Today in History

On May 15 in history ..

• 0756 - Abd-al-Rahman I becomes emir of Cordova Spain
• 0884 - Marinus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
• 1004 - Henry II the Saint crowned king of Italy
• 1213 - English king John names Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1248 - Archbishop Konrad v Hochstaden lays cornerstone for Köln cathedral
• 1492 - Cheese & Bread rebellion: German mercenaries kills 232 Alkmaarse
• 1525 - German boer army surrounded/slaughters 5,000; ends Boer war
• 1536 - Anna Boleyn & Lord Rochford accused of adultery/incest
• 1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell
• 1572 - Louis van Nassau & huguenots occupy Valenciennes
• 1602 - Cape Cod discovered by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold
• 1610 - Parliament of Paris appoints Louis XIII (8) as French king
• 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers harmonics law
• 1625 - 16 rebellious farmers hanged in Vöcklamarkt Upper-Austria
• 1648 - Treaty of Münster: Spain & Netherlands ratified
• 1665 - Pope Alexander VII convicts Jansenisme
• 1672 - 1st copyright law enacted by Massachusetts
• 1702 - War of Spanish Succession, 1st Amer conflict between England & France
• 1718 - James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents world's 1st machine gun
• 1730 - Robert Walpole becomes England 1st prime minister (was: chief min)
• 1796 - France & Sardinia sign Peace treaty of Paris
• 1796 - French troops occupy Milan
• 1800 - King George III survives a 2nd assassination attempt
• 1800 - Pope Pius VII calls on French bishops to return to Gospel principles
• 1817 - Ambonese uprising against Dutch authority, under T Matulesia
• 1829 - Joseph Smith ordained by John the Baptist according to Joseph Smith
• 1836 - Francis Baily observes "Baily's Beads" during annular solar eclipse
• 1849 - Philadelphia Turngemeinde founded
• 1851 - Rama IV, [Phra Chomklao Chaoyuhua], king of Thai (1851-68), crowned
• 1856 - 2nd SF Vigilance Committee organized
• 1858 - Royal Italian Opera opens in Covent Garden London
• 1862 - -May 17] Battle of Princeton WV
• 1862 - Battle of Drewry's Bluff (Ft Darling), Virginia
• 1862 - Confederate cruiser The Alabama runs aground near London
• 1862 - Department of Agriculture created
• 1862 - Gen Benjamin F Butler delegates "Woman Order" of NO to be his whores
• 1862 - Union Grounds, Brooklyn, 1st baseball enclosure, opens
• 1864 - Battle of New Market, Virginia
• 1864 - Skirmish at Marksville (Avoyelles) (Red River Campaign)
• 1868 - Dutch Govt of Zuylen van Nijevelt falls
• 1869 - National Woman Suffrage Assn forms
• 1876 - 2nd Kentucky Derby: Bobby Swim aboard Vagrant wins in 2:38¼
• 1882 - May Laws-Czar Alexander III bans Jews from living in rural Romania
• 1883 - Italy signs military treaty with Austria-Hungary & Germany
• 1885 - Canadian Méti insurgent Louis Reil captured, Saskatchewan
• 1891 - British Central African Protectorate (now Malawi) forms
• 1891 - Jules Massenets opera "Griselde," premieres in Paris
• 1891 - Operations begin at Philips & Co in Holland
• 1891 - Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Rerum novarum
• 1894 - 20th Kentucky Derby: Frank Goodale aboard Chant wins in 2:41
• 1896 - Tornado kills 78 in Texas
• 1902 - Lyman Gilmore is 1st person to fly a powered craft
• 1902 - Portugal bankrupt by revolt in Angola
• 1905 - Las Vegas Nevada founded
• 1905 - Pierre de Brazza reaches Leopoldville
• 1906 - NY Giants' Hooks Wiltse strikes out 4 batters in 1 inning
• 1911 - British house of commons accept Parliament Bill
• 1911 - Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Indiana University, incorporates
