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August 15 is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 138 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass , at which Roland is killed.
927 - The Saracens conquer and destroy Taranto .
1040 - King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth . The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland .
1057 - King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada .
1185 - The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia .
1248 - The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral , built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men , is laid. (Construction is eventually completed in 1880 .)
1261 - Michael VIII Palaeologus is crowned Byzantine emperor in Constantinople .
1309 - The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John , completing their conquest of Rhodes . The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Knights of Rhodes .
1461 - The Empire of Trebizond surrenders to the forces of Sultan Mehmet II . This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire . Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.
1517 - Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary .
1519 - Panama City , Panama , is founded.
1534 - Saint Ignatius of Loyola and six classmates take initial vows, leading to the creation of the Society of Jesus in September 1540.
1537 - Asunción , Paraguay , is founded.
1540 - Arequipa , Peru , is founded.
1549 - Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date : July 22 , 1549 ).
1599 - Nine Years War : Battle of Curlew Pass - Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.
1760 - Seven Years' War : Battle of Liegnitz - Frederick the Great 's victory over the Austrians under Ernst von Laudon .
1824 - Freed American slaves found Liberia .
1843 - The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu , it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States .
1843 - Tivoli Gardens , one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen , Denmark .
1863 - The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date : July 2 , 1863 ).
1869 - The Meiji government in Japan establishes six new ministries, including one for Shinto .
1891 - San Sebastian Church in Manila , the first all-steel church in Asia , is officially inaugurated and blessed.
1914 - A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the architect's Wisconsin home, Taliesin , murders seven people and burns the living quarters to the ground.
1914 - The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship Ancon .
1920 - Polish-Soviet War : Battle of Warsaw - Poles defeat the Red Army .
1935 - Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska .
1939 - 13 Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. No survivors.
1942 - World War II : Operation Pedestal - The SS Ohio reaches the island of Malta barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island's defenses.
1944 - World War II : Operation Dragoon - Allied forces land in southern France .
1945 - World War II: Victory over Japan Day - Japan surrenders.
1945 - World War II: Korean Liberation Day .
1947 - India gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes an independent nation within the Commonwealth , Jawaharlal Nehru addresses the nation with the Indian Declaration of Independence and takes office as the first Prime Minister of India .
1947 - Founder of Pakistan , Muhammad Ali Jinnah is sworn in as first Governor General of Pakistan at Karachi .
1948 - The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north .
1950 - Srikakulam district is formed in Andhra Pradesh , India .
1952 - Devon, United Kingdom A flashflood drenches the town of Lynmouth, killing 34 people.
1960 - Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville ) declares its independence from France .
1961 - Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall .
1961 - Keiyo Road is specified as the first driveway in Japan.
1962 - James Joseph Dresnok defects to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea after running across the Korean DMZ . Dresnok still resides in the capital, Pyongyang .
1965 - The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City , in an event later seen as marking the birth of stadium rock .
1969 - The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opens.
1971 - President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
1973 - Vietnam War : The United States bombing of Cambodia ends.
1974 - Seoul Subway Line 1 is opened, connecting Seoul Station and Cheongnyangni Station .
1974 - Yuk Young-soo , First Lady of South Korea , is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President of South Korea , Park Chung-hee .
1974 - The Turkish invasion of Cyprus continues, and 37% of the island's area comes under Turkish control.
1975 - Military coup in Bangladesh . Sheikh Mujibur Rehman is killed along with all the memebrs of his family except Haseena Wajid .
1975 - Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II .
1977 - The Big Ear , a radio telescope operated by The Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal " from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.
1984 - The PKK in Turkey starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the Turkish military
1995 - In South Carolina , Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel (she drops out less than a week later).
1998 - Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland , the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles
1999 - Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria ; some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco .
2007 - An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090.
