April 15 is the 105st day of the year (106nd in leap years) according to the Gregorian calendar. There are 260 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 1865 - Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the United States.
- 1912 – On its maiden voyage with 2340 passengers, the Titanic transatlantic struck an iceberg south of Newfoundland and sank; In the incident, 1513 people died.
- 1920 - Two Italian immigrants, Sacco and Vanzetti, are arrested in Massachusetts for murder and extortion. Their execution seven years later, when there were deep doubts about their guilt, remained a disgrace to the American justice system.
- 1922 - Canadian scientists Frederick G. Banting and Charles H. Best found insulin used against diabetes.
- 1923 – The First Grand National Assembly of Turkey held its last session, taking the decision to hold new elections.
- 1925 – Sheikh Said, who started a rebellion in the East, was captured.
- 1929 – A tailoring school was opened in Istanbul.
- 1929 – First Young Painters Exhibition was opened in Ankara Ethnography Museum. The works of artists such as Nurullah Berk, Cevat Dereli and Refik Fazıl Epikman were exhibited.
- 1933 – Scheduled flights between Ankara and Istanbul started.
- 1945 – Olive oil started to be sold with a ration card.
- 1946 – Poet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek was sentenced to three and a half months in prison and a fine of 115 liras, on the grounds that he said that Sümerbank was not working as a state institution but as an organ of a party.
- 1946 – The National Library Preparatory Office was established. The library was opened to readers on August 16, 1948.
- 1952 – The US strategic bomber B-52 Stratofortress makes its maiden flight.
- 1955 – The first McDonald's opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA. The first day's earnings were $366,12.
- 1967 – Nearly 200 people protested the Vietnam War in New York and San Francisco.
- 1970 - The Japanese (Canon) produce the first electronic calculator that prints calculation results on heat-sensitive paper.
- 1978 – Turkish athlete Veli Ballı won the 9th International Westland Marathon held in the Netherlands.
- 1982 – In commemoration of the 70th birthday of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, many structures were inaugurated in the country. The most famous of these structures are the Juche Tower and the Great Public Education House.
- 1983 – Istanbul Martial Law Command banned the printing, publication, distribution and possession of all kinds of works belonging to Yılmaz Güney and Cem Karaca, who were stripped of their citizenship.
- 1994 – GATT, the world's most comprehensive trade agreement, was adopted with the signatures of 120 countries.
Births
- 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian rönesans painter (d. 1519)
- 1469 - Guru Nanak Dev, first guru of the Sikhs (d. 1539)
- 1642 – II. Süleyman, 20th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1691)
- 1684 – Catherine I, Russian Tsarina (d. 1727)
- 1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1783)
- 1710 – William Cullen, Scottish physician (d. 1790)
- 1741 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter, soldier, and naturalist (d. 1827)
- 1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist (d. 1844)
- 1793 – Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German-Russian astronomer (d. 1864)
- 1795 – Maria Schicklgruber, paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler (d. 1847)
- 1800 – James Clark Ross, British naval officer (d. 1862)
- 1843 – Henry James, American author (d. 1916)
- 1856 – Jean Moreas, Greek-French poet (d. 1910)
- 1858 – Emile Durkheim, French sociologist (d. 1917)
- 1863 – Ida Freund, Austrian chemist (d. 1915)
- 1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist (d. 1957)
- 1886 Nikolai Gumilev, Russian poet (d. 1921)
- 1896 – Victoria Hazan, Turkish singer, oud player and composer (d. 1995)
- 1901 – René Pleven, French politician (d. 1993)
- 1903 – John Williams, Tony Award-winning British stage, film and television actor (d. 1983)
- 1904 – Arshile Gorky, painter of Armenian descent. Known for his abstract and expressionist works (d. 1948)
- 1905 – Zeki Faik Izer, Turkish painter (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea (d. 1994)
- 1921 – Georgiy Beregovoy, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Anatoly Gromyko, Soviet-Russian scientist and diplomat (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Boris Strugatskiy, Soviet writer (d. 2012)
- 1933 Elizabeth Montgomery, American film and television actress (d. 1995)
- 1934 – Metin Ersoy, Turkish musician and singer (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Andrzej Kopiczyński, Polish actor (d. 2016)
- 1936 – Aydın Doğan, Turkish businessman and media magnate
- 1937 – Çetin İpekkaya, Turkish theater director and actor (d. 2016)
- 1939 – Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian-born Italian actress
- 1940 - Jeffrey Archer was an English writer and former politician.
