/year

August 15 in history

286 sourced entries recorded on August 15, from 1 BCE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 554The 554 Anatolia earthquake takes place in the southwest coasts of Anatolia (Asia Minor). It affects the Güllük Gulf (Mandalya Gulf), and the island of Kos.source
  • 636August 15–20 – Battle of Yarmouk: In engagements along the Yarmouk River, Muslim forces (25,000 men) of the Rashidun Caliphate, led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, decisively defeat the armies of the Byzantine Empire, effectively completing the Muslim conquest of Syria. It will be regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests, after the death of Muhammad.source
  • 717Siege of Constantinople: Maslama begins a combined land and sea effort to capture Constantinople. The capital controls the Bosporus, access between the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and is defended by a garrison of roughly 25,000 men. Leo III orders the granaries be restocked and siege engines installed. The Arab besiegers are suffering immense losses due to disease, and from attrition of siege warfare.source
  • 718Siege of Constantinople: A Bulgar relief force attacks the siege lines at Constantinople, on the west side of the Bosporus. Contemporary chroniclers report that at least 22,000–32,000 Arabs are killed during the Bulgarian attacks. Caliph Umar II is forced to lift the siege after 13 months; the Muslim army attempts to withdraw back through Anatolia, while the rest escapes by sea in the remaining vessels. The Arab fleet suffers further casualties to storms, and an eruption of the volcano of Thera. According to Arab sources 150,000 Muslims perish during the campaign.source
  • 724China's Emperor Xuanzong deposes his wife, the Empress consort Wang.source
  • 746K'ak' Yipiiy Chan Chaak is installed as the new ruler of the Mayan city state of Naranjo in Guatemala and reigns until his death in 748.source
  • 747Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as majordomo, and withdraws from public life. He retires to a monastery near Rome, being tonsured by Pope Zachary, and leaves his brother Pepin the Short as sole ruler (de facto) of the Frankish Kingdom.source
  • 778Battle of Roncevaux Pass (Pyrenees): Charlemagne is defeated by the Basques. Among those killed is Roland, governor of the Breton March, who will be immortalized in the 11th century epic The Song of Roland. This marks the beginning of medieval French literature.source
  • 927Led by the Slavic Sabir, the Fatimids from Sicily, capture and destroy Taranto. They enslave much of the population.source
  • 944The "Holy Mandylion" (a cloth with the face of Jesus) is conveyed to Constantinople, where it arrives on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. A triumphal entry is staged for the relic in the capital.source
  • 1018Ivats, Bulgarian nobleman and rebel leader, is treacherously blinded and captured by strategos Eustathios Daphnomeles, ending the last resistance to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria by Basil II.source
  • 1038On the death of his uncle, Stephen I, Peter Orseolo becomes the second ruler of Hungary.source
  • 1070The Pavian-born Benedictine Lanfranc is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in England.source
  • 1097Battle of Consuegra: The Castilian and Leonese army (30,000 men) of King Alfonso VI ('"the Brave") is defeated by Almoravid forces (10,000 men) near the Castle of Consuegra.source
  • 1135Emperor Lothair III receives homage from Eric II, and makes him an imperial prince at the Reichstag. His diplomatic missions to Hungary and Poland result in a tribute payment. Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth is given Pomerania and Rügen as German fiefs.source
  • 1185The cave monastery of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar I of Georgia. She marries Yury Bogolyubsky, Grand Prince of Novgorod.source
  • 1224The garrison at Bedford Castle, belonging to Falkes de Bréauté, surrenders to Henry III after a two-month siege that ends after the castle has been undermined by a fire and fallen. After the garrison surrenders, the defenders are all hanged by order of the king. Falkes is allowed to leave the country but loses all his possessions. Bedford Castle is badly damaged as a result.source
  • 1237Battle of the Puig: Aragonese forces under Bernat Guillem de Montpeller defeat the Muslim army (some 12,000 men) of the Taifa of Valencia at El Puig. The Almohad forces are routed, and many of the soldiers are slain in the action. Zayyan ibn Mardanish, Almohad ruler and governor of Valencia, is forced to go into exile to Tunisia, while offering the surrender of all castles from the Turia River to Tortosa and Teruel.source
  • 1248The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral is laid by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden, after the older cathedral is burned down on April 30 (construction is completed in 1880).source
  • 1249First Battle of Athenry: Gaelic forces of Connacht besiege Athenry Castle in County Galway in Ireland, but are repelled by the Normans under Jordan de Exeter, Sheriff of Connacht.source
