November 15
November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 46 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 655 - Oswiu of Northumbria defeats Penda of Mercia in the Battle of the Winwaed.
- 1315 - Battle of Morgarten: The Swiss "Eidgenossen" defeat the Habsburgs.
- 1532 - Commanded by Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistadors led by Hernando de Soto meet Inca Emperor Atahualpa for the first time outside Cajamarca, arranging a meeting in the city plaza the following day.
- 1533 - Francisco Pizarro arrives in Cuzco, capital of the Inca Empire, before plundering the city and setting it on fire.
- 1688 - William III lands at Brixham, starting the Glorious Revolution.
- 1777 – After 16 months of debate the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation.
- 1806 - Pike expedition: Lieutenant Zebulon Pike sees a distant peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is later named Pikes Peak.
- 1825 - King John V of Portugal recognises the independence of Brazil.
- 1864 – Union General William Tecumseh Sherman burns Atlanta, Georgia and starts Sherman's March to the Sea.
- 1889 – Brazil is declared a republic by Marechal Deodoro da Fonseca and Emperor Pedro II is removed from power in a military coup. The pattern of stars on the night of this date is now included on the Flag of Brazil.
- 1908 - Colonialism: King Leopold II of Belgium sells the Congo to the Belgian state.
- 1920 – First assembly of the League of Nations is held in Geneva.
- 1922 - Over 1,000 people are massacred during a General Strike in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
- 1926 – The NBC radio network opens with 24 stations.
- 1928 - The RNLI lifeboat Mary Stanford capsizes in Rye Harbour with the loss of the entire 17-man crew.
- 1935 – Manuel L. Quezon becomes President of the Philippines.
- 1935 – Canada and the United States sign a trade agreement in Washington.
- 1939 – In Washington, D.C., US President Franklin D. Roosevelt lays the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial.
- 1941 – Holocaust: SS chief Heinrich Himmler orders the arrest and deportation to concentration camps of all homosexuals in Germany, with the exception of certain top Nazi officials.
- 1942 – World War II: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ends in a Allied victory.
- 1943 – Holocaust: German SS leader Heinrich Himmler orders that Gypsies were to be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps".
- 1945 – Venezuela joins the UN.
- 1948 – Louis Stephen St. Laurent succeeds William Lyon Mackenzie King as Prime Minister of Canada.
- 1949 – Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte are executed for assassinating Mahatma Gandhi.
- 1960 - Basketball: An NBA record is set when Elgin Baylor of the New York Knicks scores 71 points in a single game.
- 1960 - A train crash in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia (now-Czech Republic) kills 110 people.
- 1966 - The Gemini 12 space probe splashes into the Atlantic Ocean, at the end of the Gemini program.
- 1966 - A Boeing 727 carrying Pan Am Flight 708 crashes near Berlin, killing all the 3 people on board.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 250,000-500,000 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the war.
- 1971 - Intel releases the world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, the 4004.
- 1976 - Rene Levesque becomes Premier of Quebec.
- 1978 - A chartered Douglas DC-8 airplane crashes near Colombo, Sri Lanka.
- 1983 – Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is founded.
- 1985 – The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.
- 1987 - Continental Airlines Flight 1713, a Douglas-9-14 jetliner, crashes in a snowstorm at Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, killing 28 people, with 54 surviving.
- 1987 - In Brasov, Romania, workers rebel against the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu.
- 1988 – An independent State of Palestine is proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council.
- 1988 - The first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, is launched in the Netherlands.
- 1990 - A new republican form of government is created in Bulgaria.
- 1990 - Space Shuttle Atlantis launches with Flight STS-38.
- 1990 – Producers admit that Milli Vanilli, who won the 1990 "Best New Artist" Grammy Award, did not sing on their album.
- 2000 - A chartered Antonov An-24 crashes after take-off from Luanda, Angola, killing over 40 people.
- 2000 - In India, the new state of Jharkhand is created, out of the southern part of the state of Bihar.
- 2002 – Hu Jintao becomes general secretary of the Communist Party of China.
- 2003 – In Istanbul, two synagogues are bombed, killing 25 people.
- 2005 - Boeing officially launches the stretched Boeing 747-8.
- 2006 - Al Jazeera English news channel launches worldwide.
- 2007 – Tropical Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh, killing around 5000 people. It also causes a large amount of destruction to the Sundarbans mangrove forest.
- 2012 - Xi Jinping is announced as the next general secretary of the Communist Party of China, expected to lead China until 2022.
