November 15 facts for kids

November 15 is a special day in history, marked by many important events and the births and deaths of famous people. From ancient battles to modern technology launches, this date has seen a lot of change and progress around the world.

Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• 655 – The Battle of the Winwaed took place. King Penda of Mercia was defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria.
• 1315 – In the Battle of Morgarten, the Swiss Eidgenossenschaft (a group of Swiss allies) surprised the army of Leopold I. This was an important step in the growth of Switzerland.
• 1532 – During the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, Spanish explorers led by Francisco Pizarro and Hernando de Soto met the Incan Emperor Atahualpa for the first time near Cajamarca. They planned another meeting for the next day.
• 1533 – Just a year later, Francisco Pizarro arrived in Cuzco, which was the capital city of the Inca Empire.

From 1600 to 1900

• 1705 – The Habsburg Empire and Denmark won a battle against the Kurucs from Hungary in the Battle of Zsibó. This was part of Rákóczi's War of Independence.
• 1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress officially approved the Articles of Confederation. This was an early plan for how the United States government would work.
• 1806 – Lieutenant Zebulon Pike saw a tall mountain peak near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains. This mountain was later named Pikes Peak in his honor.
• 1849 – The steamboat Louisiana had a terrible accident. Its boilers exploded as it left the dock in New Orleans, causing many deaths.
• 1864 – In the American Civil War, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman began his famous Sherman's March to the Sea.
• 1884 – The Berlin Conference started. This meeting was held by European countries to discuss and divide up control of different parts of Africa.
• 1889 – Brazil became a republic. Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca led a military action that removed Emperor Pedro II from power.

The 20th Century and Beyond

• 1917 – The Eduskunta (Finland's parliament) declared itself the main power in Finland. This led to Finland's declaration of independence from Russia.
• 1920 – The very first meeting of the League of Nations took place in Geneva, Switzerland. This organization was created to help countries work together for peace.
• 1920 – The Free City of Danzig was officially created.
• 1928 – The RNLI lifeboat Mary Stanford overturned in Rye Harbour, and all 17 crew members were lost.
• 1933 – Thailand held its first national election.
• 1938 – After the events of Kristallnacht, Nazi Germany banned Jewish children from attending public schools.
• 1942 – During World War II, the Battle of Guadalcanal ended. It was a big victory for the Allied forces.
• 1943 – In The Holocaust, German SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered that Gypsies should be treated like Jews and sent to concentration camps.
• 1955 – The first part of the Saint Petersburg Metro subway system was opened.
• 1965 – Craig Breedlove set a new land speed record. His car, the Spirit of America, reached 600.601 miles per hour (966.574 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
• 1966 – Project Gemini completed its last mission. The Gemini 12 spacecraft splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1967 – The only fatal accident of the North American X-15 program happened. Air Force test pilot Michael J. Adams lost control of his aircraft, and it broke apart over the Mojave Desert.
• 1968 – The Cleveland Transit System became the first in the Western Hemisphere to offer direct train service from a city's downtown to its main airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
• 1969 – During the Cold War, the Soviet submarine K-19 crashed into the American submarine USS Gato in the Barents Sea.
• 1969 – In Washington, D.C., many people protested the Vietnam War. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people took part in a peaceful demonstration called the "March Against Death."
• 1971 – Intel released the world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, called the 4004. This was a huge step for computers!
• 1976 – René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois won the election in Quebec. They were the first government in Quebec in the 20th century to clearly support independence.
• 1978 – A chartered Douglas DC-8 plane crashed near Colombo, Sri Lanka, causing many deaths.
• 1979 – A package from the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, started smoking on a flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C.. The plane had to make an emergency landing.
• 1983 – The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared its independence. However, it is only recognized by Turkey.
• 1985 – Another package from the Unabomber exploded, injuring a research assistant at the University of Michigan.
• 1985 – The Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed at Hillsborough Castle by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.
• 1988 – In the Soviet Union, the uncrewed space shuttle Buran made its only flight into space.
• 1988 – The Palestinian National Council declared an independent State of Palestine.
• 1988 – The first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, was launched in the Netherlands. This helps ensure fair prices for producers.
• 1990 – The Communist People's Republic of Bulgaria was ended, and a new republican government was put in place.
• 1994 – A strong earthquake (magnitude 7.1) hit the Philippine island of Mindoro. It caused many deaths and a large tsunami.
• 2000 – A chartered Antonov An-24 plane crashed after taking off from Luanda, Angola, causing many deaths.
• 2000 – Jharkhand officially became the 28th state of India. It was formed from parts of southern Bihar.
• 2001 – Microsoft launched its first Xbox game console.
• 2002 – Hu Jintao became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
• 2006 – Al Jazeera English, a news channel, started broadcasting worldwide.
• 2007 – Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh, causing many deaths and damaging the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.
• 2012 – Xi Jinping became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
• 2013 – Sony released the PlayStation 4 (PS4) game console.
• 2016 – Hong Kong's High Court banned two elected politicians, Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung, from the city's Parliament.
• 2020 – Lewis Hamilton won the Turkish Grand Prix. This was his seventh drivers' title, matching the record held by Michael Schumacher.
• 2022 – The world population reached eight billion people!