- 1941 – Howard Berman, American lawyer and politician
- 1943 – Pınar Kür, Turkish writer
- 1943 – Robert Lefkowitz, American physician and molecular biologist
- 1943 – Hugh Thompson Jr., major in the United States Army (d. 2006)
- 1945 – Istemihan Taviloğlu, Turkish composer and music educator (d. 2006)
- 1948 – Michael Kamen, American composer, conductor, arranger, music producer, songwriter, and musician (d. 2003)
- 1949 – Kadir İnanır, Turkish film actor
- 1949 – Alla Pugachyova, Soviet/Russian singer
- 1950 – Josiane Balasko, French actress and director
- 1954 – Michelle Knotek, American murderer
- 1955 – Dodi Al Fayed, British businessman of Egyptian descent (d. 1997)
- 1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress and Academy Award winner
- 1960 – Susanne Bier is a Danish director, screenwriter and producer.
- 1960 – Pedro Delgado, Spanish former professional road bike racer
- 1961 – Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist
- 1962 – Tom Roberts, American comedian, actor, and voice actor
- 1963 – İrfan Şahin, Turkish TV personality
- 1966 – Samantha Fox, English female pop singer and model
- 1966 – Mott Green, American businessman (d. 2013)
- 1968 Ed O'Brien, English musician
- 1971 - Finidi George, Nigerian football player
- 1972 – Selda Özbek, Turkish cinema, theater and TV series actress
- 1973 – Cengiz Kapmaz, Turkish journalist and writer
- 1974 – Danny Pino, American actor
- 1974 – Danny Way, American professional skateboarder
- 1976 – Evrim Alataş, Kurdish-Turkish writer, journalist and critic (d. 2010)
- 1976 – Ragga Oktay, Turkish singer and actress
- 1978 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican singer
- 1979 Luke Evans, Welsh actor
- 1979 – Nez, Turkish singer and dancer
- 1980 – Raül López, Spanish basketball player
- 1981 – Andrés D'Alessandro, Argentine football player
- 1982 – Albert Riera, Spanish football player
- 1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian comedian, filmmaker, and actor
- 1983 - Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
- 1983 – Dudu Cearense, Brazilian national football player
- 1986 – Tom Heaton, English international football player
- 1986 – Sylvain Marveaux, French football player
- 1988 – Steven Defour, Belgian former football player
- 1990 – Emma Watson, English actress
- 1991 – Javier Fernández, Spanish figure skater
- 1994 – Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter who competed in the 200 and 400 meters
- 1995 – Leander Dendoncker, Belgian football player
- 1995 – Kim Namjoo, Korean singer and actor
- 1996 – İpek Soylu, Turkish national tennis player
- 1996 – Daiki Sakamoto, Japanese football player
- 1997 – Maisie Williams, English actress
Deaths
- 628 – Empress Suiko, 33rd ruler of Japan in traditional succession (b. 554)
- 1053 – Godwine, Earl of “Wessex” and father-in-law of Edward (Edward the Confessor) (b. 1001)
- 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect (b. 1377)
- 1558 – Hürrem Sultan, married wife of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman I and the next sultan II. Selim's mother (b. 1502 or 1504)
- 1764 - Madame de Pompadour, King of France XV. Louis' most famous favorite (b. 1721)
- 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scientist (b. 1711)
- 1825 – Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez, Spanish Catholic priest. VII. Fernando's confessor (b. 1758)
- 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer, politician, and 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
- 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and cultural critic (b. 1822)
- 1889 – Reverend Damien, Belgian Roman Catholic priest and missionary (b. 1840)
- 1912 – Thomas Andrews, Irish naval engineer and businessman (b. 1873)
- 1912 – Luigi Gatti, Italian businessman and restaurateur (b. 1875)
- 1912 - Ann Elizabeth Isham, rms titanic passenger on board (b. 1862)
- 1912 – Edward Smith, British naval officer (b. 1850)
- 1912 – Thomas Byles, English Catholic priest (b. 1870)
- 1913 – Abdullah Tukay, Tatar poet (b. 1886)
- 1921 – Ahmet Anzavur, Ottoman officer and Kuva-i Inzibatiye commander (who started an uprising against the Kuva-yi Milliye movement) (b. 1885)
- 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (b. 1868)
