What are the important events that happened on August 15? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 15: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 15 is the 228^th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 138 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 2, 2024 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,723,680,000 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaicosaoctagon’ day.

Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 167 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,255 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 15 Historical Events

• 293 BC –
  The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is dedicated.
• 1057 –
  King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.
• 1261 –
  Michael VIII Palaeologus is crowned Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.
• 1517 –
  Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
• 1599 –
  Nine Years War: Battle of Curlew Pass – Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.
• 1940 –
  An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser Elli at Tinos harbour during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.
• 1960 –
  Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France.
• 1971 –
  Bahrain gains independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1974 –
  Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President of South Korea, Park Chung-hee.
• 2005 –
  Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank begins.

Who were born on August 15?

• 1785 –
  Thomas De Quincey, English author (d. 1859)
• 1885 –
  Edna Ferber, American novelist (d. 1968)
• 1890 –
  Jacques Ibert, French composer (d. 1962)
• 1924 –
  Werner Abrolat, German actor (d. 1997)
• 1925 –
  Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist (d. 2007)
• 1929 –
  Georgios Roubanis, Greek athlete
• 1951 –
  Bobby Caldwell, American singer and musician
• 1954 –
  Mary Jo Salter, American poet
• 1969 –
  Cris Judd, American actor/choreographer
• 1972 –
  Chris Morrissey, American film director/actor

Who died on August 15?

• 778 –
  Roland, Frankish commander
• 1274 –
  Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and educator (b. 1201)
• 1552 –
  Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (b. 1477)
• 1907 –
  Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b. 1831)
• 1909 –
  Euclides da Cunha, Brazilian writer and sociologist (b. 1866)
• 1935 –
  Paul Signac, French painter (b. 1863)
• 1990 –
  Viktor Tsoi, Russian musician (b. 1962)
• 2004 –
  Semiha Berksoy, first Turkish opera singer (b. 1910)
• 2006 –
  Coenraad Bron, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1937)
• 2007 –
  Richard Bradshaw, British opera conductor, (b. 1944)