July 15
July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining.
Events
- 1099 - Christian soldiers take Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after a difficult siege during First Crusade.
- 1207 - John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton
- 1381 - John Ball, veteran of Peasants' Revolt, executed in the presence of Richard II of England
- 1410 - Battle of Grunwald (a.k.a. Tannenberg or Zalgiris), power of the Teutonic Knights broken by a defeat from Poles and Lithuanians
- 1685 - In England, the Duke of Monmouth is executed at Tower Hill, after he was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemore.
- 1789 - Marquis de la Fayette, by acclamation, named colonel-general of the new National Guard of Paris.
- 1799 - In the Egyptian village of Rosette, French Captain Pierre Bouchard finds the Rosetta Stone.
- 1806 - Pike expedition: Near St. Louis, Missouri, United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine to explore the west.
- 1815 - Napoléon Bonaparte surrenders from aboard HMS Bellerophon
- 1862 - American Civil War: Confederates break naval blockade of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- 1870 - Reconstruction: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
- 1916 - In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing incorporates Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).
- 1918 - World War I: Second Battle of the Marne - The battle begins near the River Marne with a German attack.
- 1929 - First weekly radio broadcast of Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
- 1931 - Kid Chocolate becomes Cuba's first world boxing champion.
- 1944 - World War II: Americans take Saipan
- 1953 - John Reginald Christie executed.
- 1954 - First flight of the Boeing 707, the first American jet passenger airliner.
- 1958 - In Lebanon, 5,000 United States Marines land in the capital Beirut in order to provide military support to the pro-Western government there.
- 1974 - In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d'etat, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president.
- 1975 - Apollo Soyuz Test Project: Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft take off for U.S.-Soviet link-up in space.
- 1994 - Albert Belle of the Cleveland Indians caught with a corked bat.
- 1996 - MSNBC cable-DBS channel launched
- 1996 - Hercules C-130 of the Royal Belgian Air Force carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport. Thirty-two people died in the flames, two people died of their injuries. Seven people sustained severe burns.
- 1997 - In Miami, Florida, serial killer Andrew Phillip Cunanan guns down Gianni Versace outside his home.
- 2002 - So-called "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and for the possession of explosives during the commission of a felony. Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each of the charges.
- 2002 - Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other suspects convicted of murdering Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
- 2003 - AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation.
- 2004 - Monorail service begins in Las Vegas.
- 2004 - 18 - The Open Championship in golf, known in North America as the British Open, takes place in Troon, Scotland.
- 2004 - The BBC airs the documentary "The Secret Agent", exposing racism by members of the British National Party.
Births
- 1573 - Inigo Jones, architect (d. 1652)
- 1606 - Rembrandt, artist (d. 1669)
- 1779 - Clement Clarke Moore, educator, author, poet (d. 1863)
- 1796 - Thomas Bulfinch, mythologist, author Bulfinch's Mythology (d. 1796)
- 1808 - Henry Edward Cardinal Manning, archbishop (d. 1892)
- 1812 - James Hope-Scott, lawyer (d. 1873)
- 1848 - Vilfredo Pareto, economist and sociologist (d. 1923)
- 1850 - Mother Cabrini, Roman Catholic saint (d. 1917)
- 1865 - Alfred Charles William Northcliffe, newspaper publisher
- 1870 - Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, Russian publisher and politician (d. 1922)
- 1871 - Kunikida Doppo, writer (d. 1908)
- 1892 - Walter Benjamin, literary critic and writer (d. 1940)
- 1899 - Sean F. Lemass, Irish leader (d. 1971)
- 1902 - Jean Ray, politician, President of the European Commission 1967-1970 (d. 1983)
- 1911 - Edward Shackleton, explorer (d. 1994)
- 1914 - Hammond Innes, writer (d. 1998)
- 1918 - Bertram N. Brockhouse, Nobel Prize-winning physicist (d. 2003)
- 1919 - Iris Murdoch, writer (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Philip Carey, actor
- 1926 - Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian dictator (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Nan Clow Martin, actress
- 1928 - Carl Woese, microbiologist
- 1930 - Jacques Derrida, philosopher
- 1930 - Stephen Smale, mathematician who broke the dimension barrier
- 1931 - Clive Cussler, author
- 1934 - Harrison Birtwistle, composer
- 1935 - Diahann Carroll, actress
- 1942 - Mil Mascaras, former professional wrestler
- 1944 - Millie Jackson, R&B singer
- 1945 - Jürgen Möllemann, German politician
- 1946 - Linda Ronstadt, singer
- 1947 - Camilla Parker Bowles, British royal mistress
- 1949 - Carl Bildt, politician
- 1949 - Trevor Horn, musician
- 1951 - Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler, former
- 1953 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian politician
- 1953 - John Denham, British politician
- 1956 - Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division
- 1956 - Barry Melrose, hockey player, coach, commentator
- 1956 - Marky Ramone, member of The Ramones
- 1961 - Forest Whitaker, actor
- 1966 - Irène Jacob, actress
- 1968 - Eddie Griffin, actor
- 1970 - Chi Cheng, musician
- 1971 - John Dolmayan, Drummer for System of a Down
- 1973 - Brian Austin Green, actor
- 1975 - Kyla Brettle, documentary maker
Deaths
- 518 - Anastasius I, Byzantine Emperor
- 1085 - Robert Guiscard, Norman adventurer
- 1291 - Rudolph I of Germany
- 1381 - John Ball
- 1685 - James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
- 1767 - Michael Bruce, poet
- 1782 - Farinelli, castratto
- 1828 - Jean Antoine Houdon, sculptor
- 1839 - Winthrop Mackworth Praed, poet
- 1844 - Claude Charles Fauriel, historian
- 1857 - Carl Czerny, composer
- 1869 - A.J. Hayne, black captain of Arkansas militia
- 1881 - William 'Billy the Kid' Bonney
- 1890 - Gottfried Keller, poet
- 1904 - Anton Chekhov, playwright
- 1929 - Hugo von Hofmannsthal, dramatist
- 1931 - Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, economist
- 1933 - Freddie Keppard, musician (b. 1890)
- 1940 - Robert Pershing Wadlow, giant: 8 feet, 11-1/10 inches tall 439 pounds.
- 1947 - Walter Donaldson, songwriter
- 1948 - John J. Pershing, U.S. general
- 1957 - George Cleveland, actor
- 1957 - James M. Cox, U.S. politician
- 1958 - Julia Lennon, mother of Beatle John
- 1959 - Billie Holiday, jazz and blues singer
- 1960 - Lawrence Tibbett, actor
- 1961 - John E. Brownlee, Canadian politician
- 1965 - Francis Cherry, U.S. politician
- 1971 - Bill Thompson, actor (Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, et al.)
- 1980 - Eddie Jackson, comedian
- 1982 - Wendy Caulfield, 1st Green River victim
- 1983 - Eddie Foy Jr, actor
- 1986 - Benny Rubin, actor/comedian
- 1986 - Florence Halop, actress
- 1988 - Eleanor Estes, author
- 1990 - Troy Dixon, rapper
- 1991 - Bert Convy, actor
- 1992 - Hammer DeRoburt, first President of Nauru (b. 1922)
- 1997 - Gianni Versace, fashion designer
- 2003 - Adi Preißler, German soccer player
- 2003 - Roberto Bolaño, Chilenian poet
Holidays and observances
July 14 - July 16 - June 15 - August 15 -- listing of all days
