December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 16 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 533 – Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
- 1167 – Sicilian Chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion.
- 1256 – Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongols 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.
- 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 – In the Battle of Nashville, Union forces under George Thomas almost completely destroy the Army of Tennessee under John Hood.
- 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.
- 1913 – Nicaragua becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention.
- 1914 – World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.
- 1914 – A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hojyo coal mine, Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
- 1917 – World War I: An armistice is reached between the new Bolshevik government and the Central Powers.
- 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 receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
- 1941 – Holocaust: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Soviet Union.
- 1942 – The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
- 1945 – Occupation of Japan: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan.
- 1946 – US-backed Iranian troops evict the leadership of the breakaway Republic of Mahabad, putting an end to the Iran crisis of 1946.
- 1946 – The first election to the Representative Assembly of French India was held.
- 1954 – The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands is signed.
- 1960 – Richard Paul Pavlick is arrested for attempting to blow up and assassinate the U.S. President-Elect, John F. Kennedy only four days earlier.
- 1960 – King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country's constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule.
- 1961 – In Jerusalem, Israel Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty 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.
- 1967 – The Silver Bridge collapses, killing 46 people.
- 1970 – Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully land on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet
- 1970 – South Korean ferry Namyong Ho capsizes off Korea Strait killing 308.
- 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.
- 1973 – The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.
- 1976 – Samoa becomes a member of the United Nations.
- 1976 – The oil tanker MV Argo Merchant runs aground near Nantucket, Massachusetts, causing one of the worst marine oil spills in history.
- 1978 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and cut off all relations with Taiwan
- 1993 – History of Northern Ireland: The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.
- 1994 – Palau becomes a member of the United Nations.
- 1997 – A chartered Tupolev Tu-154 from Tajikistan crashes in the desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates airport killing 85.
- 1997 – The Treaty of Bangkok is signed allowing the transformation of Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-weapon-free zone.
- 2000 – The 3rd reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down.
- 2001 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean.
- 2005 – Latvia amends its constitution to eliminate possibility of same-sex couples being entitled to marry.
- 2005 – Introduction of the F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.
- 2006 – First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.
- 2009 – Boeing's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington.
- 2010 – A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing at least 30 passengers.
[edit] Births
- 37 – Nero, Roman emperor (d. 68)
- 130 – Lucius Verus, Roman co-emperor (d. 169)
- 1567 – Christoph Demantius, German composer, theorist, and poet (d. 1643)
- 1657 – Michel Richard Delalande, French composer and organist (d. 1726)
- 1686 – Jean-Joseph Fiocco, Belgian composer (d. 1746)
- 1789 – Carlos Soublette, Venezuelan general and politician, 11th President of Venezuela (d. 1870)
- 1832 – Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect, co-designed the Eiffel Tower (d. 1923)
- 1852 – Henri Becquerel, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1908)
- 1859 – L. L. Zamenhof, Polish doctor and linguist, creator of Esperanto (d. 1917)
- 1860 – Niels Ryberg Finsen, Faroese-Danish physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1904)
- 1860 – Abner Powell, American baseball player (d. 1953)
- 1861 – Charles Duryea, American engineer, co-founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (d. 1938)
- 1861 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish politician, 3rd President of Finland (d. 1944)
- 1863 – Arthur Dehon Little, American chemist and engineer (d. 1935)
- 1869 – Leon Marchlewski, Polish chemist (d. 1946)
- 1875 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (d. 1899)
- 1878 – Hans Carossa, German author and poet (d. 1956)
- 1885 – Leonid Pitamic, Slovenian philosopher (d. 1971)
- 1888 – Maxwell Anderson, American journalist and playwright (d. 1959)
- 1892 – J. Paul Getty, American businessman, founded Getty Oil (d. 1976)
- 1896 – Ann Nolan Clark, American author (d. 1995)
- 1896 – Betty Smith, American author (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Harold Abrahams, English sprinter (d. 1978)
- 1902 – Robert F. Bradford, American politician, 57th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (d. 1938)
- 1907 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and Cathedral of Brasília (d. 2012)
- 1910 – John H. Hammond, American record producer (d. 1987)
- 1911 – Nicholas P. Dallis, American psychiatrist and illustrator (d. 1991)
- 1911 – Stan Kenton, American pianist and composer (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Ray Eames, American designer (d. 1988)
