October 15

70 BC The Roman poet Virgil was born Publius Vergilius Maro in the village of Andes, near Mantua in the valley of the River Po on October 15, 70 BC. At the time Andes was in Cisalpine Gaul part of the Roman Empire. Not much is known about Virgil's parents but it seems his father was a wealthy cattle farmer and beekeeper.

1492 On October 15, 1492, three days after Christopher Columbus and his crew landed on one of the Bahamas islands, the American Indians offered Columbus a bundle of dry tobacco leaves. It was the first time a European had seen tobacco.

1529 The Siege of Vienna was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the Austrian city. It ended on October 15, 1529 with the Austrians repelling  the invading Turks. In doing so they turned the tide against almost a century of unchecked conquest throughout eastern and central Europe by the Ottoman Empire.

The Turkish Siege of Vienna. In the Vienna Museum

1764 English writer Edward Gibbon observed on October 15, 1764, a group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome. The sight inspired him to begin The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His most important work, it was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788.

1794 The Coinage Act was passed in April 1792 establishing the United States Mint. The first Mint building was in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States; it was the first building of the Republic raised under the Constitution. The first coin minted in the United States was a silver dollar, which was issued on October 15, 1794.

1839 In May 1836 Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha paid a visit to Kensington Palace, where Princess Victoria lived. The princess was attracted to him and three years later the now Queen Victoria summoned Albert and proposed marriage herself as she was sure Albert would never have taken such a liberty as to propose to the Queen of England. They became definitely engaged on October 15, 1839 and the Queen made a formal declaration of her intention to marry to the Privy Council six weeks later.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert 1854

1844 German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844 at Röcken (near Lützen), Saxony, Prussia.  Friedrich's father was a country Lutheran clergyman and his family came from a long line of Protestant pastors. He was born on the 49th birthday of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and was thus named after him.

1860 When running for the Presidency, Abraham Lincoln was urged to grow a beard, in order to look more dignified. Lincoln objected, not liking hair under his chin, calling it "a piece of silly affection". He was persuaded in part thanks to a letter dated October 15, 1860 from 11-year-old Grace Bedell suggesting that the presidential candidate grow a beard.

A beardless Lincoln in 1858

1863 The H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, who demonstrated the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare. She sank during a test run on October 15, 1863, killing all eight of her crew, but was raised and returned to service.

1909 The novelist P.G. Wodehouse was born Pelham Grenville Wodehouse on October 15, 1881 in Guildford, Surrey in South East England. Wodehouse was one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His novels and short stories feature elaborate plots and a unique writing style based on a combination of very formal language, references to classical literature, and contemporary club-room slang.

1913 Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter was 47 when she married William Heelis, on October 15, 1913 at St Mary Abbots in Kensington, London. William Heelis was a solicitor who had handled the deals on Potter's Lake District Castle Farm property. Potter and William Heelis enjoyed a happy marriage of thirty years. Although they were childless, Potter played an important role in William's large family, particularly enjoying her relationship with several nieces whom she helped educate.

1917 Mata Hari was a Dutch-Frisian exotic dancer, who had relationships with both German and French officers during World War I and was the archetype of the seductive female spy. She was found guilty of spying for Germany, and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. Mata Hari was executed by a firing squad of the French Army on October 15, 1917.

Mata Hari in Amsterdam 1915

1918 On October 15, 1918, Adolf Hitler was temporarily blinded in a mustard gas attack and hospitalized in Pasewalk. While there, he learned of Germany's defeat, and upon receiving this news, he suffered a second bout of blindness.

1930 "Mood Indigo" was first recorded by Duke Ellington for Brunswick Records on October 15, 1930. The song was developed from an instrumental called "Dreamy Blues," written by one of the best musicians in New Orleans in the early 20th century, Lorenzo Tio, Jr. It became a standard of not only Ellington's orchestra, but it has been recorded countless times by musical legends such as Dinah Washington, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

1932 Air India, the flag carrier airline of India, began operations under the name Tata Airlines on October 15, 1932. The airline was founded by J. R. D. Tata and Tata himself flew its first single-engine de Havilland Puss Moth, carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay's Juhu aerodrome and later continuing to Madras (currently Chennai).