• 1911 - Supreme Court dissolves Standard Oil (Sherman Antitrust Act)
• 1912 - 37th Preakness: Clarnence Turner on Colonel Holloway wins in 1:56.6
• 1912 - Ty Cobb rushes a heckler at a NY Highlander game & is suspended
• 1914 - Henri Rabauds opera "Marouf, Savetier de Caire," premieres in Paris
• 1915 - A T & T becomes 1st corporation to have 1 million stockholders
• 1916 - Asiago Italy falls when Austrian troops attack the Italian front
• 1918 - 1st airmail postal service (NY, Phila & Wash DC)
• 1918 - 1st regular airmail service (between NY & Wash) inaugurated
• 1918 - 43rd Preakness: Johnny Loftus aboard War Cloud wins in 1:53.6
• 1918 - 44th Preakness: Charles Peak aboard Jack Hare Jr wins in 1:53.4
• 1918 - Greeks troops lands at Smyrna
• 1918 - Washington Senator Walter Johnson pitches 1-0, 18 inning game
• 1919 - Bkln Dodgers score 10 runs in 13th to beat Reds 10-0
• 1920 - Soccer team ADO '20 forms in Heemskerk
• 1923 - Cooperation of Dutch Molen forms
• 1926 - 52nd Kentucky Derby: Albert Johnson on Bubbling Over wins in 2:03.8
• 1926 - British general strike ends, but mine workers go on strike
• 1928 - Mickey Mouse made his 1st appearance
• 1929 - Fire in X-ray film stock kills 125 at Crile Clinic (Cleve Ohio)
• 1930 - Ellen Church becomes 1st airline stewardess, United (SF to Cheyenne)
• 1931 - Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Quadragesimo anno
• 1933 - 1st voice amplification system to be used in US Senate
• 1934 - Dept of Justice offers $25,000 reward for Dillinger, dead or alive
• 1934 - Karlis Ulmanis names himself fascist dictator of Latvia
• 1935 - Pirates beat Phillies 20-5
• 1936 - Amy Johnson arrives in Croydon England from S Afr in record 4d16h
• 1937 - 63rd Preakness: Charley Kurtsinger aboard War Admiral wins in 1:58.4
• 1938 - Paul-Henri Spak forms red coalition of Belgium
• 1940 - 1st nylon stockings sold in US
• 1940 - 1st successful helicopter flight in US: Vought-Sikorsky US-300
• 1940 - German armour division moves into Northern France
• 1940 - German troops occupy Amsterdam, Gen Winkelman surrenders
• 1940 - Nazi's capture General Dutch Persbureau (ANP)
• 1940 - Nylon stockings go on sale for 1st time (US)
• 1940 - Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris
• 1941 - 1st British turbojet flies
• 1941 - British attack Halfaya-pass & Fort Capuzzo in Egypt & Libya
• 1941 - Joe DiMaggio starts 56-game hitting streak; Yanks lose 13-1
• 1941 - Nazi occupiers in Neth forbid Jewish music
• 1942 - Gasoline 1st rationed in US (17 Eastern States)
• 1942 - Nazi occupiers in Neth arrests 2,000 Dutch officers
• 1943 - Halifax bombers sinks U-463
• 1943 - Warsaw ghetto uprising ends, in it's destruction
• 1944 - 14,000 Jews of Munkacs Hungary deported to Auschwitz
• 1944 - Cincinnati Red Clyde Shoun no-hits Boston Braves, 1-0
• 1944 - Eisenhower, Montgomery, Churchill & George VI discuss D-Day plan
• 1944 - Sergei Aleksi becomes guardian of Patriarch Throne
• 1948 - 28 year old British Mandate over Palestine ends
• 1948 - 74th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Citation wins in 2:02.4
• 1948 - Australia scores 721 runs in one day v Essex, world record
• 1948 - Bradman scores 187 Aust v Essex, 124 minutes, 33 fours 1 five
• 1948 - Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq & Saudi-Arabia troops attack Israel
• 1951 - AT&T is 1st US company to have one million stockholders
• 1952 - Detroit Tiger Virgil Trucks no-hits Wash Senators, 1-0
• 1952 - Johnny Longden becomes 2nd jockey to ride 4,000 winners
• 1953 - Heavyweight Rocky Marciano KOs Joe Walcott in Chicago
• 1953 - Osip Zadkines monument to "The destroyed city" unveiled in Rotterdam
• 1953 - Rocky Marciano KOs Jersey Joe Walcott in 1 for heavywgt boxing title
