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Historical events on January 15

JANUARY 15, 1885
Wilson Bentley (pictured) took the first known photograph of a snowflake by attaching a bellows camera to a microscope.
Wilson Alwyn Bentley, also known as Snowflake Bentley, was an American meteorologist and photographer, who was the first known person to take Read More
JANUARY 15, 1947
The mutilated corpse of the Black Dahlia, a 22-year-old woman whose murder is one of the most famous unsolved crimes in the United States, was found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.
Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Read More
JANUARY 15, 1865
American Civil War: The Union Army captured Fort Fisher, the last seaport of the Confederacy.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in Read More
JANUARY 15, 1962
The Derveni papyrus (fragment pictured), the oldest surviving manuscript in Europe, was discovered in Macedonia in northern Greece.
The Derveni papyrus is an Ancient Greek papyrus roll that was discovered in 1962 at the archaeological site of Derveni, near Thessaloniki, Read More
JANUARY 15, 2009
US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of Canada geese during its climb out from New York City and made an emergency landing in the Hudson River (featured).
US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte and Seattle, in Read More
JANUARY 15, 1857
In British Hong Kong, hundreds of Europeans were non-lethally poisoned by arsenic in bread from a locally owned bakery, leading to geopolitical tension.
Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II Read More
JANUARY 15, 1970
The Republic of Biafra surrendered following a failed attempt at secession from Nigeria, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
Biafara anglicized as Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria Read More
JANUARY 15, 1910
Construction on the Buffalo Bill Dam on the Shoshone River in the U.S. state of Wyoming, then the tallest dam in the world, was completed.
Buffalo Bill Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Shoshone River in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Originally 325-foot (99 m), it Read More
JANUARY 15, 1991
The Victoria Cross for Australia was instituted, making Australia the first Commonwealth realm with a separate Victoria Cross award in its honours system.
The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Read More
JANUARY 15, 2001
The first edit to the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia was made.
The first edit in Wikipedia's database, to HomePage, was made on January 15, 2001, and states in its entirety "This is the Read More
JANUARY 15, 1967
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the American football championship game now known as Super Bowl I.
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football Read More
JANUARY 15, 1934
At least 10,700 people died when a magnitude-8.0 earthquake struck Nepal and the Indian state of Bihar.
The 1934 Nepal–India earthquake or 1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake was one of the worst earthquakes in India's history. The towns of Munger and Read More
JANUARY 15, 1867
In Regent's Park, London, the ice on the lake broke, plunging skaters into the water and causing 40 deaths from drowning or hypothermia.
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies 410 acres (170 ha) in north-west Inner London, administratively split between Read More
JANUARY 15, 1951
Ilse Koch, the wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald and Majdanek concentration camps, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a West German court.
Ilse Koch was a German war criminal who committed atrocities while her husband Karl-Otto Koch was commandant at Buchenwald. Though Ilse Koch Read More
JANUARY 15, 1815
War of 1812: The American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, was captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in North Read More
JANUARY 15, 1919
A large molasses tank in Boston, Massachusetts, burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets , killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.
Molasses is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the Read More
JANUARY 15, 1937
Spanish Civil War: Nationalist and Republican forces both withdrew after suffering heavy losses at the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
The Spanish Civil War was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists. Republicans were loyal Read More
JANUARY 15, 1943
The highest-capacity office building in the world, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense known as the Pentagon, was dedicated.
The United States Department of Defense is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six Read More
JANUARY 15, 1933
A teenage girl in Banneux, Belgium, reported the first of several Marian apparitions, now known as Our Lady of Banneux.
Banneux is a village of Wallonia in the municipality of Sprimont, district of Louveigné, located in the province of Liège, Belgium. (Image Credits)

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