  • 1261Michael enters Constantinople in triumph and is crowned as emperor of the Byzantine Empire at the Hagia Sophia. To solidify his claim, the legitimate ruler, John IV Laskaris, is blinded on Michael's orders on December 25, his 11th birthday. Michael banishes him to a monastery and marries his two sisters to lesser Latin and Bulgarian nobles in an attempt to wipe out the Laskarid dynasty.source
  • 1281Battle of Kōan (or Second Battle of Hakata Bay): A second Mongol invasion of Japan is foiled, as a large typhoon, famously called a kamikaze, or 'divine wind', destroys much of the combined Mongol and Chinese fleet and forces, numbering over 140,000 men and 4,000 ships. Later, Kublai Khan begins to gather forces to prepare for a third invasion attempt, but is distracted by events in Southeast and Central Asia.source
  • 1286Henry II is crowned king of Jerusalem at Tyre. After the ceremony, he returns to Acre for the festivities. A few weeks later, Henry returns to Cyprus and appoints his uncle Philip of Ibelin as regent (bailiff).source
  • 1308The Knights Hospitaller complete the conquest of the Greek island of Rhodes after four years.source
  • 1309Conquest of Rhodes: The Byzantine garrison of the city of Rhodes surrenders to the Crusader forces of the Knights Hospitaller under Grand Master Foulques de Villaret – completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves as the Knights of Rhodes.source
  • 1324The coronation of King Christopher II of Denmark (who has ruled since 1320) takes place at Vordingborg, with his son Prince Erik Christoffersen being crowned alongside him as the samkonge, a junior co-monarch.source
  • 1342Louis "the Child", age 4, succeeds his father, Peter II, as king of Sicily and duke of Athens; he is crowned on September 15 in Palermo Cathedral.source
  • 1343Magnus IV of Sweden abdicates from the throne of Norway, in favor of his son Haakon VI of Norway. However, Haakon is still a minor, allowing Magnus to remain de facto ruler.source
  • 1368The Ming General Xu Da sets off from Kaifeng at the direction of the Chinese Emperor Hongwu, with plans to rid China of the former Yuan dyansty Emperor Huizong.source
  • 1382Jogaila resumes his position as Grand Duke of Lithuania.source
  • 1385English invasion of Scotland (1385): With England's Army having left its borders undefended, Scottish and French troops invade England and plunder Cumberland in retaliation for the burning of Edinburgh.source
  • 1393Leopold IV, Duke of Austria marries Catherine of Burgundy, daughter of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.source
  • 1394Two months after being captured by King Zsigmond of Hungary, the Serbian rebel Janos Horvati, is brutally executed at Pécs by dismemberment to avenge the 1387 execution of the former Queen consort of Hungary, Elizabeth of Bosnia.source
  • 1402King Enrique III of Castile and León (comprising most of Spain) signs a peace treaty with his brother-in-law, King João I of Portugal, ending fighting that began in 1396. The wives of the two kings, Catherine of Lancaster and Philippa of Lancaster respectively, are sisters.source
  • 1416Sigismund, King of Germany, and King Henry V of England conclude the Treaty of Canterbury, an alliance of the two nations against France.source
  • 1416The Treaty of Canterbury is signed creating an anti-French alliance between England and the Emperor Sigismund.source
  • 1416Harfleur relieved, following a naval battle in the estuary of the Seine.source
  • 1432With 132 ships, the navy of Spain's Crown of Aragon, dispatched by King Alfonso V, lands in North Africa at the island of Djerba off of the coast of Tunisia and begins a siege. The Caliph of Ifriqiya, Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II, attempts to defend the island. but the Aragonese take control of Djerba by September 9.source
  • 1444The Peace of Szeged is signed between the Turkish Ottoman Empire and Hungary.source
  • 1453The Battle of Ghedi is fought in Lombardy as the Duchy of Milan army, led by Francesco Sforza, defeats the troops of the Republic of Venice, led by Jacopo Piccinino.source
  • 1461The Empire of Trebizond, the last major Romano-Greek outpost, falls to the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II, after a 21-day siege.source
  • 1461The coronation of Louis XI as King of France takes place at Reims.source
  • 1483The Sistine Chapel opens in the Apostolic Palace in Rome.source
  • 1485Henry Tudor's army begins crossing the border from Wales into England at Mathafarn, then marches towards London.source
  • 1491The first Feria de Agosto takes place in the Spanish city of Málaga in celebration of the 1487 conquest of the Granadan city by the Kingdom of Castile. The festival is still celebrated in Spain more than 500 years later.source
  • 1505The Portuguese State of India is founded in what is now the state of Kerala, after the Kingdom of Portugal takes over territory of the Bijapur sultanate at Calicut.source
  • 1511(21 Jumada I 917 AH) Capture of Malacca: Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Malacca, the capital of the Sultanate of Malacca, giving Portugal control over the Strait of Malacca, through which all sea-going trade between China and India is concentrated. The Sultanate then establishes rule from Johor, starting decades of skirmishes against the Portuguese to regain the fallen city. While taking the city, the Portuguese slaughter a large community of Chinese merchants living there. Malacca is the first city in Southeast Asia to be taken by a Western nation, gaining home rule only in 1957, when it becomes part of Malaysia.source