• 1954 - KGLO (now KIMT) TV channel 3 in Mason City, IA (CBS) 1st broadcast
• 1955 - Austrian state treaty signed making Austria independent again
• 1955 - Building of space travel center at Baikonur Kazachstan begins
• 1955 - KPUA (now KGMD) TV channel 9 in Hilo, HI (CBS) begins broadcasting
• 1955 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1955 - Vienna Treaty: Brit, France, US & USSR restores Austria's independence
• 1957 - 18,000 people at Madison Sq Garden-Billy Graham launched a crusade
• 1957 - 1st British H-bomb explosion (over Christmas Island)
• 1958 - USSR launches Sputnik III
• 1959 - 100th anniversary of 1st college baseball game, between Amherst & Williams Teams reenact the original contest
• 1960 - Chic Cub Don Cardwell no-hits St Louis Cards, 4-0
• 1960 - Dmitri Shostakovitch's 7th String quartet, premieres in Leningrad
• 1960 - KHVO TV channel 13 in Hilo, HI (ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1960 - Sputnik 4 launched into Earth orbit; later recovery failed
• 1960 - Taxes took 25% of earnings in US
• 1961 - "Bonanza" by Al Caiola Orchestra hits #19
• 1961 - 36 Unification church couples wed in Korea
• 1961 - Pope John XXIII publishes encyclical Mater et Magistra
• 1962 - US marines arrive in Laos
• 1963 - Last Project Mercury flight, L Gordon Cooper in Faith 7, launched
• 1963 - Peter, Paul & Mary win their 1st Grammy (If I Had a Hammer)
• 1963 - Tottenham Hotspur wins 3rd Europe Cup II at Rotterdam
• 1964 - Sporting Portugal wins 4th Europe Cup II at Antwerp
• 1964 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1965 - 91st Preakness: Ron Turcotte aboard Tom Rolfe wins in 1:56.2
• 1965 - Canadian Football Players Association organizes
• 1965 - Igor Vodic beats Mad Dog Vachon in Omaha, to become NWA champ
• 1966 - 1st day of Sunday play in County Cricket, Essex v Somerset
• 1966 - Clifford Ann Creed wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Invitational
• 1966 - South Vietnamese army battle Buddhists, about 80 die
• 1967 - Jo Ann Prentice wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open
• 1967 - Paul McCartney meets his future wife Linda Eastman
• 1968 - "Wonderwall" with George Harrison premieres at Cannes Film Festival
• 1968 - 1st AL game played in Milwaukee, is a 4-2 Calif win against Chicago
• 1968 - A tornado strikes Jonesboro Arkansas at 10 PM, killing 36
• 1968 - Paul McCartney & John Lennon appear on Johnny Carson Show to promote Apple records, Joe Garagiola is substitute host
• 1969 - Associate Justice Abe Fortas resigns from Supreme Court
• 1970 - Beatles' last LP, "Let It Be," is released in US
• 1970 - Elizabeth Hoisington & Anna Mae Mays named 1st female US generals
• 1970 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
• 1970 - Mississippi Highway Patrol kills 2 at Jackson State College
• 1970 - South-Africa excluded from Olympic play
• 1971 - "70, Girls, 70" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 35 performances
• 1971 - 97th Preakness: Gustavo Avila aboard Canonero II wins in 1:54
• 1971 - Radio Nordsee International's ship bombed
• 1972 - "Hard Job Being God" opens at Edison Theater NYC for 6 performances
• 1972 - Bus plunges into Nile River killing 50 pilgrims. (Minia Egypt)
• 1972 - George Wallace shot & left paralyzed by Arthur Bremer in Laurel, Md
• 1972 - Ryukyu Is & Daito Is returned to Japan after 27 yrs of US control
• 1973 - Calif Angel Nolan Ryan's 1st no-hitter beats KC Royals, 3-0
• 1974 - Mail truck terrorists take school in Maälot, 30 killed
• 1974 - Walter Scheel succeeds Heinemann as president
• 1975 - 11th Mayor's Trophy Game, Yanks beat Mets 9-4
