October 15
Events
Pre-1600
- 1066 - Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later.
- 1211 - Battle of the Rhyndacus: The Latin emperor Henry of Flanders defeats the Nicaean emperor Theodore I Laskaris.
- 1529 - The Siege of Vienna ends when Austria routs the invading Ottoman forces, ending its European expansion.
- 1582 - Adoption of the Gregorian calendar begins, eventually leading to near-universal adoption.
1601–1900
- 1651 - Qing forces capture the island of Zhoushan. Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu, resident of the island and regent of the Southern Ming, flees to Kinmen.
- 1781 - The Battle of Raft Swamp marks the last battle fought in North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War with a Patriot victory. It occurred four days before the British surrender at Yorktown.
- 1783 - The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon makes the first human ascent, piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier.
- 1793 - Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried and convicted of treason.
- 1815 - Napoleon begins his exile on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
- 1864 - American Civil War: The Union garrison of Glasgow, Missouri surrenders to Confederate forces.
- 1888 - The "From Hell" letter allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper is received by investigators.
1901–present
- 1910 - Airship America is launched from New Jersey in the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by a powered aircraft.
- 1923 - The German Rentenmark is introduced in Germany to counter hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.
- 1928 - The airship Graf Zeppelin completes its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States.
- 1932 - Tata Airlines makes its first flight.
- 1939 - The New York Municipal Airport is dedicated.
- 1940 - President Lluís Companys of Catalonia is executed by the Francoist government.
- 1944 - World War II: Germany replaces the Hungarian government after Hungary announces an armistice with the Soviet Union.
- 1951 - Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes completes the synthesis of norethisterone, the basis of an early oral contraceptive.
- 1954 - Hurricane Hazel devastates the eastern seaboard of North America, killing 95 and causing massive floods as far north as Toronto.
- 1956 - FORTRAN, the first modern computer language, is first shared with the coding community.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: A draft card is burned during an anti-war rally by the Catholic Worker Movement, resulting in the first arrest under a new law.
- 1966 - The Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.
- 1970 - During the construction of Australia's West Gate Bridge, a span of the bridge falls and kills 35 workers. The incident is the country's worst industrial accident to this day.
- 1979 - Supporters of the Malta Labour Party ransack and destroy the Times of Malta building and other locations associated with the Nationalist Party.
- 1979 - A coup d'état in El Salvador overthrows President Carlos Humberto Romero and begins the 12 year-long Salvadoran Civil War.
- 1987 - Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 460 crashes near Conca di Crezzo, Italy, killing all 37 people on board.
- 1987 - A coup d'état in Burkina Faso overthrows and kills then President Thomas Sankara.
- 1989 - Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL.
- 1990 - Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.
- 1991 - The "Oh-My-God particle", an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray measured at 40,000,000 times that of the highest energy protons produced in a particle accelerator, is observed at the University of Utah HiRes observatory in Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.
- 1991 - The leaders of the Baltic States, Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia and Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania, signed the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland.
- 1994 - The United States, under the Clinton administration, returns Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to the island.
- 1997 - The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.
- 2001 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within of Jupiter's moon Io.
- 2003 - China launches Shenzhou 5, its first crewed space mission.
- 2006 - The 6.7 Kiholo Bay earthquake rocks Hawaii, causing property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and the closure of Honolulu International Airport.
- 2007 - Seventeen activists in New Zealand are arrested in the country's first post-9/11 anti-terrorism raids.
- 2008 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow's history.
- 2013 - The 7.2 Bohol earthquake strikes the Philippines. At least 215 were killed.
- 2016 - One hundred and ninety-seven nations amend the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons.
- 2018 - 13-year-old American girl, Jayme Closs, is kidnapped from her Barron, Wisconsin home after her parents were both murdered.
