Summary of the Day ✨ 15 May (15/05)
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is critically injured in an assassination attempt while UN observes Palestinian Nakba Day for the first time amid escalating violence in Iraq that claims nearly 400 lives. Australian teenager Jessica Watson makes history as the youngest solo circumnavigator of the globe while California becomes the second US state to legalize same-sex marriage following a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Historical Events 📜
- 2024: Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is shot and critically injured while meeting with supporters at an event in Handlová.
- 2023: The UN commemorates the Palestinian Nakba Day for the first time.
- 2013: An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.
- 2010: Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
- 2008: California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state’s own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
- 2004: Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C. with the right to claim the title “The Invincibles”.
- 2001: A CSX EMD SD40-2 8888 rolls out of a train yard in Walbridge, Ohio, with 47 freight cars, including some tank cars with flammable chemical, after its engineer fails to reboard it after setting a yard switch. It travels south driverless for 66 miles (106 km) until it was brought to a halt near Kenton. The incident became the inspiration for the 2010 film Unstoppable.
- 1997: The United States government acknowledges the existence of the “Secret War” in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other “Secret War” veterans.
- 1997: The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
- 1991: Édith Cresson becomes France’s first female Prime Minister.
- 1988: Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
- 1976: Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes near Viktorivka, Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, killing 52.
- 1974: Ma’alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
- 1972: The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
- 1970: President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army generals.
Famous Births 👶
- 2006: Haerin, Korean singer
- 2002: Chase Hudson, American internet celebrity, singer, actor
- 2000: Dayana Yastremska, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1999: Anastasia Gasanova, Russian tennis player
- 1998: Lucrezia Stefanini, Italian tennis player
- 1997: Ousmane Dembélé, French footballer
- 1997: Scott Drinkwater, Australian rugby league player
- 1996: Birdy, English singer-songwriter
- 1993: Jeremy Hawkins, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1993: Tomáš Kalas, Czech international footballer
- 1990: Jordan Eberle, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990: Lee Jong-hyun, Korean guitarist
- 1990: Stella Maxwell, New Zealand model
- 1989: Susan Soonkyu Lee, Korean-American singer and entertainer
- 1989: Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, French footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Robert Walls, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (born 1950)
- 2024: Kamla Beniwal, Indian politician (born 1927)
- 2022: Frank Curry, Australian rugby league player and coach (born 1950)
- 2022: Kay Mellor, English actress (born 1951)
- 2021: Oliver Gillie, British journalist and scientist (born 1937)
- 2020: Fred Willard, American actor, comedian, and writer (born 1933)
- 2017: Herbert R. Axelrod American tropical fish expert, publisher of pet books, and entrepreneur (born 1927)
- 2015: Elisabeth Bing, German-American physical therapist and author (born 1914)
- 2015: Jackie Brookner, American sculptor and educator (born 1945)
- 2015: Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (born 1928)
- 2015: Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-American football player (born 1944)
- 2014: Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (born 1940)
- 2014: Noribumi Suzuki, Japanese director and screenwriter (born 1933)
- 2013: Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (born 1946)
- 2012: Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist (born 1928)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)
- Army Day (Slovenia)
- Christian feast day:
Achillius of Larissa - Christian feast day:
Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church) - Christian feast day:
Dymphna - Christian feast day:
Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Hesychius of Cazorla - Christian feast day:
Hilary of Galeata - Christian feast day:
Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid. - Christian feast day:
Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Reticius (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Sophia of Rome (Roman Catholic church) - Christian feast day:
May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar) - Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania)