What Happened on August 15
Important Events
- 1461 Empire of Trebizond surrenders to forces of Sultan Mehmet II - last Byzantine Empire remnant to fall. Emperor David exiled and later murdered.
- 1620 Mayflower sets sail from Southampton, England, with 102 Pilgrims
- 1900 The Boxer Rebellion: In China, the Empress, her family and court retainers flee while foreign troops move through Peking in an attempt to quell the rebellion
- 1947 India gains independence from Great Britain, remains a dominion until 1950
- 1998 Omagh Bombing in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, kills 29 people and injures about 220
August 15 in Film & TV
- 1918 1st full length cartoon (Sinking of Lusitania)
- 1939 "The Wizard of Oz", American musical fantasy film directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor, premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, starring Judy Garland (Dorothy), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion), Frank Morgan (Wizard), Billie Burke (Glinda), and Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch)
August 15 in Music
August 15 in Sport
- 1903 New Zealand's All Blacks play their first Rugby Test Match against Australia's Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground; New Zealand win 22-3
Famous Birthdays
Napoléon Bonaparte
(1769 - 1821)- Oscar Peterson
(1925 - 2007) - Stieg Larsson
(1954 - 2004) - Melinda Gates
55 Years Old - Ben Affleck
47 Years Old - Jennifer Lawrence
29 Years Old
Napoléon Bonaparte
Oscar Peterson
Stieg Larsson
Melinda Gates
Ben Affleck
Jennifer LawrenceWould You Believe?
North Korea creates its own time zone -moving its clocks back half an hour to GMT+8.5
On August 15, 2015
Famous Weddings
- 1958 Singer Buddy Holly weds receptionist Maria Santiago
- 1985 Anti-apartheid lawyer Bulelani Ngcuka marries in South Africa
- 1992 Actress Susan Anton marries actor Jeff Lester
Macbeth
Will Rogers
Paul Lukas
Sheikh Mujibur RahmanAugust 15 in Articles and Photos
First Faltering Steps of Jane Eyre
With hope, pride – and some subterfuge – Charlotte Brontë sent her hefty manuscript of Jane Eyre to publishers in London on this day, then crossed her fingers.
August 15, 1847A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer.
August 15, 1936The Wizard of Oz
Publicity still of the Wizard of Oz, showing the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Dorothy and Cowardly Lion
August 15, 1939Woodstock Music and Art Fair
Swami Satchidananda addressing the opening ceremony at Woodstock
August 15, 1969Omagh Bombing
A man and a child (who both survived) stand next to the car bomb in Omagh, Northern Ireland, that exploded shortly after, killing 29 people. The photographer did not survive.
August 15, 1998Weekly Quiz for August 12-18
Test your knowledge of historical events and famous people in our multi-choice, weekly history quiz for August 12-18. Then challenge your friends!
August in History
A Pill to Cure All Ills
Not well? Take a Beecham’s Pill was often the advice. So popular was it that nobody doubted it’s extravagant claim in the world’s first advertising slogan.
August 6, 1859Why Mata Hari Was Not the Spy You Thought She Was
The controversial life and death of Mata Hari, the glamorous WWI double agent, executed in 1917, has recently been reassessed in the light of new evidence.
August 7, 1876Ship of Gold Sails Into Oblivion
A frigate with more than 150 souls on board, as well as nearly three tons of gold, sailed out of Melbourne on this day – never to be seen again.
August 12, 1853America's Last Public Hanging
The last man to be publicly hanged in the United States met his fate on this day in history. It was a squalid affair watched by about 10,000 people.
August 14, 1936
