January 15 in History

Historical Events on January 15

AD 69

Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.
1541

King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the "Holy Catholic faith".
1559

Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London, England.
1582

Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1759

The British Museum opens.
1777

American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present-day Vermont) declares its independence.
1782

Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
1815

War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
1822

Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
1844

University of Notre Dame receives its charter from the state of Indiana.
1865

American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
1870

A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly).
1876

The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
1889

The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
1892

James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
1908

The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
1910

Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
1919

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
1919

Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
1934

The 8.0 Mw Nepal-Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000-10,700 people.
1936

The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
1937

Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
1943

World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
1943

The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
1947

The Black Dahlia murder: the dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.
1949

Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
1962

The Derveni papyrus, Europe's oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
1962

Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.
1966

The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d'état.
1967

The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
1969

The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
1970

Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.
1970

Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
1973

Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
1975

The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
1976

Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
1981

Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
1991

The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
1991

Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
2001

Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
2005

ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.
2007

Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
2009

Captain Sully (Chesley Sullenberger) emergency landed a US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River saving all 155 passengers after the plane collided with birds few minutes after take-off.
2013

A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.
2016

The Kenyan Army suffers it worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 soldiers die.

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