  • 1517Portuguese merchant Fernão Pires de Andrade meets Ming Dynasty Chinese officials through an interpreter, at the Pearl River estuary and lands, at what is now in the jurisdiction of Hong Kong. Although the first European trade expeditions to China took place in 1513 and 1516 by Jorge Álvares and Rafael Perestrello, respectively, Andrade's mission is the first official diplomatic mission of a European power to China, commissioned by a ruler of Europe (Manuel I of Portugal).source
  • 1519Panama City is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila.source
  • 1522Ottoman General Mehmed-Bey of Nikopol enters Târgoviște and takes control of the Principality of Wallachia, now part of Romania, as Radu of Afumați is forced to flee.source
  • 1526The first official translation is made of the New Testament into Swedish; the entire Bible is completed in 1541.source
  • 1534Ignatius of Loyola and six others take the vows that lead to the establishment of the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus), in Montmartre, near Paris.source
  • 1537The city of Asunción, now the capital of the South American nation of Paraguay, is founded by Juan de Salazar de Espinosa.source
  • 1539King Francis I of France issues the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêt, that places the whole of France under the jurisdiction of the royal law courts, and makes French the language of those courts, and the official language of legal discourse.source
  • 1540In Peru, Spanish captain Garcí Manuel de Carbajal founds the Villa Hermosa de Arequipa; one year later, Charles V of Germany and I of Spain will give the valley a status of 'city' by royal decree.source
  • 1549Francis Xavier, his translator Anjirō, and three other Jesuit priests are allowed to come ashore at Kagoshima in Japan.source
  • 1551The Siege of Tripoli ends, with the Knights of Malta surrendering Tripoli to the Ottoman Empire.source
  • 1555Nostradamus, invited by the queen, arrives in Paris after passing Lyon. He is received at the Court, in Paris and Blois.source
  • 1556Work begins on the Peresopnytsia Gospel at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and continues for the next five years.source
  • 1559Led by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano, a Spanish missionary colony of 1,500 men, on 13 ships, arrives from Vera Cruz at Pensacola Bay, founding the oldest European settlement in the mainland U.S. (St. Augustine is founded in 1565.)source
  • 1599First Battle of Curlew Pass: Irish forces defeat the English.source
  • 1599Nine Years' War: Irish victory over the English at the Battle of Curlew Pass.source
  • 1609August 15 (August 5 O.S.) – English astronomer Thomas Harriot becomes the first person to make a detailed drawing of the Moon, based on his observations through a telescope.source
  • 1620August 15 (probable date; August 5 OS) – Mayflower and Speedwell depart together from Southampton, but are forced to put back into Dartmouth, Devon, for repairs to a leak in the latter ship on August 22 or 23 (August 12 or 13 OS).source
  • 1636The Spanish capture Corbie, France.source
  • 1638The Portuguese expedition led by Pedro Teixeira completes the first ascent of the Amazon River, crossing the Quijos River and arriving at Quito in Ecuador soon after (the same trip had been made in the opposite direction, in 1541).source
  • 1649Oliver Cromwell lands in Dublin to begin the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.source
  • 1649Oliver Cromwell lands in Dublin with the New Model Army to begin the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.source
  • 1649Oliver Cromwell lands in Dublin, unopposed and with thousands of English troops, to begin the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.source
  • 1659Two English warships block the entrance to the River Dee to prevent supplies from reaching Booth's rebels in Chester, while Major General John Lambert of the English Army advances into Cheshire at Nantwich.source
  • 1659two English warships block the entrance to the River Dee to prevent supplies from reaching Booth's rebels in Chester, while Lambert's Protectorate Army advances into Cheshire at Nantwich.source
  • 1663Oratam, leader of the Hackensack tribe of the Lenape nation, meets in New Amsterdam (now New York City) with Weswatewchy, Memshe and Wemessamy, three chiefs of the Monsiyok tribe, to ask for the Hackensacks to supply a cannon to defend their fort, and to confirm that the Monsiyok are not allied with the other major division of the Lenape, the Esopus tribe.source
  • 1667The League of the Rhine is dissolved by agreement of its members, nine years and one day after its formation as a military alliance between German kingdoms in the western part of the Holy Roman Empire.source
  • 1667John Dryden's comedy Sir Martin Mar-all, or The Feign'd Innocence is given its first performance, presented by the players of the King's Theatre in London.source
  • 1671Jamaica's Governor Thomas Lynch offers a general pardon to pirates who are willing to come under Jamaican jurisdiction.source
  • 1678August 14–15 – The Battle of Saint-Denis is fought after the signing of peace in the Franco-Dutch War.source
  • 1684Signing of the Truce of Ratisbonsource
  • 1684France under Louis XIV makes the Truce of Ratisbon separately with the Holy Roman Empire (Habsburg) and Spain.source
