December 15 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

December 15th is a special day each year, filled with many important events and the birthdays of famous people throughout history. From ancient battles to modern space missions, this date has seen many moments that shaped our world. It's also a day when we remember important figures and celebrate different traditions around the globe.

Historical Events
Famous Birthdays
Notable Deaths
Special Days
Images for kids
See also

Historical Events

Early History (Before 1600)

533 – In the Vandalic War, the Byzantine general Belisarius won a big victory against the Vandals at the Battle of Tricamarum.
687 – Pope Sergius I was chosen as the new Pope.
1025 – Constantine VIII became the only emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He had been a co-emperor for 63 years!
1161 – During the Jin–Song wars, military officers removed Emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin dynasty after a battle.
1167 – The Sicilian leader Stephen du Perche moved the royal court to Messina to stop a rebellion.
1256 – Mongol forces led by Hulagu took over the Nizari Ismaili stronghold at Alamut Castle in what is now Iran. This was part of their campaign in southwest Asia.
1270 – The Nizari Ismaili group in Gerdkuh, Persia, gave up to the Mongols after 17 years.
1467 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeated Matthias Corvinus of Hungary in the Battle of Baia.
1546 – The town of Ekenäs in Finland was founded by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden.

Later History (1601–1900)

1651 – Castle Cornet in Guernsey, the last place that supported the King in the Third English Civil War, finally gave up.
1778 – During the American Revolutionary War, British and French ships fought in the Battle of St. Lucia.
1791 – The United States Bill of Rights became law after being approved by the Virginia General Assembly. This set of laws protects the rights of people in the United States.
1836 – The U.S. Patent Office building in Washington, D.C., had a big fire. It destroyed almost all the patents and models from that time.
1864 – In the American Civil War, the Battle of Nashville began in Nashville, Tennessee. It ended the next day with a major defeat for the Confederate army.
1869 – The Republic of Ezo was declared in Ezo, Japan. This was the first time people tried to create a democracy in Japan.
1871 – Sixteen-year-old telegraphist Ella Stewart sent the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory.
1890 – Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull died on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. This sad event led to the Wounded Knee Massacre.
1893 – Antonín Dvořák's famous Symphony No. 9 (also called the "New World Symphony") was first performed in New York City.
1899 – British Army forces lost the Battle of Colenso in Natal, South Africa, during the Second Boer War.

Modern History (1901–present)

1903 – Italo Marchiony, who sold food from a cart, received a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that makes ice cream cones.
1905 – The Pushkin House was created in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It helps to keep the cultural history of Alexander Pushkin safe.
1906 – The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opened.
1914 – During World War I, the Serbian Army took back Belgrade from the Austro-Hungarian Army.
1914 – A gas explosion at the Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine in Kyushu, Japan, caused many deaths.
1917 – World War I: An agreement to stop fighting was signed between Russia and the Central Powers.
1939 – The famous movie Gone with the Wind had its first showing in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
1941 – During World War II, a tragic event occurred at Drobytsky Yar in Ukraine, where many people lost their lives.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse started during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
1943 – World War II: The Battle of Arawe began during the New Britain campaign.
1944 – World War II: A plane carrying United States Army Air Forces Major Glenn Miller, a famous bandleader, disappeared over the English Channel.
1945 – General Douglas MacArthur ordered that Shinto should no longer be the state religion of Japan.
1960 – King Mahendra of Nepal took control of the country, stopping the constitution and dismissing the government.
1961 – Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Israeli court for many serious crimes, including crimes against humanity.
1965 – Project Gemini: Gemini 6A, with astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, was launched. It later met up with Gemini 7 in space, which was the first time two spacecraft met in orbit!
1970 – The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully landed on Venus. It was the first time a spacecraft landed softly on another planet.
1973 – John Paul Getty III, the grandson of a rich American, was found alive near Naples, Italy, after being taken.
1973 – The American Psychiatric Association decided to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders.
1978 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would officially recognize the People's Republic of China.
1989 – An international agreement was made to work towards ending the death penalty.
1993 – The Downing Street Declaration was issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds to help bring peace to Northern Ireland.
1997 – Tajikistan Airlines Flight 3183 crashed in the desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and many people died.
2000 – The third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was finally shut down.
2001 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after 11 years of work to make it stable, but it still kept its famous lean!
2005 – The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, a very advanced fighter jet, began active service with the USAF.
2010 – A boat carrying asylum seekers crashed into rocks off Christmas Island, Australia, and many people died.
2013 – The South Sudanese Civil War began when some leaders decided not to attend a meeting.
2017 – A strong earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Java in the city of Tasikmalaya, causing some deaths.

