15 September in history

8 events that happened on 15 September, from 994 to 1950.

  1. 994 CE 1,032 years ago

    The Fatimids defeat the Byzantines at the Battle of the Orontes

    Forces of the Fatimid vizier of Damascus, the Turkish general Manjutakin, defeated the Byzantines and their Hamdanid allies under Michael Bourtzes on the Orontes.

    Fatimid CaliphateByzantine Empire

  2. 1462 CE 564 years ago

    Lesbos surrenders to the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II

    Niccolò Gattilusio, the last Gattilusio lord of Lesbos, surrendered the island's capital Mytilene to the besieging Ottoman army of Sultan Mehmed II. The conquest ended the Genoese lordship of the Gattilusio family in the northeastern Aegean.

    Mehmed II

  3. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    1776 CE 250 years ago

    British troops land at Kip's Bay and take New York

    After a heavy naval bombardment, British forces landed on Manhattan at Kip's Bay, sending American troops fleeing. New York stayed in British hands until 1783.

    New York

  4. 1830 CE 196 years ago

    The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens

    The first inter-city railway relying wholly on steam locomotives opened with great ceremony. The day was marred when the MP William Huskisson was struck and killed by Stephenson's Rocket.

  5. 1835 CE 191 years ago

    HMS Beagle reaches the Galápagos Islands

    Charles Darwin spent five weeks studying the islands' finches, tortoises and mockingbirds. His observations later helped shape his theory of evolution by natural selection.

  6. 1916 CE 110 years ago

    Tanks go into battle for the first time on the Somme

    British Mark I tanks supported an attack at Flers-Courcelette. Many broke down, but those that advanced showed the potential of armoured warfare.

  7. 1940 CE 86 years ago

    The RAF repels massed daylight raids on Battle of Britain Day

    The Luftwaffe launched two huge raids on London and lost around 60 aircraft. Two days later Hitler postponed his planned invasion of Britain indefinitely.

    London

  8. 1950 CE 76 years ago

    UN forces land at Inchon

    US Marines led General MacArthur's amphibious landing at Inchon, far behind North Korean lines. Seoul was retaken within two weeks and the North Korean army collapsed.

Born on 15 September 9

Died on 15 September 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.

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