  • 1684Louis XIV decrees the foundation of the Maison royale de Saint-Louis, a boarding school for girls at Saint-Cyr, at the urging of Madame de Maintenon.source
  • 1686Christina, who had ruled as the monarch of Sweden until her abdication in 1654 in favor of her cousin Charles, responds to the revocation in France of the Edict of Nantz and declares that Jews within Sweden will be under her protection.source
  • 1695August 13–15 – Nine Years' War: Brussels is bombarded by French troops.source
  • 1702War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Luzzara – Forces of the Holy Roman Empire fail to break through the French-Savoyard position in Lombardy.source
  • 1723The Peterhof Palace is opened in a formal ceremony just outside Saint Petersburg, capital of the Russian Empire.source
  • 1725The civil marriage of King Louis XV of France and Princess Maria Leszczyńska of Poland is held at Strasbourg. The King is not present, and his cousin, the Duke of Orléans, serves as his proxy.source
  • 1731King Frederick William I of Prussia forgives his 19-year-old son, Prince Frederick, who has been confined since November to the town of Küstrin (now Kostrzyn nad Odrą in Poland) for his 1730 attempt to desert from the Prussian Army. Nine years later, having been politically rehabilitated, Prince Frederick succeeds his father as King and is later remembered as "Frederick the Great".source
  • 1737The Portuguese frigate Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem arrives at Maldonado (now in Uruguay) as Captain Duarte Pereira brings the news that the Spanish–Portuguese War ended by an agreement signed on March 16.source
  • 1747Great Britain, Russia and the Dutch Republic sign the Convention of Saint Petersburg (1747).source
  • 1749Four Russian sailors— Aleksei Inkov, Khrisanf Inkov, Stepan Sharapov and Fedor Verigin— are rescued after having been marooned on the Arctic Ocean island of Edgeøya for more than six years. They are the only survivors of a crew of 14 whose koch had been blown off course in May 1743 and then broken up by ice. The four are returned home on September 28.source
  • 1761Seven Years' War: France and Spain sign the Pacte de Famille forming an alliance against Britain.source
  • 1769The first census in Denmark-Norway to attempt completely covering all citizens (including women and children who had previously been listed only as numbers) takes place. At that point, Norway included, there 797,584 citizens in Denmark.source
  • 1776American Revolution: The first Hessian troops land on Staten Island, to join British forces.source
  • 1785Cardinal de Rohan is arrested in Paris; the Affair of the Diamond Necklace comes into the open.source
  • 1785Cardinal de Rohan is arrested in Paris; the Necklace Affair comes into the open.source
  • 1791Spanish-Moroccan War resumes after failed peace talks.source
  • 1799War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Novi – the defeat of Barthélemy Joubert's army by Suvorov's Austrian–Russian troops.source
  • 1812War of 1812 – Battle of Fort Dearborn: Potawatomi warriors overrun the United States fort in Illinois Territory.source
  • 1816August 12–24 – The Treaty of St. Louis, between the United States and the Council of Three Fires tribes, is signed in St. Louis.source
  • 1817By act of the U.S. Congress (March 3), the Alabama Territory is created by splitting the Mississippi Territory in half, on the day the Mississippi constitution is drafted, four months before Mississippi becomes a U.S. state.source
  • 1822The visit of King George IV to Scotland begins and lasts until –August 29.source
  • 1824The visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States begins at Staten Island. He will remain for more than a year before departing on September 7, 1825.source
  • 1829August 15–22 – Cincinnati riots of 1829.source
  • 1834The South Australia Act allows for the creation of a colony there.source
  • 1836Liverpool Lime Street railway station opens in the centre of Liverpool, the first grand terminus building in the world, replacing the smaller Crown Street station and accessed via a long railway tunnel from Edge Hill in the east of the city.source
  • 1838following a year of widespread hunger the government institutes relief work and reduces the tithe rent for the poor by the Poor Law and Tithe Acts.source
  • 1840foundation stone of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh is laid.source
  • 1843Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world still intact, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.source
  • 1853the term Bunyip aristocracy was coined by Daniel Deniehy in a speech attacking the proposal by William Wentworth to create a system of hereditary peerage in Australiasource
  • 1861Sir Robert Wynyard becomes acting Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa.source
  • 1861First description of Archaeopteryx, based on a feather found in Bavaria; in September the first complete identified skeleton is found near Langenaltheim in Germany.source
  • 1861First description of Archaeopteryx, based on a feather found in Bavaria; in September the first complete identified skeleton is found near Langenaltheim.source
  • 1862Horatio Hartley and Christopher Reilly arrive in Dunedin with 87 pounds of gold from the banks of the Clutha river in Cromwell George leading to the Dunstan Gold Rush.source
