January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 350 days remaining (351 in leap years).
- 1559 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
- 1582 - Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland
- 1759 - The British Museum opens
- 1777 - American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut[?] (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
- 1782 - Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the United States Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage
- 1844 - University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana.
- 1870 - A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly[?]).
- 1892 - James Naismith publishes the rules for basketball
- 1919 - The Boston Molasses Disaster kills 21 people
- 1919 - Ignace Paderewski[?] becomes Premier of Poland
- 1920 - Prohibition goes into effect
- 1936 - The first building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio (the building was for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company[?]).
- 1943 - World War II: Japanese driven off Guadalcanal
- 1943 - The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated (Arlington, Virginia).
- 1951 - Ilse Koch[?], The "Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany
- 1967 - Super Bowl I is played -- The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10
- 1969 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5
- 1970 - After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders.
- 1970 - Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya
- 1973 - Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President of the United States Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
- 1975 - Portugal grants independence to Angola
- 1974 - Happy Days premiers on ABC.
- 1976 - Would-be Gerald Ford presidential assassin Sara Jane Moore[?] is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1992 - The Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia ceases to exist. Slovenia and Croatia gain independence
- 1998 - The stalker of Howard Stern, Lance Carvin, is sentenced to 2 1/2 years for threatening to kill Stern and his family.
- 2001 - Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online (Wikipedia Day).
- 1622 - Jean Baptiste Moliere, French playwright (+ 1673)
- 1791 - Franz Grillparzer[?], Austrian lyricist (+ 1872)
- 1850 - Mihai Eminescu, outstanding Romanian poet (+ 1889)
- 1870 - Pierre S. DuPont[?], industrialist
- 1863 - Wilhelm Marx[?], German politician, chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- 1892 - Rex Ingram, director, writer (+ 1950)
- 1893 - Ivor Novello, actor, musician (+ 1951)
- 1899 - Goodman Ace[?], actor, comedian, writer (+ 1982)
- 1906 - Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipowner (+1975)
- 1908 - Edward Teller
- 1909 - Gene Krupa, drummer (+ 1973)
- 1913 - Lloyd Bridges[?], actor (+ 1998)
- 1918 - Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt (+ 1970)
- 1918 - Robert Byrd, American politician
- 1926 - Maria Schell[?], Swiss actress
- 1929 - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., American civil rights leader (+ 1968)
- 1937 - Margaret O'Brien[?], actress
- 1941 - Captain Beefheart, singer
- 1942 - Charo, singer, actress
- 1948 - Ronnie Van Zant[?], musician (+ 1977)
- 1957 - Mario Van Peebles[?], actor, director
- 1957 - Julian Sands[?], actor
- 1965 - Adam Jones, musician of Tool
See Also: January,
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
September,
October,
November,
December
January 14 - January 16 - December 15 - February 15 - Historical anniversaries