August 15
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Events
\n*1517 - First European connection with China - seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernao Pires de Andrade met Chinese officials at Pearl River estuary.\n*1519 - Panama City, Panama founded\n*1535 - Asuncion, Paraguay founded\n*1620 - The Mayflower pulls out of Southampton, England\n*1843 - The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. It is today the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.\n*1877 - Thomas Edison makes the first-ever recording - "Mary Had a Little Lamb"\n*1914 - Panama Canal opens to traffic\n*1944 - Allied forces land in southern France (Operation Anvil) \n*1945 - VJ Day: Korea is liberated after Japan accepts the Allied terms of surrender in World War II\n*1947 - India gains independence from Britain. \n*1948 - Republic of Korea established south of 38th Parallel\n*1960 - Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) declares its independence from France\n*1961 - Construction begins on the Berlin Wall\n*1967 - UK introduces legislation to outlaw offshore pirate radio stations. All except Radio Caroline comply.\n*1969 - First day of Woodstock Music and Art Festival \n*1971 - President Richard Nixon ends convertibility of U.S. dollar into gold \n*1973 - The United States bombing of Cambodia ends\n*1974 - Yook Young-soo, first lady of the South Korea is killed amid appearant assassination attempt upon President of the South Korea, Park Chung-hee by North Korean spy, during the anniversarial ceremony of the Liberation day.\n*1975 - Military coup in Bangladesh\n*1994 - Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the terrorist known as "Carlos", is captured\n*1998 - Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, becoming the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles
Births
\n*1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte, general and politician (d. 1821)\n*1785 - Thomas De Quincey, author (d. 1859)\n*1858 - E. Nesbit (Edith Nesbit), author (d. 1924)\n*1872 - Shri Aurobindo, writer, nationalist, philosphter and guru (d. 1950)\n*1879 - Ethel Barrymore, actress (d. 1959)\n*1887 - Edna Ferber, novelist (d. 1968)\n*1883 - Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (d. 1962)\n*1888 - Lawrence of Arabia\n*1893 - Leslie Comrie, astronomer and computing pioneer (d. 1950)\n*1896 - Leon Theremin, inventor of the theremin\n*1912 - Julia Child, cook, writer\n*1912 - Dame Wendy Hiller, actress\n*1919 - Huntz Hall, actor (d. 1999)\n*1923 - Rose Marie, actress\n*1924 - Robert Bolt, screenwriter (d. 1995)\n*1925 - Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist\n*1925 - Mike Connors, actor\n*1928 - Nicolas Roeg, director\n*1933 - Jim Lange, game show host\n*1935 - Vernon Jordan Jr, Presidential advisor\n*1938 - Janusz A. Zajdel, Polish science-fiction writer\n*1944 - Linda Ellerbee, journalist\n*1946 - Jimmy Webb, musician, composer\n*1949 - Richard Deacon, sculptor\n*1950 - Princess Anne of England\n*1968 - Debra Messing, actress\n*1972 - Ben Affleck, actor\n*1974 - Natasha Henstridge, actress
Deaths
\n*778 - Roland, Frankish commander\n*1057 - King Macbeth I of Scotland \n*1907 - Joseph Joachim, violinist\n*1935 - Wiley Post, pilot\n*1935 - Will Rogers, humorist, actor\n*1951 - Artur Schnabel, pianist\n*1959 - Blind Willie McTell, blues singer\n*1962 - Lei Feng, eminent PLA Soldier\n*1967 - René Magritte, Surrealist painter\n*1971 - Paul Lukas, Academy Award winning actor\n*1974 - Yook Young-soo, first lady of South Korea\n*1975 - Clay Shaw, John F. Kennedy assassination investigator\n*1975 - Sheikh Mujib, president of Bangladesh\n*1995 - John Cameron Swayze, journalist\n*1999 - Sir Hugh Casson, architect, artist
Holidays and observances
\n*Catholicism - Holy Day of Obligation Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Public Holiday in: \n**Austria\n**Belgium\n**Cameroon\n**Croatia\n**Cyprus\n**France\n**Greece\n**Italy \n**Côte d'Ivoire\n**Malta\n**Poland\n**Portugal\n**Slovenia\n**Spain \n*Italy - "Ferragosto"\n*Korea - Liberation Day\n*India - Independence Day\n*Ancient Latvia - Maras
August 14 -
August 16 -
July 15 -
September 15 --
listing of all days
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