Births
1171 - King Alfonso IX of Leon (d. 1230 )
1195 - Anthony of Padua , Portuguese saint (d. 1231 )
1432 - Luigi Pulci , Italian poet (d. 1484 )
1575 - Bartol Kašić , Croatian writer and linguist (d. 1650 )
1613 - Gilles Ménage , French scholar (d. 1692 )
1717 - Blind Jack , English roadbuilder (d. 1810 )
1740 - Matthias Claudius , German poet (d. 1815 )
1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte , Emperor of the French (d. 1821 )
1771 - Sir Walter Scott , Scottish novelist and poet (d. 1832 )
1785 - Thomas De Quincey , English author (d. 1859 )
1813 - Jules Grévy , 2nd President of the French Third Republic (d. 1891 )
1844 - Thomas-Alfred Bernier , Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1908 )
1856 - Ivan Franko , Ukrainian writer (d. 1916 )
1857 - Albert Ballin , German shipping tycoon (d. 1918 )
1858 - E. Nesbit , English author (d. 1924 )
1859 - Charles Comiskey , American baseball owner (d. 1931 )
1860 - Henrietta Vinton Davis , American elocutionist (d. 1941 )
1860 - Florence Harding , American First Lady (d. 1924 )
1863 - Alexei Krylov , Russian engineer and mathematician (d. 1945 )
1865 - Usui Mikao , Japanese founder of Reiki (d. 1926 )
1872 - Sri Aurobindo , Indian writer and philosopher (d. 1950 )
1875 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor , English composer (d. 1912 )
1878 - Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel , Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1928 )
1879 - Ethel Barrymore , American actress (d. 1959 )
1881 - Alfred Wagenknecht , German-born American activist (d. 1956 )
1883 - Ivan Meštrović , Croatian sculptor (d. 1962 )
1885 - Edna Ferber , American novelist (d. 1968 )
1886 - Bill Whitty , Australian cricketer (d. 1974 )
1890 - Elizabeth Bolden , American Supercentenarian (d. 2006 )
1890 - Jacques Ibert , French composer (d. 1962 )
1892 - Louis, 7th duc de Broglie , French physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1987 )
1893 - Leslie Comrie , New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer (d. 1950 )
1896 - Gerty Cori , Austrian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1957 )
1896 - Catherine Doherty , Russian-born Canadian activist (d. 1985 )
1896 - Paul Outerbridge , American photographer (d. 1958 )
1896 - Leon Theremin , Russian inventor (d. 1993 )
1898 - Jan Brzechwa , Polish poet (d. 1966 )
1901 - Pyotr Sergeyevich Novikov , Russian mathematician (d. 1975 )
1909 - Hugo Winterhalter , American composer and bandleader (d. 1973 )
1910 - Signe Hasso , Swedish actress (d. 2002 )
1912 - Julia Child , American cook (d. 2004 )
1912 - Dame Wendy Hiller , English actress (d. 2003 )
1914 - Paul Rand , American graphic designer (d. 1996 )
1916 - Aleks Çaçi , Albanian writer
1917 - Jack Lynch , Irish politician, fourth Taoiseach (d. 1999 )
1917 - Oscar Romero , El Salvador Roman catholic priest (d. 1980 )
1919 - Huntz Hall , American actor (d. 1999 )
1919 - Benedict Kiely , Irish author
1922 - Lukas Foss , German-born composer
1923 - Rose Marie , American actress
1924 - Robert Bolt , English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1995 )
1925 - Mike Connors , American actor
1925 - Oscar Peterson , Canadian jazz pianist (d. 2007 )
1925 - Bill Pinkney , American baritone singer (d. 2007 )
1926 - Costis Stephanopoulos , Greek politician
1927 - Eddie Leadbeater , England cricketer
1928 - Nicolas Roeg , English film director
1930 - Ageeda Paavel , Estonian freedom fighter
1933 - Bobby Helms , American pop singer (d. 1997 )
1933 - Jim Lange , American game show host
1934 - Bobby Byrd , American soul/funk singer (d. 2007 )
1934 - Nino Ferrer , French-Italian singer (d. 1998 )
1934 - Reginald Scarlett , West Indian cricketer
1935 - Jim Dale , English actor
1935 - Vernon Jordan Jr. , American presidential advisor
1935 - Lionel Taylor , American football player
1938 - Maxine Waters , American politician
1938 - Janusz A. Zajdel , Polish writer
1940 - Gudrun Ensslin , German terrorist
1940 - Rita Shane , American soprano