  • 1863August 15–17 – Bombardment of Kagoshima: The British Royal Navy bombards the town of Kagoshima in Japan in retribution, after the Namamugi Incident of 1862.source
  • 1863August 15–17 - Bombardment of Kagoshimasource
  • 1866John Manners-Sutton becomes Governor of Victoriasource
  • 1867Benjamin Disraeli's Second Reform Act enfranchises many men in cities for the first time, and adds 938,000 to an electorate of 1,057,000 in England and Wales.source
  • 1876Elementary Education Act 1876 ("Sandon's Act") prevents employment of children under 10; permits local attendance committees to impose compulsory school attendance for ages 5–13; and authorises poor law guardians to pay school fees for the poor and destitute under a system of certificates.source
  • 1877Opening to passengers of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways from Dinas to Tryfan Junction and Bryngwyn.source
  • 1878Cape Eastern – East London to Landing Jetty, 1 mi 58 ch.source
  • 1878Selina Wadge is hanged at Bodmin Jail for the murder of her son.source
  • 1879The populist revolutionary organization Land and Liberty splits into two factions; the radical terrorist organisation Narodnaya Volya, and the more moderate Black Repartition.source
  • 1892Valparaíso, Chile founds its first football team, Santiago Wanderers.source
  • 1892The Santiago Wanderers Football Club is establishedsource
  • 1893The Ibadan area becomes a British protectorate, after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan, with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton.source
  • 1903German-Belgian railway convention signed.source
  • 1907Ordination in Constantinople of Fr. Raphael Morgan, first African-American Eastern Orthodox priest, "Priest-Apostolic" to America and the West Indies.source
  • 1913Mental Deficiency Act 1913 passed, establishing a Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency to oversee the implementation by local Mental Deficiency Committees of provisions for the care and management people classed as "Idiots", "Imbeciles", "Feeble-minded persons" and "Moral Imbeciles", who are to be committed to institutions, including a new category of "mental deficiency colony".source
  • 1914The Panama Canal is inaugurated with the passage of the SS Ancon.source
  • 1916Club Atlas is founded as an association football club in Guadalajara, Mexico, by English-educated players.source
  • 1920August 13–25 – Polish–Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw – The Red Army is defeated.source
  • 1922István Horthy joins the Order of Vitéz.source
  • 1924August 9–17 – the 2nd World Scout Jamboree is held in Ermelunden, Denmark.source
  • 1931The newspaper of the Communist Party, Scânteia, is first printed.source
  • 1934The United States Marine Corps leaves Haiti.source
  • 1942August 3–15 – WWII: Operation Pedestal – A British convoy of 14 merchant ships with a massive escort of two battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 7 cruisers, 32 destroyers and smaller ships commanded by Admiral Edward Neville Syfret, sets sail to Malta under relentless attacks by day and night from enemy submarines, aircraft and Axis surface forces. The 55,000 tons of food and fuel (particularly from oil tanker SS Ohio) delivered by this convoy saves Malta from surrender and allows Malta-based aircraft and submarines to resume their attacks against Rommel's supply lines, although over 500 British sea- and airmen are killed and many ships (including carrier HMS Eagle (1918)) are lost.source
  • 1945Transfer of power happens in 9:00 a.m. from the Japanese to Lyuh Woon-hyung, head of the People's Republic of Korea, in Seoul. This decision was rescinded after the Soviets do not go further down all the way to Seoul. Japan takes back control in August 20th.source
  • 1945The August Revolution in Vietnam begins, with the Viet Minh taking over the capital Hanoi, taking advantage of the collapse of Japanese power.source
  • 1945Hirohito surrender broadcast (Gyokuon-hōsō): Emperor Hirohito's announcement of the unconditional surrender of Japan is broadcast on the radio a little after noon (12:00 Japan Standard Time is 03:00 GMT). This is probably the first time an Emperor of Japan has been heard by the common people. Delivered in formal classical Japanese, without directly referring to surrender and following official censorship of the country's weak position, the recorded speech is not immediately easily understood by ordinary people. The Allies call this day Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day). This ends the period of Japanese expansionism, and begins the period of the Occupation of Japan and sets the stage for Korean independence.source
  • 1945Japan surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II. The day is known as V-P Day (Victory in the Pacific).source
  • 1945Transfer of power happens in 9 a.m. from the Japanese to Lyuh Woon-hyung (head of the People's Republic) in Seoul. This decision was rescinded after the Soviets do not go further down all the way to Seoul. Japan takes back control in August 20th. Korea liberated after the broadcast of the surrender speech of Japanese Emperor Showa.Soviet invasion of Manchuria is ongoing in Chongjin.source
  • 1945The Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization is founded as a specialized agency of the United Nations.source