Births
Pre-1600
- 70 BC - Virgil, Roman poet
- 1265 - Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan
- 1440 - Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse, German noble
- 1471 - Konrad Mutian, German epigrammatist and academic
- 1542 - Akbar, Mughal emperor
- 1561 - Richard Field, English cathedral dean
- 1564 - Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
- 1599 - Cornelis de Graeff, Dutch mayor and regent of Amsterdam
1601–1900
- 1608 - Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist and mathematician
- 1622 - Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Swedish statesman and military man
- 1686 - Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet and playwright
- 1701 - Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, Canadian nun and saint, founded Grey Nuns
- 1711 - Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine, Queen of Sardinia
- 1762 - Samuel Adams Holyoke, American composer and educator
- 1767 - Gabriel Richard, French-born American Roman Catholic priest, missionary, educator, and politician
- 1775 - Bernhard Crusell, Finnish composer
- 1784 - Thomas Robert Bugeaud, French general and politician, Governor-General of Algeria
- 1785 - José Miguel Carrera, Chilean general and politician
- 1789 - William Christopher Zeise, Danish chemist who prepared Zeise's salt, one of the first organometallic compounds
- 1802 - Louis-Eugène Cavaignac, French general and politician, head of state of France in 1848
- 1814 - Mikhail Lermontov, Russian author, poet, and painter
- 1816 - John Robertson, English-Australian politician, 5th Premier of New South Wales
- 1818 - Alexander Dreyschock, Czech pianist and composer
- 1825 - Marie of Prussia, Queen of Bavaria
- 1829 - Asaph Hall, American astronomer and academic
- 1833 - John Alexander MacPherson, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Victoria
- 1836 - James Tissot, French painter and illustrator
- 1840 - Honoré Mercier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 9th Premier of Quebec
- 1844 - Friedrich Nietzsche, German composer, poet, and philosopher
- 1858 - John L. Sullivan, American boxer, actor, and journalist
- 1865 - Charles W. Clark, American singer and educator
- 1872 - Wilhelm Miklas, Austrian educator and politician, 3rd President of Austria
- 1872 - August Nilsson, Swedish pole vaulter, shot putter, and tug of war competitor
- 1874 - Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- 1878 - Paul Reynaud, French lawyer and politician, 118th Prime Minister of France
- 1879 - Jane Darwell, American actress
- 1881 - P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright
- 1882 - Charley O'Leary, American baseball player and coach
- 1884 - Archibald Hoxsey, American pilot
- 1887 - Frederick Fleet, English sailor and lookout on the Titanic
- 1888 - S. S. Van Dine, American author and critic
- 1890 - Álvaro de Campos, Portuguese poet and engineer
- 1893 - Carol II of Romania, King of Romania
- 1894 - Moshe Sharett, Ukrainian-Israeli lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Israel
- 1897 - Johannes Sikkar, Estonian soldier and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia in exile
- 1899 - Adolf Brudes, Polish-German racing driver
- 1900 - Mervyn LeRoy, American actor, director, and producer
1901–present
- 1901 - Enrique Jardiel Poncela, Spanish playwright and novelist
- 1905 - C. P. Snow, English chemist and author
- 1906 - Hiram Fong, American soldier and politician
- 1906 - Alicia Patterson, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Newsday
- 1906 - Victoria Spivey, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1907 - Varian Fry, American journalist and author
- 1908 - Herman Chittison, American pianist
- 1908 - John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and diplomat, 7th United States Ambassador to India
- 1909 - Jesse L. Greenstein, American astronomer and academic
- 1909 - Robert Trout, American journalist
- 1910 - Edwin O. Reischauer, Japanese-American scholar and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan
- 1912 - Nellie Lutcher, American singer and pianist
- 1913 - Wolfgang Lüth, German U-boat captain
- 1914 - Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghan king
- 1916 - Al Killian, American trumpet player and bandleader
- 1916 - George Turner, Australian author and critic
- 1917 - Jan Miner, American actress
- 1917 - Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., American historian and critic
- 1917 - Paul Tanner, American trombonist and educator
- 1919 - Malcolm Ross, American captain, balloonist, and physicist
- 1919 - Chuck Stevenson, American race car driver
- 1920 - Chris Economaki, American sportscaster and actor
- 1920 - Patricia Jessel, Hong Kong-English actress
- 1920 - Peter Koch, American industrial engineer and wood scientist
