930 - Herbert Henry Dow dies (b. 1866). American chemical industrialist.
• 1931 - Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born. President of India.
• 1932 - Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.
• 1934 - The Soviet Republic of China collapses when Chiang Kai-shek's National Revolutionary Army successfully encircle Ruijin, forcing the fleeing Communists to begin the Long March.
• 1934 - N. Ramani was born. Indian flutist.
• 1934 - Raymond Poincaré dies (b. 1860). French statesman.
• 1935 - Bobby Joe Morrow was born. American athlete.
• 1935 - Barry McGuire was born. American singer
• 1935 - Willie O'Ree was born. Canadian hockey player.
• 1937 - Linda Lavin was born. Tony Award-winning actress: Broadway Bound [1987]; Alice, Barney Miller, Room for Two.
• 1938 - The District of Columbia formally adopts a design for its flag.
• 1938 - Fela Kuti was born (d. 1997). Nigerian musician.
• 1938 - Marv Johnson was born (d. 1993). American R&B and soul singer.
• 1939 - The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.
• 1940 - The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.
• 1940 - Peter C. Doherty was born. Australian teacher. 1996 Nobel Prize for Medicine laureate
• 1940 - Tommy Bishop was born. English rugby league player.
• 1942 - Penny Marshall was born. American actress, comedienne and director.
• 1944 - The Arrow Cross Party (very similar to Hitler's NSDAP (Nazi party)) takes over the power in Hungary.
• 1944 - David Trimble was born. Irish politician, Nobel laureate.
• 1944 - Sali Berisha was born. President of Albania.
• 1944 - Haim Saban was born. Egyptian-born American media proprietor.
• 1945 - World War II: Former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, is executed by firing squad for treason.
• 1945 - Jere Burns was born. American actor.
• 1945 - Jim Palmer was born. American baseball player.
• 1945 - Pierre Laval dies executed (b. 1883). Prime Minister of Vichy France.
• 1946 - Hermann Göring dies (b. 1893). German air force commander.
• 1946 - Nuremberg Trials: Founder of the Gestapo and recently convicted Nazi war criminal, Hermann Göring (b. 1893), poisons himself hours before his scheduled execution.
• 1946 - Richard Carpenter was born. American singer, pianist, composer (Carpenters).
• 1946 - Stewart Stevenson was born. Scottish politician.
• 1948 - Chris de Burgh (Christopher John Davidson) was born. Irish singer, songwriter: The Lady in Red, A Spaceman Came Travelling, Ship to Shore, Don’t Pay the Ferryman, High on Emotion, The Ecstacy of Flight [I Love the Night], Transmission Ends ...).
• 1948 - Edythe Chapman dies (b. 1863). American actress.
• 1951 - Television sitcom I Love Lucy premieres.
• 1951 - Is published the book of Eva Duarte Péron, La razón de mi vida.
• 1951 - Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes synthesized the first oral contraceptive.
• 1953 - British nuclear test Totem 1 detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.
• 1953 - Tito Jackson was born. American musician (The Jackson 5).
• 1953 - Betsy Clifford was born. Canadian alpine skier.
• 1953 - Larry Miller was born. American actor and comedian.
• 1954 - Tanya Roberts (Leigh) was born. Actress: Charlie’s Angels, Deep Down, Sins of Desire, Body Slam, A View to a Kill, Tourist Trap, California Dreaming, Forced Entry.
• 1954 - Peter Bakowski was born. Australian poet.
• 1955 - Kulbir Bhaura was born. British field hockey player.
• 1955 - Tanya Roberts was born. American actress.
• 1957 - Mira Nair was born. Indian director.
• 1957 - Stacy Peralta was born. American director.
• 1959 - Sarah Ferguson was born. Duchess of York.
• 1959 - Emeril Lagasse was born. American chef.
• 1959 - Todd Solondz was born. American film director.
• 1959 - Lipót Fejér dies (b. 1880). Hungarian mathematician.
