April, 15th in History

[Spiritus Temporis]

Events

Monday 15, 2002:
An Air China Boeing 767-200, flight CA129 crashes into hillside during heavy rain and fog near Pusan, South Korea killing 128.

Sunday 15, 2001:
Easter day (not again until 2063).

Tuesday 15, 1997:
Fire sweeps through a campsite of Muslims making the Hajj pilgrimage; the official death toll is 343.

Friday 15, 1994:
Representatives of 124 countries and the European Communities sign the Marrakesh Agreements revising the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and setting up the World Trade Organization (effective January 1 1995).

Saturday 15, 1989:
Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in the People's Republic of China.

Monday 15, 1985:
Marvin Hagler defeats Thomas Hearns by a knockout in round three to retain boxing's world Middleweight championship in a fight nicknamed The War.

Friday 15, 1983:
Tokyo Disneyland opens.

Friday 15, 1955:
The first McDonald's restaurant opens in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Tuesday 15, 1947:
Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, breaking that sport's color line.

Sunday 15, 1945:
The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.

Wednesday 15, 1942:
its people and defenders" by King George VI.

Monday 15, 1940:
The Allies start their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which was occupied by Nazi Germany.

Friday 15, 1927:
Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Norma and Constance Talmadge become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Tuesday 15, 1924:
Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.

Sunday 15, 1923:
Insulin first became generally available for use by diabetics.

Thursday 15, 1920:
Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti allegedly murder two security guards while robbing a shoe store.

Thursday 15, 1915:
The Armenian Genocide began when the Ottoman Empire undertook the systematic annihilation of Armenian intellectuals and entrepreneurs within the city of Constantinople and later the entire Armenian population of the Empire.

Monday 15, 1912:
The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks at about 2:20 a.m. after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic almost three hours earlier.

Friday 15, 1892:
The General Electric Company is formed through the merger of the Edison General Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Company.

Saturday 15, 1865:
Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the United States.

Thursday 15, 1802:
William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy come across a "long belt" of daffodils, inspiring the former to pen I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.

Tuesday 15, 1783:
Preliminary articles of peace ending Revolutionary War ratified.

Tuesday 15, 1755:
Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language published in London.

Tuesday 15, 1738:
Premiere in London of Serse, an Italian opera byGeorge Frideric Handel.

Thursday 15, 1632:
Battle of Rain; Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.

Monday 15, 1450:
Battle of Formigny; Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in northern France.

Source: http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/15-april/on-this-day.html


People born on April 15

1990:
Emma Watson, English actress (b: April 15, 1990) (Biography of Emma Watson)

1983:
Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian hockey player (b: April 15, 1983) (Biography of Ilya Kovalchuk)

1980:
Raúl López, Spanish basketball player (b: April 15, 1980) (Biography of Raúl López)

1977:
Chandra Levy, American Congressional intern (b: April 15, 1977) (Biography of Chandra Levy)

1974:
Josh Todd, musician and singer (Buckcherry) (b: April 15, 1974) (Biography of Josh Todd)
Jacob Froberg, Singer, musician, producer, songwriter (b: April 15, 1974) (Biography of Jacob Froberg)
Danny Pino, American actor (b: April 15, 1974) (Biography of Danny Pino)

1972:
Arturo Gatti, Canadian boxer (b: April 15, 1972) (Biography of Arturo Gatti)

1970:
Flex Alexander, American actor (b: April 15, 1970) (Biography of Flex Alexander)

1968:
Stacey Williams, American model (b: April 15, 1968) (Biography of Stacey Williams)
Ed O'Brien, British musician (Radiohead) (b: April 15, 1968) (Biography of Ed O'Brien)

1967:
Dara Torres, American swimmer (b: April 15, 1967) (Biography of Dara Torres)
Frankie Poullain, British bassist (former The Darkness) (b: April 15, 1967) (Biography of Frankie Poullain)

1966:
Samantha Fox, English singer and model (b: April 15, 1966) (Biography of Samantha Fox)

1965:
Linda Perry, American musician (b: April 15, 1965) (Biography of Linda Perry)

