May 15

Events
Up to 1900
495 BC - A newly built temple in honour of the god Mercury is dedicated in Ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine Hills.
392 - Roman Emperor Valentinian II mysteriously dies while advancing into Gaul (present-day France) against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. It is not clear if he was murdered or committed suicide.
1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which allows, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
1464 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Hexham - York defeats Lancaster.
1536 - Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is put on trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest. It will result in her execution four days later.
1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband.
1602 - Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to sight Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
1618 - Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion.
1648 - The Treaty of Westphalia is signed.
1701 - The War of the Spanish Succession begins.
1718 - James Buckle, a London lawyer, patents the first machine gun.
1776 - American Revolutionary War: The Virginia Convention tells its Continental Congress delegation to propose resolution of independence from Great Britain.
1792 - War of the First Coalition: France declares war on the Kingdom of Sardinia.
1793 - Diego Marin Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters" at a height of 5-6 meters.
1796 - First Coalition: Napoleon Bonaparte enters Milan in triumph.
1800 - King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield.
1811 - Paraguay declares itself independent from Spain.
1849 - Troops of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies take Palermo and crush the republican government of Sicily.
1850 - The Bloody Island Massacre takes place in Lake County, California. A large number of Pomo Native Americans are slaughtered by the regiment of the United States Cavalry.
1851 - The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the gold was discovered three months earlier.
1858 - Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
1860 - Battle of Calatafilmi in Sicily: Giuseppe Garibaldi's "Red Shirts" defeat the Army of the Kingdom of Naples.
1869 - In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
1901 1950
1904 - Russo-Japanese War: The Russian minelayer Amur lays a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur, China, and sinks Japanese ships Hatsuse and Yashima.
1904 - The cruiser "Yoshino" collides with armored cruiser "Kasaga" to the east of China and sinks, killing 329 out of the 419 people on board.
1905 - Las Vegas is founded when 110 acres (0.45 square kilometers), in what later becomes the downtown area, are auctioned off.
1910 - The German football club FC St. Pauli is founded. It is based in Hamburg.
1919 - The Winnipeg Strike begins. By 11:00am, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, had walked off the job.
1919 - The Greek invasion of Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) occurs, in which the Greek army kills over 350 Turks. Those responsible are punishes by Greek commander Aristiades Stergiades.
1926 - The New York Rangers ice hockey team is founded.
1928 - Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse makes his first appearance in the cartoon "Plane Crazy".
1929 - A fire at a clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, kills 123 people.
1932 - Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed in a coup attempt.
1934 - Karlis Ulmanis creates an authoritarian government in Latvia.
1935 - The Moscow Metro is opened to the public.
1940 - World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly-trained and equipped Dutch surrender to Germany, beginning five years of occupation.
1940 - McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
1945 - World War II: The Battle of Poljana is fought in Slovenia, as the last battle in Europe during the war.
1948 - The Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia all declare war on the newly declared State of Israel.
1951 2000
1951 - Polish writer Czeslaw Milosz asks the government of France for political asylum.
1955 - Austria regains its independence.
1955 - Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy of France climb Makalu in the Himalayas. It is the world's 5th-highest mountain.
1957 - At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, the United Kingdom tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
1958 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
1960 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.
1963 - Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9, with L. Gordon Cooper on board, is successful. He is the first American to spend more than a day in space.
1966 - After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky of South Vietnam's ruling junta, launches a military attack on the forces of General Ton That Dinh, forcing him to abandon his command.
1970 - US President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals.
1972 - The US returns Okinawa to Japanese control.
1972 - Governor George Wallace of Alabama is shot by Arthur H. Bremer at a Laurel, Maryland political rally.
1974 - Ma'a lot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school, killing 31 people, including 22 schoolchildren.
1974 - Walter Scheel is elected President of the Federal Republic of Germany, a post he takes up on July 1.
1980 - West Germany's National Olympic Committee decides to join the United States in boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
1988 - The Soviet Army begins its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
1990 - The Vincent van Gogh painting A Portrait of Dr. Gachet sells for 82.5 million US Dollars, a then-record for a work of art sold at auction.
1991 - Edith Cresson becomes the first female Prime Minister of France.
1997 - The US acknowledges a "Secret War" in Laos.
From 2001
2004 - South Africa is announced as the host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
2004 - Ruslana, representing Ukraine, wins the 49th Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul, Turkey.
2008 - California legalizes same-sex marriage.
2010 - Jessica Watson becomes the then-youngest person to sail single-handedly around the world.
2012 - Francois Hollande becomes President of France, replacing Nicolas Sarkozy.
2013 - An upsurge in violence in Iraq kills 389 people in three days.
2014 - US President Barack Obama opens a 9/11 memorial museum.
