October 15

## Events 
### Up to 1900 
* 533 &ndash; Byzantine general Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.
* 1066 &ndash; After the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the AEtheling is proclaimed King of England, but is never crowned.
* 1529 &ndash; The Siege of Vienna ends, as the Austrians defeat the invading Ottoman Turks.
* 1552 &ndash; Khanate of Kazan is conquered by troops of Ivan Grozny.
* 1582 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The Montgolfier brothers' hot–air balloon marks the first human flight in this mode of transport, by Jean-Jacques Pilatre de Rozier.
* 1793 &ndash; Marie Antoinette is sentenced to death, being executed the next day.
* 1815 &ndash; Napoleon I of France begins his exile on St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
* 1863 &ndash; American Civil War: The first successful submarine, the CSS *Hunley* sinks during a test, killing its inventor.
* 1864 &ndash; American Civil War: Battle of Glasgow, Glasgow, Missouri. The town surrenders its garrison to the Confederacy.
* 1878 &ndash; The Edison Electric Company begins operation.
* 1880 &ndash; Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.
* 1883 &ndash; The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional.
* 1888 &ndash; Investigators receives the "From Hell" letter, believed to have been written by the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.
* 1894 &ndash; Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying – the Dreyfus affair begins.

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1904 &ndash; The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur, Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War.
* 1917 &ndash; World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany.
* 1928 &ndash; Airship *Graf Zeppelin* completes its first flight across the Atlantic Ocean when it lands at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
* 1932 &ndash; Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.
* 1934 &ndash; The Soviet Republic of China collapses.
* 1939 &ndash; The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.
* 1940 &ndash; The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary movie by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.
* 1944 &ndash; The Arrow Cross Party, allied to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party, takes power in Hungary.
* 1945 &ndash; World War II: Former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, is executed by firing squad for treason.
* 1946 &ndash; Nuremberg Trials: Founder of the Gestapo and recently convicted Nazi war criminal, Hermann Göring, poisons himself hours before his scheduled execution.
* 1951 &ndash; Television sitcom *I Love Lucy* premieres.
* 1953 &ndash; British nuclear test *Totem 1* detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.
* 1954 &ndash; Hurricane Hazel strikes the eastern United States, killing 95 people.
* 1956 &ndash; Fortran, the first modern computer language, is first shared in the coding community.
* 1962 &ndash; Cuban Missile Crisis: A stand–off ensues between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba.
* 1963 &ndash; German Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer officially resigns.
* 1965 &ndash; 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 &ndash; US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.
* 1969 &ndash; Vietnam War: Hundreds of thousands of people take part in National Moratorium antiwar demonstrations across the United States.
* 1970 &ndash; Thirty–five construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses.
* 1979 &ndash; A military junta takes over in El Salvador, after the overthrow of President Carlos Humberto Romero.
* 1981 &ndash; Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.
* 1982 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England in the night to October 16.
* 1989 &ndash; Wayne Gretzky becomes the all–time leading points scorer in the NHL.
* 1990 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; In Russia, Andrei Chikatilo is found guilty of 52 serial murders.
* 1993 &ndash; Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk win the Nobel Peace Prize.
* 1995 &ndash; Saddam Hussein gains 99.96% of votes in Iraq's presidential elections.
* 1997 &ndash; The first supersonic land speed record is set by the ThrustSSC team from the United Kingdom.
* 1997 &ndash; The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida on its way to Saturn.

### From 2001 
* 2001 &ndash; NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112&nbsp;miles of Jupiter's moon Io.
* 2003 &ndash; China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission.
* 2003 &ndash; Ilham Aliyev becomes President of Azerbaijan succeeding his father Heydar Aliyev.
* 2006 &ndash; The first Lusophone Games, for countries and territories speaking the Portuguese language, end in Macao.
* 2008 &ndash; The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops by 733.08 points in a single day.
* 2011 &ndash; Occupy Wall Street Campaign: In 951 cities in 82 countries, people protest against economic mismanagement.
* 2012 &ndash; 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 &ndash; A magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes the Philippines, killing at least 215 people.
* 2016 &ndash; 150 nations meeting at the UNEP summit in Kigali, Rwanda, agree to slowly get rid of hydrofluorocarbons.