  • 1947The greater Indian subcontinent, with a mixed population of Hindu, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroasters, Jews, Christians, Muslims and others formed by the Partition of India, gains independence from the British Empire, as the Dominion of India. 190 years British rule (1757–1947) in India comes to an end.source
  • 1947Jawaharlal Nehru takes office as the first prime minister of India, taking his oath from Louis Mountbatten, Viscount Mountbatten of Burma, Governor-General of India (but no longer viceroy).source
  • 1948August 10–23 – The Herrenchiemsee convention prepares the draft for the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany.source
  • 1948The southern half of Korea is established as the Republic of Korea (South Korea).source
  • 1950The 8.6 Mw Assam–Tibet earthquake shakes the region, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing about 4,800 people.source
  • 1953August 15–19 – Cold War: 1953 Iranian coup d'état – Overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, by Iranian military in favour of strengthening the monarchical rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, with the support of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (as "Operation Ajax") and the United Kingdom.source
  • 1954The old Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is inaugurated.source
  • 1959The magnitude 7.1 Hengchun earthquake occurs offshore southern Taiwan.source
  • 1962The New York Agreement is signed, transferring the Dutch West New Guinea colony to Indonesia.source
  • 1962The Red Sales aerobatic team, flying Vampire jets, crashes in practice, killing six people.source
  • 1963Trois Glorieuses: President Fulbert Youlou is overthrown in the Republic of Congo after a three-day uprising in the capital, Brazzaville.source
  • 1963King of Prussia Mall opens to the public in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area and is one of the top ten largest malls in the U.S.source
  • 1967The United Kingdom Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 declares participation in offshore pirate radio illegal. Radio Caroline defies the act and continues broadcasting.source
  • 1969August 15–18 – The Woodstock Festival is held near White Lake, New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.source
  • 1971President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system. He also imposes a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents.source
  • 1971Jackie Stewart becomes Formula One World Drivers' Champion in the Tyrrell 003-Cosworth.source
  • 1971September 5 – The 1971 Women's World Cup in Association football (an event not recognized by FIFA) is staged in Mexico: Denmark will be the winners.source
  • 1972Postal Index Number (PIN Code) introduced in India.source
  • 1973The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends, officially halting 12 years of combat activity in Southeast Asia according to the Case–Church Amendment-an act that prohibits military operations in Laos, Cambodia, and North and South Vietnam as a follow-up of the Paris Peace Accords.source
  • 1975Some members of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Armageddon will occur this year based on the group's chronology and some sell their houses and businesses to prepare for the new world paradise which they believe will be created when Jesus establishes God's Kingdom on Earth.source
  • 1977The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the Wow! signal for a notation made by a volunteer on the project.source
  • 1977Nazi war criminal Herbert Kappler escapes from the Caelian Hill military hospital in Rome.source
  • 1982A hand grenade was thrown into the Prime-minister's house, causing only structural damage.source
  • 1987Great Basin National Park is dedicated; it is the 49th national park in the United States and the first in the state of Nevada.source
  • 1993The Hungarian Grand Prix is held at the Hungaroring in Budapest and is won by Damon Hill.source
  • 1996Bob Dole is nominated for President of the United States, and Jack Kemp for vice president, at the Republican National Convention in San Diego, California.source
  • 2003Libya formally accepts civil responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988.source
  • 2007An 8.0 earthquake strikes Peru, killing at least 519 people, injuring more than 1,300, and causing tsunami warnings in the Pacific Ocean.source
  • 2010August 14–26 – Lithuania achieved 19th place in 2010 Summer Youth Olympics with 5 medal (3 golden and 2 bronze)source
  • 2013Horacio Cartes is sworn in as President of Paraguay.source
  • 2013August 10 – 17 – Kazakhstan competed at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia. A team of 17 athletes represented the country in the event.source
  • 2018Mario Abdo Benítez took over as the new president of Paraguay.source
  • 2018August 10–20 – Heavy rainfall causes severe floods in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the worst flood to hit the state in a century.source
  • 2019The European Central Bank shuts down PNB Banka after ruling it had become insolvent; this bank, previously called Norvik Banka, has been Latvia's sixth-largest lender, and a critic of the Baltic country's financial authorities.source