• 1960 - Clara Kimball Young dies (b. 1890). American actress.
• 1961 - John Kenny was born. Irish sports broadcaster and journalist.
• 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis: A stand-off ensues between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba.
• 1963 - Horton Smith dies (b. 1908). American golfer.
• 1964 - It was announced that Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office. He was succeeded as premier by Alexei N. Kosygin and as Communist Party secretary by Leonid I. Brezhnev.
• 1964 - Roberto Vittori was born. Italian astronaut.
• 1964 - Cole Porter dies (b. 1891). American composer.
• 1965 - Vietnam War: The National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam stages the first public burning of a draft card in the United States.
• 1965 - Denise Fraga was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian actress.
• 1966 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.
• 1966 - Black Panther Party was created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.
• 1966 - Jorge Campos was born. Mexican footballer.
• 1968 - Didier Deschamps was born. French football player.
• 1968 - Jyrki 69 was born. Finnish musician The 69 Eyes.
• 1969 - Vietnam War: Hundreds of thousands of people take part in National Moratorium antiwar demonstrations across the United States.
• 1969 - Dominic West was born. British actor.
• 1969 - Vanessa Marcil was born. American actress.
• 1969 - Vítor Baía was born. Portuguese football player (FC Porto's goalkeeper).
• 1970 - Thirty-five construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses.
• 1970 - Anwar Sadat becomes president of Egypt.
• 1970 - Eric Benét was born. American singer.
• 1971 - The start of the 2500 Year Celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia.
• 1971 - Andy Cole was born. British football player.
• 1971 - Jason Arhndt was born. American wrestler.
• 1973 - The diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Gabon were established.
• 1972 - Matt Keeslar was born. American actor.
• 1972 - Sandra Kim was born. Belgian singer.
• 1973 - Dax Riggs was born. American musician.
• 1974 - Bianca Rinaldi was born. Brazilian actress.
• 1975 - Ginuwine was born. American singer.
• 1975 - Glen Little was born. English footballer.
• 1976 - In the first debate between vice-presidential nominees, Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole faced off in Houston.
• 1976 - Yoon Son-ha was born. South Korean actress.
• 1976 - Carlo Gambino dies (b. 1902). American Gangster.
• 1977 - David Trezeguet was born in Rouen. French football player (Juventus).
• 1977 - Erin McKeown was born. American musician.
• 1977 - Masato Kawabata was born. Japanese racing driver.
• 1977 - Patricio Urrutia was born. Ecuadorian football player.
• 1978 - Haven Riney was born. American radio host and actor.
• 1978 - João Figueiredo is elected President of Brazil.
• 1978 - Devon Gummersall was born. American actor.
• 1978 - Takeshi Morishima was born. Japanese professional wrestler.
• 1979 - Blue Adams was born. American football player.
• 1979 - Paul Robinson was born. English football player.
• 1979 - Māris Verpakovskis was born. Latvian football player.
• 1980 - Inauguração do Centro Português de Cultura de Viena de Áustria, fundado e dirigido por António Victorino d' Almeida.
• 1980 - Tom Boonen was born. Belgian cyclist.
• 1980 - Siiri Nordin was born. Finnish singer (Killer).
• 1980 - Mikhail Lavrentyev dies (b. 1900). Russian physicist and mathematician.
• 1980 - Apostolos Nikolaidis dies (b. 1896). Greek footballer and volleyball player.
• 1981 - Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.
• 1981 - Elena Dementieva was born. Russian tennis player.
• 1981 - Guo Jingjing was born. Chinese diver, 2004 Olympic 3M Diving Champion.
• 1981 - Keyshia Cole was born. African American R&B singer.
• 1981 - Radoslav Židek was born. Slovak snowboarder.
• 1981 - Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.
• 1981 - Formation of the band Metallica.
• 1981 - Philip Fotheringham-Parker dies (b. 1907). British racing driver.
• 1982 - Paulini Curuenavuli was born. Fijian singer.