• 1975 - Emmy 2nd Daytime Award & Emmy News & Documentaries Award presentation
• 1976 - 102nd Preakness: John Lively aboard Elocutionist wins in 1:55
• 1976 - Emmy Creative Arts Award presentation
• 1976 - Fonz Song by Heyettes hits #91
• 1976 - Kentucky Moonrunner by Cledus Maggard hits #85
• 1977 - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Greater Baltimore Golf Classic
• 1980 - 1st trans-US balloon crossing
• 1980 - Flyers score 8 goals against Islanders in playoffs
• 1980 - Shawn Weatherly, (SC (will win Miss Universe), crowned 29th Miss USA
• 1981 - "Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" airs
• 1981 - 2nd City TV's (SCTV) network premier (NBC)
• 1981 - George Harrison releases "All Those Years Ago" in UK
• 1981 - Len Barker of Cleveland pitches perfect game vs Toronto
• 1981 - SCTV Network 90, sequel to Second City Television debut on NBC
• 1981 - Soyuz 40 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Rumanian) to Salyut 6
• 1982 - 108th Preakness: Jack Kaenel aboard Aloma's Ruler wins in 1:55.4
• 1983 - Lenore Muraoka wins LPGA United Virginia Bank Golf Classic
• 1983 - Madison Hotel (Boston) destroyed by implosion
• 1985 - Everton wins 25th Europe Cup II at Rotterdam
• 1986 - Argentine ex-president Galtieri sentenced to 12 years
• 1987 - 1st Energiya Launch (USSR)
• 1987 - Record archery score for a pair over 24 hrs, is set
• 1988 - "Carrie" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 5 performances
• 1988 - "Gospel at Colonus" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 61 perfs
• 1988 - 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams & Tracey Ullman
• 1988 - Moscow began withdrawing its 115,000 troops in Afghanistan
• 1988 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Golf Classic
• 1988 - Soviets begin withdrawal from Afghanistan
• 1989 - "Chu Chem" closes at Ritz Theater NYC after 44 performances
• 1989 - Blue Jays fire manager Jimy Williams & replace him with Cito Gaston
• 1989 - Maxwell House coffee runs ads during "Roe vs Wade" movie despite threat of boycott by right-to-lifers
• 1989 - Soviet Pres Gorbachev in Beijing for 1st Sino-Soviet summit in 30 yrs
• 1989 - US Basketball League cancels its summer schedule
• 1990 - "Cemetery Club" opens at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC for 56 perfs
• 1990 - "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" by Vincent Van Gogh sold for $825 million
• 1990 - Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,822.45
• 1990 - Edmonton Oiler Klima beats Boston Bruins in 6th period
• 1990 - Mona Grudt, 19, of Norway, crowned 39th Miss Universe
• 1991 - Defense releases docs claiming Noriega is "CIA's man in Panama"
• 1991 - Edith Cresson becomes France's 1st female premier
• 1991 - Manchester United wins 31th Europe Cup II at Rotterdam
• 1991 - Nepal premier Bhattarai resigns
• 1991 - Pres Bush takes Queen Elizabeth to Oakland A's-Balt Oriole game
• 1991 - Red Sox & White Sox play then slowest 9 inning game (4:11)
• 1992 - Colombo '92 opens in Genoa Italy
• 1992 - NY dept store chain Alexanders announces closing of all 11 stores
• 1992 - Part of Cruger Avenue in Bronx renamed Regis Philbin Avenue
• 1993 - 119th Preakness: Mike Smith aboard Prairie Bayou wins in 1:56.6
• 1993 - Alamodome in San Antonio TX opens
• 1993 - Jane Seymour & James Kesch, Marriage
• 1993 - Montreal Expo retires their 1st #, #10 for Rusty Staub
• 1994 - 40th McDonald's LPGA Championship won by Laura Davies
• 1995 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
• 1997 - ABC News & Starwave Corp launch ABCNEWS.com
• 1997 - STS 84 (Atlantis 19), launches, 6th Shuttle-Mir Mission
• 1999 - 125th Preakness

Famous birthdays on May 15 ..