- 1920 - Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter
- 1920 - Henri Verneuil, Turkish-French director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1921 - Angelica Rozeanu, Romanian-Israeli table tennis player
- 1922 - Agustina Bessa-Luís, Portuguese author
- 1922 - Tommy Edwards, American singer-songwriter
- 1922 - Preben Munthe, Norwegian economist and politician, State Conciliator of Norway
- 1923 - Italo Calvino, Italian novelist, short story writer, and journalist
- 1923 - Antonio Fontán, Spanish journalist and politician
- 1923 - Eugene Patterson, American journalist and activist
- 1923 - Lindsay Thompson, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Victoria
- 1924 - Marguerite Andersen, German-Canadian author and educator
- 1924 - Lee Iacocca, American businessman and author
- 1924 - Warren Miller, American director and screenwriter
- 1925 - Mickey Baker, American-French guitarist
- 1925 - Aurora Bautista, Spanish actress
- 1925 - Tony Hart, English painter and television host
- 1926 - James E. Akins, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
- 1926 - Agustín García Calvo, Spanish philosopher and poet
- 1926 - Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher
- 1926 - Ed McBain, American author and screenwriter
- 1926 - Jean Peters, American actress
- 1926 - Karl Richter, German organist and conductor
- 1927 - B. S. Abdur Rahman, Indian businessman and philanthropist
- 1929 - Will Insley, American painter and architect
- 1930 - FM-2030, Belgian-Iranian basketball player, philosopher and diplomat
- 1930 - Ned McWherter, American politician, 46th Governor of Tennessee
- 1931 - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic, and politician, 11th President of India
- 1931 - Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark, English academic and politician
- 1932 - Jaan Rääts, Estonian guitarist and composer
- 1933 - Nicky Barnes, American drug lord
- 1934 - Alan Elsdon, English trumpet player
- 1934 - N. Ramani, Indian flute player
- 1935 - Barry McGuire, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1935 - Dick McTaggart, Scottish boxer
- 1935 - Bobby Morrow, American sprinter
- 1935 - Willie O'Ree, Canadian ice hockey player, first black player in the National Hockey League
- 1936 - Michel Aumont, French actor
- 1936 - Robert Baden-Powell, 3rd Baron Baden-Powell, South African-English businessman
- 1937 - Linda Lavin, American actress and singer
- 1938 - Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1938 - Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and activist
- 1938 - Brice Marden, American painter
- 1938 - Robert Ward, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1940 - Tommy Bishop, English rugby league player and coach
- 1940 - Peter C. Doherty, Australian surgeon and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 - Roy Masters, Australian rugby league coach, journalist, and author
- 1942 - Hilo Chen, Taiwanese-American painter
- 1942 - Harold W. Gehman, Jr., American admiral
- 1942 - Don Stevenson, American singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1943 - Stanley Fischer, American and Israeli economist
- 1943 - Penny Marshall, American actress, director, and producer
- 1944 - Sali Berisha, Albanian cardiologist and politician, 2nd President of Albania
- 1944 - A. Chandranehru, Sri Lankan Tamil merchant seaman and politician
- 1944 - Haim Saban, Israeli-American businessman, co-founded Saban Entertainment
- 1944 - David Trimble, Northern Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd First Minister of Northern Ireland, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1945 - Steve Camacho, Guyanese cricketer
- 1945 - Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Spanish cardinal
- 1945 - Neophyte of Bulgaria, Bulgarian patriarch
- 1945 - Jim Palmer, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1946 - Victor Banerjee, Indian actor and director
- 1946 - Richard Carpenter, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1946 - Palle Danielsson, Swedish bassist and composer
- 1946 - Stewart Stevenson, Scottish engineer and politician, Minister for Environment and Climate Change
- 1947 - Hümeyra, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
- 1947 - Jaroslav Erno Šedivý, Czech drummer
- 1948 - Renato Corona, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
- 1948 - Chris de Burgh, British-Irish singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1949 - Laurie McBain, American author
- 1949 - Prannoy Roy, Indian journalist, economist, and broadcaster, founded NDTV
- 1950 - Candida Royalle, American porn actress, director, and producer
- 1951 - Peter Richardson, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1951 - Roscoe Tanner, American tennis player
- 1951 - Rafael Vaganian, Armenian chess player
- 1953 - Betsy Clifford, Canadian skier
