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

May 15: Facts & Myths About This Day

May 15 is the 136^th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 230 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.

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

When this day started, 28,595,520 minutes 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 ‘hectatriacontahexagon’ day.

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

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 259 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 4,163 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

May 15 Historical Events

• 1536 –
  Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest. She is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
• 1618 –
  Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
• 1829 –
  The Aaronic Priesthood is restored to Joseph Smith Jr. and Oliver Cowdery, prior to the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• 1928 –
  Mickey Mouse premiered in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy
• 1929 –
  A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
• 1935 –
  The Moscow Metro is opened to public.
• 1940 –
  World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
• 1943 –
  Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
• 1957 –
  At Malden Island in the Pacific, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple. The device fails to detonate properly.
• 1987 –
  The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit.

Who were born on May 15?

• 1922 –
  Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese writer and Buddhist nun
• 1935 –
  Utah Phillips, American labor organizer and folk singer (d. 2008)
• 1936 –
  Paul Zindel, American writer (d. 2003)
• 1939 –
  Dorothy Shirley, British athlete
• 1942 –
  Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian politician
• 1944 –
  Ulrich Beck, German sociologist
• 1949 –
  George Adams, American basketball player
• 1979 –
  Chris Masoe, New Zealander rugby player
• 1982 –
  Tatsuya Fujiwara, Japanese actor
• 1984 –
  Sérgio Jimenez, Brazilian racing driver

Who died on May 15?

• 1470 –
  Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)
• 1609 –
  Giovanni Croce, Italian composer (b. 1557)
• 1945 –
  Charles Williams, British writer (b. 1886)
• 1971 –
  Tyrone Guthrie, British director, producer, and writer (b. 1900)
• 1984 –
  Francis Schaeffer, American theologian, philosopher, and pastor (b. 1912)
• 1995 –
  Eric Porter, British actor (b. 1928)
• 1996 –
  Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (b. 1910)
• 1998 –
  Earl “The Goat” Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
• 2007 –
  Yolanda King, American actress and activist, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1955)
• 2009 –
  Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player (b. 1964)