On This Day: 15 May

15 May in world history

• 2010Three days before her seventeenth birthday, Jessica Watson arrived in Sydney after sailing non-stop and unassisted around the world.
• 2008California 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.
• 2004Arsenal became the first football team in England's top flight to finish a season undefeated since Preston North End did so in 1888–1889.
• 2001A 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) un
• 1990Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold at auction at Christie's in New York for US$82.5 million, making it the world's most expensive painting at the time.
• 1988Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
• 1974Ma'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.
• 1970President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals.
• 1957The United Kingdom tested its first hydrogen bomb over Malden Island in Operation Grapple.
• 1948Following 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.
• 1929A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
• 1919Greek occupation of Smyrna. During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades.
• 1918The Finnish Civil War ends when the Whites take over Fort Ino, a Russian coastal artillery base on the Karelian Isthmus, from Russian troops.
• 1916A seventeen-year-old farmworker, Jesse Washington, is lynched in Waco, Texas, USA, after being convicted of rape and murder.
• 1911Mexican Revolution: A force of Maderistas captured Torreón and proceeded to massacre 303 of the city's Chinese residents.
• 1864American Civil War: A small Confederate force, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced the Union army out of the Shenandoah Valley.
• 1862Fertilisation of Orchids, the first book by Charles Darwin which demonstrated the power of natural selection in detail, was published.
• 1725Bach led the first performance of his cantata Ich bin ein guter Hirt, BWV 85, about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

Born on 15 May

• 1967Madhuri Dixit, Indian actressIndia
• 1945Jerry Quarry, American boxer (died 1999)
• 1918Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (died 2015)
• 1907Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (died 1931)India
• 1817Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (died 1905)India
• 1803Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (died 1869)

Died on 15 May

• 2024Kamla Beniwal, Indian politician (born 1927)India
• 2012Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist (born 1928)
• 1980Gordon Prange, American historian and author (born 1910)
• 1957Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1892)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 15 May in history?

2010: Three days before her seventeenth birthday, Jessica Watson arrived in Sydney after sailing non-stop and unassisted around the world. 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. 2004: Arsenal became the first football team in England's top flight to finish a season undefeated since Preston North End did so in 1888–1889. 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) un.

Which famous people were born on 15 May?

Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress (1967); Jerry Quarry, American boxer (died 1999) (1945); Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (died 2015) (1918); Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (died 1931) (1907).

Which day is observed on 15 May?

International Day of Families; Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto); Army Day (Slovenia); Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania); Independence Day (Paraguay), celebrates the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independenc.