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October 15
October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in Leap years). There are 77 days remaining.
Events
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533 - Byzantine general Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.
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1552 - Khanate of Kazan is conquered by troops of Ivan Grozny.
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1582 - Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15, skipping over 10 days. Other countries follow at various later dates.
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1764 - While visiting Rome, Edward Gibbon observes a group of barefoot friars singing vespers in the ruined Temple of Jupiter, a sight which inspires him to begin work on a history that will be published as The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
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1815 - Napoleon I of France begins his exile on St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
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1863 - American Civil War: The first successful submarine, the CSS Hunley sinks during a test, killing Horace Lawson Hunley (its inventor) and a crew of seven.
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1878 - The Edison Electric Company begins operation.
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1880 - Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.
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1883 - The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional since it allowed individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race.
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1894 - Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying - Dreyfus affair begins.
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1904 - The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.
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1917 - World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany.
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1932 - Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.
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1939 - The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.
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1940 - The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.
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1945 - World War II: Former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, is executed by firing squad for treason.
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1946 - Nuremberg Trials: Founder of the Gestapo and recently convicted Nazi war criminal, Hermann Göring, poisons himself hours before his scheduled execution.
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1951 - Television sitcom I Love Lucy premieres starring comedian Lucille Ball and her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz.
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1953 - British nuclear test Totem 1 detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.
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1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis: A stand-off ensues between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, putting the entire world under threat of a nuclear war (crisis lasts 13 days from this point).
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1965 - Vietnam War: The anti-war student-run National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam stages the first public burning of a draft card in the United States.
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1966 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.
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1969 - Vietnam War: Hundreds of thousands of people take part in National Moratorium antiwar demonstrations across the United States.
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1970 - 35 construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses into the river below.
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1987 - The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England.
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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.
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1991 - Following a bitter confirmation hearing that involved allegations of sexual misconduct, the United States Senate votes 52 to 48 to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States.
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1992 - In Russia, Andrei Chikatilo is found guilty of 52 serial murders.
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1995 - Saddam Hussein gains 99.96% of votes in Iraq's presidential elections.
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1997 - The first supersonic land speed record is set by the ThrustSSC team from the United Kingdom.
- 1997 - The Cassini probe was launched from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.
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2001 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.
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2003 - China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission.
- 2003 - Ilham Aliyev becomes President of Azerbaijan succeeding his father Heydar Aliyev.
Births
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70 BC - Virgil, Roman poet (d. 19 BC)
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1814 - Mikhail Lermontov, author (d. 1841)
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1829 - Asaph Hall, astronomer (d. 1907)
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1836 - James Tissot, French artist (d. 1902)
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1844 - Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (d. 1900)
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1858 - John L. Sullivan, boxing champion (d. 1918))
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1881 - P. G. Wodehouse, British comic novelist (d. 1975)
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1894 - Moshe Sharett, second Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1965)
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1898 - Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (d. 1951)
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1900 - Mervyn LeRoy, film director (d. 1987)
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1906 - Hiram Leong Fong, Hawaian politician (d. 2004)
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1907 - Varian Fry, rescuer of Jewish and other intellectuals from Marseilles in 1940 (d. 1987)
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1908 - John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist
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1909 - Robert Trout, reporter (d. 2000)
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1917 - Arthur Schlesinger Jr., political commentator, author
- 1917 - Jan Miner, American actress (d. 2004)
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1920 - Mario Puzo, American novelist (d. 1999)
- 1920 - Chris Economaki , Indianapolis 500 reporter
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1923 - Italo Calvino. Italian writer (d. 1985)
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1924 - Lee Iacocca, industrialist
- 1924 - Jose Quintero , stage director
- 1924 - Mark Lenard, actor (d. 1996)
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1926 - Michel Foucault, philosopher (d. 1984)
- 1926 - Evan Hunter (Ed McBain, Curt Cannon), author
- 1926 - Jean Peters, actress
- 1926 - Karl Richter, German conductor (d. 1981)
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1930 - FM-2030 born Fereidoun M. Esfandiary, transhumanist philosopher
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1931 - Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Indian president and scientist
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1935 - Bobby Joe Morrow, American athlete
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1937 - Barry McGuire, singer
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1942 - Penny Marshall, actress, comedienne, film director
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1945 - Jim Palmer, baseball star
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1946 - Richard Carpenter, singer, pianist, composer (Carpenters)
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1957 - Mira Nair, Indian director
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1959 - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
- 1959 - Emeril Lagasse, chef
- 1959 - Todd Solondz, director
- 1959 - Kernan Coleman, Graphic Designer
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1970 - Eric Benét, singer
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1972 - Sandra Kim, Belgian singer, Eurovision Song Contest winner
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1975 - Ginuwine, singer
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1981 - Elena Dementieva, tennis player
Deaths
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767 - Constantine II , former Patriarch of Constantinople (executed)
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1002 - Otto-Henry, Duke of Burgundy
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1389 - Pope Urban VI
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1582 - Saint Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun and poet (b. 1515)
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1811 - Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, painter
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1880 - Victorio, Chiricahua Apache leader
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1891 - Gilbert Arthur a Beckett, British writer
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1917 - Mata Hari, Dutch exotic dancer and spy
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1945 - Pierre Laval, former premier of Vichy French government
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1946 - Hermann Göring, German air force commander
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1964 - Cole Porter, American composer
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2000 - Konrad Emil Bloch, German/American biochemist
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2001 - Zhang Xueliang, Chinese warlord and military figure
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2003 - Bertram N. Brockhouse, Canadian physicist
- 2003 - Ben Metcalfe, Greenpeace co-founder
Holidays and observances
External links
October 14 - October 16 - September 15 - November 15 - more historical anniversaries
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