• 1565 - Henrick de Keyser, architect/master builder of Amsterdam
• 1567 - Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi, Cremona Italy, composer (L'Orfeo)
• 1754 - Pierre Dutillieu, composer
• 1759 - Maria Theresia von Paradis, composer
• 1764 - Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, composer
• 1773 - Clemens L Metternich, Austrian prince
• 1791 - Baron Floris A van Hall, Dutch minister of Justice/Finance
• 1795 - Adolf B Marx, German music theorist
• 1802 - Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1888
• 1807 - Luigi Ferdinando Casamorata, composer
• 1808 - Gottfried Herrmann, composer
• 1808 - Michael William Balfe, composer
• 1810 - Jacob Thompson, (Confederacy), died in 1885
• 1813 - Stephen Heller, composer
• 1819 - Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, Major General (Union volunteers)
• 1830 - Laurence Simmons Baker, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1907
• 1830 - Martinus W van der Aa, author/Dutch head-editor (The Time)
• 1841 - Giovanni Bolzoni, composer
• 1845 - Ilja [Elias] Metsjnikov, USSR, zoologist/bacteriologist (Nobel 1908)
• 1855 - Eduard earl of Keyserling, German writer (Dritte Stiege)
• 1855 - Graf Keyserling, writer
• 1856 - Lyman Frank Baum, NY, children's book author (Wizard of Oz)
• 1859 - Pierre Curie, France, physicist (Nobel 1903)
• 1860 - Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, 1st wife of Woodrow Wilson
• 1862 - Arthur Schnitzler, Austria, playwright/novelist (La Ronde)
• 1865 - Albert Verwey, Dutch poet/literature historian (Motion)
• 1873 - Nikolay N Tcherepnin, St Petersburg, composer of ballets, songs [NS]
• 1878 - Francisco Pujol, composer
• 1880 - Otto Dibelius, German theologist/bishop (Confessional Church)
• 1883 - Stanley Robert Marchant, composer
• 1888 - Jean Wahl, French philosopher
• 1889 - Bessie Hillman, founder (Almalgamated Clothing Workers of America)
• 1890 - Katherine Anne Porter, US, novelist (Ship of Fools)
• 1891 - Chief Nipo T Strongheart, Yakima WA, US indian actor (Pony Soldier)
• 1891 - David Vogel, Ukraine, author (Huwelijksleven)
• 1891 - Fritz Feigl, Austria, chemist (spot tests)
• 1891 - Mikhail Bulgakov, Russia, playwright/novelist (Black Snow)
• 1893 - Michel Gusikoff, composer
• 1893 - Stanley Lupino, English comic (Cheer Up, Over She Goes)
• 1894 - Jean Renoir, French director (La Béte Humane) [or Sept 15]
• 1895 - Charles Lamont, SF CA, director (Abbott & Costello Go to Mars)
• 1897 - Casper Höweler, Dutch music critic
• 1898 - Arlette-Leonie Arletty, [Bathiat], Courbevoie France, actress (Maxime)
• 1902 - Richard J Daley, (Mayor-D-Chic)
• 1903 - Anny Ondra, Czechoslovakia, actress (Blackmail, Manxman)
• 1904 - Clifton Fadiman, Bkln NY, TV host (Information Please, Quiz Kids)
• 1904 - Gustav-Adolf Boltenstein, Sweden, equest dressage (Oly-gold-1952, 56)
• 1905 - Joseph Cotten, Virginia, actor (3rd Man, Airport 77, Hearse)
• 1907 - Josef Alexander, composer
• 1907 - Phillip Piratin, communist
• 1908 - Lars-Eric Vilner Larsson, Akarp Sweden, composer (Linden)
• 1909 - James Mason, England, actor (Lolita, Bloodline, Boys From Brazil)
• 1909 - Rodolfo Cornejo, composer
• 1910 - Constance Cummings, Wash, actress (John & Julie, 7 Sinners, Glamour)
• 1910 - Robert F Wagner, (Mayor-D-NYC, 1949-65) [or Apr 20]
• 1911 - Leo Fuchs, Polish/US Yiddish actor (Galitzianer Cowboy)
• 1911 - Max Frisch, Swiss architect/writer (Stiller, Biedermann)
• 1912 - Alexis Kagame, Rwanda, priest/writer
• 1912 - Alexis Nihon, Bahamas, wrestler (Olympics-1968)
• 1912 - Arthur Victor Berger, NYC, composer (Ideas of Order)
• 1914 - Jack Pepys, immunologist
• 1914 - Pierre Froidebise, composer
