Prime Minister of Slovakia
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is hospitalised after an assassination attempt.
What happened on May 15
36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1862 to 2025.
Standout on May 15
2004
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal became the first football team in England's top flight to finish a season undefeated since Preston North End did so in 1888–1889.
About May 15
May 15 is the 135th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 135 of 365 (136 in leap years)230 days left in the year (230 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Friday in 2026, Saturday in 2027, Monday in 2028, Tuesday in 2029, Wednesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 20 of 2026 · Q2
- Zodiac sign
- ♉ Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
- Season
- Spring in the north · Autumn in the south
- May birthstone
- Emeraldrebirth, love and wisdom
- May birth flower
- Lily of the valley / Hawthornsweetness, humility and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 200 days
- Roman numerals
- XV.Vday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 60thTôn Thất Đính1966
- 50thAeroflot Flight 18021976
- 30thBirdy (singer)1996
- 25thCSX 8888 incident2001
- 25thCSX Transportation2001
- 20thHaerin2006
- 10thJack the Anarchist2016
- 5thOliver Gillie2021
May 15 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Jack the Anarchist
- 25 years ago2001
- CSX 8888 incident · CSX Transportation
- 50 years ago1976
- Aeroflot Flight 1802
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on May 15 — ages this year
- 2006Haerinturns 20
- 2002Huddy (musician)turns 24
- 2000Dayana Yastremskaturns 26
- 1999Anastasia Gasanovaturns 27
- 1998Lucrezia Stefaniniturns 28
- 1997Ousmane Dembéléturns 29
Historical events 36
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
May 2013 Iraq attacks
An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.
Jessica Watson
Three days before her seventeenth birthday, Jessica Watson arrived in Sydney after sailing non-stop and unassisted around the world.
Same-sex marriage in California
California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal became the first football team in England's top flight to finish a season undefeated since Preston North End did so in 1888–1889.
CSX 8888 incident
A runaway train loaded with hazardous chemicals traveled driverless for 66 miles (106 km) through Ohio before being stopped near Kenton.
CSX Transportation
A CSX EMD SD40-2 8888 rolls out of a train yard in Walbridge, Ohio, with 47 freight cars, including some tank cars with flammable chemical, after its engineer fails to reboard it after setting a yard switch. It travels south driverless for 66 miles (106 km) until it is brought to a halt near Kenton. The incident became the inspiration for the 2010 film Unstoppable.
Laotian Civil War
The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson becomes France's first female Prime Minister.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold at auction at Christie's in New York for US$82.5 million, making it the world's most expensive painting at the time.
Soviet–Afghan War
Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
Aeroflot Flight 1802
Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes near Viktorivka, Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, killing 52.
Ma'alot massacre
Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
Ryukyu Islands
The Ryukyu Islands were returned to Japan by the United States, and the U.S. occupation government was abolished.
Richard Nixon
President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals.
Jackson State killings
Police opened fire during a confrontation with a group of Jackson State College students, killing two students and injuring twelve others.
Tôn Thất Đính
Disapproving of General Tôn Thất Đính's handling of the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese prime minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ ordered an attack on his forces and ousted Đính from his post.
Project Mercury
Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
Malden Island
At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
Thermonuclear weapon
The United Kingdom tested its first hydrogen bomb over Malden Island in Operation Grapple.
Pinewood derby
Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby, an event for Cub Scouts of the Boy Scouts of America where wooden cars built by the scouts are raced.
Mandatory Palestine
Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel, thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
British Army
The British Army directed fleeing Croatian soldiers to surrender to the Yugoslav Partisans, beginning the Bleiburg repatriations.
Battle of Poljana
World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe, is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
Women's Army Corps
World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
Mickey Mouse
Mickey and Minnie Mouse made their film debuts in the animated cartoon Plane Crazy.
Lynching of Jesse Washington
Jesse Washington, a teenage African-American farmhand, was lynched in Waco, Texas.
Ty Cobb
During a match, baseball star Ty Cobb enters the stands and assaults a fan who had heckled him, leading to his suspension.
Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution: A force of Maderistas captured Torreón and proceeded to massacre 303 of the city's Chinese residents.
Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War: The Japanese battleships Hatsuse and Yashima sank after striking several mines off Port Arthur, China.
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Rerum novarum, which addressed the condition of the working classes and is considered to be the foundation of modern Catholic social teaching.
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, breaking away from the American Equal Rights Association which they had also previously founded.
American Civil War
American Civil War: A small Confederate force, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced the Union army out of the Shenandoah Valley.
Fertilisation of Orchids
Fertilisation of Orchids, the first book by Charles Darwin which demonstrated the power of natural selection in detail, was published.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Herbert R. Axelrod
Herbert R. Axelrod American tropical fish expert, publisher of pet books, and entrepreneur (born 1927)
Jack the Anarchist
Jelesko Grancharoff, Bulgarian-Australian resistance fighter and anarchist (born 1925)
Elisabeth Bing
Elisabeth Bing, German-American physical therapist and author (born 1914)
Jean-Luc Dehaene
Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (born 1940)
Henrique Rosa
Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (born 1946)
Zakaria Mohieddin
Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian soldier and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1918)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Athanasius of Alexandria
Christian feast day: Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church)
Hilary of Galeata
Christian feast day: Hilary of Galeata
Public holidays in Slovenia
Army Day (Slovenia)
Hallvard Vebjørnsson
Christian feast day: Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Roman Catholic Church)
Jean-Baptiste de La Salle
Christian feast day: Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church)
Achillius of Larissa
Christian feast day: Achillius of Larissa
Aoi Matsuri
Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)
Isidore the Laborer
Christian feast day: Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid.
Spread across the centuries
- 19th century4
- 20th century43
- 21st century29
Earliest: Fertilisation of Orchids (1862). Most recent: Robert Walls (2025).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about May 15
What day of the year is May 15?
May 15 is the 135th day of the year, with 230 days left after it.
What star sign is May 15?
May 15 falls under Taurus (April 20 – May 20), a earth sign ruled by Venus. The birthstone for the month is Emerald.
How many things happened on May 15?
We record 84 entries for May 15: 36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1862 to 2025.
Who was born on May 15?
Haerin (2006) is among the notable births on May 15. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the May 15 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like May 15
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.