2016 - Max Verstappen becomes the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula One race.
2017 - French President Emmanuel Macron names Edouard Philippe as Prime Minister of France.
Births
Up to 1900
1397 - Sejong the Great, Korean King (d. 1450)
1567 - Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer (d. 1643)
1689 - Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English author (d. 1762)
1720 - Maximilian Hell, Hungarian astronomer (d. 1792)
1749 - Levi Lincoln, Sr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1820)
1764 - Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, German organist and composer (d. 1827)
1767 - Ezekiel Hart, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1843)
1773 - Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, German-Austrian statesman (d. 1859)
1817 - Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (d. 1905)
1827 - Knud Bergslien, Norwegian painter (d. 1908)
1838 - Nicolae Grigorescu, Romanian painter (d. 1907)
1841 - James Henderson Berry, American politician, Governor of Arkansas (d. 1913)
1842 - Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria (d. 1919)
1845 - Jan Czerski, Polish-Russian scientist (d. 1892)
1845 - Ilya Mechnikov, Russian zoologist and immunologist (d. 1916)
1848 - Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter (d. 1926)
1854 - Ioannes Psycharis, Ukrainian-French philologist and author (d. 1929)
1856 - L. Frank Baum, American author (d. 1919)
1856 - Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (d. 1917)
1857 - Williamina Fleming, Scottish-American astronomer (d. 1911)
1859 - Pierre Curie, French physicist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 1906)
1860 - Ellen Louise Wilson, American First Lady, wife of Woodrow Wilson (d. 1914)
1862 - Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian dramatist (d. 1931)
1863 - Frank Hornby, English businessman and politician, inventor of Meccano (d. 1936)
1867 - Hjalmar Johansen, Norwegian explorer (d. 1913)
1867 - Henry Stuart Jones, British classical philologist and historian (d. 1939)
1869 - Paul Probst, Swiss target shooter (d. 1945)
1873 - Pavlo Skoropadskiy, Ukrainian politician (d. 1945)
1873 - Nikolai Tcherepnin, Russian composer (d. 1945)
1890 - Katherine-Anne Porter, American journalist and author (d. 1980)
1891 - Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian writer (d. 1940)
1891 - Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist (d. 1971)
1892 - Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral (d. 1977)
1892 - Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (d. 1969)
1895 - Astrid Zachrison, Swedish supercentenarian, oldest Swedish person on record (d. 2008)
1895 - Prescott Bush, American politician (d. 1972)
1895 - William D. Byron, American politician (d. 1941)
1898 - Arletty, French actress, model and singer (d. 1992)
1898 - Richard W. Leche, American politician, Governor of Louisiana (d. 1965)
1901 1950
1901 - Luis Monti, Argentine-Italian footballer (d. 1983)
1902 - Richard J. Daley, 48th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1976)
1903 - Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (d. 1998)
1904 - Clifton Fadiman, American game show host and author (d. 1999)
1905 - Joseph Cotten, American actor (d. 1994)
1905 - Abraham Zapruder, American businessman (d. 1970)
1907 - Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (d. 1931)
1908 - Joe Grant, American writer and animator (d. 2005)
1909 - James Mason, English actor, producer and screenwriter (d. 1984)
1909 - Clara Solovera, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
1910 - Constance Cummings, English actress (d. 2005)
1911 - Max Frisch, Swiss writer (d. 1991)
1911 - Herta Oberheuser, German Nazi physician (d. 1978)
1914 - Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1972)
1914 - Angus MacLean, Canadian politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (d. 2000)
1915 - Paul Samuelson, American economist (d. 2009)
1915 - Gus Viseur, Belgian-French accordion player (d. 1974)
1915 - William Witney, American director (d. 2002)
1918 - Eddy Arnold, American singer (d. 2008)
1918 - Joseph Wiseman, Canadian actor (d. 2009)
1920 - Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Lebanese religious leader
1923 - Richard Avedon, American photographer (d. 2004)
1923 - John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (d. 2003)
1924 - Maria Koepcke, German-Peruvian ornithologist (d. 1971)
1925 - Horacio Guarany, Argentine singer and writer (d. 2017)
1925 - Mary F. Lyon, English geneticist (d. 2014)
1925 - Carl Sanders, American politician, 74th Governor of Georgia (d. 2014)
1925 - Andrei Eshpai, Russian composer (d. 2015)
1926 - Anthony Shaffer, British screenwriter (d. 2001)
1926 - Peter Shaffer, British dramatist (d. 2016)
1929 - Frank Heart, American computer engineer (d. 2018)
1930 - Jasper Johns, American artist
1932 - John Glen, British director