- 1913 – Roger Gaudry, Canadian chemist and businessman (d. 2001)
- 1913 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet (d. 1980)
- 1916 – Buddy Cole, American pianist (d. 1964)
- 1916 – Maurice Wilkins, New Zealand-English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Indian-Pakistani linguist and lexicographer (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Jeff Chandler, American actor (d. 1961)
- 1919 – Max Yasgur, American farmer, owner of the Woodstock festival site (d. 1973)
- 1920 – Kurt Schaffenberger, American illustrator (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Alan Freed, American radio and television host (d. 1965)
- 1921 – Bob Todd, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Freeman Dyson, English-American physicist and mathematician
- 1923 – Uziel Gal, German-Israeli firearm designer, designed the Uzi gun (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Valentin Varennikov, Russian general and politician (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Kasey Rogers, American actress (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Ben Overton, American judge (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Ernest Ashworth, American singer (d. 2009)
- 1928 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and architect, designed the Kuchlbauer Tower and Waldspirale (d. 2000)
- 1928 – Jerry Wallace, American singer (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Barry Harris, American pianist
- 1930 – Edna O'Brien, Irish author, poet, and playwright
- 1932 – Jesse Belvin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1960)
- 1933 – Bapu, Indian cartoonist and director
- 1933 – Tim Conway, American actor, screenwriter, and producer
- 1933 – Donald Woods, South African journalist and activist (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Joe D'Amato, Italian director and producer (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Billy Shaw, American football player
- 1939 – Cindy Birdsong, American singer-songwriter (The Supremes and Labelle)
- 1940 – Nick Buoniconti, American football player
- 1942 – Kathleen Blanco, American politician, 54th Governor of Louisiana
- 1942 – Dave Clark, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer (The Dave Clark Five)
- 1943 – Lucien den Arend, Dutch sculptor
- 1944 – Jim Leyland, American baseball player and manager
- 1944 – Chico Mendes, Brazilian activist (d. 1988)
- 1945 – Thaao Penghlis, Australian actor
- 1946 – Carmine Appice, American singer-songwriter and drummer (Vanilla Fudge, Beck, Bogert & Appice, and Cactus)
- 1946 – Art Howe, American baseball player and manager
- 1947 – Rodney Bingenheimer, American radio host
- 1948 – Melanie Chartoff, American actress
- 1948 – Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (d. 1991)
- 1949 – Don Johnson, American actor and singer
- 1952 – Marta DuBois, Panamanian-American actress
- 1952 – Rudi Protrudi, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Fuzztones)
- 1952 – Allan Simonsen, Danish footballer
- 1952 – Julie Taymor, American director
- 1953 – J. M. DeMatteis, American author
- 1954 – Mark Warner, American politician, 69th Governor of Virginia
- 1955 – Paul Simonon, English singer-songwriter and bass player (The Clash and Havana 3am)
- 1956 – Tony Leon, South African politician
- 1956 – William Orbit, English keyboard player and producer (Torch Song and Bassomatic)
- 1957 – Chō, Japanese voice actor
- 1957 – Mario Marois, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1957 – Mike McAlary, American journalist (d. 1998)
- 1957 – Laura Molina, American singer, guitarist, actress, and painter
- 1957 – Tim Reynolds, German-American singer-songwriter and musician (Dave Matthews Band, TR3, and Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds)
- 1958 – Eddy Annys, Belgian high jumper
- 1958 – Carlo J. Caparas, Filipino director and producer
- 1960 – Walter Werzowa, Austrian composer and producer
- 1961 – Karin Resetarits, Austrian journalist
- 1962 – Tim Gaines, Austrian bass player (Stryper and SinDizzy)
- 1963 – Ellie Cornell, American actress
- 1963 – Andrew Luster, American rapist
- 1963 – Helen Slater, American actress and singer
- 1963 – David Wingate, American basketball player
- 1963 – Norman J. Grossfeld, American screenwriter and producer
- 1966 – Carl Hooper, Guyanese cricketer
- 1966 – Manos Papayiannis, Greek model and actor
- 1966 – Molly Price, American actress
- 1967 – David Howells, English footballer
- 1967 – Ami Kawai, Japanese actress
- 1967 – Elix Skipper, American wrestler
- 1967 – Mo Vaughn, American baseball player
- 1968 – Osama Ali Maher, Egyptian-Swedish politician
- 1968 – Garrett Wang, American actor
- 1969 – Chantal Petitclerc, Canadian wheelchair racer
- 1970 – Frankie Dettori, Italian jockey
- 1970 – Lawrence Funderburke, American basketball player
- 1970 – Michael Shanks, Canadian actor
- 1971 – Clint Lowery, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Sevendust, Dark New Day, and Call Me No One)
- 1971 – Arne Quinze, Belgian painter and sculptor
- 1972 – Rodney Harrison, American football player
- 1972 – Stuart Townsend, Irish actor and director
- 1973 – Surya Bonaly, French-American figure skater
- 1973 – Ryu Seung-wan, South Korean actor, screenwriter, and director
- 1976 – Baichung Bhutia, Indian footballer
- 1976 – Aaron Miles, American baseball player
- 1976 – Todd Tichenor, American baseball umpire
- 1977 – Geoff Stults, American actor
- 1978 – Ned Brower, American drummer and actor (Rooney)
- 1978 – Mark Jansen, Dutch guitarist and songwriter (Epica, After Forever, and Mayan)
- 1978 – Jerome McDougle, American football player
- 1979 – Adam Brody, American actor
- 1979 – Alex Solowitz, American actor, singer, and dancer (2Ge+Her)
- 1979 – Eric Young, Canadian wrestler
- 1980 – Sergio Pizzorno, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Kasabian)
- 1980 – Manuel Wilhelm, German rugby player
- 1981 – Najoua Belyzel, French singer
