What Happened Today in History on April 15

Scipio Africanus defeats Hasdrubal at the Battle of Baecula during the Second Punic War. It was another victory of Scipio Africanus over the Carthaginian armies in Spain, undermining Carthaginia status on the Peninsula and improving Rome's authority. More

Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet Omar Khayyam is born.

Emperor Henry VI is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Celestine III in Rome.

Pope Innocent III excommunicates Count Raymond VI of Toulouse due to his failure to suppress the Cathar heresy.

Leonardo da Vinci, Italian polymath and painter of the Mona Lisa, is born in Vinci, Italy. More

The Siege of Buda begins as Ottoman forces lay siege to the Hungarian city.

The Portuguese succession crisis is resolved when King Philip II of Spain is declared Philip I of Portugal, bringing Portugal under Spanish rule.

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 a.m. after being shot on the head the prior evening by John Wilkes Booth at 10:15 pm. President Andrew Johnson took the oath of office as the 17th president at 11am on April 15th. Booth was killed at the end of a 12-day chase. More

The first telephone is installed in the White House during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.

Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight: James J. Corbett defeats John L. Sullivan in the first heavyweight championship boxing match using boxing gloves.

The British luxury passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks 5 days into its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, USA. Built by the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company in Belfast, Ireland, It was the largest ship afloat at the time of its completion, with a length of 882.5 feet and a width of 92.5 feet Equipped with advanced safety features, including 16 watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, leading to its reputation as "unsinkable". It was carrying 2,240 passengers and crew and approximately 1,500 people died when it sank almost three hours after it struck an iceberg. More 

Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in Major League Baseball, making his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. More

Fidel Castro visits the United States, four months after his guerilla army took charge of Cuba. The trip, labeled a "Good will trip", was part of Castro’s publicity victory lap after toppling the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. touring the city with all the swagger of a rock star. News cameras had stalked the young revolutionary as he toured the city and held babies, ate hotdogs and tossed peanuts to elephants at the Bronx Zoo. At one photo-op, he was pictured next to a group of American schoolchildren wearing fake Castro-style beards. By then, he had not made his political leanings public, although there were suspicions of his communistic leanings. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had no intention of meeting with Castro and Instead went to the golf course. More

The tragedy at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, results in the deaths of 96 football fans due to overcrowding.

Tens of thousands of Chinese students and civilians gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to protest for democracy and government accountability. The protests started on April 15 and lasted until June 4, 1989, with  a violent crackdown by the Chinese government. More

The Boston Marathon bombing occurs, killing three people and injuring hundreds. More

The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris suffers a devastating fire, causing significant damage to the iconic landmark. More