## Births 
### Up to 1900 
* 70 BC &ndash; Virgil, Roman poet (d. 19 BC)
* 1265 &ndash; Temur Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan–China (d. 1307)
* 1471 &ndash; Konrad Mutian, German humanist (d. 1526)
* 1542 &ndash; Akbar the Great, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1605)
* 1607 &ndash; Madeleine de Scudéry, French writer (d. 1701)
* 1608 &ndash; Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist (d. 1647)
* 1686 &ndash; Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet (d. 1758)
* 1701 &ndash; Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, Canadian nun and saint (d. 1771)
* 1711 &ndash; Elisabeth Teresa of Lorraine, Queen of Sardinia (d. 1741)
* 1762 &ndash; Samuel Adams Holyoake, American composer (d. 1820)
* 1784 &ndash; Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marshal of France (d. 1849)
* 1785 &ndash; José Miguel Carrera, Chilean general (d. 1821)
* 1795 &ndash; Frederick William IV of Prussia (d. 1861)
* 1801 &ndash; Seabury Ford, 20th Governor of Ohio (d. 1855)
* 1802 &ndash; Louis-Eugene de Cavaignac, French general (d. 1857)
* 1814 &ndash; Mikhail Lermontov, Russian writer (d. 1841)
* 1818 &ndash; Alexander Dreyschock, Bohemian composer (d. 1869)
* 1825 &ndash; Marie of Prussia (d. 1889)
* 1829 &ndash; Asaph Hall, American astronomer (d. 1907)
* 1831 &ndash; Horace Austin, Governor of Minnesota (d. 1905)
* 1836 &ndash; James Tissot, French artist (d. 1902)
* 1840 &ndash; August Mau, German archaeologist (d. 1909)
* 1844 &ndash; Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (d. 1900)
* 1852 &ndash; Yamamoto Gonnohyoe, Japanese admiral and politician (d. 1933)
* 1858 &ndash; John L. Sullivan, boxing champion (d. 1918)
* 1869 &ndash; Francisco Largo Caballero, Spanish politician (d. 1946)
* 1872 &ndash; Wilhelm Miklas, President of Austria (d. 1956)
* 1872 &ndash; August Nilsson, Swedish athlete (d. 1921)
* 1872 &ndash; Edith Wilson, First Lady of the United States (d. 1961)
* 1874 &ndash; Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1899)
* 1878 &ndash; Paul Reynaud, French politician (d. 1966)
* 1879 &ndash; Jane Darwell, American actress (d. 1967)
* 1881 &ndash; P. G. Wodehouse, British comic novelist (d. 1975)
* 1885 &ndash; Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval, Icelandic painter (d. 1972)
* 1890 &ndash; Homer M. Adkins, Governor of Arkansas (d. 1964)
* 1893 &ndash; King Carol II of Romania (d. 1953)
* 1894 &ndash; Moshe Sharett, second Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1965)
* 1897 &ndash; Johannes Sikkar, Estonian soldier and politician (d. 1960)
* 1898 &ndash; Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (d. 1951)
* 1900 &ndash; Mervyn LeRoy, movie director (d. 1987)

