October 15

Events
Up to 1900
533 - Byzantine general Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.
1066 - After the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the AEtheling is proclaimed King of England, but is never crowned.
1529 - The Siege of Vienna ends, as the Austrians defeat the invading Ottoman Turks.
1552 - Khanate of Kazan is conquered by troops of Ivan Grozny.
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.
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.
1783 - The Montgolfier brothers' hot-air balloon marks the first human flight in this mode of transport, by Jean-Jacques Pilatre de Rozier.
1793 - Marie Antoinette is sentenced to death, being executed the next day.
1815 - Napoleon I of France begins his exile on St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
1863 - American Civil War: The first successful submarine, the CSS Hunley sinks during a test, killing its inventor.
1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Glasgow, Glasgow, Missouri. The town surrenders its garrison to the Confederacy.
1878 - The Edison Electric Company begins operation.
1880 - Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.
1883 - The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional.
1888 - Investigators receives the "From Hell" letter, believed to have been written by the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.
1894 - Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying - Dreyfus affair begins.
1901 2000
1904 - The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur, Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War.
1917 - World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany.
1928 - Airship Graf Zeppelin completes its first flight across the Atlantic Ocean when it lands at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
1932 - Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.
1934 - The Soviet Republic of China collapses.
1939 - The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.
1940 - The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary movie by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.
1944 - The Arrow Cross Party, allied to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party, takes power in Hungary.
1945 - World War II: Former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, is executed by firing squad for treason.
1946 - Nuremberg Trials: Founder of the Gestapo and recently convicted Nazi war criminal, Hermann Goring, poisons himself hours before his scheduled execution.
1951 - Television sitcom I Love Lucy premieres.
1953 - British nuclear test Totem 1 detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.
1954 - Hurricane Hazel strikes the eastern United States, killing 95 people.
1956 - Fortran, the first modern computer language, is first shared in the coding community.
1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis: A stand-off ensues between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba.
1963 - German Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer officially resigns.
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.
1966 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.
1969 - Vietnam War: Hundreds of thousands of people take part in National Moratorium antiwar demonstrations across the United States.
1970 - Thirty-five construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses.
1979 - A military junta takes over in El Salvador, after the overthrow of President Carlos Humberto Romero.
1981 - Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.
1982 - The first 400-year cycle of the Gregorian calendar ends. This date is therefore on exactly the same week-day as the same date in 1582 (the day it was first introduced).
1987 - The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England in the night to October 16.
1989 - Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL.
1990 - Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is given the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.
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.
1992 - In Russia, Andrei Chikatilo is found guilty of 52 serial murders.
1993 - Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk win the Nobel Peace Prize.
1995 - Saddam Hussein gains 99.96% of votes in Iraq's presidential elections.
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, Florida on its way to Saturn.
From 2001
2001 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.
2003 - China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission.
2003 - Ilham Aliyev becomes President of Azerbaijan succeeding his father Heydar Aliyev.
2006 - The first Lusophone Games, for countries and territories speaking the Portuguese language, end in Macao.
2008 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops by 733.08 points in a single day.
2011 - Occupy Wall Street Campaign: In 951 cities in 82 countries, people protest against economic mismanagement.
2012 - British Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond sign a deal on the terms and conditions of the referendum on Scottish independence, due to be held on September 18, 2014.
2013 - A magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes the Philippines, killing at least 215 people.
2016 - 150 nations meeting at the UNEP summit in Kigali, Rwanda, agree to slowly get rid of hydrofluorocarbons.
