15th January

Events

• 1559 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
• 1582 - Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland.
• 1759 - The British Museum opens.
• 1777 - American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
• 1782 - Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the United States Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
• 1844 - University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana.
• 1870 - A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly).
• 1892 - James Naismith publishes the rules for basketball.
• 1919 - The Boston Molasses Disaster kills 21 people.
• 1919 - Ignace Paderewski becomes Premier of Poland.
• 1936 - The first building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio (the building was for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company).
• 1943 - World War II: Japanese driven off Guadalcanal.
• 1943 - The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated (Arlington, Virginia).
• 1951 - Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany.
• 1967 - Super Bowl I is played -- The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10.
• 1969 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
• 1970 - After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders.
• 1970 - Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
• 1973 - Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President of the United States Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
• 1975 - Portugal grants independence to Angola.
• 1974 - Happy Days premiers on ABC.
• 1976 - Would-be Gerald Ford presidential assassin Sara Jane Moore is sentenced to life in prison.
• 1990 - AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure.
• 1992 - The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
• 1998 - The stalker of Howard Stern, Lance Carvin, is sentenced to 2 1/2 years for threatening to kill Stern and his family.
• 2001 - Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online (Wikipedia Day).

Births

• 1432 - King Afonso V of Portugal, (d. 1481)
• 1622 - Molière, French playwright, (d. 1673)
• 1791 - Franz Grillparzer, Austrian lyricist, (d. 1872)
• 1832 - Horatio Alger, American writer of "dime novels," (d. 1899)
• 1850 - Mihai Eminescu, outstanding Romanian poet, (d. 1889)
• 1863 - Wilhelm Marx, German politician, chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• 1870 - Pierre S. DuPont, industrialist
• 1879 - Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author, (d. 1961)
• 1891 - Osip Mandelstam, Soviet poet and essayist, (d. 1938)
• 1892 - Rex Ingram, director, writer, (d. 1950)
• 1893 - Ivor Novello, actor, musician, (d. 1951)
• 1899 - Goodman Ace, actor, comedian, writer, (d. 1982)
• 1906 - Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipowner, (d. 1975)
• 1908 - Edward Teller, (d. 2003)
• 1909 - Gene Krupa, drummer, (d. 1973)
• 1913 - Lloyd Bridges, actor, (d. 1998)
• 1918 - Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt, (d. 1970)
• 1918 - Robert Byrd, American politician
• 1923 - Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician
• 1926 - Maria Schell, Swiss actress
• 1929 - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., American civil rights leader (d. 1968)
• 1937 - Margaret O'Brien, actress
• 1941 - Captain Beefheart, singer
• 1942 - Charo, singer, actress
• 1948 - Ronnie VanZant, lead vocal for Lynyrd Skynyrd, (d. 1977)
• 1957 - Mario Van Peebles, actor, director
• 1957 - Julian Sands, actor
• 1965 - Adam Jones, musician of Tool

Deaths

• 41 - Caligula, Roman Emperor, (b. 12)
• 1919 - Rosa Luxemburg, politician, (b. 1870)
• 1964 - Jack Teagarden, musician, (b. 1905)
• 1983 - Meyer Lansky, mobster (b. 1902)
• 1987 - Ray Bolger, actor, singer, dancer, (b. 1904)
• 1993 - Sammy Cahn, songwriter, (b. 1913)
• 1994 - Harry Nilsson, musician, (b. 1941)
• 1998 - Junior Wells, musician
• 2003 - Gladys Kamakakuokalani Ainoa Brandt, a pioneering Hawaiian educator, fought for native Hawaiian rights

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire - Second day of the Carmentalia in honor of Carmen
• United States - Traditionally, Martin Luther King Day

January 14 - January 16 - December 15 - February 15 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By