### 1901 &ndash; 1925 
* 1905 &ndash; Angelo Schiavio, Italian footballer (d. 1990)
* 1906 &ndash; Hiram Leong Fong, Hawaiian politician (d. 2004)
* 1907 &ndash; Varian Fry, rescuer of Jewish and other intellectuals from Marseilles in 1940 (d. 1987)
* 1908 &ndash; John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist (d. 2006)
* 1909 &ndash; Jesse Leonard Greenstein, American astronomer (d. 2002)
* 1909 &ndash; Robert Trout, reporter (d. 2000)
* 1911 &ndash; John S. McKiernan, Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1997)
* 1913 &ndash; Xi Zhongxun, Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician (d. 2002)
* 1914 &ndash; Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (d. 2007)
* 1915 &ndash; Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli politician and Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2012)
* 1916 &ndash; Hassan Gouled Aptidon, 1st President of Djibouti (d. 2006)
* 1917 &ndash; Arthur Schlesinger Jr., American political commentator and writer (d. 2007)
* 1917 &ndash; Jan Miner, American actress (d. 2004)
* 1919 &ndash; Malcolm Ross, American balloonist and physicist (d. 1985)
* 1920 &ndash; Mario Puzo, American novelist (d. 1999)
* 1920 &ndash; Chris Economaki, American Indianapolis 500 reporter (d. 2012)
* 1920 &ndash; Heinz Barth, German SS officer and war criminal (d. 2007)
* 1923 &ndash; Italo Calvino. Italian writer (d. 1985)
* 1924 &ndash; Lee Iacocca, industrialist
* 1924 &ndash; José Quintero, stage director
* 1924 &ndash; Mark Lenard, actor (d. 1996)

### 1926 &ndash; 1950 
* 1926 &ndash; Michel Foucault, French philosopher (d. 1984)
* 1926 &ndash; Evan Hunter (Ed McBain, Curt Cannon), American writer (d. 2005)
* 1926 &ndash; Jean Peters, American actress (d. 2000)
* 1926 &ndash; Karl Richter, German conductor (d. 1981)
* 1926 &ndash; Agustin Garcia Calvo, Spanish philosopher (d. 2012)
* 1927 &ndash; Jeannette Charles, English actress
* 1927 &ndash; Bill Henry, American baseball player (d. 2014)
* 1927 &ndash; B. S. Abdur Rahman, Indian entrepreneur (d. 2015)
* 1930 &ndash; FM-2030, Iranian philosopher (d. 2000)
* 1930 &ndash; Ned McWherter, Governor of Tennessee (d. 2011)
* 1931 &ndash; Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Indian scientist and former President of India (d. 2015)
* 1931 &ndash; Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark, English academic and politician
* 1935 &ndash; Bobby Joe Morrow, American athlete
* 1935 &ndash; Dick McTaggart, British boxer
* 1935 &ndash; Maria Teresa Mirabal, Dominican activist (d. 1960)
* 1937 &ndash; Barry McGuire, singer
* 1937 &ndash; Linda Lavin, American actress, singer, director and producer
* 1938 &ndash; Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician (d. 1997)
* 1939 &ndash; Telesphore Toppo, Indian cardinal
* 1939 &ndash; Carmelo Bossi, Italian boxer (d. 2014)
* 1939 &ndash; Anna Maria Gherardi, Italian actress (d. 2014)
* 1940 &ndash; Peter C. Doherty, Australian immunologist
* 1940 &ndash; Benno Ohnesorg, German student (d. 1967)
* 1942 &ndash; Penny Marshall, actress, comedienne, movie director
* 1942 &ndash; Eric Charden, French singer (d. 2012)
* 1943 &ndash; John F. Street, American politician
* 1943 &ndash; Stanley Fischer, American economist and teacher
* 1944 &ndash; Sali Berisha, Albanian politician
* 1944 &ndash; David Trimble, Northern Irish politician, Nobel Peace Prize winner
* 1945 &ndash; Jim Palmer, American baseball player
* 1945 &ndash; Neophyte of Bulgaria, Bulgarian patriarch
* 1945 &ndash; Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Spanish cardinal
* 1946 &ndash; Richard Carpenter, singer, pianist, composer (Carpenters)
* 1946 &ndash; Stewart Stevenson, Scottish politician
* 1948 &ndash; Chris de Burgh, Irish singer
* 1948 &ndash; Renato Corona, Filipino jurist (d. 2016)
* 1950 &ndash; Candida Royalle, American pornographic actress, director and producer (d. 2015)