Births
Up to 1900
70 BC - Virgil, Roman poet (d. 19 BC)
1265 - Temur Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan-China (d. 1307)
1471 - Konrad Mutian, German humanist (d. 1526)
1542 - Akbar the Great, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1605)
1607 - Madeleine de Scudery, French writer (d. 1701)
1608 - Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist (d. 1647)
1686 - Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet (d. 1758)
1701 - Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, Canadian nun and saint (d. 1771)
1711 - Elisabeth Teresa of Lorraine, Queen of Sardinia (d. 1741)
1762 - Samuel Adams Holyoake, American composer (d. 1820)
1784 - Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marshal of France (d. 1849)
1785 - Jose Miguel Carrera, Chilean general (d. 1821)
1795 - Frederick William IV of Prussia (d. 1861)
1801 - Seabury Ford, 20th Governor of Ohio (d. 1855)
1802 - Louis-Eugene de Cavaignac, French general (d. 1857)
1814 - Mikhail Lermontov, Russian writer (d. 1841)
1818 - Alexander Dreyschock, Bohemian composer (d. 1869)
1825 - Marie of Prussia (d. 1889)
1829 - Asaph Hall, American astronomer (d. 1907)
1831 - Horace Austin, Governor of Minnesota (d. 1905)
1836 - James Tissot, French artist (d. 1902)
1840 - August Mau, German archaeologist (d. 1909)
1844 - Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (d. 1900)
1852 - Yamamoto Gonnohyoe, Japanese admiral and politician (d. 1933)
1858 - John L. Sullivan, boxing champion (d. 1918)
1869 - Francisco Largo Caballero, Spanish politician (d. 1946)
1872 - Wilhelm Miklas, President of Austria (d. 1956)
1872 - August Nilsson, Swedish athlete (d. 1921)
1872 - Edith Wilson, First Lady of the United States (d. 1961)
1874 - Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1899)
1878 - Paul Reynaud, French politician (d. 1966)
1879 - Jane Darwell, American actress (d. 1967)
1881 - P. G. Wodehouse, British comic novelist (d. 1975)
1885 - Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval, Icelandic painter (d. 1972)
1890 - Homer M. Adkins, Governor of Arkansas (d. 1964)
1893 - King Carol II of Romania (d. 1953)
1894 - Moshe Sharett, second Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1965)
1897 - Johannes Sikkar, Estonian soldier and politician (d. 1960)
1898 - Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (d. 1951)
1900 - Mervyn LeRoy, movie director (d. 1987)
1901 1925
1905 - Angelo Schiavio, Italian footballer (d. 1990)
1906 - Hiram Leong Fong, Hawaiian politician (d. 2004)
1907 - Varian Fry, rescuer of Jewish and other intellectuals from Marseilles in 1940 (d. 1987)
1908 - John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist (d. 2006)
1909 - Jesse Leonard Greenstein, American astronomer (d. 2002)
1909 - Robert Trout, reporter (d. 2000)
1911 - John S. McKiernan, Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1997)
1913 - Xi Zhongxun, Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician (d. 2002)
1914 - Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (d. 2007)
1915 - Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli politician and Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2012)
1916 - Hassan Gouled Aptidon, 1st President of Djibouti (d. 2006)
1917 - Arthur Schlesinger Jr., American political commentator and writer (d. 2007)
1917 - Jan Miner, American actress (d. 2004)
1919 - Malcolm Ross, American balloonist and physicist (d. 1985)
1920 - Mario Puzo, American novelist (d. 1999)
1920 - Chris Economaki, American Indianapolis 500 reporter (d. 2012)
1920 - Heinz Barth, German SS officer and war criminal (d. 2007)
1923 - Italo Calvino. Italian writer (d. 1985)
1924 - Lee Iacocca, industrialist
1924 - Jose Quintero, stage director
1924 - Mark Lenard, actor (d. 1996)
1926 1950
1926 - Michel Foucault, French philosopher (d. 1984)
1926 - Evan Hunter (Ed McBain, Curt Cannon), American writer (d. 2005)
1926 - Jean Peters, American actress (d. 2000)
