November 15
November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in
leap years) in the
Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining.
*
655 -
Battle of Winwaed:
Penda of Mercia defeated by
Oswiu of Northumbria.
*
1515 -
Thomas Cardinal Wolsey invested as a
Cardinal*
1533 -
Francisco Pizarro arrives in
Cuzco,
Peru.
*
1777 -
American Revolutionary War: After 16 months of debate the
Continental Congress approves the
Articles of Confederation.
*
1791 - The first U.S Catholic college,
Georgetown University, opens its doors.
*
1806 -
Pike expedition: Lieutenant
Zebulon Pike sees a distant mountain peak while near the
Colorado foothills of the
Rocky Mountains (it was later named
Pikes Peak).
*
1854 - In
Egypt, the
Suez Canal, linking the
Mediterranean Sea with the
Red Sea, is given the needed royal concession by
Said.
*
1864 -
American Civil War:
Union General
William Tecumseh Sherman burns
Atlanta, Georgia and starts
Sherman's March to the Sea.
*
1889 -
Brazil is declared a republic by
Marechal Deodoro da Fonseca and Emperor
Pedro II is deposed in a military
coup.
*
1920 - First assembly of the
League of Nations is held in
Geneva.
*
1926 - The
NBC radio network opens with 24 stations.
*
1935 - Canada and the United States signed the reciprocal trade agreement in Washington.
*
1939 - In
Washington, DC, US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt lays the cornerstone of the
Jefferson Memorial.
*
1941 -
SS chief
Heinrich Himmler orders the arrest and deportation to
concentration camps of all
homosexuals in
Germany, with the exception of certain top
Nazi officials.
*
1942 -
World War II:
Battle of Guadalcanal ends.
*
1943 -
German SS leader
Heinrich Himmler orders that
Gypsies were to be put "on the same level as
Jews and placed in
concentration camps." (see
Porajmos)
*
1948 -
Louis Stephen St. Laurent succeeds
William Lyon Mackenzie King as
Prime Minister of Canada. King had the longest combined time (3 terms, 22 years in total) as Premier in
Commonwealth of Nations history.
*
1949 -
Nathuram Godse and
Narayan Apte executed for assassinating
Mahatma Gandhi.
*
1956 - The first film starring
Elvis Presley,
Love Me Tender, opens.
*
1958 -
Morocco promulgates a
press code.
*
1959 - Four members of the Herbert
Clutter Family murdered at their farm outside
Holcomb, Kansas.
*
1960 - The
Polaris missile is test launched.
*
1966 -
Gemini program:
Gemini 12 splashes down safely in the
Atlantic Ocean.
*
1967 - The only fatality of the
X-15 program occurs during the
191st flight when Air Force test pilot
Michael J. Adams loses control of his aircraft, and is destroyed mid-air over the Mojave Desert.
*
1969 -
Cold War: The
Soviet submarine K-19 collides with the American submarine
USS Gato in the
Barents Sea.
* 1969 -
Vietnam War: In
Washington, DC, 250,000-500,000 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the war.
*
1969 -
Dave Thomas opens the first
Wendy's fast food restaurant in Dublin, Ohio.
*
1970 the Soviet
Lunokhod 1 moon rover lands on the moon
*
1971 -
Intel releases world's first commercial single-chip
microprocessor, the
4004.
*
1976 -
René Lévesque and the
Parti Québécois take power to become the first
Quebec government of the
20th century clearly in favour of
independence.
*
1978 - A chartered DC-8 crashes near Colombo,
Sri Lanka, killing 183.
*
1979 - A package from the Unabomber
Ted Kaczynski begins smoking in the cargo hold of a flight from
Chicago to
Washington, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
*
1983 -
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is founded.
*
1985 - A research assistant is injured as a package from the
Unabomber addressed to a
University of Michigan professor explodes.
* 1985 - The
Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed at
Hillsborough Castle by
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and
Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.
*
1987 -
Continental Airlines Flight 1713, a
Douglas DC-9-14 jetliner, crashes in a snowstorm at
Denver, Colorado Stapleton International Airport, killing 28 occupants, while 54 survive the crash.
*
1988 - In the
Soviet Union, the unmanned
Shuttle Buran is launched on her first and last space flight.
* 1988 -
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: An independent
State of Palestine is proclaimed by the
Palestinian National Council.
*
1989 -
Sachin Tendulkar makes his
Test cricket debut playing for
India against
Pakistan.
*
1990 -
Space Shuttle program:
Space Shuttle Atlantis launches with flight
STS-38.
* 1990 - Producers acknowledge that
Milli Vanilli, who won the
1990 "Best New Artist"
Grammy Award, did not sing themselves on their album.
*
2000 - A chartered Antonov AN-24 crashes after takeoff from Luanda,
Angola killing more than 40 people
*
2001 -
Microsoft releases the
Xbox, the company's first video game console.
