On This Day - What Happened On April 15 | Britannica

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Featured Event

1912 Sinking of the Titanic On this day in 1912, the British luxury passenger liner Titanic sank en route to New York City from Southampton, Hampshire, England, after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage; some 1,500 people died. The Bettmann Archive

Featured Biography

Leonardo da Vinci Italian artist, engineer, and scientist bornApril 15, 1452Vinci, ItalydiedMay 2, 1519 (aged 67)Clos-Lucé, France© Universal History Archive—Universal Images Group/Getty Images 1982 Seth Rogen Canadian actor and screenwriter 1960 Philippe, King of the Belgians king of Belgium 1959 Emma Thompson British actress and writer 1912 Kim Il-Sung president of North Korea 1707 Leonhard Euler Swiss mathematician See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2019 The historic Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire during a restoration campaign, and the blaze destroyed most of the cathedral's roof, the 19th-century spire, and some of the rib vaulting. Test your knowledge of ParisCedric Herpson—AP/Shutterstock.com 2013 Near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, two homemade bombs were detonated in the crowd of spectators; 3 people were killed and more than 260 were wounded in the terrorist attack.David L. Ryan—The Boston Globe/Getty Images 2003 U.S. President George W. Bush declared that the government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq had fallen as a result of the Iraq War and the following day asked the United Nations to lift sanctions against Iraq. Sort fact from fiction in our wars throughout history quizAli Heider/AP Images 2000 U.S. President Bill Clinton established the Giant Sequoia National Monument, a preserve near Sequoia National Park covering more than 500 square miles (1,300 square km) of Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada of California. How much do you know about national parks and landmarks?© dgrilla/stock.adobe.com 1989 Tragedy occurred at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, when a crush of football (soccer) fans resulted in 96 deaths and hundreds of injuries; police mistakes were later blamed for the incident.© Kenny1/Dreamstime.com 1980 French novelist and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre, who was a leading exponent of existentialism, died at age 74. Take our quiz about famous authorsGisele Freund 1955 American fast-food pioneer Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise, launching an enterprise that would eventually become the world's largest fast-food chain, in Des Plaines, Illinois. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about foodSygma 1947 Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's racial barrier, played in his first major league game for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. See if Jackie Robinson makes our list of the 10 greatest baseball players of all timeUPI/Bettmann Archive 1926 Robertson Aircraft, one of the companies that later developed into American Airlines, flew its first mail route, between Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri, with Charles A. Lindbergh as the pilot. Test your knowledge of early aviationLibrary of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1924 The Rand McNally Auto Chum was released; it was the American publishing company's first road atlas. Watch the evolution of cars over time 1920 Two men were murdered in South Braintree, Massachusetts, leading to the Sacco-Vanzetti case and the still-controversial conviction of the two Italian immigrants. Take our quiz about American history and politicsEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.