Historical Events - September 15

1588– Final humiliation of the Spanish Armada, whose remnants return to Spanish harbors after defeat by the English.

1821 – San Salvador declared its independence.

1832 – William Huskisson, British MP and former cabinet minister, today became the first person to be killed by the train.

1835– HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galapagos Island. The ship lands at Chatham or San Cristobal, the easternmost of the archipelago.

1916– Tanks were used for the first time in World War I.

1928– The first Robot to be made in Britain was demonstrated at the Model Engineering Exhibition in London by inventors Captain Richards and A.H. Rendell.

1935– Germany’s persecuted Jews had lost virtually all their rights. At a huge Nazi rally in Nuremberg today, the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, announced new decrees which relegate Jews to Untermensch (sub-human) status.

1966– Britain’s first nuclear submarine, HMS resolution, was launched by the Queen Mother. 

1968– The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship was launched, became the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

2008– Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

Famous Birthdays– September 15

601 – Ali, cousin, and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

1254 – Marco Polo, a Venetian explorer, and merchant noted for travel to central and eastern Asia.

1860 – M. Vishwesvaraya, Indian engineer, scholar, statesman, and the Diwan of Mysore. India celebrates Engineer’s day every year on his birth anniversary.

1876 – Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian Bengali writer.

1890 – Agatha Christie, English crime writer and one of the most successful novelists of all time, creator of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and spinster sleuth Miss Jane Marple.

1904 – Umberto II, Last king of Italy.

1909 – C.N. Annadurai, Indian politician, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state.

1939 – Subramanian Swami, Indian Politician.

1967 – Ramya Krishnan, Indian actress.

1984 – Prince Henry of Wales, commonly known as Harry, second son of Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales.

1986 – Joshna Chinappa, an Indian professional Squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. She was the first Indian to win the British Junior Squash Championship title in 2005 in the under-19 category and was also the youngest Indian women’s national champion. She is the current record-holder of most national championship wins, with 18 titles.

Death Anniversaries – September 15

1859 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an English civil engineer. He is considered “one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history”.

1868 – John Hanning Speke, He was an English explorer who became the first European to reach Lake Victoria in east Africa.

1883 – Joseph Plateau, a Belgian physicist, and mathematician. He was one of the first people to demonstrate the illusion of a moving image.

1964 – Alfred Blalock, he was an American surgeon famous for his work on shock and blue baby syndrome.

1967 – Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, the first elected Chief Minister of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. 

1989 – Robert Penn Warren, an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism.

2007 – Colin Steele McRae, He was a British rally driver from Lanark, Scotland. He became the first Scottish person and the youngest to win the World Rally Championship Drivers’ title, a record he still holds.

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