Births

Many notable people were born on November 15 throughout history:

• 1397 – Nicholas V, who later became a pope of the Catholic Church.
• 1708 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, an important English politician and Prime Minister of Great Britain.
• 1738 – William Herschel, a German-English astronomer and composer. He discovered the planet Uranus!
• 1862 – Gerhart Hauptmann, a German novelist, poet, and playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1887 – Georgia O'Keeffe, a famous American painter known for her unique art style.
• 1891 – Erwin Rommel, a German field marshal during World War II.
• 1907 – Claus von Stauffenberg, a German colonel known for his role in a plot to overthrow Hitler.
• 1929 – Ed Asner, a well-known American actor and producer.
• 1931 – Mwai Kibaki, who became the 3rd President of Kenya.
• 1932 – Petula Clark, a famous English singer-songwriter and actress.
• 1942 – Daniel Barenboim, an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor.
• 1945 – Anni-Frid Lyngstad, a Norwegian-Swedish singer, famous as a member of the group ABBA.
• 1948 – Jimmy Choo, a Malaysian fashion designer known for his shoes.
• 1954 – Aleksander Kwaśniewski, who became the 3rd President of Poland.
• 1967 – E-40, an American rapper and actor.
• 1967 – Gus Poyet, a Uruguayan footballer and manager.
• 1972 – Jonny Lee Miller, an English-American actor.
• 1974 – Chad Kroeger, a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist, known from the band Nickelback.
• 1977 – Sean Murray, an American actor.
• 1981 – Lorena Ochoa, a famous Mexican golfer.
• 1986 – Sania Mirza, an Indian tennis player.
• 1988 – B.o.B, an American rapper, songwriter, and producer.
• 1991 – Shailene Woodley, an American actress.
• 1993 – Paulo Dybala, an Argentine footballer.
• 1995 – Karl-Anthony Towns, a Dominican-American basketball player.

Deaths

November 15 is also the day many important figures passed away:

• 655 – Penda of Mercia, a king of Mercia.
• 1280 – Albertus Magnus, a German bishop, theologian, and philosopher.
• 1630 – Johannes Kepler, a famous German astronomer and mathematician. He discovered laws of planetary motion.
• 1670 – John Amos Comenius, a Czech bishop, philosopher, and educator.
• 1787 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, a German composer.
• 1853 – Maria II, who was the Queen of Portugal.
• 1908 – Cixi, a powerful empress dowager and regent of China.
• 1916 – Henryk Sienkiewicz, a Polish journalist and author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1917 – Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist and philosopher.
• 1919 – Alfred Werner, a French-Swiss chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• 1954 – Lionel Barrymore, a well-known American actor, singer, and director.
• 1958 – Tyrone Power, an American actor, singer, and producer.
• 1959 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, a Scottish physicist and meteorologist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1967 – Michael J. Adams, an American soldier, pilot, and astronaut.
• 1978 – Margaret Mead, a famous American anthropologist and author.
• 1982 – Vinoba Bhave, an Indian philosopher and follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
• 2003 – Laurence Tisch, an American businessman who co-founded the Loews Corporation.
• 2015 – Saeed Jaffrey, an Indian-British actor.
• 2017 – Lil Peep, an American singer and rapper.

Holidays and observances

• America Recycles Day (United States)
• Christian feast day:
  • Albert the Great
  • Leopold III, a public holiday in Lower Austria and Vienna.
• Day of the German-speaking Community of Belgium (German-speaking Community of Belgium)
• Day of the Imprisoned Writer (International observance)
• Independence Day, declared in 1988. (Palestine)
• King's Feast (Belgium)
• National Tree Planting Day (Sri Lanka)
• Peace Day (Ivory Coast)
• Republic Proclamation Day (Brazil)
• Shichi-Go-San (Japan)
• Republic Day (Northern Cyprus)
• The beginning of Winter Lent (Eastern Orthodox)

See also

In Spanish: 15 de noviembre para niños