1946 Hermann Göring was one of the 24 people charged at the Nuremberg Trials. The court decided he was guilty. The judgment said that he was to be hanged, but he killed himself by swallowing a tablet of cyanide on October 15, 1946 two hours before he was due to be executed.

1948 Gerald Ford got engaged to Elizabeth “Betty” Warren when he was campaigning for what would be his first of thirteen terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. Betty was a divorcee and a former dancer in the auxiliary troupe of the Martha Graham Dance Company. The wedding was delayed until shortly before the elections because, Ford wasn't sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced ex-dancer. They married on October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

1949 Following the establishment of the South Korean state, the current flag was declared official by the government of South Korea on October 15, 1949, although it had been used as the de facto national flag before then.

1951 The first episode of the television sitcom I Love Lucy aired on CBS on October 15, 1951. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz began the TV show in the hopes of saving their crumbling marriage. New episodes were produced for six years, CBS re-ran episodes through 1961, and syndicated reruns still play every day somewhere.

1969 The second President of the Somali Republic, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, was assassinated n October 15, 1969. He was killed by one of his own bodyguards while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod, The army seized power under the commander in chief Major General Mohammed Siad Barre. He suspended the 1960 constitution, dissolved the national assembly, banned all political parties, and formed a military government. In 1970 he declared Somalia as socialist state.

1981 The Mexican Wave was first used during an Oakland Athletics v New York Yankees baseball playoff game on October 15, 1981, led by professional cheerleader, “Krazy” George Henderson. It spread nationally then went international thanks to the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, hence its name.

1987 On October 15, 1987, BBC weatherman Michael Fish insisted a hurricane was not about to hit southern England. Hours later, the 115 mph storm killed 18, caused more than £2 billion worth of damage and felled 15 million trees.

1990 Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts at reform and partnership with Ronald Reagan led to the end of the Cold War. Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15, 1990 for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.

1993 The 74th award of the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Nelson Mandela and former South African President F. W. de Klerk on October 15, 1993. Their efforts in working together to end apartheid and establish a multiracial democracy in South Africa were instrumental in bringing about a peaceful transition. 

1997 The ThrustSSC, a British jet-propelled motor car, holds the World Land Speed Record. It was set on October 15, 1997, when the vehicle was driven by Royal Air Force fighter pilot Wing Commander Andy Green in the Black Rock Desert in the state of Nevada. achieved a speed of 1,228 km/h (763 mph). He was the first person to break the sound barrier in a car.

2002 The first use of google as a verb on television was on October 15, 2002. In the fourth episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's final season, the character Willow turns to the eponymous slayer and asks, “Have you googled her yet?”

2007 Reverend Robert Shields died on October 15, 2007. Shields was a former minister and high school English teacher who lived in Dayton, Washington, USA. His 37.5-million-word diary, the world’s longest, chronicled every five minutes of his life from 1972 until a stroke disabled him in 1997.

2017 Sooronbay Jeenbekov was elected President of Kyrgyzstan on October 15, 2017 in the first peaceful transfer of power in the country's history. Kyrgyzstan's central election commission reported a total of almost 1.7 million votes cast, of which Jeenbekov won 54.74 percent.

Sooronbay Jeenbekov By Kremlin.ru, 

2018 Sears Holdings Corporation was the 20th-largest retailing company in the United States in 2015, However, after poor sales for several years it was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018, the same day that a $134 million debt payment was due. It sold its assets the following year to ESL Investments.

2022 The record for the longest beard worn by a living person is 2.54 m (8 ft 3 in), and was achieved by Canadian Sikh Sarwan Singh as verified in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on October 15, 2022. Sarwan has held this record since November 2008, when it was first measured at 2.33 m (7 ft 8 in) long.