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What happened on August 15
Every August 15 carries a layer of history: wars that began or ended, inventions, premieres, treaties, and people born or lost on this day across the centuries. We gathered 12 of the most striking events recorded on August 15, plus notable births and deaths, each with its year and a link to the Wikipedia article where the story continues. It is a fast way to answer "what happened on August 15" without digging through many sources: the list arrives ranked by relevance and dated.
Notable events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2005 | The Helsinki Agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of Indonesia was signed, ending more than 28Â years of fighting. Free Aceh Movement |
| 1998 | The Troubles: A car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army killed 29 people and injured approximately 220 others in Omagh, Northern Ireland. The Troubles |
| 1977 | Big Ear, a radio telescope at Ohio State University received a strong, apparently extraterrestrial radio signal that became known as the Wow! signal. Radio telescope |
| 1963 | President Fulbert Youlou was overthrown in the Republic of Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital. Fulbert Youlou |
| 1948 | The Republic of Korea was established with Syngman Rhee as its first president. Syngman Rhee |
| 1947 | Jawaharlal Nehru took office as the first prime minister of India, a post he held for 16 years. Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 1944 | World War II: Allied forces began Operation Dragoon, their invasion of southern France. World War II |
| 1942 | World War II: The tanker SS Ohio reached Malta as part of an operation to deliver much-needed supplies during the siege of Malta. World War II |
| 1941 | Josef Jakobs, a German spy, became the last person executed at the Tower of London. Josef Jakobs |
| 1909 | A military coup against the government of Dimitrios Rallis began in the neighbourhood of Goudi in Athens, Greece. Goudi coup |
| 1812 | War of 1812: Potawatomi warriors ambushed a United States Army convoy after it had evacuated Fort Dearborn (site pictured), in present-day Chicago, and razed the fort. War of 1812 |
| 1461 | Byzantine-Ottoman wars: The Empire of Trebizond, the longest-surviving Byzantine successor state, was conquered by Ottoman forces following a month-long siege. Byzantine-Ottoman wars |
Births
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Juanlu Sánchez, Spanish footballer Juanlu Sánchez |
| 1999 | Paola Reis, BMX rider Paola Reis |
| 1995 | Chief Keef, American rapper Chief Keef |
| 1995 | Setyana Mapasa, Indonesian-Australian badminton player Setyana Mapasa |
Deaths
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Peter Marshall, American game show host, performer, and singer (born 1926) Peter Marshall (entertainer) |
| 2021 | Gerd Müller, German footballer (born 1945) Gerd Müller |
| 2020 | Robert Trump, American real-estate developer, business executive (born 1948) Robert Trump |
| 2017 | Gunnar Birkerts, Latvian-American architect (born 1925) Gunnar Birkerts |
A single anniversary does not explain on its own why a day matters: one August 15 can hold a scientific milestone, a tragedy and the birth of an artist, centuries apart. That is why we date every row and link the source, so you can follow what interests you. The selection mixes 12 events, 4 births and 4 deaths; the full list, with every reference, lives on Wikipedia.
Source, license and method
This page curates the day's anniversaries for August 15 from Wikipedia, delivered through the Wikimedia "On this day" feed (the encyclopedia's own open dataset). It is not original research: the facts, years and wording come from Wikipedia and are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 4.0), which requires crediting the source and keeping the same license. We pick each day's most relevant items, favouring the editors' own selection and the most prominent articles, and every row links back to the matching entry. For the full list and primary references, see the day's article on Wikipedia (August 15).
Continue in the dates cluster
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Last updated: · Methodology and sources