What are the important events that happened on January 15? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
January 15: Facts & Myths About This Day
January 15 is the 15th day of the year 2020 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 351 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is January 2, 2020 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,579,046,400 seconds 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 ‘pentadecagon’ day.
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Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 10 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 2,581 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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January 15 Historical Events
- 69 –Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.
- 1493 –Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World.
- 1889 –The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta.
- 1919 –Boston Molasses Disaster: A large molasses tank in Boston, bursts and a wave of molasses rushes through the streets, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.
- 1919 –Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps.
- 1949 –Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
- 1970 –Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
- 1976 –Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1993 –Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as “The Beast”, is arrested in Sicily after three decades as a fugitive.
- 2005 –ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon.
Who were born on January 15?
- 1850 –Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889)
- 1891 –Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
- 1909 –Gene Krupa, American drummer (d. 1973)
- 1922 –Sir Eric Willis, Australian politician (d. 1999)
- 1923 –Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician
- 1929 –Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968)
- 1960 –Kelly Asbury, American director and actor
- 1964 –Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
- 1970 –Shane McMahon, American professional wrestler
- 1992 –Joshua King, Norwegian footballer
Who died on January 15?
- 1672 –John Cosin, English clergyman (b. 1594)
- 1815 –Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Lord Nelson (b. 1761)
- 1945 –Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian mathematician (b. 1865)
- 1967 –David Burliuk, Ukrainian artist (b. 1882)
- 1970 –William T. Piper, American aircraft designer (b. 1881)
- 1983 –Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1992 –Dee Murray, English bassist (b. 1946)
- 2003 –Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
- 2005 –Dan Lee, Canadian animator (b. 1969)
- 2005 –Elizabeth Janeway, American author (b. 1913)
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