Births
Up to 1900
- 457 - B'utz Aj Sak Chiik, Mayan king (d. 501)
- 1316 - King John I of France (d. November 20, 1316)
- 1397 – Pope Nicholas V (d. 1455)
- 1498 - Eleanor of Austria (d. 1558)
- 1511 - Johannes Secundus, Dutch poet (d. 1536)
- 1559 – Archduke Albert of Austria (d. 1621)
- 1607 - Madeleine de Scudery, French author (d. 1701)
- 1661 - Christoph von Graffenried, Swiss settler in the Americas (d. 1743)
- 1688 - Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician (d. 1757)
- 1708 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1778)
- 1738 – William Herschel, German-born astronomer (d. 1822)
- 1741 - Johann Kaspar Lavater, German philosopher (d. 1801)
- 1746 - Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (d. 1809)
- 1778 - Giovanni Battista Belzoni, Italian adventurer, engineer, weightlifter and acrobat (d. 1823)
- 1784 – Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia (d. 1860)
- 1804 - Eugenio Aguilar, Supreme Director of El Salvador (d. 1879)
- 1852 - Tewfik Pasha, Khedive of Egypt (d. 1892)
- 1859 – Christopher Hornsrud, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1960)
- 1862 – Gerhart Hauptmann, German dramatist (d. 1946)
- 1867 - Emil Krebs, German polyglot (someone who speaks many languages) and sinologist (d. 1930)
- 1868 - Emil Racovita, Romanian biologist, zoologist and explorer of Antarctica (d. 1947)
- 1874 – August Krogh, Danish zoologist, won the 1920 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1949)
- 1874 - Dimitrios Golemis, Greek runner (d. 1941)
- 1879 - Lewis Stone, American actor (d. 1953)
- 1881 - Franklin Pierce Adams, American newspaper columnist (d. 1960)
- 1882 - Felix Frankfurter, American jurist (d. 1965)
- 1887 – Georgia O'Keeffe, American painter (d. 1986)
- 1888 - Harald Sverdrup, Norwegian oceanographer (d. 1957)
- 1889 - Manuel II, last King of Portugal (d. 1932)
- 1891 - W. Averell Harriman, 48th Governor of New York (d. 1986)
- 1891 – Erwin Rommel, German field marshal (d. 1944)
- 1893 - Carlo Emilio Gadda, Italian writer (d. 1973)
- 1895 – Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1895 - Antoni Slominski, Polish journalist, poet and playwright (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Aneurin Bevan, British politician (d. 1960)
- 1899 - Avdy Andresson, Estonian statesman (d. 1990)
1901 – 1950
- 1905 - Mantovani, Italian-born composer (d. 1980)
- 1906 - Curtis LeMay, US Air Force General (d. 1990)
- 1907 – Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, German army officer during World War II (d. 1944)
- 1910 - Hugh Greene, British journalist (d. 1987)
- 1912 - Yi Wu, Korean prince (d. 1945)
- 1912 - Albert Baez, American physicist (d. 2007)
- 1913 - Guy Green, British movie director (d. 2005)
- 1915 - David Stirling, British founder of the SAS (d. 1990)
- 1919 - Joseph Wapner, American television personality
- 1922 - David Sidney Feingold, American biochemist
- 1925 - Howard Baker, American politician
- 1927 - Bill Rowling, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1995)
- 1927 - Gregor Mackenzie, British politician (d. 1992)
- 1929 – Ed Asner, American actor
- 1930 – J. G. Ballard, English writer (d. 2009)
- 1930 - Aurelio Bolognesi, Italian boxer
- 1930 - Olene Walker, former Governor of Utah
- 1931 – Mwai Kibaki, former President of Kenya
- 1931 - Pascal Lissouba, Congolese politician
- 1931 - John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Petula Clark, English singer
- 1932 - Alvin Plantinga, American philosopher
- 1933 - Jack Burns, American comedian
- 1934 - Joanna Barnes, American actress
- 1936 – Wolf Biermann, German writer
- 1937 - Little Willie John, American singer (d. 1968)
- 1939 - W. C. Clark, American blues musician
- 1940 - Roberto Cavalli, Italian fashion designer
- 1940 – Sam Waterston, American actor
- 1942 – Daniel Barenboim, Argentine-born conductor
- 1945 – Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Norwegian-born Swedish singer (ABBA)
- 1946 - Vasilis Goumas, Greek basketball player
- 1947 – Bill Richardson, American politician and former Governor of New Mexico
- 1947 - Malcolm Ranjith, Sri Lankan cardinal
- 1950 - Graham Parker, English singer-songwriter
From 1951
- 1952 – Randy Savage, American professional wrestler (d. 2011)
- 1953 – Alexander O'Neal, American singer
- 1954 – Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former President of Poland
- 1956 - Michael Hampton, American guitarist (Funkadelic)
- 1957 - Kevin Eubanks, American jazz guitarist
- 1958 - Gu Kailai, Chinese lawyer and businesswoman
- 1960 - Susanne Lothar, German actress (d. 2012)
- 1963 – Andrew Castle, English television presenter and former tennis player
- 1965 – Nigel Bond, English snooker player
- 1967 – Dom Joly, English comedian and journalist
- 1967 – Gustavo Poyet, Uruguayan footballer
- 1967 - Francois Ozon, French director and screenwriter
- 1967 - Pandeli Majko, former Prime Minister of Albania
- 1968 – Ol' Dirty Bastard, American rapper (d. 2004)
- 1968 - Jennifer Charles, American singer-songwriter
- 1968 - Fausto Brizzi, Italian director and screenwriter