1926 - Karl Richter, German conductor (d. 1981)
1926 - Agustin Garcia Calvo, Spanish philosopher (d. 2012)
1927 - Jeannette Charles, English actress
1927 - Bill Henry, American baseball player (d. 2014)
1927 - B. S. Abdur Rahman, Indian entrepreneur (d. 2015)
1930 - FM-2030, Iranian philosopher (d. 2000)
1930 - Ned McWherter, Governor of Tennessee (d. 2011)
1931 - Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Indian scientist and former President of India (d. 2015)
1931 - Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark, English academic and politician
1935 - Bobby Joe Morrow, American athlete
1935 - Dick McTaggart, British boxer
1935 - Maria Teresa Mirabal, Dominican activist (d. 1960)
1937 - Barry McGuire, singer
1937 - Linda Lavin, American actress, singer, director and producer
1938 - Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician (d. 1997)
1939 - Telesphore Toppo, Indian cardinal
1939 - Carmelo Bossi, Italian boxer (d. 2014)
1939 - Anna Maria Gherardi, Italian actress (d. 2014)
1940 - Peter C. Doherty, Australian immunologist
1940 - Benno Ohnesorg, German student (d. 1967)
1942 - Penny Marshall, actress, comedienne, movie director
1942 - Eric Charden, French singer (d. 2012)
1943 - John F. Street, American politician
1943 - Stanley Fischer, American economist and teacher
1944 - Sali Berisha, Albanian politician
1944 - David Trimble, Northern Irish politician, Nobel Peace Prize winner
1945 - Jim Palmer, American baseball player
1945 - Neophyte of Bulgaria, Bulgarian patriarch
1945 - Antonio Canizares Llovera, Spanish cardinal
1946 - Richard Carpenter, singer, pianist, composer (Carpenters)
1946 - Stewart Stevenson, Scottish politician
1948 - Chris de Burgh, Irish singer
1948 - Renato Corona, Filipino jurist (d. 2016)
1950 - Candida Royalle, American pornographic actress, director and producer (d. 2015)
1951 1975
1951 - Roscoe Tanner, American tennis player
1951 - Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Egyptian politician
1953 - Tito Jackson, American musician (Jackson 5)
1953 - Gunther Oettinger, German politician
1954 - Princess Friederike of Hanover
1954 - Jere Burns, American actor
1955 - Tanya Roberts, American actress (d. 2021)
1955 - Kulbir Bhaura, Indian field hockey player
1956 - Soraya Post, Swedish politician
1956 - Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, 36th Vice President of the Dominican Republic
1957 - Mira Nair, Indian director
1957 - Stacy Peralta, American director
1959 - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
1959 - Emeril Lagasse, American chef
1959 - Todd Solondz, director
1964 - Roberto Vittori, Italian astronaut
1966 - Jorge Campos, Mexican footballer
1966 - Dave Stead, English musician (Beautiful South)
1966 - Dougie Vipond, Scottish broadcaster and drummer (Deacon Blue)
1968 - Jyrki 69, Finnish musician
1968 - Didier Deschamps, French footballer
1968 - Vanessa Marcil, American actress
1969 - Dominic West, British actor
1969 - Vitor Baia, Portuguese footballer
1970 - Eric Benet, singer
1971 - Andy Cole, British footballer
1971 - Niko Kovac, Croatian footballer and coach
1972 - Sandra Kim, Belgian singer, Eurovision Song Contest winner
1972 - Fred Hoiberg, American basketball player
1974 - Bianca Rinaldi, Brazilian actress
1975 - Ginuwine, American singer
From 1976
1977 - David Trezeguet, French footballer
1979 - Paul Robinson, English footballer
1979 - Maris Verpakovskis, Latvian footballer
1981 - Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
1981 - Keyshia Cole, American singer
1982 - Sachiko Yamada, Japanese swimmer
1983 - Holly Montag, American television personality
1983 - Bruno Senna, Brazilian racing driver
1983 - Andreas Ivanschitz, Austrian footballer
1986 - Lee Donghae, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress
1986 - Carlo Janka, Swiss skier
1987 - Chantal Strand, Canadian voice actress and singer
1988 - Mesut Oezil, German footballer
1989 - Anthony Joshua, English boxer
