History Events on October 15

Saddam Hussein is reelected president of Iraq through a referendum.

#Saddam_Hussein

American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink a ship, sinks, killing its inventor.

#H._L._Hunley_(submarine)

The Segura river in southeastern Spain floods, killing 1077 people.

#Segura

Edward Gibbon is inspired to begin work on The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

#The_History_of_the_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire

Vietnam War: Nguy?n V?n Tr?i is executed for attempting to assassinate the United States Secretary of Defense.

#Vietnam_War

Napoleon begins his exile on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.

#Napoleon

China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission.

#Shenzhou_5

Hurricane Hazel devastates the eastern seaboard of North America, killing 95 and causing massive floods as far north as Toronto.

#Hurricane_Hazel

The Salvadoran Civil War begins.

#Salvadoran_Civil_War

In Germany, the inauguration of the Cologne Cathedral is celebrated.

#Cologne_Cathedral

Alexei Kosygin becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

#Alexei_Kosygin

The airship, Graf Zeppelin completes its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing in the United States.

#LZ_127_Graf_Zeppelin

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow's history.

#Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average

Thirty-five construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses.

#West_Gate_Bridge

World War I: Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by France for espionage.

#Mata_Hari

The former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, is executed for treason.

#Pierre_Laval

American Civil War: The Union garrison of Glasgow, Missouri surrenders to Confederate forces.

#Battle_of_Glasgow,_Missouri

Seventeen activists in New Zealand are arrested in the country's first post-9/11 anti-terrorism raids.

#2007_New_Zealand_police_raids

Russo-Japanese War: The Russian Baltic Fleet begins a seven-month voyage to the Far East.

#Russo-Japanese_War

President Lluís Companys of Catalonia is executed by the Francoist government.

#Lluís_Companys

Adoption of the Gregorian calendar begins, eventually leading to near-universal adoption.

#Adoption_of_the_Gregorian_calendar

World War II: Germany replaces the Hungarian government after it announces an armistice with the Soviet Union.

#Operation_Panzerfaust

Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.

#Mikhail_Gorbachev

The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon makes the first human ascent, piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier.

#Montgolfier_brothers

Airship America is launched from New Jersey in the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by a powered aircraft.

#America_(airship)

One hundred ninety-seven nations amend the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons.

#Montreal_Protocol

The Viceroy the Río de la Plata, Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, opens the port of Buenos Aires to trade with nations other than Spain.

#Baltasar_Hidalgo_de_Cisneros

Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying.

#Dreyfus_affair

Eight of those convicted in the Rivonia Trial are released from prison.

#Rivonia_Trial

In the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, over two million demonstrate nationally; about 250,000 in Washington D.C.

#Moratorium_to_End_the_War_in_Vietnam

The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.

#Cassini-Huygens

The German Rentenmark is introduced in Germany to counter hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.

#German_Rentenmark

In Burkina Faso, a military coup was orchestrated by Blaise Compaoré against incumbent President Thomas Sankara.

#Burkina_Faso

A planned neo-Nazi protest against African-American street gangs sets off a riot in Toledo, Ohio. Twenty-nine people are arrested.

#2005_Toledo_riot

Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried and convicted, and condemned to death the following day.

#Marie_Antoinette

The 2011 Global Protests occur.

#15_October_2011_global_protests

Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes completes the synthesis of norethisterone, the basis of an early oral contraceptive.

#Luis_E._Miramontes

Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL.

#Wayne_Gretzky

The Motherland Calls, a memorial statue "For the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad", is unveiled.

#The_Motherland_Calls

The Latin emperor Henry of Flanders defeats the Nicaean emperor Theodore I Laskaris.

#Battle_of_the_Rhyndacus_(1211)

The CIA notifies the State Department that Soviet ballistic missiles are in Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

#Cuban_Missile_Crisis

The Siege of Vienna ends when Austria routs the invading Ottoman forces, ending its European expansion.

#Siege_of_Vienna

The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed LaGuardia Airport) is dedicated.

#LaGuardia_Airport

The 7.2 Mw Bohol earthquake strikes the Philippines. At least 215 die.

The 6.7 Mw Kiholo Bay earthquake rocks Hawaii, causing property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and the closure of Honolulu International Airport.

Iraqis vote to ratify the new constitution.

NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.

Andy Green in ThrustSSC sets the first supersonic land speed record.

Marco Campos dies in a race at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, the only driver ever killed in the International Formula 3000 series.

The Clinton administration returns Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to the island.

The first ultra-high-energy cosmic ray is detected.

Supporters of the Malta Labour Party ransack and destroy the Times of Malta building and other locations associated with the Nationalist Party.

The Black Panther Party is founded.

Vietnam War: A draft card is burned during an anti-war rally by the Catholic Worker Movement, resulting in the first arrest under a new law.

FORTRAN, the first modern computer language, is first shared with the coding community.

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 9 concerning the International Court of Justice is unanimously adopted.

Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.

The "From Hell" letter allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper is received by investigators.

The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation.

The Academia Ecuatoriana de la Lengua is established in Quito, Ecuador.

The Cortes of Cádiz decides to create the providence of Logroño.

Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England, but is never crowned. He reigns until 10 December 1066.