  • 2020The Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio, which stranded on a reef in Mauritius last month, breaks in half. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil are spilled into the ocean, becoming the largest environmental disaster in the history of Mauritius.source
  • 20212021 Taliban offensive: The Taliban capture Kabul; the Afghan government surrenders to the Taliban.source
  • 2022August 9 – August 18: Guyana at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Gamessource
  • 2024Founding of Asunciónsource
  • 20252025 Russia–United States Summit: US president Donald Trump meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss a plan for resolving the Russo-Ukrainian war.source
  • 2025Founding of Asunciónsource
  • 2025August 15–17 – The first World Humanoid Robot Games are held in Beijing, China.source
  • 2025August 7–17 – The 2025 World Games are held in Chengdu, China.source

Births

  • 1013Teishi (Yōmeimon-in), Japanese empress consort (died 1094)source
  • 1171Alfonso IX, king of León and Galicia (died 1230)source
  • 1195Anthony of Padua, Portuguese preacher and saint (died 1231)source
  • 1233Philip Benizi de Damiani, Italian religious leader (died 1285)source
  • 1257Muhammad III, ruler of Granada (died 1314)source
  • 1299Ralph de Greystoke, English landowner (died 1323)source
  • 1316John of Eltham, English nobleman and prince (died 1336)source
  • 1385Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English noble (died 1417)source
  • 1432Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (died 1484)source
  • 1455George, Duke of Bavaria (died 1503)source
  • 1507George III, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince (died 1553)source
  • 1544Peter Young (tutor), tutor to James VI and I.source
  • 1581Jeremias Drexel, Jesuit writer of devotional literature and a professor of the humanities and rhetoric (died 1638)source
  • 1589Gabriel Báthory, Prince of Transylvania (died 1613)source
  • 1601John Campanius, Swedish Lutheran minister in New Sweden (died 1683)source
  • 1638Pieter de Graeff, Dutch politician and noble (died 1707)source
  • 1652John Grubb, American politician (died 1708)source
  • 1661King Sukjong of Joseon (died 1720)source
  • 1685Jacob Theodor Klein, German scholar (died 1759)source
  • 1705Joseph Wanton, merchant, governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (died 1780)source
  • 1706Benjamin Dass, educator and book collector (died 1775).source
  • 1732Peter Schiønning, naval officer (died 1813)source
  • 1769Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor (died 1821)source
  • 1771Sir Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, poet (died 1832)source
  • 1785Thomas de Quincey, English writer (died 1859)source
  • 1820Jacinto Chacón, deputy for Santiago (died 1893)source
  • 1858E. Nesbit, English children's novelist (died 1924)source
  • 1871Ebrahim Hakimi, Prime Minister of Iran.source
  • 1872Sri Aurobindo, Indian nationalist, writer and mystic (died 1950)source
  • 1917Óscar Romero, Salvadoran Roman Catholic Archbishop (died 1980)source
  • 1917Óscar Romero, Catholic archbishop (died 1980)source
  • 1926Sukanta Bhattacharya, Bengali poet and playwright (died 1947)source
  • 1944Yoweri Museveni, president of Ugandasource
  • 1945Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh politician, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (died 2025)source
  • 1950Anne, Princess Royal, British royal, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburghsource
  • 1952Ahmed Zulfikar, Mechanical Engineer and Entrepreneur (died 2010)source
  • 1969John Fetterman, American politician, Senator of Pennsylvaniasource
  • 1972Ben Affleck, American actor and film directorsource
  • 1976Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopian Prime Minister, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prizesource
  • 1995Isaac Donkor, footballersource

Deaths

  • 1 BCEAi of Han, Chinese emperor of the Han dynasty (born 27 BC)source
  • 1 BCEEmperor Ai dies and is succeeded by his 8-year-old cousin Ping, who is enthroned on October 17. Wang Mang is appointed regent by Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, his aunt.source
  • 398Lan Han, official of the Xianbei state Lan Yansource
  • 415Athaulf, king of the Visigoths, assassinatedsource
  • 423Emperor Honorius, age 38, dies at Ravenna of dropsy, perhaps pulmonary edema. With no children to claim the throne, Joannes, primicerius notariorum ("chief notary", head of the civil service), seizes the throne of the Western Roman Empire, and is declared emperor. Among his supporters are Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum). Joannes' rule is accepted in the dioceses of Gaul, Hispania and Italia, but not in Africa.source
  • 423Honorius, Roman Emperor (born 384)source
  • 465Libius Severus, emperor of the Western Roman Empiresource
  • 465Libius Severus, puppet emperor of the Western Roman Empire, dies after a 4-year reign.source
  • 778Roland, Frankish military leadersource
  • 873Yi Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (born 833)source
  • 873Emperor Yi Zong (Li Cuī) dies after a 13-year reign. He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son Xi Zong, as ruler of the Tang Dynasty. During his reign, a widespread failure of the agricultural harvest leads to famine (which causes people to resort to cannibalism) and agrarian rebellions.source
