117 things happened on 15 October, from 70 BC to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1944 · 82 years ago
David Trimble was a Northern Irish politician who became the very first First Minister of Northern Ireland, serving from 1998 to 2002. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister lead the government of Northern Ireland together. Trimble led the Ulster Unioni…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
After King Harold died at the Battle of Hastings, England's leaders, including the Archbishop of York, proclaimed Edgar Ætheling King of England. Edgar was the last male member of the old royal family of Wessex. He was never crowned, though. About two months later he gave way to William the Conqueror, who became king instead.
UK story
The British jet-powered car ThrustSSC set a new land speed record of 1,228 km/h (763 mph) in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA. It was driven by Andy Green, and the team behind it included Richard Noble. ThrustSSC became the first and only land vehicle to officially go faster than the speed of sound.
UK story
The Battle of Raft Swamp marks the last battle fought in North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War with a Patriot victory. It occurred four days before the British surrender at Yorktown.
The Siege of Vienna ended when Austrian forces drove back the invading Turkish army of the Ottoman Empire. For almost a century, the Ottomans had been conquering land in Europe. This defeat helped to turn the tide against them. Wars between the Ottomans and the Habsburg rulers of Austria went on and off until the 1700s.
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier rose into the air in a hot-air balloon made by the French inventors the Montgolfier brothers. The balloon was tethered, which means it was tied to the ground. In September, a sheep, a cockerel and a duck had already flown in one of their balloons. About five weeks later, Rozier and a companion made the first free flight in a balloon carrying people.
Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of the French, began his exile on Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. The British government sent him there after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. They wanted to make sure he could no longer 'disturb the peace of the world'. He spent the last six years of his life on the island.
FORTRAN, often called the first modern computer language, was shared with computer programmers for the first time. A programming language is a set of words and rules that people use to give instructions to a computer. FORTRAN was designed to help computers carry out number calculations, especially for science.
Canadian ice hockey star Wayne Gretzky became the highest points scorer in the history of the NHL, North America's top ice hockey league. Nicknamed 'the Great One', he played in the NHL for 20 seasons. He is the only player to score more than 200 points in a single season, and he did it four times.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He won it for his efforts to ease the tensions of the Cold War and to make his country more open. Gorbachev turned out to be the last leader of the Soviet Union, which broke up the following year.
The Cassini space probe blasted off from Cape Canaveral in the USA, heading for Saturn. It was a joint mission by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. Cassini became the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, staying there from 2004 to 2017. It also carried a lander called Huygens, which landed on Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
Battle of the Rhyndacus: The Latin emperor Henry of Flanders defeats the Nicaean emperor Theodore I Laskaris.
The Siege of Vienna ends when Austria routs the invading Ottoman forces, ending its European expansion.
Adoption of the Gregorian calendar begins, eventually leading to near-universal adoption.
Qing forces capture the island of Zhoushan. Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu, resident of the island and regent of the Southern Ming, flees to Kinmen.
Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried and convicted of treason.
American Civil War: Confederate forces captured Glasgow, Missouri, although it had little long-term benefit as Price's Missouri Expedition was defeated a week later.
Airship America is launched from New Jersey in the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by a powered aircraft.
The German Rentenmark is introduced in Germany to counter hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.
The airship Graf Zeppelin completes its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States.
Air India (modern aircraft pictured), the flag carrier airline of India, began operations under the name Tata Airlines.
The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed LaGuardia Airport) is dedicated.
Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes completes the synthesis of norethisterone, the basis of an early oral contraceptive.
The Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.
President Carlos Humberto Romero of El Salvador was overthrown and exiled in a military coup d'état.
The leaders of the Baltic States, Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia and Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania, signed the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland.
The "Oh-My-God particle", an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray measured at 40,000,000 times that of the highest energy protons produced in a particle accelerator, is observed at the University of Utah HiRes observatory in Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.
The United States, under the Clinton administration, returns Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to the island.
NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles (180 km) of Jupiter's moon Io.
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first crewed space mission.
An earthquake registering 6.7 Mw occurred off the northwestern coast of the island of Hawaii.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow's history.
Global demonstrations against economic inequality, corporate influence on government, and other issues, were held in more than 950 cities in 82 countries.
One hundred and ninety-seven nations amend the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings”?
B: 1066. 1066 — that’s 960 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year was David Trimble born?
B: 1944. 1944 — that’s 82 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
B: Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings. 1815: Napoleon begins his exile on the island of Saint Helena · 1066: Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings · 1997: ThrustSSC becomes the first car to break the sound barrier Find it on the page
“ThrustSSC becomes the first car to break the sound barrier” happened in 1997. How many years ago was that?
B: 29 years. 2026 − 1997 = 29. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 15 October.
UK story
P. G. Wodehouse was an English writer and one of the most widely read comic authors of the 1900s. His best-known characters are Bertie Wooster, a rather feather-brained young gentleman, and Jeeves, his wise valet, or personal servant. He also wrote funny stories about Lord Emsworth and Blandings Castle.
UK story
David Trimble was a Northern Irish politician who became the very first First Minister of Northern Ireland, serving from 1998 to 2002. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister lead the government of Northern Ireland together. Trimble led the Ulster Unionist Party from 1995 to 2005. He was also awarded a Nobel Prize.
Well-known people who died on 15 October.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 15 October somewhere in the world.
UK story
Shwmae Su'mae Day is held in Wales every year to celebrate the Welsh language. 'Shwmae' and 'Su'mae' are friendly greetings used to start a conversation, in south and north Wales. The day encourages people to use Welsh in their communities. It also invites people who don't speak Welsh to think about learning it.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “October 15” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.