1942 - Larry Hartsell , American martial arts instructor (d. 2007 )
1943 - María Rojo , Mexican actress and politician
1944 - Linda Ellerbee , American journalist
1944 - Tom Murphy , American politician
1944 - Dimitris Sioufas , Greek lawyer and politician
1944 - Sylvie Vartan , Bulgarian pop singer
1945 - Gene Upshaw , American football player and union leader (d. 2008 )
1945 - Begum Khaleda Zia , Bangladeshi politician
1946 - Tony Robinson , English actor and television presenter
1946 - Jimmy Webb , American musician and composer
1947 - Raakhee Gulzar , Indian actress
1947 - Jenny Hanley , British TV presenter
1948 - Uschi Digard , American pornographic actress and model
1948 - Patsy Gallant , Canadian pop singer
1948 - George Ryton , British engineer
1949 - Beverly Lynn Burns , Americna pilot, first woman captain in the world on the Boeing 747
1949 - Richard Deacon , Welsh sculptor
1949 - Garry Disher , Australian author
1950 - Tommy Aldridge , American musician
1950 - The Princess Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom
1950 - Tom Kelly , American baseball manager
1951 - Ann Biderman , American film and television writer
1951 - Bobby Caldwell , American singer and musician
1951 - John Childs , England cricketer
1951 - Daba Diawara , Malian politician
1951 - Ranjan Gunatilleke , Sri Lankan cricketer
1954 - Mary Jo Salter , American poet
1956 - Lorraine Desmarais , French-Canadian jazz pianist and composer
1957 - Željko Ivanek , Slovenian-American actor
1958 - Craig MacTavish , Canadian ice hockey player/coach
1958 - Victor Shenderovich , Russian satirist
1958 - Rondell Sheridan , American actor and comedian
1961 - Ed Gillespie , American White House counsel to George W. Bush
1961 - Gary Kubiak , American football coach
1962 - Tom Colicchio , American chef
1963 - Alejandro González Iñárritu , Mexican film director
1963 - Jack Russell , England cricketer
1964 - Melinda French Gates , American wife of Bill Gates
1964 - Debi Mazar , American actress
1965 - Rob Thomas , American writer
1966 - Scott Brosius , American baseball player
1966 - Shirley Kwan , Hong Kong singer
1967 - Peter Hermann American actor
1968 - Debra Messing , American actress
1969 - Kevin Cheng , Hong Kong actor and singer
1969 - Cris Judd , American actor/choreographer
1970 - Anthony Anderson , American comedian and actor
1970 - Maddie Corman , American actress
1970 - Ben Silverman , American TV executive
1972 - Ben Affleck , American actor
1972 - Chris Morrissey , American film director/actor
1972 - Matthew Wood , American actor and sound editor
1974 - Natasha Henstridge , Canadian actress
1975 - Bertrand Berry , American football player
1975 - Vijay Bharadwaj , Indian cricketer
1975 - Brendan Morrison , Canadian hockey player
1975 - Kara Wolters , American basketball player
1976 - Boudewijn Zenden , Dutch football player
1977 - Martin Biron , Canadian ice hockey goaltender
1977 - Igor Cassina , Italian gymnast
1977 - Nicole Paggi , American actress
1977 - Ray Toro , American musician (My Chemical Romance )
1978 - Tim Foreman , American bassist (Switchfoot )
1978 - Lilia Podkopayeva , Ukrainian gymnast
1978 - Stavros Tziortziopoulos , Greek footballer
1978 - Kerri Walsh , American beach volleyball player
1979 - Carl Edwards , American NASCAR driver
1980 - Nathalie Press , English actress
1981 - Brendan Hansen , American swimmer
1981 - Song Ji-hyo , South Korean actress
1981 - Oliver Perez , American baseball player
1982 - Casey Burgener , American weightlifter
1989 - Belinda , Mexican singer
1989 - Tiffanie Anderson , American , Performer, (Girlicious )
1989 - Joe Jonas , American singer (Jonas Brothers )
Deaths
423 - Flavius Honorius , Western Roman Emperor (b. 384 )
778 - Roland , Frankish commander
1038 - King Stephen I of Hungary
1040 - King Duncan I of Scotland
1057 - King Macbeth of Scotland
1118 - Alexius I Comnenus , Byzantine Emperor (b. 1048 )
1196 - Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1173 )
1274 - Robert de Sorbon , French theologian and founder of the Sorbonne (b. 1201 )
