August 15
is the 227th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (228th in
leap years), with 138 days remaining.
*
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*
1261 -
Michael VIII Palaeologus is crowned
Byzantine emperor in
Constantinople.
*
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
*
1537 -
Asuncion, Paraguay is founded
*
1540 -
Arequipa, Peru is founded
*
1549 -
Jesuit priest
Francis Xavier comes ashore at
Kagoshima (Traditional
Japanese date: July 22, 1549).
*
1599 - First
Battle of Curlew Pass won by Irish forces.
*
1620 - The
Mayflower departs
Southampton, England.
*
1755 - The deportation of the Acadians takes place, where thousands of them are sent to Europe or Louisiana, with a few escaping and remaining in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
*
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 the
United Kingdom (Traditional
Japanese date: July 2, 1863).
*
1877 -
Thomas Edison makes the first-ever recording - "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
*
1894 -
Sante Jeronimo Caserio executed for the
Marie Francois Sadi Carnot assesination
*
1914 - The
Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship Ancon.
*
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 Dragoon - 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 the United Kingdom.
Jawaharlal Nehru, adresses the nation with the
Indian Declaration of Independence and takes office as the first
Prime Minister of India.
*
1947 - Founder of
Pakistan,
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah is sworn in as first
Governor General of Pakistan at
Karachi.
*
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.
* 1965 -
The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at
Shea Stadium in
New York City, marking the birth of
stadium rock.
*
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.
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman killed along with all family members, except
Haseena Wajid.
* 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
*
1995 - In
South Carolina,
Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at
The Citadel, but drops out in less than a week.
*
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.
*
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)
*
1717 -
Blind Jack, English roadbuilder (d.
1810)
*
1769 -
Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (d.
1821)
*
1785 -
Thomas De Quincey, English author (d.
1859)
*
1813 -
Jules Grévy, President of France (d.
1891)
*
1856 -
Ivan Franko, Ukrainian writer (d.
1916)
*
1858 -
E. Nesbit, English author (d.
1924)
*
1859 -
Charles Comiskey, baseball player, manager, and owner (d.
1931)
*
1860 -
Henrietta Vinton Davis American elocutionist, dramatist, impersonator, public speaker (d.
1941).
*
1872 -
Sri Aurobindo, Indian writer, nationalist, philosopher, and guru (d.
1950)
*
1875 -
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English composer (d.
1912)
*
1878 -
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian counter-revolutionary (d.
1928)
*
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 -
Gerty Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d.
1957)
* 1896 -
Catherine Doherty, Social justice activist (d.
1985)
* 1896 -
Leon Theremin, Russian inventor (d.
1993)
*
1898 -
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
*
1917 -
Jack Lynch, fourth
Taoiseach (d.
1999)
* 1917 -
Oscar Romero,
El Salvador Roman catholic priest (d.
1980)
*
1919 -
Huntz Hall, American actor (d.
1999)
* 1919 -
Benedict Kiely, Irish author
*
1922 -
Lukas Foss, German-born composer
*
1923 -
Rose Marie, American actress
*
1924 -
Robert Bolt, English screenwriter (d.
1995)
*
1925 -
Mike Connors, American actor
* 1925 -
Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist
*
1928 -
Nicolas Roeg, English film director
*
1933 -
Jim Lange, American game show host
* 1933 -
Bobby Helms, American pop singer (d.
1997)
*
1934 -
Nino Ferrer, French-Italian singer (d.
1998)
*
1935 -
Vernon Jordan Jr., U.S. presidential advisor
* 1935 -
Lionel Taylor, American football player
*
1938 -
Maxine Waters, American politician
* 1938 -
Janusz A. Zajdel, Polish writer
*
1944 -
Linda Ellerbee, American journalist
* 1944 -
Sylvie Vartan, Bulgarian pop singer
*
1945 -
Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Indian guru
* 1945 -
Begum Khaleda Zia,
Prime Minister of Bangladesh* 1945 -
Gene Upshaw, NFL player
*
1946 -
Jimmy Webb, American musician and composer
*
1947 -
Raakhee Gulzar, Indian actress
*
1948 -
Uschi Digard, American actress and model
* 1948 -
Patsy Gallant, Canadian pop singer
*
1949 -
Richard Deacon, Welsh sculptor
*
1950 -
Princess Anne of the United Kingdom*
1950 -
Tom Kelly, former Minnesota Twins manager
*
1951 -
Daba Diawara, Malian politician
*
1957 -
Željko Ivanek, American actor
*
1958 -
Victor Shenderovich, Russian satirist
*
1965 -
Rob Thomas, author and screenwriter
*
1966 -
Scott Brosius, American baseball player
*
1968 -
Debra Messing, American actress
*
1972 -
Ben Affleck, American actor
*
1974 -
Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress
*
1975 -
Kara Wolters, American basketball player
*
1976 -
Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch football player
*
1977 -
Nicole Paggi, American actress
* 1977 -
Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast
* 1977 -
Martin Biron, professional ice hockey goaltender
*
1978 -
Tim Foreman, American bassist (
Switchfoot)
* 1978 -
Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast
*
1981 -
Brendan Hansen, American swimmer
*
423 -
Flavius Honorius, Western Roman Emperor (b.
384)
*
778 -
Roland, Frankish commander
*
1038 - King
Stephen I of Hungary*
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, wife 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)
*
1852 -
Johan Gadolin, Finnish scientist (b.
1760)
*
1907 -
Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b.
1831)
*
1909 -
Euclides da Cunha, Brazilian writer and sociologist (b.
1866)
*
1935 -
Wiley Post, American pilot (airplane crash) (b.
1898)
*
1935 -
Will Rogers, American humorist and actor (airplane crash) (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 -
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,
President of Bangladesh (b.
1920)
*
1975 -
Clay Shaw,
John F. Kennedy assassination investigator (b.
1913)
*
1982 -
Hugo Theorell, Swedish scientist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b.
1903)
*
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 (b.
1972)
*
2003 -
Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish songwriter and singer (heart attack) (b.
1957)
*
2004 -
Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b.
1916)
*
2004 -
Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (b.
1941)
*
2005 -
James Dougherty, first husband of
Marilyn Monroe (b.
1921)
*
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 the United Kingdom,
1947)
*
Hindu –
Krishna Janmaashtami, also on
August 16*
Italy – "Ferragosto", remembrance of an ancient Roman holiday in honor of Augustus (Feriae Augusti)
*
Korea – Liberation Day
* Ancient
Latvia –
Māras*
Liechtenstein – Liechtenstein Day
*
Poland – Polish Armed Forces Day
*
Tuva – Tuva Republic Day,
Naadym*
Roman Catholicism - the feasts of at least 3 saints:
**St.
Alipius**St.
Arnoul/Arnulphus
**St.
MacCartin/Ard/Aed
**The
Assumption of Mary - a holy day of obligation
*
BBC: On This Day*
Internet Clock DayAugust 14 -
August 16 -
July 15 -
September 15 --
listing of all days