1962:
Nawal El Moutawakel, Morrocan hurdler (b: April 15, 1962) (Biography of Nawal El Moutawakel)

1960:
Tony Jones, English snooker player (b: April 15, 1960) (Biography of Tony Jones)

1959:
Emma Thompson, English actress (b: April 15, 1959) (Biography of Emma Thompson)
Thomas F. Wilson, American actor (b: April 15, 1959) (Biography of Thomas F. Wilson)

1958:
Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer and musician (b: April 15, 1958) (Biography of Benjamin Zephaniah)

1957:
Evelyn Ashford, American athlete (b: April 15, 1957) (Biography of Evelyn Ashford)

1955:
Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (b: April 15, 1955) (Biography of Dodi Al-Fayed)

1954:
Seka, American actress (b: April 15, 1954) (Biography of Seka)

1951:
Heloise, American newspaper columnist (b: April 15, 1951) (Biography of Heloise (columnist))

1950:
Amy Wright, American actress (b: April 15, 1950) (Biography of Amy Wright)

1948:
Michael Kamen, American composer (b: April 15, 1948 ; d: November 18, 2003) (Biography of Michael Kamen)

1947:
Lois Chiles, American actress (b: April 15, 1947) (Biography of Lois Chiles)

1944:
Dave Edmunds, Welsh musician (b: April 15, 1944) (Biography of Dave Edmunds)
Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (b: April 15, 1944 ; d: April 21, 1996) (Biography of Dzhokhar Dudaev)

1942:
Walt Hazzard, American basketball star (b: April 15, 1942) (Biography of Walt Hazzard)
Francis X. DiLorenzo, American Catholic prelate (b: April 15, 1942) (Biography of Francis Xavier Dilorenzo)

1940:
Jeffrey Archer, British author and Member of Parliament (b: April 15, 1940) (Biography of Jeffrey Archer)
Robert Walker Jr., American actor (b: April 15, 1940) (Biography of Robert Walker Jr.)

1938:
Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian-born actress (b: April 15, 1938) (Biography of Claudia Cardinale)

1933:
Roy Clark, American musician (b: April 15, 1933) (Biography of Roy Clark)
Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b: April 15, 1933 ; d: May 18, 1995) (Biography of Elizabeth Montgomery)
Boris Strugatsky, Russian author (b: April 15, 1933) (Biography of Boris and Arkady Strugatsky)

1930:
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland (b: April 15, 1930) (Biography of Vigdis Finnbogadottir)

1927:
Robert Mills, American physicist (b: April 15, 1927 ; d: October 27, 1999) (Biography of Robert Mills (physicist))

1924:
Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor and violinist (b: April 15, 1924) (Biography of Neville Marriner)

1922:
Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (b: April 15, 1922) (Biography of Michael Ansara)
Harold Washington, Mayor of Chicago (b: April 15, 1922) (Biography of Harold Washington)

1921:
Georgi Beregovoi, cosmonaut (b: April 15, 1921 ; d: June 30, 1995) (Biography of Georgi Beregovoi)

1920:
Richard von Weizäcker, President of Germany (b: April 15, 1920) (Biography of Richard von Weizacker)

1917:
Hans Conried, American actor (b: April 15, 1917 ; d: January 5, 1982) (Biography of Hans Conried)

1916:
Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (b: April 15, 1916) (Biography of Alfred S. Bloomingdale)

1912:
Kim Il Sung, President of North Korea (b: April 15, 1912 ; d: July 8, 1994) (Biography of Kim Il Sung)

1902:
Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (b: April 15, 1902) (Biography of Fernando Pessa)

1901:
Joe Davis, English snooker player (b: April 15, 1901 ; d: July 10, 1978) (Biography of Joe Davis)

1895:
Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards and snooker player (b: April 15, 1895 ; d: April 12, 1980) (Biography of Clark McConachy)

1894:
Bessie Smith, American blues singer (b: April 15, 1894 ; d: September 26, 1937) (Biography of Bessie Smith)

1889:
Thomas Hart Benton, American muralist (b: April 15, 1889 ; d: January 19, 1975) (Biography of Thomas Hart Benton (painter))
A. Philip Randolph, American activist (b: April 15, 1889) (Biography of A. Philip Randolph)