Famous Birthdays

Born Before 1600

AD 37 – Nero, a Roman emperor.
130 – Lucius Verus, another Roman emperor.
1242 – Prince Munetaka, a Japanese shōgun.
1447 – Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria.
1567 – Christoph Demantius, a German composer and poet.

Born 1601–1900

1610 – David Teniers the Younger, a Flemish painter.
1657 – Michel Richard Delalande, a French organist and composer.
1686 – Jean-Joseph Fiocco, a Flemish violinist and composer.
1710 – Francesco Zahra, a Maltese painter.
1789 – Carlos Soublette, a Venezuelan general and politician who became President of Venezuela.
1832 – Gustave Eiffel, a French engineer who helped design the famous Eiffel Tower.
1837 – E. W. Bullinger, an English minister and scholar.
1852 – Henri Becquerel, a French physicist and chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
1859 – L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish linguist who created the Esperanto language.
1860 – Niels Ryberg Finsen, a Faroese-Danish physician who won a Nobel Prize.
1860 – Abner Powell, an American baseball player.
1861 – Charles Duryea, an American engineer who helped start the Duryea Motor Wagon Company.
1861 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, a Finnish politician who became the President of Finland.
1863 – Arthur Dehon Little, an American chemist.
1869 – Leon Marchlewski, a Polish chemist.
1875 – Emilio Jacinto, a Filipino journalist and activist.
1878 – Hans Carossa, a German author.
1885 – Leonid Pitamic, a Slovenian lawyer and philosopher.
1886 – Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, a Polish politician and resistance fighter.
1886 – Florence Jepperson Madsen, an American singer and music professor.
1888 – Maxwell Anderson, an American playwright.
1890 – Harry Babcock, an American pole vaulter.
1891 – A.P. Carter, an American country singer.
1892 – J. Paul Getty, an American businessman who founded Getty Oil.
1894 – Vibert Douglas, a Canadian astrophysicist.
1894 – Josef Imbach, a Swiss sprinter.
1896 – Betty Smith, an American author.
1899 – Harold Abrahams, an English sprinter and lawyer.

