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What happened on March 15
Every March 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 March 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 March 15" without digging through many sources: the list arrives ranked by relevance and dated.
Notable events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Iraqi authorities hanged Iranian freelance reporter Farzad Bazoft on charges of spying for Israel. Farzad Bazoft |
| 1974 | Transvestism and Transsexualism in Modern Society, the UK's first trans-rights conference, opened with an evening reception in Leeds. Leeds |
| 1960 | Students from the Atlanta University Center, inspired by similar actions in Greensboro, North Carolina, began occupying lunch counters in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta University Center |
| 1956 | The musical My Fair Lady, based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, debuted at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York City. My Fair Lady |
| 1951 | The Iranian oil industry was nationalized in a movement led by Mohammad Mosaddegh. Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry |
| 1943 | World War II: German forces recaptured Kharkov after four days of house-to-house fighting against Soviet troops, ending the month-long Third Battle of Kharkov. World War II |
| 1943 | The deportation of 50,000 Jews from the Greek city of Thessaloniki began. The Holocaust in Greece |
| 1931 | Sing-Song Girl Red Peony (booklet pictured), one of the first sound films produced in China, was released in Shanghai. Sing-Song Girl Red Peony |
| 1927 | In rowing, Oxford defeated Cambridge in the inaugural edition of the Women's Boat Race. University of Oxford |
| 1921 | Talaat Pasha, the main perpetrator of the Armenian genocide, was assassinated by Soghomon Tehlirian. Talaat Pasha |
| 1918 | Finnish Civil War: The Battle of Tampere started, leading to the capture of approximately 11,000 Red prisoners, and turning the tide of the war in favour of the Whites. Finnish Civil War |
| 1917 | Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate in the February Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule. Russian Revolution |
Births
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Rodri Mendoza, Spanish footballer Rodri Mendoza |
| 2004 | Isaiah Bond, American football player Isaiah Bond |
| 2003 | Quinn Ewers, American football player Quinn Ewers |
| 2000 | Kristian Kostov, Russian-Bulgarian singer-songwriter Kristian Kostov |
Deaths
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Nita Lowey, American politician (born 1937) Nita Lowey |
| 2025 | Rajnikumar Pandya, Indian writer (born 1938) Rajnikumar Pandya |
| 2022 | Barbara Maier Gustern, American vocal coach and singer (born 1935) Barbara Maier Gustern |
| 2020 | Vittorio Gregotti, Italian architect (born 1927) Vittorio Gregotti |
A single anniversary does not explain on its own why a day matters: one March 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 March 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 (March 15).
Continue in the dates cluster
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Last updated: · Methodology and sources