1883:
Stanley Bruce, eighth Prime Minister of Australia (b: April 15, 1883 ; d: August 25, 1967) (Biography of Stanley Bruce)

1879:
Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet (b: April 15, 1879) (Biography of Melville Henry Cane)

1878:
Robert Walser, Swiss writer (b: April 15, 1878) (Biography of Robert Walser (writer))

1874:
Johannes Stark, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b: April 15, 1874 ; d: June 21, 1957) (Biography of Johannes Stark)

1861:
Bliss Carman, Canadian poet (b: April 15, 1861 ; d: June 8, 1929) (Biography of Bliss Carman)

1858:
Émile Durkheim, French sociologist (b: April 15, 1858 ; d: November 15, 1917) (Biography of Émile Durkheim)

1843:
Henry James, American author (b: April 15, 1843 ; d: February 28, 1916) (Biography of Henry James)

1832:
Wilhelm Busch, German poet, graphic artist, and painter (b: April 15, 1832 ; d: January 9, 1908) (Biography of Wilhelm Busch)

1809:
Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician and physicist (b: April 15, 1809 ; d: September 26, 1877) (Biography of Hermann Grassmann)

1800:
James Clark Ross, English explorer (b: April 15, 1800) (Biography of James Clark Ross)

1793:
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer (b: April 15, 1793) (Biography of Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve)

1707:
Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (b: April 15, 1707 ; d: September 18, 1783) (Biography of Leonhard Euler)

1688:
Johann Friedrich Fasch, German composer (b: April 15, 1688 ; d: December 5, 1758) (Biography of Johann Friedrich Fasch)

1684:
Catherine I of Russia (b: April 15, 1684 ; d: May 17, 1727) (Biography of Catherine I of Russia)

1646:
King Christian V of Denmark (b: April 15, 1646 ; d: August 25, 1699) (Biography of Christian V of Denmark)

1642:
Suleiman II, Ottoman Sultan (b: April 15, 1642) (Biography of Suleiman II)

1641:
Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and antiquarian (b: April 15, 1641) (Biography of Robert Sibbald)

1588:
Claudius Salmasius, French classical scholar (b: April 15, 1588 ; d: September 3, 1653) (Biography of Claudius Salmasius)

1580:
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician and colonizer (b: April 15, 1580) (Biography of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore)

1552:
Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician (b: April 15, 1552 ; d: February 11, 1626) (Biography of Pietro Cataldi)

1489:
Sinan, Ottoman architect (b: April 15, 1489 ; d: July 17, 1588) (Biography of Sinan)

1452:
Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist (b: April 15, 1452 ; d: May 2, 1519) (Biography of Leonardo da Vinci)

Source: http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/15-april/births.html

[Spiritus Temporis]

People who died on April 15

2003:
Erin Fleming, Canadian actress (b: August 13, 1941 ; d: April 15, 2003) (Biography of Erin Fleming)

2002:
Damon Knight, American writer (b: September 19, 1922 ; d: April 15, 2002) (Biography of Damon Knight)
Byron White, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (b: June 8, 1917 ; d: April 15, 2002) (Biography of Byron White)

2001:
Joey Ramone, American musician and singer (The Ramones) (b: May 19, 1951 ; d: April 15, 2001) (Biography of Joey Ramone)

2000:
Edward Gorey, American illustrator (b: February 25, 1925 ; d: April 15, 2000) (Biography of Edward Gorey)

1998:
Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator (b: May 19, 1925 ; d: April 15, 1998) (Biography of Pol Pot)

1994:
John Curry (d: April 15, 1994) (Biography of John Curry)

1993:
John Tuzo Wilson (d: April 15, 1993) (Biography of John Tuzo Wilson)
Leslie Charteris (d: April 15, 1993) (Biography of Leslie Charteris)

1990:
Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (b: September 18, 1905 ; d: April 15, 1990) (Biography of Greta Garbo)

1989:
Hu Yaobang (d: April 15, 1989) (Biography of Hu Yaobang)

