Summary of the Day ✨ 15 October (15/10)
In a day marked by tragedy and international action, a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl was kidnapped after her parents’ murder while a powerful earthquake killed over 200 in the Philippines, even as 197 nations moved to phase out harmful chemicals and global markets experienced historic losses amid anti-terrorism operations.
Historical Events 📜
- 2018: 13-year-old American girl, Jayme Closs, is kidnapped from her Barron, Wisconsin home after her parents were both murdered.
- 2016: One hundred and ninety-seven nations amend the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons.
- 2013: The 7.2 Mw Bohol earthquake strikes the Philippines. At least 215 were killed.
- 2008: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow’s history.
- 2007: Seventeen activists in New Zealand are arrested in the country’s first post-9/11 anti-terrorism raids.
- 2006: The 6.7 Mw Kiholo Bay earthquake rocks Hawaii, causing property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and the closure of Honolulu International Airport.
- 2003: China launches Shenzhou 5, its first crewed space mission.
- 2001: NASA’s Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles (180 km) of Jupiter’s moon Io.
- 1997: The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.
- 1994: The United States, under the Clinton administration, returns Haiti’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to the island.
- 1991: The “Oh-My-God particle”, an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray measured at 40,000,000 times that of the highest energy protons produced in a particle accelerator, is observed at the University of Utah HiRes observatory in Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.
- 1991: The leaders of the Baltic States, Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia and Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania, signed the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland.
- 1990: Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.
- 1989: Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL.
- 1987: Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 460 crashes near Conca di Crezzo, Italy, killing all 37 people on board.
Famous Births 👶
- 2005: Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark
- 2000: Melki Sedek Huang, Indonesian activist and sex offender
- 1999: Bailee Madison, American-Canadian actress and singer
- 1999: Ben Woodburn, Welsh footballer
- 1998: Teuku Wariza Aris Munandar, Indonesian activist and politician
- 1996: Charly Musonda, Belgian footballer
- 1996: Grace Van Dien, American actress
- 1996: Zelo, South Korean rapper and dancer
- 1995: Jack Flaherty, American baseball player
- 1995: Jakob Pöltl, Austrian basketball player
- 1994: Lil’ Kleine, Dutch rapper
- 1994: Babar Azam, Pakistani cricket player
- 1993: Richaun Holmes, American basketball player
- 1993: Roh Tae-hyun, South Korean singer and dancer
- 1992: Ncuti Gatwa, Rwandan-Scottish actor
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand (born 1935)
- 2024: Mike Jackson, English general (born 1944)
- 2021: David Amess, British politician, member of Parliament for Southend West (born 1952)
- 2018: Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, owner of the Seattle Seahawks (born 1953)
- 2017: Chinggoy Alonzo, Filipino theater, movie & television actor (born 1950)
- 2014: Giovanni Reale, Italian philosopher and historian (born 1931)
- 2013: Donald Bailey, American drummer (born 1933)
- 2012: Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1920)
- 2012: Erol Günaydın, Turkish actor and screenwriter (born 1933)
- 2012: Maria Petrou, Greek-English computer scientist and academic (born 1953)
- 2012: Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (born 1922)
- 2011: Betty Driver, English actress, singer, and author (born 1920)
- 2010: Richard C. Miller, American photographer (born 1912)
- 2010: Mildred Fay Jefferson, American physician and activist (born 1926)
- 2010: Johnny Sheffield, American actor (born 1931)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Breast Health Day (Europe)
- Christian feast day:
Bruno of Querfurt - Christian feast day:
Cúan of Ahascragh - Christian feast day:
Teresa of Ávila - Christian feast day:
Thecla of Kitzingen - Christian feast day:
October 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
- Shwmae Su’mae Day (Wales)
- White Cane Safety Day
- World Students’ Day