A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on August 15th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On August 15, 1281, the army and navy forces of the Mongol/Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan were destroyed at the Battle of Kōan, an attempt to invade and conquer Japan.
On August 15, 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte was born.
On August 15, 1769, little Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica, to ethnic Italian parents, although living on what was then a French island, having been transferred to France by Genoa only a year earlier.
On August 15, 1914, a disgruntled 31 year old chef and servant at a Frank Lloyd Wright property known as Taliesin, in Wisconsin, went on a murderous rampage, killing seven people and burning a prestigious mansion, all without the use of a firearm.
On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was opened for traffic, with the SS Ancon making the first transit of the great canal.
On August 15, 1947, India gained her long awaited independence, a fitting thing for the world’s second most populous country.
On August 15, 1947, India became an independent country, thereby making George VI of the United Kingdom the last British emperor of India and signaling the end of one of history’s largest empires.
On August 15, 1950, Princess Anne was born to the future Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburg.
On August 15, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, touted to be “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music” opened in the Catskills region of New York State.
On August 15, 2014, The Expendables 3 released theatrically.
On August 15, 2015, North Korea changed its time to a self-appointed “Pyongyang Time,” moving clocks backward a half hour to flout international time, known as UTC.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