1932 - Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, former Prime Minister of Thailand
1935 - Don Bragg, American pole vaulter
1935 - Akihiro Miwa, Japanese singer, actor, director and composer
1935 - Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
1936 - Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-American actress and singer
1936 - Wavy Gravy, American activist
1936 - Ralph Steadman, British caricaturist, cartoonist and illustrator
1937 - Madeleine Albright, 64th United States Secretary of State (d. 2022)
1937 - Ted Dabney, American electrical engineer (d. 2018)
1937 - Trini Lopez, American singer and actor
1938 - Mireille Darc, French actress (d. 2017)
1940 - Don Nelson, American basketball player and coach
1940 - Roger Ailes, American television executive (Fox News) (d. 2017)
1942 - Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, Prime Minister of Swaziland
1942 - Lois Johnson, American country music singer (d. 2014)
1942 - Jusuf Kalla, 10th Vice President of Indonesia
1942 - Doug Lowe, Australian politician, 35th Premier of Tasmania
1943 - Pierre Begin, Canadian politician
1944 - Ulrich Beck, German sociologist (d. 2015)
1945 - Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, Portuguese nobleman
1946 - Aly Bain, Scottish fiddler
1947 - Paulo de Carvalho, Portuguese singer
1948 - Valentina Gerasimova, Kazakhstani middle-distance runner
1948 - Brian Eno, English musician and record producer
1948 - Kathleen Sebelius, American politician
1951 1975
1951 - Frank Wilczek, American mathematician and physicist
1951 - Dennis Frederiksen, American musician (d. 2014)
1952 - Chazz Palminteri, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
1952 - Phil Seymour, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1993)
1953 - Mike Oldfield, British musician
1953 - Franco Selvaggi, Italian footballer
1953 - Amy Holland, American actress
1953 - George Brett, American baseball player
1955 - Claudia Roth, German politician
1955 - El Gran Wyoming, Spanish humorist, actor, musician, writer and presenter
1955 - Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (d. 2013)
1955 - Lia Vissi, Greek singer
1957 - Meg Gardiner, American crime fiction writer
1957 - Juan Jose Ibarretxe, Basque politician
1957 - John Mason, Scottish politician
1959 - Beverly Jo Scott, American-Belgian singer-songwriter
1959 - Ronald Pofalla, German politician
1961 - Katrin Cartlidge, British actress (d. 2002)
1963 - Brenda Bakke, American actress
1963 - Grant Heslov, American actor and producer
1964 - Lars Lokke Rasmussen, 40th Prime Minister of Denmark
1966 - Gianluca Buonanno, Italian politician (d. 2016)
1966 - Orla Guerin, Irish journalist
1966 - Greg Wise, English actor and producer
1967 - Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress
1967 - Orlando Zapata, Cuban activist (d. 2010)
1968 - Seth Putnam, American musician (d. 2011)
1968 - Sophie Raworth, British journalist and broadcaster
1968 - Cecilia Malmstrom, Swedish politician
1970 - Frank de Boer, Dutch footballer
1970 - Ronald de Boer, Dutch footballer
1970 - Saira Khan, English businesswoman
1972 - Danny Alexander, Scottish politician
1972 - David Charvet, French actor and singer
1972 - Andre Segatti, Brazilian actor and model
1974 - Vassilis Kikilias, Greek basketball player and politician
From 1976
1976 - Jacek Krzynowek, Polish footballer
1978 - Eduardo Cesar Gaspar, Brazilian footballer
1978 - David Krumholtz, American actor
1979 - Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer
1979 - Li Yanfeng, Chinese discus thrower
1979 - Dominic Scott, Irish guitarist
1979 - Renato Dirnei Florencio, Brazilian footballer
1980 - Josh Beckett, American baseball player
1981 - Patrice Evra, French footballer
1981 - Zara Phillips, British royal and equestrian
1981 - Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
1981 - Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
1982 - Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican sprinter
1982 - Jessica Sutta, American singer-songwriter, dancer and actress (Pussycat Dolls)
1984 - Alex Brooker, English comedian and television presenter
1985 - Cristiane, Brazilian footballer
1986 - Matias Fernandez, Chilean footballer
1986 - Adam Moffat, Scottish footballer
1987 - Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player
1987 - Leonardo Mayer, Argentine tennis player
1988 - Jessica Falkholt, Australian actress (d. 2018)
1989 - James Holland, Australian footballer
1989 - Sunny, American-South Korean singer, dancer and actress (Girls' Generation)
1990 - Lee Jong-hyun, South Korean singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor
1991 - Jennifer Hof, German model
1993 - Mahfizur Rahman Sagor, Bangladeshi swimmer
1995 - Ksenia Sitnik, Belarussian singer
1996 - Birdy, English singer
1997 - Ousmane Dembele, French footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
392 - Valentinian II, Roman emperor (b. 371)