• 1915 - Maurice B Latey, commentator (BBC World Service)
• 1915 - Paul A Samuelson, economist (1970 Nobel, 1947 John Bates Clark Medal)
• 1916 - Bill Williams, Bkln NY, actor (Starlit Time, Date With the Angels)
• 1917 - Hugh Edward Lance Falkus, filmmaker/naturalist
• 1918 - Eddy Arnold, Henderson TN, country singer (Cattle Call, Anytime)
• 1918 - Joseph Wiseman, Montréal, actor (Dr No, Viva Zapata, Les Miserables)
• 1919 - Charles Palmer, cricketer (one Test 1955, later MCC president)
• 1920 - Hugh Henry Home Popham, aviator/writer/poet
• 1922 - Enrico Berlinguer, Italian communist/sec-gen (CPI) [or May 25]
• 1923 - Richard Avedon, US, photographer (1957 ASMP award)
• 1924 - Andrea Gyarmati, Hungary water polo player (Olympics, 1948-60)
• 1924 - Don Kenyon, cricketer (England batsman in 8 Tests 1951-55)
• 1924 - Jaime Garcia Terre, poet/essayist
• 1924 - Ursula Thiess, Hamburg, actress (Monsoon, Bengal Brigade, Americano)
• 1925 - Andrey Yakoulevich Eshpay, composer
• 1925 - Emmanuel Ghent, composer
• 1925 - Jos Jacobs, Flemish director (Madonna of Nedermunster)
• 1926 - Anthony Shaffer, twin brother playwright (Sleuth)
• 1926 - Clermont Pepin, composer
• 1926 - Peter Shaffer, twin brother playwright (5 Finger Exercise, Equus)
• 1929 - Jack Flavell, cricketer (England pace bowler in 4 Tests 1961-64)
• 1930 - Jasper Johns, Augusta, Ga, painter/sculptor (Green Target)
• 1931 - David Healy, actor (Supergirl, Doomsday Gun, Patton, Be My Guest)
• 1931 - F Korthals Altes, Dutch minister of Justice (VVD)
• 1932 - John Glen, Thames England, actor (Spy Who Loves Me, Backfire)
• 1934 - David Robin Francis Guy Greville, 8th Duke of Warwick
• 1935 - Ted Dexter, cricketer (in Milan Superb England batsman of 60's)
• 1936 - Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italy, singer/actress (Cinderfella)
• 1936 - Donald [Anthony] Moffitt, US, sci-fi author (Jupiter Theft)
• 1936 - Jean Balissat, composer
• 1936 - Paul Zindel, playwright (Effects of Gamma Rays on Marigolds)
• 1937 - Trini Lopez, Trinidad, singer/guitarist (If I Had a Hammer)
• 1938 - Lenny Welch, Asbury Park NJ, (Breaking up is Hard to Do)
• 1939 - Brian Hartley, mathematician
• 1940 - Beth Stone, LPGA golfer
• 1940 - Mireille Darc, Toulon France, actor (Week End, Hurried Man)
• 1940 - Paul Rudd, Boston Mass, actor (Conn Yankee in King Arthur's Court)
• 1941 - Cyril Cooray, cricketer (Sri Lankan Test umpire on intl panel)
• 1941 - K T Oslin, Crossett Ar, country singer (80's Ladies)
• 1941 - Lainie Kazan, Brooklyn, singer/actress (Lust in the Dust, Beaches)
• 1941 - Richard Edward Wilson, composer
• 1942 - Anthony Wayne England, Indianapolis, PhD/astronaut (STS 51-F)
• 1943 - Harve Brosten, comedy writer/producer/director (All in the Family)
• 1944 - Gunilla Hutton, Goteborg Sweden, actress (Petticoat Junction)
• 1944 - Miruts Yifter, Ethiopia, 5K/10K runner (Olympic-gold-1980)
• 1944 - Tich, rocker
• 1946 - Chazz Palminteri, Bronx NY, actor (Jade, Diabolique, Bronx Tale)
• 1947 - Graham Goble, Adelaide,Australia, rock guitarist (Little River Band)
• 1948 - Brian Eno, Woodbridge England, rock keyboardist/singer (On Land)
• 1949 - Eric J Beekes, actor/singer (Hunk)
• 1949 - Frank L Culbertson Jr, Charleston SC, Cmdr USN/astro (STS-38)
• 1949 - Wendy Pritchard, Australian women's field hockey team manager (Oly-96)
• 1951 - Dennis Frederiksen, rocker (Toto-Roseanna, Africa)
• 1952 - Rick Waits, baseball pitcher (Rangers, Indians, Twins)
• 1953 - George Brett, WV, KC Royal 3rd baseman (1980 AL MVP)
• 1953 - Mike Oldfield, England, composer (Tubular Bells)
• 1954 - Bob Beauchemin, Winnipeg Canada, golfer (West Coast Open-1982, 83)
• 1955 - Lee Horsley, Muleshoe Tx, actor (Nero Wolfe, Matt Houston)