- 1953 - Tito Jackson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 - Larry Miller, American actor and comedian
- 1953 - Peter Phillips, English conductor and musicologist
- 1954 - Peter Bakowski, Australian poet and educator
- 1954 - Steve Bracks, Australian politician, 44th Premier of Victoria
- 1954 - Jere Burns, American actor
- 1954 - Julia Yeomans, English physicist and academic
- 1955 - Kulbir Bhaura, Indian field hockey player
- 1955 - Emma Chichester Clark, English author and illustrator
- 1955 - Tanya Roberts, American actress
- 1957 - Michael Caton-Jones, Scottish actor, director, and producer
- 1957 - Mira Nair, Indian-American actress, director, and producer
- 1957 - Stacy Peralta, American skateboarder, director, producer, and businessman, co-founded Powell Peralta
- 1958 - Stephen Clarke, English-French journalist and author
- 1959 - Emeril Lagasse, American chef and author
- 1959 - Alex Paterson, English keyboard player
- 1959 - Sarah, Duchess of York
- 1959 - Todd Solondz, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1961 - Vyacheslav Butusov, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 - Stanley Menzo, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1964 - Roberto Vittori, Italian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1965 - Nasser El Sonbaty, German bodybuilder and trainer
- 1966 - Eric Benét, American singer-songwriter
- 1966 - Jorge Campos, Mexican footballer and manager
- 1966 - Bill Charlap, American pianist and composer
- 1966 - Ilse Huizinga, Dutch singer
- 1966 - Dave Stead, English drummer
- 1967 - Dan Forest, American politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
- 1967 - Götz Otto, German actor and screenwriter
- 1968 - Didier Deschamps, French footballer and manager
- 1968 - Vanessa Marcil, American actress
- 1968 - Rod Wishart, Australian rugby league player
- 1968 - Trent Zimmerman, Australian politician
- 1969 - Vítor Baía, Portuguese footballer
- 1969 - Dominic West, English actor and director
- 1970 - Ginuwine, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
- 1970 - Pernilla Wiberg, Swedish skier
- 1971 - Andy Cole, English footballer and coach
- 1971 - Lauri Pilter, Estonian author and translator
- 1972 - Fred Hoiberg, American basketball player and coach
- 1972 - Michél Mazingu-Dinzey, German-Congolese footballer and manager
- 1973 - Aleksandr Filimonov, Russian footballer
- 1974 - Bianca Rinaldi, Brazilian actress
- 1976 - Elisa Aguilar, Spanish basketball player
- 1975 - Chukwudi Iwuji, Nigerian-British actor
- 1977 - Masato Kawabata, Japanese racing driver
- 1977 - David Trezeguet, French footballer
- 1977 - Patricio Urrutia, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1978 - Wes Moore, American politician, author, nonprofit executive, and television producer, 63rd Governor of Maryland
- 1978 - Takeshi Morishima, Japanese wrestler
- 1979 - Bohemia, Pakistani-American rapper and producer
- 1979 - Paul Robinson, English footballer
- 1979 - Jaci Velasquez, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1979 - Māris Verpakovskis, Latvian footballer
- 1980 - Tom Boonen, Belgian cyclist
- 1981 - Keyshia Cole, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1981 - Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
- 1983 - Stephy Tang, Hong Kong singer
- 1983 - Bruno Senna, Brazilian ex-F1 Driver
- 1984 - Izale McLeod, English footballer
- 1984 - Jessie Ware, English singer-songwriter
- 1985 - Arron Afflalo, American basketball player
- 1986 - Lee Donghae, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 1986 - Carlo Janka, Swiss skier
- 1986 - Nolito, Spanish footballer
- 1987 - Ott Tänak, Estonian racing driver
- 1988 - Dominique Jones, American basketball player
- 1988 - Mesut Özil, German footballer
- 1989 - Blaine Gabbert, American football player
- 1989 - Anthony Joshua, British professional boxer
- 1990 - Jeon Ji-yoon, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1991 - Brock Nelson, American ice hockey player
- 1992 - Ncuti Gatwa, Rwandan-Scottish actor
- 1992 - Teoscar Hernández, Dominican baseball player
- 1992 - Vincent Martella, American actor
- 1993 - Richaun Holmes, American basketball player
- 1993 - Roh Tae-hyun, South Korean singer and dancer
- 1994 - Lil' Kleine, Dutch rapper
- 1994 - Babar Azam, Pakistani cricket player
- 1995 - Jack Flaherty, American baseball player
- 1995 - Jakob Pöltl, Austrian basketball player
- 1996 - Charly Musonda, Belgian footballer
- 1996 - Grace Van Dien, American actress
- 1996 - Zelo, South Korean rapper and dancer
- 1998 - Teuku Wariza Aris Munandar, Indonesian activist and politician
- 1999 - Bailee Madison, American-Canadian actress and singer
- 1999 - Ben Woodburn, Welsh footballer
- 2000 - Melki Sedek Huang, Indonesian activist and sex offender
- 2005 - Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark