What happened today in history
December
What happened on December 15
On December 15 history recorded 53 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 85 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 53events
- 160births
- 85deaths
- 13observances
Highlights
Highlights
533Byzantines led by Belisarius defeated the Vandal King Gelimer at the Battle of Tricamarum, completing the "Reconquest of North Africa" under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
Flavius Belisarius was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I. Belisarius was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a ce
687Sergius was elected pope, ending the last disputed period of sede vacante during the Byzantine Papacy.
Pope Sergius I was the bishop of Rome from 15 December 687 to his death on 8 September 701, and is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected at a time when two rivals, Paschal and Theodore, were locked in a dispute about which of them sho
1025Constantine VIII (depicted) became the sole Byzantine emperor, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor.
Constantine VIII was de jure Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the younger son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano. He was nominal co-emperor from 962, successively with his father; his stepfather, Nikephoros II Phokas; his uncle, John
December 15
On this day
VI century
- 533
533Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
VII century
XI century
XII century
XIII century
XV century
XVI century
XVII century
XVIII century
XIX century
- 1836
1836The U.S. Patent Office building in Washington, D.C., nearly burns to the ground, destroying all 9,957 patents issued by the federal government to that date, as well as 7,000 related patent models. - 1862
1862American Civil War: The Battle of Fredericksburg ends in a Union defeat as General Ambrose Burnside withdraws the Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock River. - 1864
1864American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville begins at Nashville, Tennessee, and ends the following day with the destruction of the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood as a fighting force by the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas. - 1869
1869The short-lived Republic of Ezo is proclaimed in the Ezo area of Japan. It is the first attempt to establish a democracy in Japan. - 1871
1871Sixteen-year-old telegraphist Ella Stewart keys and sends the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring. - 1890
1890Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre. - 1893
1893Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World" a.k.a. the "New World Symphony") by Antonín Dvořák premieres in a public afternoon rehearsal at Carnegie Hall in New York City, followed by a concert premiere on the evening of December 16. - 1899
1899British Army forces are defeated at the Battle of Colenso in Natal, South Africa, the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War.
XX century
- 1903
1903Italian American food cart vendor Italo Marchiony receives a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that makes ice cream cones. - 1905
1905The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin. - 1906
1906The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens. - 1914
1914World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army. - 1914
1914A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687. - 1917
1917World War I: An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed. - 1933
1933Anarchist insurrection suppressed in Zaragoza, Spain. - 1939
1939Gone with the Wind (highest inflation adjusted grossing film) receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. - 1941
1941The Holocaust in Ukraine: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv. - 1942
1942World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal campaign. - 1943
1943World War II: The Battle of Arawe begins during the New Britain campaign. - 1944
1944World War II: a single-engine UC-64A Norseman aeroplane carrying United States Army Air Forces Major Glenn Miller is lost in a flight over the English Channel. - 1945
1945Occupation of Japan/Shinto Directive: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan. - 1960
1960Richard Pavlick is arrested for plotting to assassinate U.S. President-Elect John F. Kennedy. - 1960
1960King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country's constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule. - 1961
1961Eichmann trial: Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty by an Israeli court of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and membership of an outlawed organization. - 1965
1965Project Gemini: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7. - 1967
1967The Silver Bridge collapses, killing 46 people. - 1970
1970Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully lands on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet. - 1973
1973John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10. - 1973
1973The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. - 1978
1978U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan). - 1981
1981A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq's ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing. - 1989
1989Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating the abolition of capital punishment is adopted. - 1993
1993The Troubles: The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. - 1997
1997Tajikistan Airlines Flight 3183 crashes in the desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, killing 85. - 2000
2000The third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down.
XXI century
- 2001
2001The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to stabilize it, without fixing its famous lean. - 2005
2005Introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor into USAF active service. - 2010
2010A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people. - 2013
2013The South Sudanese Civil War begins when opposition leaders Dr. Riek Machar, Pagan Amum and Rebecca Nyandeng vote to boycott the meeting of the National Liberation Council at Nyakuron. - 2014
2014Gunman Man Haron Monis takes 18 hostages inside a café in Martin Place for 16 hours in Sydney. Monis and two hostages are killed when police raid the café the following morning. - 2017
2017A 6.5Mwearthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Java in the city of Tasikmalaya, resulting in four deaths.
Best known
Born on December 15
1852Henri Becquerel
French physicist
1859L. L. Zamenhof
Creator of Esperanto
1860Niels Ryberg Finsen
Faroese physician and Nobel laureate
1861Charles Duryea
American automobile manufacturer
1861Pehr Evind Svinhufvud
Finnish politician
1863Arthur Dehon Little
American chemist, chemical engineer, and industrial researcher
Best known
Died on December 15
933Li Siyuan
Emperor of Later Tang from 926 to 933
1025Basil II
Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025
1072Alp Arslan
Sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1063 to 1072
1161Wanyan Liang
Emperor of Jin from 1150 to 1161
1230Ottokar I of Bohemia
Duke/King of Bohemia (c.1155–1230)
1283Philip of Courtenay
Titular Latin Emperor from 1273 to 1283
Holidays and observances
- Bill of Rights Day (United States) 2nd Amendment Day (South Carolina)
- Christian feast day: Drina Martyrs
- Christian feast day: Drostan (Aberdeen Breviary)
- Christian feast day: John Horden and Robert McDonald (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Christian feast day: Maria Crocifissa di Rosa
- Christian feast day: Mesmin
- Christian feast day: Valerian of Abbenza
- Christian feast day: Virginia Centurione Bracelli
- Christian feast day: December 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Homecoming Day (Alderney)
- Kingdom Day (Netherlands), moves to December 16 if the 15th is on a Sunday
- Zamenhof Day (International Esperanto Community)
- World Turkic Language Family Day (UNESCO)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on December 15?
53 documented historical events happened on December 15, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Byzantines led by Belisarius defeated the Vandal King Gelimer at the Battle of Tricamarum, completing the "Reconquest of North Africa" under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. On the same day, in another year: Sergius was elected pope, ending the last disputed period of sede vacante during the Byzantine Papacy. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on December 15?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on December 15, including Henri Becquerel, L. L. Zamenhof, Niels Ryberg Finsen. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on December 15?
85 people with a Wikipedia article died on December 15, including Li Siyuan, Basil II, Alp Arslan. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on December 15?
13 observances are celebrated on December 15 around the world: Bill of Rights Day (United States) 2nd Amendment Day (South Carolina), Christian feast day: Drina Martyrs, Christian feast day: Drostan (Aberdeen Breviary), Christian feast day: John Horden and Robert McDonald (Episcopal Church (USA)), Christian feast day: Maria Crocifissa di Rosa, Christian feast day: Mesmin. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
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Source: Wikipedia · Calendar