1988:
Kenneth Williams, English actor (b: February 22, 1926 ; d: April 15, 1988) (Biography of Kenneth Williams)
Tony Mann (d: April 15, 1988) (Biography of Tony Mann)

1986:
Jean Genet, French writer (b: December 19, 1910 ; d: April 15, 1986) (Biography of Jean Genet)

1984:
Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedy magician (b: March 19, 1921 ; d: April 15, 1984) (Biography of Tommy Cooper)

1982:
Arthur Lowe, British actor (b: September 22, 1915 ; d: April 15, 1982) (Biography of Arthur Lowe)

1980:
Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature (refused) (b: June 21, 1905 ; d: April 15, 1980) (Biography of Jean-Paul Sartre)
Raymond Bailey (d: April 15, 1980) (Biography of Raymond Bailey)

1975:
Richard Conte, American actor (b: March 24, 1910 ; d: April 15, 1975) (Biography of Richard Conte)

1974:
Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (b: January 1, 1906 ; d: April 15, 1974) (Biography of Giovanni D'Anzi)

1969:
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (d: April 15, 1969) (Biography of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg)

1964:
Rachel Carson, American ecologist (b: May 27, 1907 ; d: April 15, 1964) (Biography of Rachel Carson)

1962:
Clara Blandick (d: April 15, 1962) (Biography of Clara Blandick)

1949:
Wallace Beery, American actor (b: April 1, 1885 ; d: April 15, 1949) (Biography of Wallace Beery)

1942:
Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (b: November 6, 1880 ; d: April 15, 1942) (Biography of Robert Musil)

1912:
RMS Titanic (d: April 15, 1912) (Biography of RMS Titanic)
Edward Smith (d: April 15, 1912) (Biography of Edward Smith)
John Jacob Astor IV, American entrepreneur (b: July 13, 1864 ; d: April 15, 1912) (Biography of John Jacob Astor IV)
Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (b: October 26, 1865 ; d: April 15, 1912) (Biography of Benjamin Guggenheim)

1898:
Kepa Te Rangihiwinui (d: April 15, 1898) (Biography of Kepa Te Rangihiwinui)

1888:
Father Damien, Belgian missionary in Hawaii (b: January 3, 1840 ; d: April 15, 1888) (Biography of Father Damien)
Matthew Arnold, English poet (b: December 24, 1822 ; d: April 15, 1888) (Biography of Matthew Arnold)

1865:
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b: February 12, 1809 ; d: April 15, 1865) (Biography of Abraham Lincoln)

1854:
Arthur Aikin, English chemist, mineralogist and scientific writer (b: May 19, 1773 ; d: April 15, 1854) (Biography of Arthur Aikin)

1804:
Charles Pichegru, French general (b: February 16, 1761 ; d: April 15, 1804) (Biography of Charles Pichegru)

1788:
Giuseppe Bonno, Italian composer (b: January 29, 1711 ; d: April 15, 1788) (Biography of Giuseppe Bonno)

1761:
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll (d: April 15, 1761) (Biography of Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll)
William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (b: July 14, 1696 ; d: April 15, 1761) (Biography of William Oldys)

1754:
Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (b: May 28, 1676 ; d: April 15, 1754) (Biography of Jacopo Riccati)

1719:
Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, queen of Louis XIV of France (b: November 27, 1635 ; d: April 15, 1719) (Biography of Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon)

1718:
Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian geographer (b: October 28, 1718 ; d: April 15, 1718) (Biography of Ignacije Szentmartony)

1704:
Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (b: April 23, 1628 ; d: April 15, 1704) (Biography of Johann van Waveren Hudde)

1659:
Simon Dach, German poet (b: July 29, 1605 ; d: April 15, 1659) (Biography of Simon Dach)

1641:
Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (b: October 21, 1581 ; d: April 15, 1641) (Biography of Domenico Zampieri)

1621:
John Carver (d: April 15, 1621) (Biography of John Carver)

1610:
Robert Parsons, English Jesuit priest (b: June 24, 1546 ; d: April 15, 1610) (Biography of Robert Parsons)

1446:
Filippo Brunelleschi (d: April 15, 1446) (Biography of Filippo Brunelleschi)

Source: http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/15-april/deaths.html