• 1982 - Charline Labonté was born. French Canadian ice hockey goaltender.
• 1983 - Stephy Tang was born. Hong Kong singer and actress.
• 1984 - Shayne Ward was born. English singer.
• 1985 - Walter López was born. Uruguayan footballer.
• 1985 - Marcos Martinez Ucha was born. Spanish racing driver.
• 1986 - Lee Donghae was born. Korean singer (a member of super junior).
• 1987 - The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England.
• 1987 - Jesse Levine was born. American tennis player.
• 1988 - Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji dies (b. 1892). English composer and pianist.
• 1989 - Wayne Gretzky becomes the all time leading points scorer in the NHL.
• 1990 - Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.
• 1990 - South Africa's Separate Amenities Act, which had barred blacks from public facilities for decades, was scrapped.
• 1991 - Following a bitter confirmation hearing that involved allegations of sexual misconduct, the United States Senate votes to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States.
• 1991 - Teresa Roby, actriz portuguesa, é distinguida como a melhor intérprete feminina, no Festival de Cinema de Dunquerque, pela sua actuação no filme de Teresa Villaverde A Idade Maior.
• 1992 - In Russia, Andrei Chikatilo is found guilty of 52 serial murders.
• 1992 - Vincent Martella was born. American actor.
• 1993 - African National Congress leader Nelson (Rolihlahla) Mandela and South African President F.W. (Frederik Willem) de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to usher in reforms that 1) ended South Africa’s era of white minority rule and 2) laid the foundations for democracy.
• 1994 - Sarah Kofman dies (b. 1934). French philosopher.
• 1995 - Saddam Hussein gains 99.96% of votes in Iraq's presidential elections.
• 1995 - The Carolina Panthers win their first-ever regular season game by defeating the New York Jets at Clemson Memorial Stadium in South Carolina.
• 1995 - Marco Campos dies (b. 1976). Brazilian racing driver.
• 1997 - The first supersonic land speed record is set by the ThrustSSC team from the United Kingdom.
• 1997 - The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.
• 1999 - The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1999 - Police award Silcott damages: The Metropolitan Police announces a huge out-of-court settlement to Winston Silcott, wrongly accused over the murder of a policeman during riots in north London in 1985.
• 2000 - Konrad Emil Bloch dies (b. 1912). German-born biochemist.
• 2001 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.
• 2001 - Zhang Xueliang dies (b. 1901). Chinese warlord.
• 2003 - China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission.
• 2003 - Ilham Aliyev becomes President of Azerbaijan succeeding his father Heydar Aliyev.
• 2003 - The Staten Island Ferry boat Andrew J. Barberi collides with a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, killing 11 people and injuring 43 others (see 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash).
• 2003 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed following numerous failed petitions by her parents to prevent such action. It would be reinserted a week later by order of Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
• 2003 - Bertram N. Brockhouse dies (b. 1918). Canadian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 2003 - Ben Metcalfe dies (b. 1919). Canadian environmental activist.
• 2005 - Iraqi constitution ratification vote.
• 2005 - Riot in Toledo, Ohio breaks out during a National Socialist/Neo-Nazi protest; over 100 are arrested.
• 2005 - Brett Hull retires from the NHL as third highest all-time goal scorer.
• 2005 - Portugal: futebol O Benfica vence o Porto por 2-0 no Estádio do Dragão, com dois golos de Nuno Gomes.
• 2005 - Prince Christian of Denmark was born.
• 2005 - Jason Collier dies (b. 1977). American basketball player.
• 2005 - Matti Wuori dies (b. 1945). Finnish politician.
• World Rural Women's Day.
  
• R.C. Saints - Saint Teresa of Avila.
• United States - White Cane Safety Day.
• Dia do PROFESSOR (Brasil).
• Roman festivals - the Equirria or October equus: sacrifice of a horse to Mars.
• French Republican Calendar - Amaryllis (Amaryllis) Day, twenty-fourth day in the Month of Vendémiaire.
  
• Global Handwashing Day.