January 15
January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 350 days remaining (351 in leap years).
Events
- 588 BC - Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign. The siege lasts until July 18, 586 BC.
- 69 - Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but only survives for three months before committing suicide.
- 1559 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey by Owen Oglethorpe, the Bishop of Carlisle, instead of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
- 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 U.S. 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).
- 1885 - Wilson Bentley takes the first photograph of a snowflake.
- 1892 - James Naismith publishes the rules for basketball.
- 1908 - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first Greek-letter organization by and for Black college women is established.
- 1919 - The Boston Molasses Disaster kills 21 people.
- 1919 - Ignace Paderewski becomes Premier of Poland.
- 1919 - Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, were tortured and murdered by the Freikorps.
- 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 "Bitch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany.
- 1966 - First Military Coup in Nigeria, government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown.
- 1967 - In the first ever Super Bowl, 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.
- 1974 - Happy Days premieres on ABC.
- 1975 - Portugal grants independence to Angola.
- 1976 - Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1986 - The HBO and Cinemax pay cable television services initiate scrambling of their national satellite feeds on Galaxy 1 with the Videocipher II system.
- 1990 - AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure.
- 1991 - The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
- 1992 - The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 1995 - The first episode of Star Trek: Voyager airs.
- 1999 - The Racak incident: 45 Albanians in the Kosovo village of Racak were killed by Yugoslav security forces.
- 2001 - Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online.
Births
- 1342 - Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404)
- 1432 - King Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
- 1481 - Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (b. 1511)
- 1538 - Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
- 1622 - Molière, French playwright (d. 1673)
- 1671 - Abraham de la Pryme, English antiquarian (d. 1704)
- 1674 - Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French writer (d. 1762)
- 1716 - Philip Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1778)
- 1747 - John Aikin, English doctor and writer (d. 1822)
- 1754 - Richard Martin, Irish founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)
- 1791 - Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (1872)
- 1795 - Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright (d. 1829)
- 1809 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French anarchist (d. 1865)
- 1812 - Peter Christian Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer and scientist (d. 1885)
- 1816 - Marie LaFarge, French murderer (d. 1852)
- 1842 - Josef Breuer, Austrian psychologist (d. 1925)
- 1850 - Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889)
- 1863 - Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
- 1866 - Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1931)
- 1869 - Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish dramatist, poet, painter, and architect (d. 1907)
- 1872 - Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer (d. 1944)
- 1875 - Tom Burke, American runner (d. 1929)
- 1879 - Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author (d. 1961)
- 1885 - Huang Yuanyong, Chinese writer (d. 1915)
- 1891 - Ray Chapman, baseball player (d. 1920)
- 1891 - Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet and essayist (d. 1938)
- 1892 - Rex Ingram, Irish director and writer (d. 1950)
- 1893 - Ivor Novello, Welsh actor and musician (d. 1951)
- 1895 - Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1899 - Goodman Ace, American actor, comedian, and writer (d. 1982)
- 1901 - Luis Monti, Argentine-Italian footballer
- 1906 - Aristotle Onassis, Greek businessman (d. 1975)
- 1908 - Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicist (d. 2003)
- 1909 - Jean Bugatti, German-born automobile designer (d. 1939)
- 1909 - Gene Krupa, American drummer (d. 1973)
- 1913 - Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1914 - Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, English historian (d. 2003)
- 1917 - Robert Byrd, American politician
- 1918 - Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt (d. 1970)
- 1920 - John Cardinal O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d. 2000)
- 1923 - Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician
- 1923 - Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet
- 1926 - Maria Schell, Swiss actress (d. 2005)
- 1927 - Phyllis Coates, actress
- 1927 - Norm Crosby, American comedian
- 1929 - Martin Luther King Jr, American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968)
- 1933 - Ernest J. Gaines, American author
- 1937 - Margaret O'Brien, American actress
- 1941 - Captain Beefheart, American singer
- 1942 - Charo, Spanish-born singer and actress
- 1945 - Vince Foster, American lawyer (d. 1993)
- 1947 - Andrea Martin, Canadian actress
- 1948 - Ronnie VanZant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
- 1955 - Nigel Benson, British author and illustrator
- 1957 - Julian Sands, English actor
- 1957 - Mario Van Peebles, American actor and director
- 1965 - Adam Jones, American musician (Tool)
- 1965 - James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
- 1968 - Chad Lowe, American actor
- 1971 - Regina King, American actress
- 1972 - Claudia Winkleman, British television presenter
- 1975 - Mary Pierce, American tennis player
- 1976 - Corey Chavous, American football player
- 1979 - Drew Brees, San Diego Chargers quarterback named Comeback Player of the 2004 NFL season
- 1981 - El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
- 1981 - Howie Day, American pop singer
- 1982 - Benjamin Agosto, American skater
- 1982 - Megan Quann, American swimmer
- 1983 - Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
- 1984 - Victor Rasuk, American actor
- 1988 - Sonny Moore, American musician (From First To Last)
Deaths
- 41 - Caligula, Roman Emperor (b. 12)
- 570 - Saint Ides, Irish nun
- 1595 - Murat III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
- 1672 - John Cosin, English clergyman (b. 1594)
- 1683 - Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (b. 1609)
- 1781 - Marianne Victoria of Borbón, queen regent of Portugal (b. 1718)
- 1790 - John Landen, English mathematician (b. 1719)
- 1804 - Dru Drury, English entomologist (b. 1725)
- 1915 - Mary Slessor, Scottish missionary (b. 1848)
- 1919 - Rosa Luxemburg, German politician (b. 1870)
- 1947 - Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, (b. 1924)
- 1955 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
- 1964 - Jack Teagarden, American musician (b. 1905)
- 1983 - Meyer Lansky, Russian-born gangster (b. 1902)
- 1987 - Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- 1988 - Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1904)
- 1990 - Gordon Jackson, Scottish actor (b. 1923)
- 1993 - Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1994 - Harry Nilsson, American musician (b. 1941)
- 1996 - Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
- 1998 - Junior Wells, American musician (b. 1934)
- 2000 - Zeljko Raznatovic, Serbian leader (b. 1952)
- 2000 - Fran Ryan, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2001 - Ted Mann, American screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
- 2005 - Deem Bristow, American video game voice actor (b. 1947)
- 2005 - Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923)
- 2005 - Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Elizabeth Janeway, American author (b. 1913)
- 2005 - Dan Lee, Canadian animator (b. 1969)
- 2005 - Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1915)
- 2006 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
Holidays and observances
- Roman Empire - Second day of the Carmentalia in honor of Carmenta.
- Roman Catholic Church - Saint Ides, virgin, died Jan. 15, 570.
- Malawi - John Chilembwe Day.
- North Korea - Hangul Day.
- United States - Traditionally, Martin Luther King Day.
- Kerala in India - Makaravilakku or Makara Sankranthy at Sabarimala.
- Jallikattu in South India.
- Wikipedia Day.
External links
January 14 - January 16 - December 15 - February 15 — listing of all days