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
* 1951 &ndash; Roscoe Tanner, American tennis player
* 1951 &ndash; Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Egyptian politician
* 1953 &ndash; Tito Jackson, American musician (Jackson 5) (d. 2024)
* 1953 &ndash; Günther Oettinger, German politician
* 1954 &ndash; Princess Friederike of Hanover
* 1954 &ndash; Jere Burns, American actor
* 1955 &ndash; Tanya Roberts, American actress (d. 2021)
* 1955 &ndash; Kulbir Bhaura, Indian field hockey player
* 1956 &ndash; Soraya Post, Swedish politician
* 1956 &ndash; Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, 36th Vice President of the Dominican Republic
* 1957 &ndash; Mira Nair, Indian director
* 1957 &ndash; Stacy Peralta, American director
* 1959 &ndash; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
* 1959 &ndash; Emeril Lagasse, American chef
* 1959 &ndash; Todd Solondz, director
* 1964 &ndash; Roberto Vittori, Italian astronaut
* 1966 &ndash; Jorge Campos, Mexican footballer
* 1966 &ndash; Dave Stead, English musician (Beautiful South)
* 1966 &ndash; Dougie Vipond, Scottish broadcaster and drummer (Deacon Blue)
* 1968 &ndash; Jyrki 69, Finnish musician
* 1968 &ndash; Didier Deschamps, French footballer
* 1968 &ndash; Vanessa Marcil, American actress
* 1969 &ndash; Dominic West, British actor
* 1969 &ndash; Vitor Baia, Portuguese footballer
* 1970 &ndash; Eric Benét, singer
* 1971 &ndash; Andy Cole, British footballer
* 1971 &ndash; Niko Kovac, Croatian footballer and coach
* 1972 &ndash; Sandra Kim, Belgian singer, Eurovision Song Contest winner
* 1972 &ndash; Fred Hoiberg, American basketball player
* 1974 &ndash; Bianca Rinaldi, Brazilian actress
* 1975 &ndash; Ginuwine, American singer

### From 1976 
* 1977 &ndash; David Trezeguet, French footballer
* 1979 &ndash; Paul Robinson, English footballer
* 1979 &ndash; Maris Verpakovskis, Latvian footballer
* 1981 &ndash; Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
* 1981 &ndash; Keyshia Cole, American singer
* 1982 &ndash; Sachiko Yamada, Japanese swimmer
* 1983 &ndash; Holly Montag, American television personality
* 1983 &ndash; Bruno Senna, Brazilian racing driver
* 1983 &ndash; Andreas Ivanschitz, Austrian footballer
* 1986 &ndash; Lee Donghae, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress
* 1986 &ndash; Carlo Janka, Swiss skier
* 1987 &ndash; Chantal Strand, Canadian voice actress and singer
* 1988 &ndash; Mesut Oezil, German footballer
* 1989 &ndash; Anthony Joshua, English boxer
* 1989 &ndash; Fedez, Italian rapper and singer
* 1990 &ndash; Jeon Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
* 1990 &ndash; Kiko Mizuhara, American–Japanese model, actress and singer
* 1995 &ndash; Billy Unger, American actor
* 1996 &ndash; Zelo, South Korean rapper and dancer
* 1999 &ndash; Bailee Madison, American actress
* 2005 &ndash; Prince Christian of Denmark

