Births on May 15

Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (d. 1931)

Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist.

30 Jan

USS Monitor
The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.
31 Jan

White dwarf
Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch (47 cm) telescope now located at Northwestern University.
13 Mar

Emancipation Proclamation
American Civil War: The U.S. federal government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.
15 May

Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
17 Aug

Dakota War of 1862
American Indian Wars: The Dakota War of 1862 begins in Minnesota as Lakota warriors attack white settlements along the Minnesota River.