On this day: May 15

Events on May 15

• 392 Roman emperor Valentinian II was found hanged in his residence in Vienne, in present-day France. Wikipedia
• 1252 Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull Ad extirpanda, authorizing the use of torture on heretics during the Medieval Inquisition. Wikipedia
• 1602 Early English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold arrived on Cape Cod in present-day Massachusetts. Wikipedia
• 1725 Bach led the first performance of his cantata Ich bin ein guter Hirt, BWV 85, about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Wikipedia
• 1836 English astronomer Francis Baily observed Baily's beads, a phenomenon during a solar eclipse in which the rugged topography of the lunar limb allows sunlight to shine through. Wikipedia
• 1855 Thieves stole 224 pounds (102 kg) of gold from a train travelling from London to Folkestone, England. Wikipedia
• 1862 Fertilisation of Orchids, the first book by Charles Darwin which demonstrated the power of natural selection in detail, was published. Wikipedia
• 1864 American Civil War: A small Confederate force, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced the Union army out of the Shenandoah Valley. Wikipedia
• 1869 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, breaking away from the American Equal Rights Association which they had also previously founded. Wikipedia
• 1891 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Rerum novarum, which addressed the condition of the working classes and is considered to be the foundation of modern Catholic social teaching. Wikipedia
• 1904 Russo-Japanese War: The Japanese battleships Hatsuse and Yashima sank after striking several mines off Port Arthur, China. Wikipedia
• 1911 Mexican Revolution: A force of Maderistas captured Torreón and proceeded to massacre 303 of the city's Chinese residents. Wikipedia
• 1912 During a match, baseball star Ty Cobb enters the stands and assaults a fan who had heckled him, leading to his suspension. Wikipedia
• 1916 Jesse Washington, a teenage African-American farmhand, was lynched in Waco, Texas. Wikipedia
• 1928 Mickey and Minnie Mouse made their film debuts in the animated cartoon Plane Crazy. Wikipedia
• 1945 The British Army directed fleeing Croatian soldiers to surrender to the Yugoslav Partisans, beginning the Bleiburg repatriations. Wikipedia
• 1948 Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel, thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Wikipedia
• 1953 Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby, an event for Cub Scouts of the Boy Scouts of America where wooden cars built by the scouts are raced. Wikipedia
• 1957 The United Kingdom tested its first hydrogen bomb over Malden Island in Operation Grapple. Wikipedia
• 1966 Disapproving of General Tôn Thất Đính's handling of the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese prime minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ ordered an attack on his forces and ousted Đính from his post. Wikipedia
• 1970 Police opened fire during a confrontation with a group of Jackson State College students, killing two students and injuring twelve others. Wikipedia
• 1972 The Ryukyu Islands were returned to Japan by the United States, and the U.S. occupation government was abolished. Wikipedia
• 1990 Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold at auction at Christie's in New York for US$82.5 million, making it the world's most expensive painting at the time. Wikipedia
• 2001 A runaway train loaded with hazardous chemicals traveled driverless for 66 miles (106 km) through Ohio before being stopped near Kenton. Wikipedia
• 2004 Arsenal became the first football team in England's top flight to finish a season undefeated since Preston North End did so in 1888–1889. Wikipedia
• 2010 Three days before her seventeenth birthday, Jessica Watson arrived in Sydney after sailing non-stop and unassisted around the world. Wikipedia
• 2024 Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is hospitalised after an assassination attempt. Wikipedia

Born on May 15

• 1397 Sejong the Great, Korean king of Joseon (died 1450) Wikipedia
• 1567 Claudio Monteverdi, Italian priest and composer (died 1643) Wikipedia
• 1773 Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (died 1859) Wikipedia
• 1845 Élie Metchnikoff, Russian zoologist (died 1916) Wikipedia
• 1848 Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter and illustrator (died 1926) Wikipedia
• 1856 L. Frank Baum, American novelist (died 1919) Wikipedia
• 1859 Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1906) Wikipedia
• 1862 Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (died 1931) Wikipedia
• 1891 Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (died 1940) Wikipedia
• 1909 James Mason, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 1984) Wikipedia
• 1911 Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (died 1991) Wikipedia
• 1915 Paul Samuelson, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009) Wikipedia
• 1937 Madeleine Albright, Czech-American politician and diplomat, 64th United States Secretary of State (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1948 Brian Eno, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer Wikipedia
• 1951 Frank Wilczek, American mathematician and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1953 Mike Oldfield, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Wikipedia
• 1964 Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Danish lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Denmark Wikipedia
• 1967 Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress Wikipedia
• 1981 Patrice Evra, French footballer Wikipedia
• 1982 Layal Abboud, Lebanese singer Wikipedia
• 1987 Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player Wikipedia
• 1997 Ousmane Dembélé, French footballer Wikipedia

Died on May 15

• 392 Valentinian II, Roman emperor (born 371) Wikipedia
• 884 Marinus I, pope of the Catholic Church (born 830) Wikipedia
• 1157 Yuri Dolgorukiy, Grand Prince of Kiev (born 1099) Wikipedia
• 1174 Nur ad-Din, Seljuk emir of Syria (born 1118) Wikipedia
• 1470 Charles VIII, king of Sweden (born 1409) Wikipedia
• 1886 Emily Dickinson, American poet and author (born 1830) Wikipedia
• 1924 Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1852) Wikipedia
• 1935 Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian-Russian painter and theoretician (born 1878) Wikipedia
• 1967 Edward Hopper, American painter (born 1882) Wikipedia
• 1978 Robert Menzies, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1894) Wikipedia
• 2003 June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 2012 Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist (born 1928) Wikipedia
• 2014 Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (born 1940) Wikipedia
• 2020 Fred Willard, American actor, comedian, and writer (born 1933) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto) Wikipedia
• Army Day (Slovenia) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Achillius of Larissa Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Roman Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Hilary of Galeata Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid. Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Kaleb of Axum Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Roman Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Reticius (Roman Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Sophia of Rome (Roman Catholic church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar) Wikipedia
• Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania) Wikipedia
• Independence Day (Paraguay), celebrates the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, May 14. Wikipedia
• International Conscientious Objectors Day Wikipedia
• International Day of Families (International) Wikipedia
• La Corsa dei Ceri begins on the eve of the feast day of Saint Ubaldo. (Gubbio) Wikipedia
• Mother's Day (Paraguay) Wikipedia
• Nakba Day (Palestinian communities) Wikipedia
• Peace Officers Memorial Day (United States) Wikipedia
• Republic Day (Lithuania) Wikipedia
• Teachers' Day (Colombia, Mexico, and South Korea) Wikipedia

Sources

• Wikipedia — “May 15” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/May 15” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “May 15” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for May 15 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 27 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. The 1948 entry stays as well, and comes first in the one-line summary: we keep a short list, checked by hand, of widely known events that Wikipedia's editors leave out of their selection, usually because the article carries a maintenance notice. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.