• 1956 - Alice Miller, Marysville CA, LPGA golfer (1985 Nabisco Dinah Shore)
• 1959 - Andrew Eldritch, rocker (Sisters of Mercy-Walk Away, Black Planet)
• 1961 - Anne Kelly, LPGA golfer
• 1963 - George Heidweiler, Suriname, Dutch painter
• 1963 - Grant Herslov, LA Calif, actor (Wayne-Spencer, Under One Roof)
• 1964 - Pamela Dukes, Bronx NY, discus thrower
• 1964 - Pierre Trentin, France, 1K time trials (Olympic-gold-1968)
• 1965 - Dan Stryzinski, NFL punter (Atlanta Falcons)
• 1965 - Glen Hnatiuk, Selkirk Manitoba, Nike golfer (1992 Mississippi Gulf)
• 1965 - Jeff Rochlin, Bkln NY, actor (Cutting Class, Splitz, Taps)
• 1966 - Paul Ysebaert, Sarnia, NHL left wing (Tampa Bay Lightning)
• 1967 - John Smoltz, Detroit MI, pitcher (Atlanta Braves, 1996 Cy Young)
• 1967 - Omar Vizquel, Caracas Venezuela, shortstop (Seattle Mariners, Indians)
• 1968 - James "Jim" Neil, Buffalo NY, rower (Olympics-1996)
• 1968 - Leroy Hoard, NFL running back (Cleve Browns, Minnesota Vikings)
• 1968 - Todd Porter, NJ, actor (Hamilton-Whiz Kids)
• 1969 - Emmitt Smith, running back (Dallas Cowboys, 3-time NFL rushing leader)
• 1969 - Holly McPeak, Manhattan Beach CA, beach volleyballer (Olympics-96)
• 1970 - Artie Smith, NFL defensive end (Cin Bengals)
• 1970 - Cory Philpot, CFL running back (BC Lions)
• 1970 - Desmond Howard, NFL receiver (Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders)
• 1970 - Frank de Boer, Dutch soccer star (Ajax)
• 1970 - Keith Tower, NBA center (LA Clippers)
• 1970 - Prince Be, rapper (PM Dawn)
• 1970 - Rod Smith, NFL wide reciever (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32)
• 1970 - Ronald de Boer, Dutch soccer player (Ajax)
• 1970 - Tony Brown, NFL cornerback (Seattle Seahawks)
• 1971 - Scott Shipley, Bremerton Wash, slalom single kayak (Olympics-6th-96)
• 1972 - David Charvet, actor (Melrose Place)
• 1972 - Patrick Pothuizen, soccer player (Vitesse)
• 1972 - Tirrell Greene, WLAF guard (Frankfurt Galaxy)
• 1972 - Troy Drake, NFL tackle (Phila Eagles)
• 1973 - Suzannah Bianco, San Jose CA, synchronized swimmer (Olympics-alt-96)
• 1973 - Vic"Tori"a Davey Spelling, LA Ca, actress (Donna-Beverly Hills 90210)
• 1974 - A J Hinch, Wavely IA, baseball catcher (Olympics-bronze-96)
• 1974 - Addilson dos Santos, soccer player (Sparta)
• 1974 - Ahmet Rodan Zappa, son of Frank/rocker (Z, 2 Hip 4 TV)
• 1975 - Ray Lewis, linebacker (Baltimore Ravens)
• 1976 - Eric DuBose, Bradenton Fl, baseball pitcher (Olympics-bronze-96)
• 1978 - Amy Chow, San Jose Calif, gymnast (Olympics-gold/silver-96)
• 1978 - David Krumholtz, NYC, actor (Billy Kulchak-Chicago Sons)
• 1978 - Krissy Taylor, model
• 1981 - Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne

Famous deaths on May 15 ..

• 0392 - Valentinianus II, emperor of Rome (375-392), murdered at 21
• 0884 - Marinus I, [Martinus II], Pope (882-84), dies
• 1174 - Nur ad-Din Mahmud, King of Syria, dies
• 1470 - Charles VIII, Knutsson Bonde, king of Sweden (14??-70), dies
• 1482 - Paolo Toscanelli, Italian physician & mapmaker, dies
• 1591 - Dimitri Ivanovitch, Russian son of czar Ivan IV, murdered at 9
• 1621 - Henrick de Keyser, Amsterdam's master builder, dies at 56
• 1622 - Peter Plancius, Flemish vicar/cartographer, dies at about 69
• 1685 - Henri Otto, Spanish marquis of Caretto/Savona/Grana, dies
• 1746 - Giovanni Antonio Ricieri, composer, dies at 67
• 1761 - Jacob Mossel, governor-general (Dutch East Indies), dies at 56
• 1785 - Karel Blazej Kopriva, composer, dies at 29
• 1801 - Louis C count Barbiano de Belgioioso, Austrian diplomat, dies at 73
• 1821 - John Wall Calcott, composer, dies at 54
• 1822 - Christian Ludwig Dieter, composer, dies at 64
