April 15 facts for kids

2025 Calendar

April 15 in recent years

April 15 is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 260 days remain until the end of the year.

April 15th is a day filled with many important events throughout history. From famous battles and scientific discoveries to the births of great artists and leaders, this date has seen a lot happen. It's a day to remember big moments and the people who shaped our world.

Historical Events on April 15
Famous Births on April 15
Notable Deaths on April 15
Holidays and Celebrations
See also

Historical Events on April 15

Early History (Before 1600)

769 – The Lateran Council ends. It disagreed with earlier rulings that were against using religious images.
1071 – Bari, the last city held by the Byzantine Empire in southern Italy, is given up to Robert Guiscard.
1450 – Battle of Formigny: Near the end of the Hundred Years' War, French forces strongly defeat the English. This ended English control in Northern France.

Important Events (1601–1900)

1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedish forces, led by Gustavus Adolphus, defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.
1715 – The Pocotaligo Massacre starts the Yamasee War in South Carolina.
1736 – The short-lived Kingdom of Corsica is founded.
1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, is performed for the first time in London, England.
1755 – Samuel Johnson's famous A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
1817 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc open the American School for the Deaf. This was the first American school for deaf students. It was in Hartford, Connecticut.
1861 – President Abraham Lincoln asks for 75,000 Volunteers. This was to stop a rebellion that soon became the American Civil War.
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the night before. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes president a few hours later.
1892 – The General Electric Company is officially formed.
1896 – The first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, have their closing ceremony.

Modern History (1901–Present)

1912 – The British passenger ship RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic. This happened at 2:20 a.m., after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 out of 2,224 people on board survived.
1922 – A U.S. Senator starts an investigation into a secret land deal. This leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
1923 – Insulin becomes widely available for people with diabetes.
1936 – The first day of the Arab revolt begins in Mandatory Palestine.
1941 – In the Belfast Blitz, German planes attack Belfast. Around one thousand people are killed.
1942 – King George VI gives the George Cross award to the island of Malta.
1945 – Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is freed.
1947 – Jackie Robinson plays his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He breaks baseball's color line, allowing African American players.
1952 – The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress airplane flies for the first time.
1955 – McDonald's restaurant dates its start to the opening of a restaurant by Ray Kroc. This was in Des Plaines, Illinois.
1960 – Ella Baker leads a meeting at Shaw University. This results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. It was a key group in the civil rights movement.
1986 – The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon. These were bombing raids against Libyan targets.
1989 – Hillsborough disaster: A large crowd accident happens at Hillsborough Stadium. This leads to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.
1994 – The Marrakesh Agreement is adopted. This agreement leads to the creation of the World Trade Organization.
2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts.
2019 – The famous cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is badly damaged by a large fire.

Famous Births on April 15

Born Before 1600

1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, a famous Italian painter, sculptor, and architect.
1469 – Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru.
1563 – Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh leader.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

1684 – Catherine I of Russia, Empress of Russia.
1707 – Leonhard Euler, a brilliant Swiss mathematician and physicist.
1741 – Charles Willson Peale, an American painter and soldier.
1843 – Henry James, an American novelist and writer.
1858 – Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist and philosopher.
1874 – Johannes Stark, a German physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
1883 – Stanley Bruce, the 8th Prime Minister of Australia.
1889 – A. Philip Randolph, an important American activist.
1892 – Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch author who helped people during World War II.
1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, a Russian general and politician.
1894 – Bessie Smith, a famous African-American singer.
1896 – Nikolay Semyonov, a Russian physicist and Nobel Prize winner.

Born After 1900

1907 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, a Dutch-English scientist and Nobel Prize winner.
1912 – Kim Il Sung, the first leader of North Korea.
1915 – Elizabeth Catlett, an African-American sculptor and artist.
1920 – Richard von Weizsäcker, the 6th President of Germany.
1922 – Harold Washington, the 51st Mayor of Chicago.
1930 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the 4th President of Iceland.
1931 – Tomas Tranströmer, a Swedish poet and Nobel Prize winner.
1933 – Roy Clark, an American musician and TV personality.
1933 – Elizabeth Montgomery, an American actress.
1938 – Claudia Cardinale, an Italian actress.
1940 – Jeffrey Archer, an English author and politician.
1943 – Robert Lefkowitz, an American scientist and Nobel Prize winner.
1949 – Alla Pugacheva, a Russian singer and actress.
1951 – John L. Phillips, an American astronaut.
1959 – Emma Thompson, an English actress and writer.
1961 – Carol W. Greider, an American molecular biologist.
1965 – Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese engineer and astronaut.
1965 – Linda Perry, an American singer-songwriter and producer.
1966 – Samantha Fox, an English singer and actress.
1967 – Dara Torres, an American swimmer and journalist.
1978 – Luis Fonsi, a Puerto Rican-American singer.
1978 – Chris Stapleton, an American country singer.
1979 – Luke Evans, a Welsh actor and singer.
1982 – Seth Rogen, a Canadian-American actor and director.
1983 – Alice Braga, a Brazilian actress.
1983 – Ilya Kovalchuk, a Russian ice hockey player.
1990 – Emma Watson, an English actress.
1997 – Maisie Williams, an English actress.

Notable Deaths on April 15

Died Before 1600

628 – Suiko, an emperor of Japan.
1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex, a powerful English nobleman.
1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, a famous Italian sculptor and architect.

Died Between 1601 and 1900

1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, an English politician.
1719 – Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, the wife of Louis XIV of France.
1754 – Jacopo Riccati, an Italian mathematician.
1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, a Russian chemist and physicist.
1865 – Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States.
1888 – Matthew Arnold, an English poet and critic.
1889 – Father Damien, a Belgian priest and saint.

Died After 1900

1912 – Many people died in the Titanic disaster, including:
- Thomas Andrews, the shipbuilder.
- John Jacob Astor IV, a wealthy American businessman.
- Benjamin Guggenheim, an American businessman.
- Wallace Hartley, the ship's bandleader.
- Edward Smith, the ship's Captain.
- William Thomas Stead, an English journalist.
- Ida Straus, a German-American businesswoman.
- Isidor Straus, a German-American businessman and politician.
1927 – Gaston Leroux, a French journalist and author.
1942 – Robert Musil, an Austrian-Swiss author.
1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, a Russian general.
1949 – Wallace Beery, an American actor.
1967 – Totò, a famous Italian comedian.
1971 – Friedebert Tuglas, an Estonian author.
1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher and Nobel Prize winner.
1984 – Tommy Cooper, a Welsh comedian and magician.
1986 – Jean Genet, a French novelist and poet.
1988 – Kenneth Williams, an English actor.
1989 – Hu Yaobang, a Chinese politician.
1990 – Greta Garbo, a famous Swedish-American actress.
1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, a Canadian geophysicist.
1998 – Pol Pot, a Cambodian politician.
2001 – Joey Ramone, an American singer-songwriter.
2002 – Byron White, an American football player and judge.
2009 – Clement Freud, a German-English journalist and politician.
2015 – Jonathan Crombie, a Canadian-American actor.
2017 – Emma Morano, an Italian woman who was the last person verified born in the 1800s.
2018 – R. Lee Ermey, an American actor.

Holidays and Celebrations

Day of the Sun (North Korea)
Father Damien Day (Hawaii)
Hillsborough Disaster Memorial (Liverpool, England)
Jackie Robinson Day (United States)
National American Sign Language Day (United States)
Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year; India)
Tax Day, the deadline for filing tax returns. (United States, Philippines)
Universal Day of Culture
World Art Day