1989 - Fedez, Italian rapper and singer
1990 - Jeon Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
1990 - Kiko Mizuhara, American-Japanese model, actress and singer
1995 - Billy Unger, American actor
1996 - Zelo, South Korean rapper and dancer
1999 - Bailee Madison, American actress
2005 - Prince Christian of Denmark
Deaths
Up to 1900
412 - Pope Theophilus of Alexandria
767 - Constantine II, Patriarch of Constantinople (executed)
898 - Lambert, Holy Roman Emperor
1002 - Otto-Henry, Duke of Burgundy (b. 949)
1174 - Petronilla of Aragon (b. 1135)
1326 - Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (b. 1261)
1389 - Pope Urban VI (b. 1318)
1564 - Andreas Vesalius, Flemish anatomist (b. 1514)
1582 - Saint Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun and poet (b. 1515)
1715 - Humphry Ditton, English mathematician (b. 1675)
1811 - Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (b. 1735)
1817 - Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Lithuanian-Polish military figure (b. 1746)
1819 - Sergey Vyazmitinov, Russian general and statesman (b. 1744)
1837 - Ivan Dimitriev, Russian poet and statesman (b. 1760)
1865 - Andres Bello, Venezuelan polymath (b. 1781)
1880 - Victorio, Apache leader
1891 - Gilbert Arthur a Beckett, British writer (b. 1837)
1900 - Zdenek Fibich, Czech composer (b. 1850)
1901 2000
1904 - George, King of Saxony (b. 1832)
1917 - Mata Hari, Dutch exotic dancer and spy (b. 1867)
1918 - Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian guru and national saint of India (b. 1838)
1933 - Nitobe Inazo, Japanese diplomat (b. 1862)
1934 - Raymond Poincare, French statesman (b. 1860)
1945 - Pierre Laval, premier of Vichy France (b. 1860)
1946 - Hermann Goring, German air force commander (b. 1893)
1948 - Edythe Chapman, American actress (b. 1863)
1955 - Fumio Hayasaka, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
1959 - Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian politician (b. 1909)
1960 - Clara Kimball Young, American actress and producer (b. 1890)
1964 - Cole Porter, American composer (b. 1891)
1965 - Abraham Fraenkel, Israeli mathematician (b. 1891)
1976 - Carlo Gambino, Italian-American crime boss (b. 1902)
1980 - Mikhail Lavrentyov, Russian physicist and mathematician (b. 1900)
1980 - Apostolis Nikolaidis, Greek footballer and volleyball player (b. 1896)
1987 - Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso politician (b. 1949)
1988 - Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Indian composer and classical pianist (b. 1892)
1990 - Delphine Seyrig, French actress (b. 1932)
1994 - Sarah Kofman, French philosopher (b. 1934)
1995 - Marco Campos, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1976)
1998 - Colette Darfeuil, French actress (b. 1906)
2000 - Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist (b. 1912)
From 2001
2001 - Zhang Xueliang, Chinese warlord and military figure (b. 1901)
2003 - Ben Metcalfe, environmental activist (b. 1919)
2005 - Jason Collier, American basketball player (b. 1977)
2011 - Betty Driver, English actress (b. 1920)
2012 - Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia (b. 1922)
2012 - Claude Cheysson, French politician (b. 1920)
2013 - Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss politician (b. 1923)
2013 - Hans Riegel, German businessman (b. 1923)
2014 - Marie Dubois, French actress (b. 1937)
2014 - Giovanni Reale, Italian historian and philosopher (b. 1931)
2014 - Robert Tiernan, American politician (b. 1929)
2015 - Kenneth D. Taylor, Canadian diplomat (b. 1934)
2015 - Nate Huffman, American basketball player (b. 1975)
2015 - Sergei Filippenkov, Russian footballer (b. 1971)
2015 - Larry N. Vanderhoef, American biochemist (b. 1941)
2015 - Neill Sheridan, American baseball player (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances
Saint Teresa of Avila Feast Day
Global Handwashing Day
National Tree Planting Day (Sri Lanka)
Teachers' Day (Brazil)