Major Events
- 1252 Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition
- 1618 German astronomer Johannes Kepler discovers the third of his three planetary laws, the "harmonic law"
- 1841 First emigrant wagon train to make it to California leaves Independence, Missouri on a 1,730 mile journey over the Sierra Nevada [1]
- 1869 National Woman Suffrage Association forms in New York, founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- 1940 Richard and Maurice McDonald open the 1st McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California
- 1951 AT&T becomes the first US corporation to have a million stockholders after young car salesman Brady Denton purchases 7 shares worth $1,078
- 1988 The Soviet Union begins withdrawing its 115,000 troops from Afghanistan
- More May 15 Events
May 15 in Film & TV
- 2002 "Bowling for Columbine", a documentary directed by Michael Moore has its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival
May 15 in Music
- 1914 Henri Rabaud's opera "Marouf, savetier de Caire" premieres in Paris
May 15 in Sport
Did You Know?
Klemens von Metternich
Peter Shaffer
Madeleine Albright
Zara Phillips
David Krumholtz
George Brett
Emmitt Smith
Ray Lewis
Andy Murray
Fun Fact About May 15
Mickey Mouse makes his 1st ever appearance in silent film "Plane Crazy"
Famous Weddings
- 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell
- 1825 Author and scholar Wilhelm Grimm (39) weds Henriette Dorothea
- 1948 American dancer and actress Cyd Charisse (26) weds American pop singer Tony Martin (34)
More May 15 Weddings
Emily Dickinson
Joe Malone
Robert Menzies
June Carter Cash