Born 1901–Present

1902 – Robert F. Bradford, an American politician who was Governor of Massachusetts.
1903 – Tamanishiki San'emon, a Japanese sumo wrestler.
1907 – Gordon Douglas, an American film director.
1907 – Oscar Niemeyer, a Brazilian architect who designed the United Nations Headquarters.
1908 – Swami Ranganathananda, an Indian monk and scholar.
1909 – Sattar Bahlulzade, an Azerbaijani painter.
1909 – Eliza Atkins Gleason, an American librarian.
1910 – John Hammond, an American record producer.
1911 – Nicholas P. Dallis, an American psychiatrist and illustrator.
1911 – Stan Kenton, an American pianist and composer.
1913 – Roger Gaudry, a Canadian chemist.
1913 – Muriel Rukeyser, an American poet and activist.
1915 – Eila Campbell, an English geographer.
1916 – Miguel Arraes, a Brazilian lawyer and politician.
1916 – Buddy Cole, an American pianist.
1916 – Maurice Wilkins, a New Zealand-English physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
1917 – Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, a Pakistani linguist.
1918 – Jeff Chandler, an American actor.
1918 – Chihiro Iwasaki, a Japanese painter.
1919 – Max Yasgur, the American dairy farmer who hosted the Woodstock Music & Art Fair.
1920 – Gamal al-Banna, an Egyptian author.
1920 – Kurt Schaffenberger, a German-American illustrator.
1921 – Alan Freed, an American radio host.
1923 – Pierre Cossette, an American producer.
1923 – Freeman Dyson, an English-American physicist and mathematician.
1923 – Uziel Gal, a German-Israeli engineer who designed the Uzi gun.
1923 – Valentin Varennikov, a Russian general.
1924 – Frank W. J. Olver, an English-American mathematician.
1924 – Ruhi Sarıalp, a Turkish triple jumper.
1925 – Kasey Rogers, an American actress.
1926 – Bill Pitt, an Australian race car driver.
1928 – Ernest Ashworth, an American singer.
1928 – Ida Haendel, a Polish-English violinist.
1928 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, an Austrian-New Zealand painter and architect.
1930 – Edna O'Brien, an Irish novelist and playwright.
1931 – Klaus Rifbjerg, a Danish author.
1932 – Jesse Belvin, an American singer.
1932 – John Meurig Thomas, a Welsh chemist.
1933 – Bapu, an Indian film director.
1933 – Tim Conway, an American comedian and actor.
1933 – Donald Woods, a South African journalist.
1936 – Joe D'Amato, an Italian film director.
1938 – Michael Bogdanov, a Welsh director.
1938 – Billy Shaw, an American football player.
1939 – Cindy Birdsong, an American singer.
1939 – Dave Clark, an English musician.
1940 – Nick Buoniconti, an American football player.
1942 – Kathleen Blanco, an American politician who was Governor of Louisiana.
1943 – Lucien den Arend, a Dutch sculptor.
1944 – Jim Leyland, an American baseball manager.
1944 – Chico Mendes, a Brazilian trade union leader and activist.
1945 – Heather Booth, an American civil rights activist.
1945 – Ivor Crewe, an English political scientist.
1946 – Carmine Appice, an American drummer.
1946 – Art Howe, an American baseball player and manager.
1946 – Genny Lim, an American writer.
1948 – Cassandra Harris, an Australian actress.
1948 – Charlie Scott, an American basketball player.
1949 – Don Johnson, an American actor.
1949 – Brian Roper, an English economist.
1950 – Melanie Chartoff, an American actress.
1950 – Sylvester James Gates, an American theoretical physicist.
1951 – George Donikian, an Australian journalist.
1951 – Joe Jordan, a Scottish footballer.
1951 – Tim Webster, an Australian journalist.
1952 – Rudi Protrudi, an American singer.
1952 – Allan Simonsen, a Danish footballer.
1952 – Julie Taymor, an American director.
1953 – John R. Allen, an American general.
1953 – J. M. DeMatteis, an American author.
1953 – Robert Charles Wilson, an American-Canadian author.
1954 – Alex Cox, an English film director.
1954 – Oliver Heald, an English lawyer and politician.
1954 – Mark Warner, an American politician who was Governor of Virginia.
1955 – Hector Sants, an English banker.
1955 – Paul Simonon, an English musician.
1956 – John Lee Hancock, an American film director.
1956 – Tony Leon, a South African lawyer and politician.
1957 – Mario Marois, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1957 – Mike McAlary, an American journalist.
1957 – Tim Reynolds, a German-American singer and guitarist.