1036 - Emperor Go-Ichijo of Japan
1157 - Yuri Dolgorukiy, Russian prince (b. 1099)
1470 - Charles VIII of Sweden
1585 - Niwa Nagahide, Japanese retainer, samurai, and daimyo (b. 1535)
1609 - Giovanni Croce, Italian composer (b. 1557)
1634 - Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (b. 1585)
1700 - John Hale, American minister (b. 1636)
1740 - Ephraim Chambers, English encyclopaedist (b. 1680)
1782 - Marquis of Pombal, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1699)
1845 - Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican statesman (b. 1800)
1879 - Gottfried Semper, German architect and educator (b. 1803)
1886 - Emily Dickinson, American poet (b. 1830)
1901 2000
1919 - Hasan Tahsan, Turkish nationalist journalist (b. 1888)
1924 - Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and politician (b. 1852)
1928 - Umegatani Totaro, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1845)
1932 - Inukai Tsuyoshi, Prime Minister of Japan
1935 - Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian-Russian painter (b. 1878)
1937 - Phillip Snowden, British politician (b. 1864)
1945 - Charles Williams, British author, poet and critic (b. 1886)
1945 - Kenneth J. Alford, British composer (b. 1881)
1948 - Father Edward Flanagan, priest, founder of Boys Town
1956 - Austin Osman Spare, magician (b. 1886)
1967 - Edward Hopper, American painter (b. 1882)
1969 - Joe Malone, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1890)
1971 - Sir Tyrone Guthrie, director, producer, and writer (b. 1900)
1978 - Robert Menzies, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
1980 - Johann Hafstein, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1915)
1984 - Francis Schaeffer, American theologian, philosopher and pastor (b. 1912)
1986 - Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (b. 1958)
1986 - Theodore H. White, writer (b. 1915)
1991 - Ronald Lacey, English actor (b. 1935)
1993 - Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese poet and diplomat (b. 1933)
1994 - Gilbert Roland, Mexican actor (b. 1904)
1995 - Eric Porter, British actor (b. 1928)
1996 - Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (b. 1910)
1998 - Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
1998 - Naim Talu, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1919)
From 2001
2003 - June Carter Cash, American musician and singer (b. 1929)
2003 - George Francis, British mobster
2003 - Rik Van Steenbergen, Belgian cyclist
2005 - Les Bartley, National Lacrosse League coach (b. 1954)
2007 - Jerry Falwell, American pastor (b. 1933)
2007 - Yolanda King, American activist (b. 1955)
2008 - Astrid Zachrison, Swedish supercentenarian, oldest Swedish person on record (b. 1895)
2008 - Tommy Burns, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1956)
2009 - Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player (b. 1964)
2010 - Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Vice President of India (b. 1923)
2010 - John Shepherd-Barron, Scottish inventor (b. 1925)
2010 - Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (b. 1987)
2011 - Samuel Wanjiru, Kenyan runner (b. 1986)
2012 - Carlos Fuentes, Mexican writer (b. 1928)
2012 - Zakaria Mohieddin, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1918)
2013 - Henrique Rosa, acting President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1946)
2014 - Jean-Luc Dehaene, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1940)
2015 - Corey Hill, American mixed martial artist (b. 1978)
2015 - Carlos Maggi, Uruguayan writer (b. 1922)
2015 - John Stephenson, American actor (b. 1923)
2015 - Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-born American football player (b. 1944)
2015 - Donald Wrye, American film director (b. 1934)
2015 - Jackie Brookner, American artist (b. 1945)
2016 - Erika Berger, German television presenter and author (b. 1930)
2016 - Clovis Maksoud, American diplomat, journalist and educator (b. 1926)
2016 - Cauby Peixoto, Brazilian singer and actor (b. 1931)
2016 - Michael Roberds, Canadian actor (b. 1964)
2016 - Marion Tournon-Branly, French architect (b. 1924)
2017 - Karl-Otto Apel, German philosopher (b. 1922)
2017 - Chu Ke-liang, Taiwanese actor (b. 1946)
2017 - Nasser Givehchi, Iranian wrestler (b. 1932)
2017 - Neil Rolde, American historian and politician (b. 1931)
2017 - Oleg Vidov, Russian-American actor (b. 1943)
2017 - Ian Brady, British serial killer (Moors murders) (b. 1938)
2017 - Thomas James Kinsman, American soldier (b. 1945)
2017 - Bob Kuzava, American baseball player (b. 1923)
2018 - Jlloyd Samuel, Trinidadian footballer (b. 1981)
2018 - Ray Wilson, English footballer (b. 1934)
Observances
International Day of conscientious objectors
Independence Day (Paraguay)
Nakba Day (Palestinian Community)
Army Day (Slovenia)
Teacher's Day (Mexico and South Korea)
Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania)
Days of the year