- 1981 – Michelle Dockery, English actress and singer
- 1981 – Brendan Fletcher, Canadian actor
- 1981 – Andy González, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1981 – Thomas Herrion, American football player (d. 2005)
- 1981 – Creighton Lovelace, American minister
- 1981 – Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russian footballer
- 1981 – Firman Utina, Indonesian footballer
- 1982 – Charlie Cox, English actor
- 1982 – Borja García, Spanish race car driver
- 1982 – George O. Gore II, American actor
- 1982 – Tatiana Perebiynis, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1983 – Delon Armitage, Trinidadian-English rugby player
- 1983 – René Goguen, Canadian wrestler
- 1983 – Wang Hao, Chinese table tennis player
- 1983 – Ronnie Radke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Falling in Reverse and Escape the Fate)
- 1984 – Kirsty Lee Allan, Australian actress
- 1984 – Martin Škrtel, Slovak footballer
- 1985 – Diogo Fernandes, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Junsu, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor (TVXQ and JYJ)
- 1986 – Iveta Mazáčová, Czech sprinter
- 1986 – Snejana Onopka, Ukrainian model
- 1988 – Emily Head, English actress
- 1994 – Emma Lockhart, American actress
- 1998 – Chandler Canterbury, American actor
[edit] Deaths
- 1025 – Basil II, Byzantine emperor (b. 958)
- 1072 – Alp Arslan, Turkish sultan (b. 1029)
- 1230 – Ottokar I of Bohemia (b. 1155)
- 1598 – Philips of Marnix, Lord of Saint-Aldegonde, Flemish-Dutch politician (b. 1538)
- 1621 – Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, French officer (b. 1578)
- 1673 – Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (b. 1623)
- 1675 – Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter (b. 1632)
- 1683 – Izaak Walton, English author (b. 1593)
- 1688 – Gaspar Fagel, Dutch politician (b. 1634)
- 1715 – George Hickes, English minister and scholar (b. 1642)
- 1753 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect, designed the Chiswick House (b. 1694)
- 1792 – Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish composer (b. 1756)
- 1855 – Jacques Charles François Sturm, French mathematician (b. 1803)
- 1878 – Alfred Bird, English chemist, invented baking powder (b. 1811)
- 1890 – Sitting Bull, American tribal chief (b. 1831)
- 1943 – Fats Waller, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1904)
- 1944 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader and composer (b. 1904)
- 1947 – Arthur Machen, Welsh author (b. 1863)
- 1950 – Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of India (b. 1875)
- 1953 – Robert Stangland, American jumper (b. 1881)
- 1958 – Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, Austrian-American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
- 1962 – Charles Laughton, English actor (b. 1899)
- 1966 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (b. 1901)
- 1968 – Antonio Barrette, Canadian politician, 18th Premier of Quebec (b. 1899)
- 1968 – Jess Willard, American boxer (b. 1881)
- 1969 – Karl Theodor Bleek, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1898)
- 1971 – Paul Pierre Lévy, French mathematician (b. 1886)
- 1974 – Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian screenwriter and producer (b. 1902)
- 1977 – Wilfred Kitching, English 7th General of the Salvation Army (b. 1893)
- 1978 – Chill Wills, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1984 – Lennard Pearce, English actor (b. 1915)
- 1984 – Jan Peerce, American tenor (b. 1904)
- 1985 – Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Mauritian politician, Prime Minister of Mauritius (b. 1900)
- 1989 – Arnold Moss, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1989 – Edward Underdown, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Vasily Zaytsev, Soviet sniper (b. 1915)
- 1993 – William Dale Phillips, American chemist (b. 1925)
- 2000 – Haris Brkić, Bosnian basketball player (b. 1974)
- 2001 – Russ Haas, American wrestler (b. 1974)
- 2001 – Rufus Thomas, American singer and comidian (b. 1917)
- 2003 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1947)
- 2004 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (b. 1943)
- 2004 – Pauline LaFon Gore, American lawyer (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Heinrich Gross, Austrian physician (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, Iranian criminal (b. 1946)
- 2005 – William Proxmire, American politician (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Darrell Russell, American football player (b. 1976)
- 2006 – Clay Regazzoni, Swiss race car driver (b. 1939)
- 2007 – John Berg, American actor (b. 1949)
- 2007 – Julia Carson, American politician (b. 1938)
- 2008 – León Febres Cordero, Ecuadorian politician, 46th President of Ecuador (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist and author (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Blake Edwards, American director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Bob Feller, American baseball player (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, American psychoanalyst and theorist (b. 1940)
- 2011 – Bob Brookmeyer, American trombone player and composer (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra) (b. 1929)
- 2011 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American journalist (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Frank X. McDermott, American politician (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Jason Richards, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1976)
- 2012 – Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1955)
- 2012 – Ralph Pampena, American police officer (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Nigerian politician, Governor of Kaduna State (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Olga Zubarry, Argentinian actress (b. 1929)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
