December 15 in History

Historical Events on December 15

533

Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
687

Pope Sergius I is elected.
1161

Jin-Song wars: Military officers conspire against the emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin dynasty after a military defeat at the Battle of Caishi, and assassinate the emperor at his camp.
1167

Sicilian Chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion.
1256

Mongol forces under the command of Hulagu Khan enter and destroy the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut Castle (in present-day Iran) as part of their offensive on Islamic southwest Asia.
1467

Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia.
1651

Castle Cornet in Guernsey, the last stronghold which had supported the King in the Third English Civil War, surrenders.
1778

American Revolutionary War: British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia.
1791

The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
1864

American Civil War: Battle of Nashville: Union forces under George Thomas almost completely destroy the Army of Tennessee under John Hood.
1890

Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.
1905

The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin.
1906

The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens.
1914

World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.
1914

A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
1917

World War I: An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed.
1933

The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution officially becomes effective, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.
1939

Gone with the Wind (highest inflation adjusted grossing film) receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
1941

The Holocaust: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Soviet Union.
1942

World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
1943

World War II: The Battle of Arawe begins during the New Britain campaign.
1945

Occupation of Japan/Shinto Directive: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan.
1960

Richard Pavlick is arrested for plotting to assassinate U.S. President-Elect John F. Kennedy.
1960

King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country's constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule.
1961

Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty by an Israeli court of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and membership of an outlawed organization.
1965

Project Gemini: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.
1970

Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully lands on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet
1970

A South Korean ferry, Namyong Ho, capsizes in the Korea Strait, killing more than 300 people.
1973

John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10.
1973

The American Psychiatric Association votes 13-0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.
1978

U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan
1981

A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq's ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.
1993

The Troubles: The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.
1997

Tajikistan Airlines Flight 3183 crashes in the desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, killing 85.
2000

The third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down.
2001

The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to stabilize it, without fixing its famous lean.
2005

Introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.
2010

A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people.
2013

The South Sudanese Civil War begins when opposition leaders Dr. Riek Machar, Pagan Amum and Rebecca Nyandeng vote to boycott the meeting of the National Liberation Council at Nyakuron.
2014

Man Haron Monis takes 18 hostages inside a café in Martin Place for 16 hours in Sydney. Monis and two hostages are killed when police raid the café the following morning.

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