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On this day in History Archives
 
At PaulsQuiz.com we aim to provide you with as much information as we possibly can. That's why we have built our On This Day in History section, to do just that. Our database is forever growing, we're adding more and more events from history to help you write your quiz questions.

Simply enter a date using the drop-down boxes below and click the 'Go' button to display events from the past that ocurred on that day.
 

 
15 October, 2007
Sir Menzies Campbell resigns effective immediately as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom.
15 October, 2005
Iraqi constitution ratification vote. Riot in Toledo, Ohio breaks out during a National Socialist/Neo-Nazi protest; over 100 are arrested.
15 October, 2003
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission. The Staten Island Ferry boat Andrew J. Barberi collides with a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, killing 11 people and injuring 43.
15 October, 2001
NASAs Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiters moon Io.
15 October, 1997
The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom). The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.
15 October, 1992
In Russia, Andrei Chikatilo is found guilty of 53 serial murders.
15 October, 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.
15 October, 1989
Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL.
15 October, 1988
Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a walk off home run to beat the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
15 October, 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England.
15 October, 1981
Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.
15 October, 1971
The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia.
15 October, 1970
Thirty-five construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses. Anwar Sadat becomes president of Egypt
15 October, 1969
Vietnam War: Hundreds of thousands of people take part in National Moratorium antiwar demonstrations across the United States.
15 October, 1965
Vietnam War: The National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam stages the first public burning of a draft card in the United States to result in arrest under a new law.
15 October, 1953
British nuclear test Totem 1 detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.
15 October, 1951
Television sitcom I Love Lucy premieres. Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes synthesized the first oral contraceptive
15 October, 1946
Nuremberg Trials: Hermann Göring poisons himself the night before his execution.
15 October, 1945
World War II: The former premier of Vichy France Pierre Laval is shot by a firing squad for treason.
15 October, 1944
The Arrow Cross Party (very similar to Hitlers NSDAP (Nazi party)) takes over the power in Hungary.
15 October, 1940
"The Great Dictator", a satiric social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.
15 October, 1939
The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.
15 October, 1934
The Soviet Republic of China collapses when Chiang Kai-sheks National Revolutionary Army successfully encircle Ruijin, forcing the fleeing Communists to begin the Long March.
15 October, 1932
Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.
15 October, 1928
The airship, the Graf Zeppelin completed its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA.
15 October, 1917
World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany.
15 October, 1904
The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.
15 October, 1894
Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying - Dreyfus affair begins.
15 October, 1888
The "From Hell" letter sent by Jack the Ripper is received by the investigators.
15 October, 1880
Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.
15 October, 1878
The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation.
15 October, 1863
American Civil War: The CSS H. L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink a ship, sinks during a test, killing its inventor, Horace L. Hunley.
15 October, 1815
Napoleon I of France begins his exile on Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
15 October, 1764
Edward Gibbon observes a group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome, which inspires him to begin work on The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
15 October, 1582
Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.
15 October, 1552
Khanate of Kazan is conquered by troops of Ivan Grozny.
15 October, 533
Byzantine general Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.

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