1958 – Carlo J. Caparas, a Filipino director.
1958 – Richard Kastle, an American classical pianist.
1959 – Greg Matthews, an Australian cricketer.
1959 – Alan Whetton, a New Zealand rugby player.
1959 – Gary Whetton, a New Zealand rugby player.
1960 – Walter Werzowa, an Austrian composer.
1961 – Karin Resetarits, an Austrian journalist.
1962 – Tim Gaines, an American bass player.
1962 – Simon Hodgkinson, an English rugby player.
1963 – Ellie Cornell, an American actress.
1963 – Norman J. Grossfeld, an American screenwriter.
1963 – Helen Slater, an American actress.
1963 – David Wingate, an American basketball player.
1964 – Paul Kaye, an English actor.
1966 – Carl Hooper, a Guyanese cricketer.
1966 – Molly Price, an American actress.
1967 – David Howells, an English footballer.
1967 – Mo Vaughn, an American baseball player.
1968 – Garrett Wang, an American actor.
1969 – Ralph Ineson, an English actor.
1969 – Chantal Petitclerc, a Canadian wheelchair racer.
1969 – Adam Setliff, an American discus thrower.
1970 – Frankie Dettori, an Italian jockey.
1970 – Lawrence Funderburke, an American basketball player.
1970 – Michael Shanks, a Canadian actor.
1971 – Clint Lowery, an American singer and guitarist.
1972 – Rodney Harrison, an American football player.
1972 – Lee Jung-jae, a South Korean actor.
1972 – Stuart Townsend, an Irish actor.
1972 – Alexandra Tydings, an American actress.
1973 – Surya Bonaly, a French figure skater.
1973 – Ryoo Seung-wan, a South Korean director.
1974 – Garath Archer, an English rugby player.
1974 – P. J. Byrne, an American actor.
1975 – Samira Saraya, a Palestinian actor and filmmaker.
1976 – Baichung Bhutia, an Indian footballer.
1976 – Kim Eagles, a Canadian sport shooter.
1976 – Aaron Miles, an American baseball player.
1976 – Todd Tichenor, an American baseball umpire.
1977 – Mehmet Aurélio, a Brazilian-Turkish footballer.
1977 – Geoff Stults, an American actor.
1978 – Ned Brower, an American drummer.
1978 – Mark Jansen, a Dutch guitarist.
1978 – Jerome McDougle, an American football player.
1979 – Adam Brody, an American actor.
1979 – Eric Young, a Canadian-American wrestler.
1980 – Élodie Gossuin, a French model.
1980 – Sergio Pizzorno, an English musician.
1980 – Manuel Wilhelm, a German rugby player.
1981 – Michelle Dockery, an English actress.
1981 – Brendan Fletcher, a Canadian actor.
1981 – Andy González, a Puerto Rican-American baseball player.
1981 – Thomas Herrion, an American football player.
1981 – Roman Pavlyuchenko, a Russian footballer.
1982 – Charlie Cox, an English actor.
1982 – Borja García, a Spanish race car driver.
1982 – George O. Gore II, an American actor.
1982 – Tatiana Perebiynis, a Ukrainian tennis player.
1983 – Delon Armitage, a Trinidadian-English rugby player.
1983 – René Duprée, a Canadian professional wrestler.
1983 – Camilla Luddington, an English actress.
1983 – Ronnie Radke, an American singer.
1983 – Sophia Young, a Vincentian-American basketball player.
1984 – Martyn Bernard, an English high jumper.
1984 – Martin Škrtel, a Slovak footballer.
1985 – Diogo Fernandes, a Brazilian footballer.
1986 – Kim Junsu, a South Korean singer.
1986 – Iveta Mazáčová, a Czech sprinter.
1986 – Keylor Navas, a Costa Rican footballer.
1986 – Snejana Onopka, a Ukrainian model.
1987 – Josh Norman, an American football player.
1988 – Erik Gustafsson, a Swedish ice hockey player.
1988 – Emily Head, an English actress.
1988 – Steven Nzonzi, a French footballer.
1989 – Nichole Bloom, an American actress.
1991 – Conor Daly, an American race car driver.
1991 – Yanni Gourde, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1991 – Alana Haim, an American musician and actress.
1992 – Daiamami Genki, a Japanese sumo wrestler.
1992 – Jesse Lingard, an English footballer.
1992 – Alex Telles, a Brazilian footballer.
1993 – Daniel Ochefu, an American basketball player.
1995 – Jahlil Okafor, an American basketball player.
1996 – Jenifer Brening, a German singer.
1996 – Oleksandr Zinchenko, a Ukrainian footballer.
1997 – Maude Apatow, an American actress.
1997 – Zach Banks, an American race car driver.
1997 – Magdalena Fręch, a Polish tennis player.
1997 – Stefania LaVie Owen, a New Zealand-American actress.
1998 – Chandler Canterbury, an American actor.
2000 – Kayvon Thibodeaux, an American football player.