## Deaths 
### Up to 1900 
* 412 &ndash; Pope Theophilus of Alexandria
* 767 &ndash; Constantine II, Patriarch of Constantinople (executed)
* 898 &ndash; Lambert, Holy Roman Emperor
* 1002 &ndash; Otto-Henry, Duke of Burgundy (b. 949)
* 1174 &ndash; Petronilla of Aragon (b. 1135)
* 1326 &ndash; Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (b. 1261)
* 1389 &ndash; Pope Urban VI (b. 1318)
* 1564 &ndash; Andreas Vesalius, Flemish anatomist (b. 1514)
* 1582 &ndash; Saint Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun and poet (b. 1515)
* 1715 &ndash; Humphry Ditton, English mathematician (b. 1675)
* 1811 &ndash; Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (b. 1735)
* 1817 &ndash; Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Lithuanian–Polish military figure (b. 1746)
* 1819 &ndash; Sergey Vyazmitinov, Russian general and statesman (b. 1744)
* 1837 &ndash; Ivan Dimitriev, Russian poet and statesman (b. 1760)
* 1865 &ndash; Andrés Bello, Venezuelan polymath (b. 1781)
* 1880 &ndash; Victorio, Apache leader
* 1891 &ndash; Gilbert Arthur a Beckett, British writer (b. 1837)
* 1900 &ndash; Zdenek Fibich, Czech composer (b. 1850)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1904 &ndash; George, King of Saxony (b. 1832)
* 1917 &ndash; Mata Hari, Dutch exotic dancer and spy (b. 1867)
* 1918 &ndash; Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian guru and national saint of India (b. 1838)
* 1933 &ndash; Nitobe Inazo, Japanese diplomat (b. 1862)
* 1934 &ndash; Raymond Poincaré, French statesman (b. 1860)
* 1945 &ndash; Pierre Laval, premier of Vichy France (b. 1860)
* 1946 &ndash; Hermann Göring, German air force commander (b. 1893)
* 1948 &ndash; Edythe Chapman, American actress (b. 1863)
* 1955 &ndash; Fumio Hayasaka, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
* 1959 &ndash; Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian politician (b. 1909)
* 1960 &ndash; Clara Kimball Young, American actress and producer (b. 1890)
* 1964 &ndash; Cole Porter, American composer (b. 1891)
* 1965 &ndash; Abraham Fraenkel, Israeli mathematician (b. 1891)
* 1976 &ndash; Carlo Gambino, Italian–American crime boss (b. 1902)
* 1980 &ndash; Mikhail Lavrentyov, Russian physicist and mathematician (b. 1900)
* 1980 &ndash; Apostolis Nikolaidis, Greek footballer and volleyball player (b. 1896)
* 1987 &ndash; Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso politician (b. 1949)
* 1988 &ndash; Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Indian composer and classical pianist (b. 1892)
* 1990 &ndash; Delphine Seyrig, French actress (b. 1932)
* 1994 &ndash; Sarah Kofman, French philosopher (b. 1934)
* 1995 &ndash; Marco Campos, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1976)
* 1998 &ndash; Colette Darfeuil, French actress (b. 1906)
* 2000 &ndash; Konrad Emil Bloch, German–American biochemist (b. 1912)

### From 2001 
* 2001 &ndash; Zhang Xueliang, Chinese warlord and military figure (b. 1901)
* 2003 &ndash; Ben Metcalfe, environmental activist (b. 1919)
* 2005 &ndash; Jason Collier, American basketball player (b. 1977)
* 2011 &ndash; Betty Driver, English actress (b. 1920)
* 2012 &ndash; Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia (b. 1922)
* 2012 &ndash; Claude Cheysson, French politician (b. 1920)
* 2013 &ndash; Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss politician (b. 1923)
* 2013 &ndash; Hans Riegel, German businessman (b. 1923)
* 2014 &ndash; Marie Dubois, French actress (b. 1937)
* 2014 &ndash; Giovanni Reale, Italian historian and philosopher (b. 1931)
* 2014 &ndash; Robert Tiernan, American politician (b. 1929)
* 2015 &ndash; Kenneth D. Taylor, Canadian diplomat (b. 1934)
* 2015 &ndash; Nate Huffman, American basketball player (b. 1975)
* 2015 &ndash; Sergei Filippenkov, Russian footballer (b. 1971)
* 2015 &ndash; Larry N. Vanderhoef, American biochemist (b. 1941)
* 2015 &ndash; Neill Sheridan, American baseball player (b. 1921)

## Holidays and observances 
* Saint Teresa of Ávila Feast Day
* Global Handwashing Day
* National Tree Planting Day (Sri Lanka)
* Teachers' Day (Brazil)

## References