What Happened on October 15
Important Events
- 1581 Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine" is staged in Paris
- 1582 Gregorian calendar introduced in Spain, Portugal and pontifical states, after skipping 10 days after Oct 4 to sync the calendar
- 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on island of St Helena to begin his exile
- 1969 Vietnam Moratorium Day; millions nationwide protest the war
- 1993 Nelson Mandela and South African President F. W. de Klerk awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Oct 15 in Film & TV
- 2017 Actress Alyssa Milano's tweet “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’" prompts flood of replies across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Oct 15 in Music
- 1977 Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life" goes #1 & stays #1 for 10 weeks
Oct 15 in Sport
- 1989 Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe as NHL's all time top scorer
Did You Know?
Virgil
Temür Khan
Akbar
Friedrich Nietzsche
John Kenneth Galbraith
Penny Marshall
Would You Believe?
11-year-old Grace Bedell writes to Abraham Lincoln telling him to grow a beard
On October 15, 1860
Famous Weddings
- 1501 Heir to the English throne Prince Arthur marries Catherine of Aragon
- 1913 Author Beatrix Potter (47) weds solicitor William Heelis at St Mary Abbots in Kensington, London
- 1927 Writer Graham Greene (23) weds Vivien Dayrell-Browning at St. Mary's Church in Hampstead, North London
Famous Divorces
- 1993 Guardian Angel Lisa Evers Sliwa files for divorce from Curtis Sliwa
- 1993 Baseball player Darryl Strawberry (31) divorces Lisa Andrews after more than 8 years of marriage
- 2002 Comedian Tom Green (30) divorces actress Drew Barrymore (26) due to irreconcilable differences after less than a year of marriage
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Mata Hari
Pierre Laval
Hermann Goering
Carlo Gambino
Paul AllenArticles, Photos and Quiz
The Protestant Reformation
1517 copy of Martin Luther's 95 theses, the publication of which began the Protestant Reformation in Europe
October 15, 1517Abraham Lincoln Grows a Beard
Abraham Lincoln left, before he received the letter from Grace Bedell, and right, shortly before he met her in 1861
October 15, 1860The Motherland Calls
The Motherland Calls statue in Volvograd, Russia
October 15, 1967Hurricane on the Way? Don't Worry
A cosy assurance from a BBC weather forecaster for viewers not to worry about an impending storm has gone down as the most spectacular mis-forecast in history.
October 15, 1987Weekly Quiz for October 14 - 20
What island was Napoleon Bonaparte sent to in 1815? How much did America pay Russia to buy Alaska?
October in History
Question that Wrecked Sir Henry Irving’s Marriage
Sir Henry Irving, considered the greatest actor of his time, died on this day. His unexpected death shocked and saddened England and fans around the world.
October 13, 1905Grim History of London's Speakers' Corner
Nowhere in England is the principal of free speech embodied more than at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park. But this right was won through death and protest.
October 14, 1855Lenient Lion Remembered for 375 Years
A lion spared a businessman who prayed on his knees on this day and the event is still being celebrated in an ancient London church three centuries later.
October 16, 1643Chopin: The Day the Music Died
The brief life of Chopin, one of music’s earliest superstars, ended on this day when the sickly composer fell victim to tuberculosis. He was just 39.
October 17, 1849
