15 May
Notable Births
Haerin
b. 2006
South Korean singer (born 2006)
Huddy (musician)
b. 2002
American Internet celebrity (born 2002)
Dayana Yastremska
b. 2000
Ukrainian tennis player (born 2000)
Anastasia Gasanova
b. 1999
Russian tennis player (born 1999)
Lucrezia Stefanini
b. 1998
Italian tennis player (born 1998)
Ousmane Dembélé
b. 1997
French footballer (born 1997)
Scott Drinkwater
b. 1997
Australian rugby league footballer
Birdy (singer)
b. 1996
British singer (born 1996)
Jeremy Hawkins
b. 1993
New Zealand rugby league footballer
Tomáš Kalas
b. 1993
Czech footballer (born 1993)
Jordan Eberle
b. 1990
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1990)
Lee Jong-hyun
b. 1990
South Korean musician and actor (born 1990)
Stella Maxwell
b. 1990
British and Irish Model (born 1990)
Sunny (singer)
b. 1989
South Korean and American singer (born 1989)
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
b. 1989
French footballer (born 1989)
David Adams (baseball)
b. 1987
American baseball player (born 1987)
Michael Brantley
b. 1987
American baseball player (born 1987)
Brian Eno
b. 1948
British musician (born 1948)
Jerry Quarry
b. 1945
American boxer (1945–1999)
L. Frank Baum
b. 1856
American author (1856–1919)
Notable Deaths
Robert Walls
d. 2025
Australian rules footballer and coach (1950–2025)
Kamla Beniwal
d. 2024
Indian politician (1927–2024)
Fred Willard
d. 2020
American actor and comedian (1933–2020)
Jackie Brookner
d. 2015
Jean-Luc Dehaene
d. 2014
Prime Minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999
Henrique Rosa
d. 2013
President of Guinea-Bissau (1946–2013)
Carlos Fuentes
d. 2012
Mexican writer (1928–2012)
Arno Lustiger
d. 2012
German historian and author of Jewish origin (1924–2012)
Zakaria Mohieddin
d. 2012
Prime Minister of Egypt from 1965 to 1966
Loris Kessel
d. 2010
Swiss racing driver (1950–2010)
Bud Tingwell
d. 2009
Australian actor (1923–2009)
Wayman Tisdale
d. 2009
American basketball player (1964–2009)
Will Elder
d. 2008
American illustrator (1921–2008)
Jerry Falwell
d. 2007
American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist (1933–2007)
June Carter Cash
d. 2003
American singer (1929–2003)
Earl Manigault
d. 1998
American street basketball player (1944–1998)
Eric Porter
d. 1995
British actor (1928–1995)
Gilbert Roland
d. 1994
American actor (1905–1994)
Salah Ahmed Ibrahim
d. 1993
Sudanese literary writer, poet and diplomat
Dick Irvin
d. 1957
Canadian ice hockey player, coach (1892–1957)
On This Day in History
All 56 ›
2024
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is shot and critically injured while meeting with supporters at an event in Handlová.
Prime Minister of Slovakia
2013
An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.
May 2013 Iraq attacks
2010
Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
Jessica Watson
2008
California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
Same-sex marriage in California
2004
Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C. with the right to claim the title "The Invincibles".
Arsenal F.C.
2001
A CSX EMD SD40-2 8888 rolls out of a train yard in Walbridge, Ohio, with 47 freight cars, including some tank cars with flammable chemical, after its engineer fails to reboard it after setting a yard switch. It travels south driverless for 66 miles (106 km) until it is brought to a halt near Kenton. The incident became the inspiration for the 2010 film Unstoppable.
CSX Transportation
1997
The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.
Laotian Civil War
1997
The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
1991
Édith Cresson becomes France's first female Prime Minister.
Édith Cresson
1988
Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
Soviet–Afghan War
1976
Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes near Viktorivka, Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, killing 52.
Aeroflot Flight 1802
1974
Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
Ma'alot massacre
1972
The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since their conquest in 1945, revert to Japanese control.
Ryukyu Islands
1970
President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals.
Richard Nixon
1963
Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
Project Mercury
1957
At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
Malden Island
1948
Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel, thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Mandatory Palestine
1945
World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe, is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
Battle of Poljana
1943
Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
Joseph Stalin
1942
World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
Women's Army Corps