October 15th

2003
China became the third country to launch a staffed space mission.
Human spaceflight
1993
Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to end apartheid in South Africa.
F. W. de Klerk
1991
Clarence Thomas got a narrow (52–48) Senate confirmation of his nomination to the Supreme Court.
Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination
1990
Mikhail Gorbachev is Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The then President of the Soviet Union received the prestigious award given out by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, for his role in lessening tensions during the Cold War.
Mikhail Gorbachev
1989
Wayne Gretzky topped Gordie Howe's NHL scoring record.
List of NHL players with 50-goal seasons
1987
Thomas Sankara killed. Thomas Sankara, the President of Burkina Faso, was killed during a coup led by Blaise Compaoré.
Tout-à-Coup Jazz
1969
Vietnam Moratorium Day. millions nationwide protest the war
Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam
1966
The U.S. Department of Transportation was created.
United States Department of Transportation
1964
It was announced that Nikita Khruschev was removed from his positions as premier and secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR.
Nikita Khrushchev
1951
I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, had its television debut.
I Love Lucy
1917
Mata Hari, World War I spy, was executed by a firing squad in Vincennes, France.
Mata Hari
1914
With the support of President Wilson, the Clayton Antitrust Act, which made it illegal for companies to buy competitors' stock, was passed.
Clayton Antitrust Act
1860
Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, N.Y., wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.
Grace Bedell
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on island of St Helena to begin his exile.
Saint Helena
1783
World’s First Manned Balloon Flight. Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, a teacher from France, spent about 4 minutes in the air in a balloon made by flight pioneers Joseph-Michael and Jacques-Ètienne Montgolfier. The Montgolfier brothers were responsible for the world’s first balloon flight and for sending the first living being – a duck – on a balloon.
Hot air balloon
1581
Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet 'Ballet Comique de la Reine' is staged in Paris.
Catherine de' Medici's patronage of the arts
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