• 1823 - Antonio Frantisek Becvarovsky, composer, dies at 69
• 1824 - Alexander Campbell, composer, dies at 60
• 1832 - Carl Friedrich Zelter, composer, dies at 73
• 1833 - Edmund Kean, English actor (Shylock), dies at 46
• 1842 - Emanuel A D M J count de las Cases, French historian (Napoleon), dies at 76
• 1845 - Samuel I Wiselius, Dutch lawyer/businessman/writer, dies at 76
• 1855 - Jan Mazereeuw, Frisian farmer/sect leader, dies at 75
• 1872 - Thomas Hastings, composer, dies at 87
• 1873 - Alexander J Cuza, monarch of Moldavia/Romania, dies at 53
• 1886 - Emily Dickinson, US poet, dies at 55
• 1889 - Alfred Potocki, premier Austrian/governor/viceroy of Galicia, dies
• 1892 - Arthur Hodister, British ivory seller (Heart of Darkness), murdered
• 1895 - Joseph Whitaker, British publisher (Whitaker' Almanack), dies at 75
• 1899 - Francisque Sarcey, French writer (Le Temps), dies at 70
• 1924 - Paul d'Estornelles de Constant, French diplomat/pacifist, dies at 71
• 1926 - Mohammed VI Vahideddin, last sultan of Turkey (1918-22), dies
• 1932 - Ki Inukai, premier Japan (1931-32), murdered
• 1933 - Ernest Torrence, actor (I Cover the Waterfront), dies at 54
• 1940 - Joseph Limburg, liberal 2nd-Member of parliament (1905-19), dies at 75
• 1940 - Willem A Bonger, Dutch criminologist (Race & Crime), suicide at 63
• 1945 - Major Courtney, US medal of honor marine, dies in battle of Sugar Loaf
• 1952 - Albert Basserman, actor (Madame Curie, Rhapsody in Blue), dies at 84
• 1952 - Italo Montemezzi, composer, dies at 76
• 1958 - Michael G the Boer, historian (Harbor of Amsterdam), dies at 91
• 1959 - Berend van den Amstel, [Bernard CED Hattink], Dutch actor, dies at 56
• 1964 - Cornelis H Edelman, Dutch geologist, dies at 61
• 1965 - Adrian Schoevers, Dutch director (Schoevers Institution), dies
• 1967 - Edward Hopper, US painter (House by Railroad), dies at 84
• 1967 - Jaromir Fiala, composer, dies at 74
• 1972 - Nigel Green, actor (Skull, Tobruk, Ipcress File), dies at 47
• 1973 - Willem H Rassers, Dutch cult anthropologist (Pandji-Novel), dies at 95
• 1976 - Samuel Eliot Morison, US historian (Admiral of Ocean Sea), dies at 88
• 1984 - Lionel Charles Robbins, British economist, dies at 85
• 1985 - Jackie Curtis, actor (Underground USA), dies of a drug overdose at 38
• 1986 - Theodore H White, US journalist (Making of Pres, Pulitzer), dies at 71
• 1987 - John Baur, museum director, dies at 78
• 1987 - Wynne Gibson, actor (Night After Night, Aggie Appleby), dies
• 1988 - Andrew Duggan, actor (Jigsaw, Firehouse), dies of cancer at 64
• 1988 - Greta Nissen, actress (Ambassador Bill), dies
• 1989 - John Waldo Green, composer, dies at 80
• 1991 - Bud Freeman, jazz tenor saxophonist, dies of cancer at 84
• 1991 - Freddie Paris, dies
• 1991 - Reno Brown, dies
• 1991 - Ronald Lacey, actor (Raiders of Lost Ark, Next Victim), dies at 55
• 1992 - Bruce Hopkins, performer/director, dies at 44
• 1992 - Robert Morris Page, US physicist (radar), dies at 88
• 1994 - Frederik baron van Pallandt, Danish singer (Nina & F), murdered at 61
• 1994 - Gilbert Roland, Mexican/US actor (Armand in Camille), dies at 88
• 1994 - Ronnie Potsdammer, singer/song/text writer/programmer, dies at 71
• 1994 - Royal Dano, actor (Ghoulies 2), dies of a heart attack at 71
• 1994 - [Henry] John Baker, resistance fighter/journalist (Slogan), dies at 79
• 1995 - Edouard Dermit, actor (Testament of Orpheus), dies at 69
• 1995 - Eric Richard Porter, actor (Crucible, Hennessy), dies at 67
• 1995 - Johnny Van Derrick, jazz violinist, dies at 68
• 1995 - Perry Lederman, folk singer, dies at 52
• 1996 - George M Tindley, songwriter/vocalist, dies at 57