*
2002 -
Hu Jintao becomes general secretary of the
Communist Party of China.
*
2003 - The first day of the
2003 Istanbul Bombings takes place, to be followed by additional bombings on
November 20.
*
2004 -
New Jersey Governor
Jim McGreevey leaves office, three months after resigning due to a
gay extra-marital affair. State Senator
Richard Codey takes over as interim
governor.
*
1316 - King
John I of France (d.
1316)
*
1397 -
Pope Nicholas V (d.
1455)
*
1498 -
Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Portugal and France (d.
1558)
*
1511 -
Johannes Secundus, Dutch poet (d.
1536)
*
1556 -
Jacques-Davy Duperron, French cardinal (d.
1618)
*
1559 -
Archduke Albert of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (d.
1621)
*
1607 -
Madeleine de Scudéry, French writer (d.
1701)
*
1660 -
Hermann von der Hardt, German historian (d.
1746)
*
1661 -
Christoph von Graffenried, Swiss settler in Americas (d.
1743)
*
1692 -
Eusebius Amort, German Catholic theologian (d.
1775)
*
1708 -
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, English politician (d.
1778)
*
1731 -
William Cowper, English poet (d.
1800)
*
1738 -
William Herschel, German-born astronomer (d.
1822)
*
1741 -
Johann Kaspar Lavater, German philosopher (d.
1801)
*
1757 -
Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher, Danish surgeon, botanist and professor of anatomy (d.
1830)
*
1784 -
Jerome Bonaparte, French King of Westphalia (d.
1860)
*
1852 -
Tewfik Pasha, Khedive of Egypt (d.
1892)
*
1859 -
Christopher Hornsrud,
Prime Minister of Norway (d.
1960)
*
1862 -
Gerhart Hauptmann, German dramatist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1946)
*
1874 -
August Krogh, Danish zoophysiologist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d.
1949)
*
1879 -
Lewis Stone, American actor (d.
1953)
*
1881 -
Franklin Pierce Adams, American newspaper columnist (d.
1960)
*
1882 -
Felix Frankfurter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d.
1965)
*
1886 -
René Guénon, French-Egyptian author (d.
1951)
*
1887 -
Marianne Moore, American poet (d.
1972)
* 1887 -
Georgia O'Keeffe, American painter (d.
1986)
*
1889 - King
Manuel II of Portugal (d.
1932)
*
1890 -
Richmal Crompton, British author (d.
1969)
*
1891 -
Averell Harriman, American businessman and politician (d.
1986)
* 1891 -
Erwin Rommel, German field marshal (d.
1944)
*
1895 -
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (d.
1918)
* 1895 -
Antoni Słonimski, Polish writer (d.
1976)
*
1897 -
Aneurin Bevan, British politician (d.
1960)
* 1897 -
Sacheverell Sitwell, English writer (d.
1988)
*
1899 -
Avdy Andresson, Estonian Minister of War in Exile (d.
1990)
* 1899 -
Iskander Mirza, first
President of Pakistan (d.
1969)
*
1903 -
Stewie Dempster, New Zealand cricketer (d.
1974)
*
1905 -
Mantovani, Italian-born composer, musician, and arranger (d.
1980)
*
1906 -
Curtis LeMay, U.S. Air Force general (d.
1990)
*
1907 -
Claus von Stauffenberg, German army colonel who plotted to assassinate Hitler (d.
1944)
*
1913 -
Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and resistance fighter (d.
2005)
*
1919 -
Joseph Wapner, U.S. jurist
*
1925 -
Howard Baker, U.S. Senator from Tennessee and White House Chief of Staff
* 1925 -
Yuli Daniel, Russian writer (d.
1988)
*
1927 -
Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (d.
1992)
*
1929 -
Ed Asner, American actor
*
1930 -
J. G. Ballard, British author
*
1931 -
Pascal Lissouba, Republic of the Congo politician
* 1931 -
Mwai Kibaki, Kenya's third president
*
1932 -
Petula Clark, English singer
* 1932 -
Clyde McPhatter, American singer (d.
1972)
*
1936 -
Wolf Biermann, German writer
*
1937 -
Little Willie John, American singer (d.
1968)
* 1937 -
Yaphet Kotto, American actor
*
1940 -
Sam Waterston, American actor
*
1942 -
Daniel Barenboim, Argentine-born pianist and conductor
*
1945 -
Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Norwegian singer (
ABBA)
*
1947 -
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
*
1951 -
Beverly D'Angelo, American actress
*
1952 -
Randy Savage, American professional wrestler
* 1952 -
Zoltán Buday, Hungarian born actor
*
1954 -
Aleksander Kwaśniewski,
President of Poland*
1956 -
Michael Hampton, American guitarist (
Funkadelic)
*
1957 -
Kevin Eubanks, American jazz guitarist
*
1963 -
Benny Elias, Australian rugby player
*
1965 -
Nigel Bond, English snooker player
*
1967 -
E-40, American Rapper
* 1967 -
Pedro Borbón, Jr., Baseball player
*
1968 -
Ol' Dirty Bastard, American rapper (d.
