What are the important events that happened on August 15? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 15: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 15 is the 228th day of the year 2020 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 138 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 2, 2020 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 443,736 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaicosaoctagon’ day.
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Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 181 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 2,794 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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August 15 Historical Events
- 1309 –The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Knights of Rhodes.
- 1430 –Francesco Sforza, lord of Milan, conquers Lucca.
- 1461 –The Empire of Trebizond surrenders to the forces of Sultan Mehmet II. This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.
- 1549 –Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: July 22, 1549).
- 1843 –Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 1914 –A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the architect’s Wisconsin home, Taliesin, murders seven people and burns the living quarters to the ground.
- 1914 –The First Russian Army, led by Pavel Rennenkampf, enters Eastern Prussia.
- 1945 –World War II: Japan surrenders to end the war.
- 1971 –President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
- 1975 –Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
Who were born on August 15?
- 1857 –Albert Ballin, German shipping tycoon (d. 1918)
- 1901 –Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician (d. 1975)
- 1922 –Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek songwriter and musician (d. 2005)
- 1928 –Nicolas Roeg, English film director
- 1940 –Gudrun Ensslin, German terrorist (d. 1977)
- 1945 –Duffy Dyer, American baseball player
- 1949 –Beverly Lynn Burns, American pilot
- 1966 –Scott Brosius, American baseball player
- 1975 –Bertrand Berry, American football player
- 1980 –Nathalie Press, English actress
Who died on August 15?
- 423 –Flavius Honorius, Roman Emperor (b. 384)
- 1038 –King Stephen I of Hungary
- 1728 –Marin Marais, French composer and viol player (b. 1656)
- 1925 –Konrad Mägi, Estonian artist (b. 1878)
- 1935 –Wiley Post, American pilot (b. 1898)
- 1935 –Will Rogers, American humorist and actor (b. 1879)
- 1990 –Viktor Tsoi, Russian musician (b. 1962)
- 2004 –Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (b. 1941)
- 2006 –Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (b. 1923)
- 2007 –Geoffrey Orbell, New Zealand bush walker (b. 1908)
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