1369 - Philippa of Hainault , Queen consort of Edward III of England
1528 - Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec , French military leader (b. 1485 )
1552 - Hermann of Wied , German Catholic archbishop (b. 1477 )
1621 - John Barclay , Scottish writer (b. 1582 )
1666 - Johann Adam Schall von Bell , German Jesuit missionary (b. 1591 )
1714 - Constantin Brâncoveanu , Prince of Wallachia (b. 1654 )
1728 - Marin Marais , French composer and viol player (b. 1656 )
1758 - Pierre Bouguer , French mathematician (b. 1698 )
1799 - Giuseppe Parini , Italian poet (b. 1729 )
1852 - Johan Gadolin , Finnish scientist (b. 1760 )
1880 - Adelaide Neilson , English Actress (b. 1848 )
1907 - Joseph Joachim , Austrian violinist (b. 1831 )
1909 - Euclides da Cunha , Brazilian writer and sociologist (b. 1866 )
1917 - Thomas J. Higgins , decorated Union Army soldier (b. 1831 )
1925 - Konrad Mägi , Estonian artist (b. 1878 )
1935 - Wiley Post , American pilot (airplane crash) (b. 1898 )
1935 - Will Rogers , American humorist and actor (airplane crash) (b. 1879 )
1936 - Grazia Deledda , Italian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1871 )
1945 - Korechika Anami , Japanese War Minister (b. 1887 )
1951 - Artur Schnabel , Polish pianist (b. 1882 )
1953 - Ludwig Prandtl , German physicist (b. 1875 )
1959 - Blind Willie McTell , American singer (b. 1901 )
1962 - Lei Feng , Chinese revolutionary (b. 1940 )
1967 - René Magritte , Belgian painter (b. 1898 )
1971 - Paul Lukas , Hungarian-born actor (b. 1887 )
1975 - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , President of Bangladesh (b. 1920 )
1975 - Clay Shaw , alleged John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracist & businessman (b. 1913 )
1982 - Hugo Theorell , Swedish scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1903 )
1990 - Viktor Tsoi , Russian musician (b. 1962 )
1995 - John Cameron Swayze , American journalist (b. 1906 )
1999 - Sir Hugh Casson , British architect and artist (b. 1910 )
2001 - Richard Chelimo , Kenyan athlete (b. 1972 )
2003 - Gösta Sundqvist , Finnish songwriter and singer (heart attack) (b. 1957 )
2004 - Semiha Berksoy , first Turkish opera singer (b. 1910 )
2004 - Sune Bergström , Swedish biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1916 )
2004 - Amarsinh Chaudhary , Indian politician (b. 1941 )
2006 - Te Atairangi Kaahu , Māori queen (b. 1931 )
2006 - Rick Bourke , Australian rugby league player (c. 1955 )
2006 - Doug White , American news anchor
2006 - Faas Wilkes , Dutch international footballer (b. 1923 )
2007 - Richard Bradshaw , British opera conductor, (b. 1944 )
2007 - John Gofman , American Manhattan Project scientist and advocate (b. 1918 )
2007 - Geoffrey Orbell , New Zealand bush walker (b. 1908 )
2007 - Sam Pollock , Canadian sports executive (b. 1925 )
2008 - Jerry Wexler , music producer and coiner of the term "Rhythm & Blues" (b. 1917 )
2008 - James Orthwein , American businessman (b. 1924 )
2008 - Leroy Sievers , American journalist (b. 1955 )
2008 - Vic Toweel , South African boxer , bantamweight world champion (b. 1929 )
Holidays and observances
VJ Day / VP Day
India – Independence Day (from the United Kingdom , 1947 ).
Egypt – Flooding of the Nile Day.
Italy , Ferragosto , remembrance of an ancient Roman holiday in honor of Augustus .
Korea – Gwangbokjeol (Liberation Day).
Tuva – Naadym .
Costa Rica – Mother's Day .
Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism – Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos , the commemoration of the death of Mary, the mother of Jesus .
Feast day of the Assumption of Mary , the mother of Jesus , Holy Day of Obligation . Public Holiday in: Austria , Belgium , Benin , Burundi , Cameroon , Chile , Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia , Cyprus , East Timor, France , Greece , Guatemala, India (As India's Independence Day), Italy , Lebanon, Lithuania , Luxembourg, Malta , Mauritius , Poland , Portugal , Seychelles, Slovenia , Spain and Switzerland .
National Acadian Day
RC Saints
External links