Woodstock festival opens in Bethel, New York

Born on This Day

Julia Child

1912 - 2004

Chef, author and TV personality credited with popularizing French cuisine in America through her cooking show.

Stephen Breyer

1938 -

U.S. Supreme Court justice appointed in 1994, known for his pragmatic and centrist judicial views.

Princess Anne

1950 -

Only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, known for her strong work ethic and involvement in numerous charitable organizations.

Julia ChildGetty Images

Stephen BreyerGetty Images

Princess AnneWireImage

1995

AUG15

Flying nearly two times the speed of sound, an Air France Concorde leaves New York City and sets the record for a round-the-world passenger flight: 31 hours, 27 minutes, 49 seconds. One champagne-swilling passenger dubs it “a supersonic party bus.”

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on August 15th

King Macbeth is killed by Malcolm Canmore

At the Battle of Lumphanan, King Macbeth of Scotland is slain by Malcolm Canmore, whose father, King Duncan I, was murdered by Macbeth 17 years earlier. Macbeth was a grandson of King Kenneth II and also had a claim to the throne through his wife, Gruoch, who was the granddaughter of Kenneth III—the Scottish king […]

Henry Ford leaves Edison to start automobile company

On August 15, 1899, in Detroit, Michigan, Henry Ford resigns his position as chief engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company’s main plant in order to concentrate on automobile production. Henry Ford left his family’s farm in Dearborn, Michigan, at age 16 to work in the machine shops of Detroit. In 1888, he married Clara Bryant, […]

Panama Canal open to traffic

The Panama Canal, the American-built waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is inaugurated with the passage of the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship. The rush of settlers to California and Oregon in the mid 19th century was the initial impetus of the U.S. desire to build […]

Japan gives ultimatum to Germany

On August 15, 1914, the government of Japan sends an ultimatum to Germany, demanding the removal of all German ships from Japanese and Chinese waters and the surrender of control of Tsingtao—the location of Germany’s largest overseas naval bases, located on China’s Shantung Peninsula—to Japan by noon on August 23. The previous August 6, the […]

India and Pakistan win independence

The Indian Independence Bill, which created the independent nations of India and Pakistan, came into force on August 15, 1947, ending 200 years of British rule over India and Pakistan.

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Heavy fighting erupts in and around the DMZ

Heavy fighting intensifies in and around the DMZ, as South Vietnamese and U.S. troops engage a North Vietnamese battalion. In a seven and a half hour battle, 165 enemy troops were killed. At the same time, U.S. Marines attacked three strategic positions just south of the DMZ, killing 56 North Vietnamese soldiers.

The mysterious “Wow!” signal is detected

A 72-second radio transmission on August 15, 1977, sparks decades of speculation about its mysterious—and possibly extraterrestrial—origin.

“Apocalypse Now” released in theaters

Apocalypse Now, the acclaimed Vietnam War film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, opens in theaters around the United States on August 15, 1979. The film, inspired in part by Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, among other sources, told the story of an Army captain (played by Martin Sheen) and crew of men who […]

Wife of slain minister released from jail

Mary Winkler, who confessed to fatally shooting her pastor husband Matthew Winkler in his sleep at their church parsonage in Selmer, Tennessee, is released from jail on $750,000 bail. Winkler was later convicted in his killing, but served only a short time in prison. On March 22, 2006, church members found 31-year-old Matthew Winkler in […]

Kabul falls to the Taliban after U.S. withdrawal

On August 15, 2021—just two weeks before U.S. troops were set to officially withdraw from Afghanistan—Taliban leaders enter the capital city of Kabul and sweep back into power with little resistance. The Afghan government collapses, the country’s president Ashraf Ghani flees, and many desperate Afghan civilians are left behind. The withdrawal ended a two-decade war […]

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