Historical Events on September 15
- 1776: During the New York Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, British troops land at Kip’s Bay.
- 1789: The U.S Department of Foreign Affairs is renamed to the Department of State; It’s also given a number of different domestic duties.
- 1795: The Dutch Cape Colony in Southern Africa is seized by Great Britain.
- 1812: The second supply train to be sent to give supplies to Fort Harrison is ambushed at the Attack of the Narrows during the War of 1812.
- 1812: Napoleon leads the French army to the Kremlin in Moscow.
- 1916: At the Battle of the Somme during World War I, tanks are used for the first time in battle.
- 1918: Allied troops crash Bulgarian defenses on the Macedonian Front during WWI.
- 1935: Germany enacts the Nuremberg Laws which deprive German Jews of their citizenship.
- 1935: Nazi Germany adopts the flag that has a swastika in a white circle on a red field as their new national flag.
- 1940: It’s the climax of the Battle of Britain during World War II. On this day, a large number of Luftwaffe aircraft are shot down by British forces.
- 1942: The Japanese fires torpedoes and sinks the United States Navy aircraft carrier the USS Wasp at Guadalcanal.
- 1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Quebec at the Octagon Conference.
- 1967: United States President Lyndon B. Johnson writes a letter to Congress which urges the enactment of gun control legislation. He did this in response to the sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin.
- 1968: The Soviets launch the Zond 5 spaceship. It will become the first spacecraft to fly around the moon and then reenter the Earth’s atmosphere.
Famous Birthdays on September 15
- 601 – Ali, First Shi’a imam/Fourth Sunni caliph (d. 661)
- 767 – Saichō, Japanese monk (d. 822)
- 786 – Al-Ma’mun, Iraqi caliph (d. 833)
- The 27th President of the United States William Howard Taft is born in 1857.
- English crime novelist, playwright and short story writer Agatha Christie is born in 1890.
- American football player Chic Harley is born in 1894.
- American football player Dan Marino is born in 1961.
- American drummer Allen Shellenberger is born in 1969.
- American swimmer Tom Dolan is born in 1975.