- 1970 - Patrick Mboma, Cameroonian footballer
- 1972 - Jessica Hynes, English actress
- 1972 - Jonny Lee Miller, English actor
- 1973 - Albert Portas, Spanish tennis player
- 1974 – Chad Kroeger, Canadian singer (Nickelback)
- 1975 - Yannick Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 - Brandon DiCamillo, American comedian, actor and stuntman
- 1976 - Virginie Ledoyen, French actress
- 1977 – Peter Phillips, first grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II
- 1979 - Josemi, Spanish footballer
- 1979 - Brett Lancaster, Australian cyclist
- 1979 - Robert Kendrick, American tennis player
- 1981 - Jordan Buckley, American guitarist
- 1981 - Lorena Ochoa, Mexican golfer
- 1982 - Kalu Uche, Nigerian footballer
- 1983 - John Heitinga, Dutch footballer
- 1983 - Laura Smet, French actress
- 1983 – Fernando Verdasco, Spanish tennis player
- 1984 – Gemma Atkinson, English actress
- 1985 - Lily Aldridge, American fashion model
- 1986 - Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player
- 1988 - Zena Grey, American actress
- 1988 - B.o.B, American rapper and producer
- 1988 - Morgan Parra, French rugby player
- 1988 - Billy Twelvetrees, English rugby player
- 1991 – Shailene Woodley, American actress
- 1992 - Minami Minegishi, Japanese singer and actress (AKB48)
- 1993 - Saaya Irie, Japanese actress and singer
- 1998 - Benedict Mateo, Filipino artist
Deaths
- 655 - Penda, King of Mercia
- 1028 – Constantine VIII, Byzantine Emperor (b. 960)
- 1136 - Leopold III, Margrave of Austria (b. 1073)
- 1210 - Ly Cap Tong, King of the Ly Dynasty of Vietnam (b. 1173)
- 1280 - Albertus Magnus, German theologian, bishop and philosopher
- 1544 - King Jungjong of Joseon of Korea (b. 1506)
- 1594 - Martin Frobisher, English explorer (b. 1539)
- 1630 – Johannes Kepler, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1571)
- 1670 - John Amos Comenius, Czech writer (b. 1592)
- 1706 - Tsangyang Gyatso, 6th Dalai Lama (b. 1683)
- 1787 - Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (b. 1714)
- 1794 - John Witherspoon, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1723)
- 1819 - Daniel Rutherford, Scottish chemist and physician (b. 1749)
- 1832 - Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist (b. 1767)
- 1853 – Maria II of Portugal (b. 1819)
- 1908 – Empress Dowager Cixi of China (b. 1835)
- 1910 - Wilhelm Raabe, German writer (b. 1831)
- 1916 – Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish writer (b. 1846)
- 1917 – Émile Durkheim, French sociologist (b. 1858)
- 1919 – Alfred Werner, German chemist (b. 1866)
- 1919 - Mohammad Farid, Egyptian politician (b. 1868)
- 1922 - Dimitrios Gounaris, Greek politician (b. 1866)
- 1922 - Georgios Hatzianestis, Greek general (b. 1863)
- 1922 - Petros Protopapadakis, Greek politician (b. 1854)
- 1922 - Nikolaos Stratos, Greek politician (b. 1872)
- 1949 – Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, conspirators against Mahatma Gandhi
- 1954 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor (b. 1879)
- 1958 – Tyrone Power, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1959 - Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist (b. 1869)
- 1961 - Elsie Ferguson, American actress (b. 1883)
- 1963 - Fritz Reiner, Hungarian conductor (b. 1888)
- 1967 - Michael J. Adams, American test pilot (b. 1930)
- 1976 - Jean Gabin, French actor (b. 1904)
- 1978 – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (b. 1901)
- 1980 - Emilio Pujol, Catalan guitarist and composer (b. 1886)
- 1982 - Vinoba Bhave, Indian Human rights advocate (b. 1895)
- 1983 – John Le Mesurier, English actor (b. 1912)
- 1988 - Archbishop Ieronymos I of Athens, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens (b. 1905)
- 1996 – Alger Hiss, American government official and spy (b. 1904)
- 1998 - Stokely Carmichael, American Civil rights activist (b. 1941)
- 2000 - Piero Pasitnati, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Myra Hindley, English murderer (b. 1942)
- 2003 - Dorothy Loudon, American actress (b. 1933)
- 2003 - Speedy West, American musician (b. 1924)
- 2004 - Elmer L. Anderson, American politician (b. 1909)
- 2006 – Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian fashion model (b. 1985)
- 2007 - Joe Nuxhall, American baseball player (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Patriarch Pavle of Serbia (b. 1914)
- 2009 – Pierre Harmel, Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1911)
- 2010 – Larry Evans, American chess player (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Oba Chandler, American murderer (b. 1946)
- 2013 - Glafcos Clerides, 4th President of Cyprus (b. 1919)
- 2013 - Raimundo D'Inzeo, Italian equestrian show jumper (b. 1925)
Holidays and observances
- Brazil – Republic Proclamation Day (1889)
- Palestine – Independence Day (declared 1988)
- Japan – Shichi-Go-San – traditional rite of passage and festival day for three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys
- Belgium
- Day of the German-speaking Community
- King's Feast
- Eastern Orthodox Christianity - beginning of Winter Lent