15 April in history
9 events that happened on 15 April, from 1191 to 1989.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1191 CE 835 years ago
Henry VI is crowned Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, son of Frederick Barbarossa and King of Germany since 1169, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Through his wife Constance he won the Kingdom of Sicily in 1194.
1277 CE 749 years ago
Baybars defeats the Mongols at the Battle of Elbistan
Sultan Baybars of Egypt marched from Syria into the Mongol-dominated Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm and defeated the Mongol occupation force at Elbistan. The victory limited Mongol influence in Asia Minor and led to open hostilities with the Mongol Ilkhanate.
1450 CE 576 years ago
French victory at Formigny seals the loss of English Normandy
French cannon and cavalry destroyed an English relief army at Formigny. Normandy fell within months; the Hundred Years' War itself ended after Castillon in 1453.
1632 CE 394 years ago
Gustavus Adolphus defeats Tilly at the Battle of Rain
Near Rain in Bavaria, a Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Catholic League force of Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, in the Thirty Years' War. Tilly later died of wounds received in the battle.
1755 CE 271 years ago
Samuel Johnson publishes his Dictionary
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language appeared after nine years' work, defining some 42,000 words with literary quotations. It remained the leading English dictionary for over a century.
1817 CE 209 years ago
First American school for the deaf opens in Hartford
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and the French deaf teacher Laurent Clerc opened what is now the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut. Its signing community helped give rise to American Sign Language.
1912 CE 114 years ago
Titanic sinks with the loss of more than 1,500 lives
The liner went down at 2.20 am with lifeboat places for barely half of the 2,224 aboard. The disaster led to the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea in 1914.
Born on 15 April 4
Died on 15 April 5
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.