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This day in history

This day in history: 15 January

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Born on this day · Died on this day227 · 125

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Key facts

408 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 15 January.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2023: Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashes near Pokhara International Airport, killing all 72 people on board.

Holidays and observances

Arbor Day (Egypt)

Armed Forces Remembrance Day (Nigeria)

Army Day (India)

Christian feast day: Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)

Christian feast day: Arnold Janssen

Christian feast day: Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (one of Martyr Saints of China)

Christian feast day: Ita

Christian feast day: January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)

Christian feast day: Maurus and Placidus (Order of Saint Benedict)

Christian feast day: Our Lady of the Poor

Christian feast day: Paul the Hermit

Events

2023Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashes near Pokhara International Airport, killing all 72 people on board.

2022The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupts, cutting off communications with Tonga and causing a tsunami across the Pacific.

2021A 6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia's Sulawesi island killing at least 105 and injuring 3,369 people.

2020The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare confirms the first case of COVID-19 in Japan.

2019Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.

2019Theresa May's UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.

2018British multinational construction and facilities management services company Carillion goes into liquidation – officially, "the largest ever trading liquidation in the UK".

2016The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.

2015The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the Swiss franc's value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets.

2013A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.

2009US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off. This becomes known as "The Miracle on the Hudson" as all 155 people on board were rescued.

2005ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.

2001Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, is launched (Wikipedia Day).

1991Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.

1991The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.

1981Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from the Polish trade union Solidarity at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.

1977Linjeflyg Flight 618 crashes in Kälvesta near Stockholm Bromma Airport in Stockholm, Sweden, killing 22 people.

1976Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.

1975The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.

1973Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.

1970Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.

1970Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.

1969The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.

1967The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.

1966The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d'état.

1962Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.

1962The Derveni papyrus, Europe's oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.

1949Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist government.

1947The Black Dahlia murder: The dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short is found in Los Angeles.

1943The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington County, Virginia.

1943World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.

1937Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republicans both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.

1936The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.

1934The 8.0 Mw Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.

1919Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.

1919Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent communists in Germany, are clubbed and then shot to death by members of the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.

1911Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.

1910Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 99 m (325 ft).

1908The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.

1892James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.

Born on this day

2004Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter

2002Tim Stützle, German ice hockey player

2000Triston Casas, American baseball player

1998Alexandra Eade, Australian artistic gymnast

1998Ben Godfrey, English footballer

1998Chloe Kelly, English footballer

1996Deebo Samuel, American football player

1996Dove Cameron, American actress and singer

1994Eric Dier, English footballer

1993Kadeem Allen, American basketball player

1992Joël Veltman, Dutch footballer

1992Joshua King, Norwegian footballer

1991Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper

1991James Mitchell, Australian basketball player

1991Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer

1991Matt Duffy, American baseball player

1991Mitch Garver, American baseball player

1991Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer

1990Chris Warren, American actor

1990Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer

1990Sidney Franklin, American actor and tap dancer

1990Slava Voynov, Russian ice hockey player

1989Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (died 2008)

1989Martin Dúbravka, Slovak footballer

1989Nicole Ross, American Olympic foil fencer

1988Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer

1988Donald Sloan, American basketball player

1988Jun. K, South Korean singer

1988Skrillex, American DJ and producer

1987David Knight, English footballer

1987Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player

1987Kelleigh Ryan, Canadian fencer

1987Kelly Kelly, American wrestler and model

1987Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner

1986Jessy Schram, American actress and model

1985Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer

1985Pavel Podkolzin, Russian basketball player

1985René Adler, German footballer

1984Ben Shapiro, American author and commentator

1984Victor Rasuk, American actor

Died on this day

2025David Lynch, American television and film director, visual artist and musician, complications from emphysema (born 1946)

2025Linda Nolan, Irish singer and actress (born 1959)

2025Melba Montgomery, American country music singer-songwriter (born 1938)

2025Paul Danan, English actor and television personality (born 1978)

2022Alexa McDonough, first female politician to lead a major provincial political party in Canada, former leader of the federal New Democratic Party. (born 1944)

2020Lloyd Cowan, British athlete and coach (born 1962)

2020Rocky Johnson, Canadian professional wrestler (born 1944)

2019Carol Channing, American actress (born 1921)

2019Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (born 1936)

2018Dolores O'Riordan, Irish pop singer (born 1971)

2017Jimmy Snuka, Fijian professional wrestler (born 1943)

2016Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (born 1954)

2016Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (born 1958)

2016Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (born 1943)

2015Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (born 1919)

2015Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (born 1939)

2015Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (born 1927)

2014Curtis Bray, American football player and coach (born 1970)

2014John Dobson, Chinese-American astronomer and author (born 1915)

2014Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (born 1944)

2013John Thomas, American high jumper (born 1941)

2013Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (born 1932)

2012Carlo Fruttero, Italian journalist and author (born 1926)

2012Ed Derwinski, American soldier and politician, first United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (born 1926)

2012Hulett C. Smith, American lieutenant and politician, 27th Governor of West Virginia (born 1918)

2012Ib Spang Olsen, Danish author and illustrator (born 1921)

2012Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish lawyer and politician, third President of the Xunta of Galicia (born 1922)

2012Samuel Jaskilka, American general (born 1919)

2011Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (born 1925)

2011Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, French soldier, race car driver, and businessman (born 1908)

Quote of the day

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.”

Zen saying

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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