- 1934 – Kemalettin Sami Gökçen, Turkish soldier, diplomat and politician (b. 1884)
- 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian poet and writer (b. 1892)
- 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian novelist, storyteller, and essayist (b. 1880)
- 1948 – Radola Gajda, Czech military commander and politician (b. 1892)
- 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor (b. 1885)
- 1968 – Selahattin Güngör, Turkish journalist, anecdote and story writer
- 1969 – Yusuf Kemal Tengirşenk, Turkish academic and politician (minister of the War of Independence and the Republic period) (b. 1878)
- 1975 – Richard Conte, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French existentialist philosopher, writer, and critic (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Jean Genet, French writer (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (b. 1905)
- 1995 – Yıldız Moran, Turkish photographer, lexicographer and translator (b. 1932)
- 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian communist leader (b. 1928)
- 2000 – Edward Gorey, American illustrator, author, and poet (b. 1925)
- 2000 – Hayati Hamzaoğlu, Turkish film actor (b. 1933)
- 2002 – Damon Knight, American science fiction writer (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Byron White, American lawyer and professional football player (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Suphi Karaman, Turkish soldier and politician (one of the leaders of the 27 May Coup) (b. 1920)
- 2009 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and writer (b. 1947)
- 2011 – Vincenzo La Scola, Italian tenor (b. 1958)
- 2015 – Tadahiko Ueda, former Japanese international football player (b. 1947)
- 2017 – Allan Holdsworth, English guitarist, jazz fusion-rock musician and composer (b. 1946)
- 2017 – George Clifton James, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Emma Morano, Italian woman (until her death titled “Oldest Living Person”) (b. 1899)
- 2017 – Sylvia Moy, American record producer and songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2018 – Ronald Lee Ermey, former American soldier, actor, and voice actor (b. 1944)
- 2018 – Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday (often MAK Halliday), English linguist (b. 1925)
- 2018 – Vittoria Taviani, Italian films director (b. 1929)
- 2019 – Warren Adler, American playwright and poet (b. 1927)
- 2019 – Jerry Clack, American academic and human rights activist (b. 1926)
- 2019 – Owen Kay Garriott, American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut (b. 1930)
- 2020 – Adam Alsing, Swedish television and radio presenter (b. 1968)
- 2020 – Sean Arnold, English actor (b. 1941)
- 2020 – Ülkü Azrak, Turkish lawyer and academic (b. 1933)
- 2020 – Allen Daviau, American cinematographer (b. 1942)
- 2020 – William Delford Davis, American football player and businessman (b. 1934)
- 2020 – Bernard Deconinck, French road cyclist (b. 1936)
- 2020 – Brian Mannion Dennehy, American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 2020 – Henry Grimes, American jazz double bassist and violinist (b. 1935)
- 2020 – Dries Holten, Dutch singer (b. 1936)
- 2020 – John Houghton, Welsh atmospheric physicist (b. 1931)
- 2020 – Milena Jelinek, Czech-American playwright, screenwriter, and educator (b. 1935)
- 2020 – Lee Konitz, American jazz musician, composer, and alto saxophonist (b. 1927)
- 2020 – Gérard Mulumba Kalemba, Bishop of the Congolese Catholic Church (b. 1937)
- 2020 – Bruce Myers, English actor and director (b. 1942)
- 2020 – John Pfahl, American photographer (b. 1939)
- 2020 – Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer and activist (b. 1964)
- 2021 – Luisa Revilla, Peruvian politician and LGBT rights activist (b. 1971)
- 2021 – Dimitrios Talaganis, Greek artist, architect, poet and urban planner (b. 1945)
- 2022 – Eunice Muñoz, Portuguese actress (b. 1928)
- 2022 – Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb, English farmer and politician (b. 1925)
- 2022 – Liz Sheridan, American actress and dancer (b. 1929)
Holidays and special occasions
- World Art Day
- Tourism Week (15-22 April)
- Growth Monitoring Day
- Withdrawal of Russian and Armenian troops from Ağrı (1918)