Notable Deaths

Died Before 1600

933 – Li Siyuan, a Chinese emperor.
1025 – Basil II, a Byzantine emperor.
1072 – Alp Arslan, a Turkish sultan.
1161 – Wanyan Liang, a Chinese emperor.
1230 – Ottokar I, a duke of Bohemia.
1283 – Philip I, a Latin emperor.
1343 – Hasan Kucek, a prince.
1467 – Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna, an archbishop and regent of Sweden.
1574 – Selim II, an Ottoman sultan.
1598 – Philips of Marnix, Lord of Saint-Aldegonde, a Dutch nobleman.

Died 1601–1900

1621 – Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, a French courtier.
1673 – Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, an English noblewoman.
1675 – Johannes Vermeer, a famous Dutch painter.
1683 – Izaak Walton, an English author.
1688 – Gaspar Fagel, a Dutch lawyer and politician.
1698 – Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart, a French nobleman.
1715 – George Hickes, an English minister.
1753 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, an English architect.
1792 – Joseph Martin Kraus, a Swedish composer.
1812 – Shneur Zalman, a Russian rabbi.
1817 – Federigo Zuccari, an astronomer.
1819 – Daniel Rutherford, a Scottish chemist.
1855 – Jacques Charles François Sturm, a French mathematician.
1878 – Alfred Bird, an English chemist who invented baking powder.
1890 – Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota tribal chief.

Died 1901–Present

1943 – Fats Waller, an American singer and pianist.
1944 – Glenn Miller, a famous American bandleader.
1947 – Arthur Machen, a Welsh author.
1947 – Crawford Vaughan, an Australian politician.
1950 – Vallabhbhai Patel, an Indian lawyer and politician.
1958 – Wolfgang Pauli, an Austrian-Swiss physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
1962 – Charles Laughton, an English-American actor.
1965 – M. Balasundaram, a Sri Lankan journalist.
1966 – Keith Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott, an Indian-Scottish general.
1966 – Walt Disney, the American animator who co-founded The Walt Disney Company.
1968 – Antonio Barrette, a Canadian politician.
1968 – Jess Willard, an American boxer.
1969 – Karl Theodor Bleek, a German lawyer.
1971 – Paul Lévy, a French mathematician.
1974 – Anatole Litvak, a Russian-American director.
1977 – Wilfred Kitching, the 7th General of The Salvation Army.
1978 – Chill Wills, an American actor.
1980 – Peter Gregg, an American race car driver.
1984 – Jan Peerce, an American singer.
1985 – Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the first Prime Minister of Mauritius.
1986 – Serge Lifar, a Russian-French ballet dancer.
1989 – Edward Underdown, an English actor.
1991 – Vasily Zaytsev, a Russian captain.
1993 – William Dale Phillips, an American chemist.
2000 – Haris Brkić, a Bosnian-Serbian basketball player.
2003 – Vincent Apap, a Maltese sculptor.
2003 – George Fisher, an American cartoonist.
2003 – Keith Magnuson, a Canadian ice hockey player.
2004 – Vassal Gadoengin, a Nauruan politician.
2005 – Heinrich Gross, an Austrian physician.
2005 – Stan Leonard, a Canadian golfer.
2005 – William Proxmire, an American politician.
2005 – Darrell Russell, an American football player.
2006 – Clay Regazzoni, a Swiss race car driver.
2006 – Mary Stolz, an American author.
2007 – Julia Carson, an American politician.
2008 – León Febres Cordero, the President of Ecuador.
2009 – Eliza Atkins Gleason, an American librarian.
2009 – Oral Roberts, an American evangelist.
2010 – Blake Edwards, an American director.
2010 – Bob Feller, an American baseball player.
2010 – Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, an American psychoanalyst.
2011 – Bob Brookmeyer, an American trombone player.
2011 – Christopher Hitchens, an English-American writer and journalist.
2012 – Owoye Andrew Azazi, a Nigerian general.
2012 – Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, a Nigerian politician.
2012 – Olga Zubarry, an Argentinian actress.
2013 – Harold Camping, an American evangelist.
2013 – Joan Fontaine, a British-American actress.
2013 – Dyron Nix, an American basketball player.
2014 – Donald Metcalf, an Australian physiologist.
2014 – Fausto Zapata, a Mexican politician.
2015 – Harry Zvi Tabor, an English-Israeli physicist.
2016 – Craig Sager, an American sports journalist.
2017 – Heinz Wolff, a scientist and TV presenter.
2017 – Calestous Juma, an academic.
2018 – Eryue He, a Chinese writer.
2018 – Girma Wolde-Giorgis, the President of Ethiopia.
2020 – Saufatu Sopoanga, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu.

Special Days

Bill of Rights Day (United States)
- 2nd Amendment Day (South Carolina)
Christian feast day:
- Drina Martyrs
- Drostan
- John Horden and Robert McDonald (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Maria Crocifissa di Rosa
- Mesmin
- Valerian of Abbenza
- Virginia Centurione Bracelli
- December 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Homecoming Day (Alderney)
Kingdom Day (Netherlands), sometimes moved to December 16th.
Zamenhof Day (International Esperanto Community)

Images for kids

A friendly robot!