  • 874Altfrid, bishop of Hildesheimsource
  • 912Han Jian, Chinese warlord (born 855)source
  • 932Ma Xisheng, king of Chu (born 899)source
  • 955Lehel, Hungarian tribal chieftainsource
  • 955Súr, Hungarian tribal chieftainsource
  • 955Bulcsú, Hungarian tribal chieftain (harka)source
  • 978Li Yu, ruler ('king') of Southern Tangsource
  • 986Minnborinus, Irish missionary and abbotsource
  • 1022Nikephoros Phokas, Byzantine aristocratsource
  • 1038Stephen I, king of Hungarysource
  • 1057Macbeth, king of Scotland (born before 1040)source
  • 1057Battle of Lumphanan: Macbeth, King of Scotland ("the Red King") is killed by Malcolm ("Canmore"). Macbeth is succeeded by his stepson Lulach, who is crowned (probably on September 8) as king of Scotland at Scone.source
  • 1064Ibn Hazm, Andalusian historian and poet (born 994)source
  • 1066Al-Qadi Abu Ya'la, Arab Hanbali scholar (born 990)source
  • 1069Ibn Hazm, Moorish historian (born 994)source
  • 1097Diego Rodríguez, Castilian noblemansource
  • 1118Emperor Alexios I Komnenos dies after a 37-year reign, in which he has regained control over western Anatolia (modern Turkey). He stabilizes his frontiers against the wars with the Normans in the western Balkans, and the Seljuk Turks in the East. Alexios is succeeded by his 30-year-old son, John II Komnenos (the Good), as ruler of the Byzantine Empire.source
  • 1118Alexios I Komnenos, Byzantine emperorsource
  • 1196Conrad II, Duke of Swabia, German nobleman (born 1172)source
  • 1209Siege of Carcassonne: Simon de Montfort takes Carcassonne, after negotiating the city's surrender with Raymond Roger Trencavel (or Raimond), viscount of Béziers and Albi, who is imprisoned and dies in mysterious circumstances 3 months later in his own dungeon. The Cathars are allowed to leave and expelled with nothing more than their clothes.source
  • 1224Marie of France, duchess of Brabant (born 1198)source
  • 1257Hyacinth of Poland, Polish missionary (born 1185)source
  • 1274Robert de Sorbon, French theologian (born 1201)source
  • 1275Lorenzo Tiepolo (or Theupolo), doge of Venicesource
  • 1279Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ("the Great"), German nobleman (born 1236)source
  • 1299Henry of Newark, English clerk and archbishopsource
  • 1328Yesün Temür, emperor of the Yuan dynasty (born 1293)source
  • 1369Philippa of Hainault, wife of King Edward III, dies after 39 years as Queen consort of England.source
  • 1369Philippa of Hainault, queen of Edward III of England (born 1311) (dropsy)source
  • 1388Adalbertus Ranconis de Ericinio, Bohemian theologiansource
  • 1399Ide Pedersdatter Falk, Danish noblewoman (born 1358)source
  • 1441King Afonso V of Portugal, the 9-year-old monarch since the 1438 death of his father, King Duarte, is formally betrothed to his cousin, Isabel of Coimbra, aged 10, as part of an arranged marriage planned by Isabel's father Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, the King's regent. Their marriage does not take place until almost six years later, on May 6, 1447.source
  • 1450Alberto da Sarteano, Italian Franciscan friar and papal legate (born 1385)source
  • 1474In the city of Modica on the island of Sicily, a massacre is carried out in the Jewish neighborhood of Cartellone, and 360 Jews are killed in what is later referred to as the "Massacre of the Assumption".source
  • 1482William, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg (1428–1441) (born 1406)source
  • 1496Infanta Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile and León (born 1428)source
  • 1501Constantine Lascaris, Greek scholar and grammariansource
  • 1506Alexander Agricola, Flemish composer (born c. 1445)source
  • 1507John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (born 1439)source
  • 1512Imperia Cognati, Italian courtesan (born 1486)source
  • 1528Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, French military leader (born 1485)source
  • 1552Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (born 1477)source
  • 1568Stanislaus Kostka, Polish saint (born 1550)source
  • 1714Anna Mons (born January 1, 1672)source
  • 1728Marin Marais, French viol player and composer (born 1656)source
  • 1761The Third Family Compact is executed by King Charles III of Spain and King Louis XV of France, as well as representatives of members of the House of Bourbon, King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Philip, Duke of Parma.source
  • 1907Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (born 1831)source
  • 1909Euclides da Cunha, journalist, sociologist and engineer (born 1866)source
  • 1923Marty Hogan, English baseball player (born 1869)source
  • 1935Will Rogers, American humorist and actor (born 1879)source
  • 1975Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 2nd Prime Minister of Bangladesh and 1st and 4th President of Bangladesh (born 1920)source
  • 1975Founder President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh is killed during a coup led by Major Syed Faruque Rahman.source
  • 1998The Troubles: The Omagh bombing is carried out in Northern Ireland by the Real Irish Republican Army as a reaction to the Good Friday Agreement. 29 people are killed and 220 are injured. Shortly after these events, the group will call a ceasefire in response, signaling an end to the 30+ year conflict.source