2004)
*
1969 -
Shane Mack, American politician
*
1970 -
Patrick Mboma, Cameroonian footballer
*
1973 -
Jesse Merz, American actor
*
1979 -
Josemi, Spanish footballer
* 1979 -
Brett Lancaster, Australian cyclist
*
1980 -
Ace Young, American singer
*
1986 -
Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player
*
1988 -
Zena Grey, American actress
*
1993 -
Irie Saaya, Japanese model
*
655 -
Penda, King of Mercia
*
1028 -
Constantine VIII Byzantine Emperor (b.
960)
*
1136 - Margrave
Leopold III of Austria (b.
1073)
*
1280 -
Albertus Magnus, German theologian
*
1463 -
Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini, Prince of Taranto and Constable of Naples
*
1579 -
Ferenc Dávid, Hungarian religious reformer (b.
1510)
*
1628 -
Roque Gonzales, Paraguayan missionary (b.
1576)
*
1630 -
Johannes Kepler, German astronomer and mathematician (b.
1571)
*
1670 -
Comenius, Czech writer (b.
1592)
*
1691 -
Aelbert Cuyp, Dutch painter (b.
1620)
*
1706 -
Tsangyang Gyatso, 6th Dalai Lama (b.
1683)
*
1712 -
James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish nationalist (b.
1658)
* 1712 -
Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun, English politician (b.
1675)
*
1787 -
Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (b.
1714)
*
1794 -
John Witherspoon, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b.
1723)
*
1795 -
Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo, French painter (b.
1719)
*
1853 - Queen
Maria II of Portugal (b.
1819)
*
1908 -
Empress Dowager Cixi, Chinese ruler (b.
1835)
*
1910 -
Wilhelm Raabe, German writer (b.
1831)
*
1916 -
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish author,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1846)
*
1917 -
Émile Durkheim, French sociologist (b.
1858)
*
1919 -
Alfred Werner, German chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1866)
*
1954 -
Lionel Barrymore, American actor (b.
1878)
*
1958 -
Tyrone Power, American actor (b.
1914)
*
1959 -
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1869)
*
1961 -
Elsie Ferguson, American actress (b.
1883)
*
1963 -
Fritz Reiner, Hungarian conductor (b.
1988)
*
1965 -
Dawn Powell, American poet (b.
1896)
*
1967 -
Michael J. Adams, American test pilot (b.
1930)
*
1969 -
Iskander Mirza, first
President of Pakistan (b.
1899)
*
1971 -
Rudolf Abel, Soviet spy (b.
1903)
* 1971 -
Edie Sedgwick, American actress and model (b.
1943)
*
1978 -
Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (b.
1901)
*
1983 -
John Le Mesurier, British actor (b.
1912)
* 1983 -
Charlie Grimm, baseball player (b.
1898)
*
1990 -
Alydar, American racehorse (b.
1975)
* 1994 -
Elizabeth George Speare, award-winning American children's author (b. 1908)
*
1996 -
Alger Hiss, American government official and alleged spy (b.
1904)
*
1998 -
Stokely Carmichael, American civil rights activist (b.
1941)
*
2002 -
Eddie Bracken, American actor (b.
1915)
* 2002 -
Myra Hindley, English murderer (b.
1942)
*
2003 -
Ray Lewis, Canadian athlete (b.
1910)
* 2003 -
Dorothy Loudon, American actress (b.
1933)
* 2003 -
Laurence Tisch, American businessman (b.
1923)
*
2004 -
Elmer L. Andersen, Governor of Minnesota (b.
1909)
* 2004 -
John Morgan, Canadian comedian (b.
1930)
*
2005 - Dr.
Adrian Rogers, American Southern Baptist Minister and leader (b.
1931)
* 2005 -
Arto Salminen, Finnish writer (b.
1959)
*
Roman festivals - Festival in honor of
Feronia (others say
13 November)
*
R.C. Saints -
Albert the Great*
Eastern Orthodoxy - Feast of Saint
Philip the Apostle and the beginning of
Winter Lent; also see
November 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)*
Austria -
Saint Leopold's day -- no
school in
Vienna,
Lower Austria and
Upper Austria*
Brazil - Republic Proclamation Day (
1889)
*
Palestine -
Independence Day (declared
1988)
*
Norway - The official
skolebrød-day on Sunnland skole
*
USA -
America Recycles Day*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in CanadaNovember 14 -
November 16 -
October 15 -
December 15 --
listing of all days
