On This Day: 15 November

15 November in Indian history

• 2000Jharkhand officially becomes the 28th state of India, formed from eighteen districts of southern Bihar.India

15 November in world history

• 2007Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 5,000 people and destroying parts of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.
• 1988The Soviet spacecraft Buran, a reusable vehicle built in response to NASA's Space Shuttle program, was launched, uncrewed, on its only flight.
• 1985The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed at Hillsborough Castle by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.
• 1978A chartered Douglas DC-8 crashes near Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 183.
• 1976René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois take power to become the first Quebec government of the 20th century clearly in favor of independence.
• 1969Cold War: The Soviet submarine K-19 collides with the American submarine USS Gato in the Barents Sea.
• 1967The only fatality of the North American X-15 program occurs during the 191st flight when Air Force test pilot Michael J. Adams loses control of his aircraft which is destroyed mid-air over the Mojave Desert.
• 1959Two men murdered a family in Holcomb, Kansas; the events became the subject of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, a pioneering work of the true crime genre.
• 1943The Holocaust: In the Romani Holocaust, Nazi official Heinrich Himmler ordered that the Romani were to be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps".
• 1922Fountain of Time, in Chicago's Washington Park, was dedicated as a tribute to 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain following the Treaty of Ghent.
• 1908As a result of numerous atrocities in the territory, the Congo Free State was annexed to Belgium to form the Belgian Congo.
• 1889Brazil is declared a republic by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca as Emperor Pedro II is deposed in a military coup.
• 1864American Civil War: Union army general William Tecumseh Sherman began his March to the Sea, inflicting significant damage to property and infrastructure using scorched-earth tactics on his way from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.
• 1859Sponsored by Greek businessman Evangelos Zappas, the first modern revival of the Olympic Games took place in Athens.
• 1806Pike Expedition: Lieutenant Zebulon Pike spots a mountain peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is later named Pikes Peak in his honor.
• 1777American Revolutionary War: After 16 months of debate the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation.
• 655Penda of Mercia and Æthelhere of East Anglia were defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria at the Battle of the Winwaed in Yorkshire, England.

Born on 15 November

• 1986Sania Mirza, Indian tennis playerIndia
• 1936Tara Singh Hayer, Indian-Canadian journalist and publisher (died 1998)India
• 1935Nera White, American basketball player (died 2016)
• 1897Aneurin Bevan, Welsh journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Health (died 1960)
• 1866Cornelia Sorabji, Indian lawyer, social reformer and writer (died 1954)India
• 1776José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, Mexican journalist and author (died 1827)

Died on 15 November

• 2012K. C. Pant, Indian politician, 18th Indian Minister of Defence (born 1931)India
• 2003Speedy West, American guitarist and producer (born 1924)
• 1949Nathuram Godse, Indian assassin of Mahatma Gandhi (born 1910)India
• 1794John Witherspoon, Scottish-American minister and academic (born 1723)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 15 November in history?

2007: Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 5,000 people and destroying parts of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. 2000: Jharkhand officially becomes the 28th state of India, formed from eighteen districts of southern Bihar. 1988: The Soviet spacecraft Buran, a reusable vehicle built in response to NASA's Space Shuttle program, was launched, uncrewed, on its only flight. 1985: The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed at Hillsborough Castle by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.

What happened on 15 November in Indian history?

2000: Jharkhand officially becomes the 28th state of India, formed from eighteen districts of southern Bihar.

Which famous people were born on 15 November?

Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player (1986); Tara Singh Hayer, Indian-Canadian journalist and publisher (died 1998) (1936); Nera White, American basketball player (died 2016) (1935); Aneurin Bevan, Welsh journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Health (died 1960) (1897).

Which day is observed on 15 November?

America Recycles Day (United States); Day of the German-speaking Community of Belgium (German-speaking Community of Belgium); Day of the Imprisoned Writer (International observance); Independence Day, unilaterally declared in 1988. (Palestine); King's Feast (Belgium).