Calendar date · January

What happened on January 15

On January 15, 69: Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.

Events

56

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Capricorn

Featured moment · 69

Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.

AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

People

Born on January 15

Grace VanderWaal 2004– American singer-songwriter (born 2004)
Tim Stützle 2002– German ice hockey player (born 2002)
Triston Casas 2000– American baseball player (born 2000)
Alexandra Eade 1998– Australian artistic gymnast
Ben Godfrey 1998– English footballer (born 1998)
Chloe Kelly 1998– English footballer (born 1998)
Dove Cameron 1996– American actress and singer (born 1996)
Deebo Samuel 1996– American football player (born 1996)
Eric Dier 1994– English footballer (born 1994)
Show 9 more — notable births on January 15
Kadeem Allen 1993– American basketball player (born 1993)
Joël Veltman 1992– Dutch footballer (born 1992)
Joshua King 1992– Norwegian football player (born 1992)
Marc Bartra 1991– Spanish footballer (born 1991)
Matt Duffy 1991– American baseball player (born 1991)
Mitch Garver 1991– American baseball player (born 1991)
Nicolai Jørgensen 1991– Danish footballer (born 1991)
Darya Klishina 1991– Russian long jumper
James Mitchell 1991– Australian basketball player

People

Died on January 15

Paul Danan English actor and television personality (1978–2025)
David Lynch American filmmaker (1946–2025)
Melba Montgomery American country music singer-songwriter (1938–2025)
Linda Nolan Irish singer and actress (1959–2025)
Alexa McDonough Canadian politician (1944–2022)
Rocky Johnson Canadian professional wrestler (1944–2020)
Lloyd Cowan British athlete and coach (1962–2021)
Carol Channing American actress (1921–2019)
Ida Kleijnen Dutch chef (1936–2019)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on January 15
Dolores O'Riordan Irish musician (1971–2018)
Jimmy Snuka Fijian-American professional wrestler (1943–2017)
Francisco X. Alarcón American poet
Ken Judge Australian rules footballer, born 1958
Manuel Velázquez Spanish footballer
Ervin Drake American songwriter (1919–2015)
Kim Fowley American record producer and songwriter (1939–2015)
Ray Nagel American football player, coach, and administrator (1927–2015)
Curtis Bray American football player and coach (1970–2014)

Timeline

Every January 15 on record

  1. 69 Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.

    Calendar year

    AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

  2. 1535 King Henry VIII issues letters patent incorporating the title Supreme Head of the Church of England into his royal title.

    King of England from 1509 to 1547

    Henry VIII was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. After the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry passed legislation that severed England and Ireland from the Roman Catholic Church and established the monarch as Supreme Head of the Church of England, initiating the English Reformation. He subsequently married five more times; two marriages were annulled, and two wives were executed.

  3. 1541 King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the "Holy Catholic faith".

    King of France from 1515 to 1547

    Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a legitimate son.

  4. 1559 Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey, London.

    Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603

    Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history and culture, gave name to the Elizabethan era.

  5. 1582 Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

    1582 peace treaty between the Poland–Lithuania and Russia

    The Truce or Treaty of Yam-Zapolsky (Ям-Запольский) or Jam Zapolski, signed on 15 January 1582 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia, was one of the treaties that ended the Livonian War. It followed the successful Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory, culminating in the siege of Pskov.

  6. 1759 The British Museum opens to the public.
  7. 1777 American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present-day Vermont) declares its independence.
  8. 1782 Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
  9. 1815 War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
  10. 1818 A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a "supplement" (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
  11. 1822 Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
  12. 1865 American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
  13. 1867 Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent's Park, London, collapses.
  14. 1870 Thomas Nast publishes a political cartoon symbolizing the Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion") for Harper's Weekly.
  15. 1876 The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
Show 15 earlier entries from January 15
  1. 1889 The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
  2. 1892 James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
  3. 1908 The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
  4. 1910 Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 99 m (325 ft).
  5. 1911 Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.
  6. 1919 Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent communists in Germany, are clubbed and then shot to death by members of the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
  7. 1919 Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
  8. 1934 The 8.0 Mw  Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.
  9. 1936 The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
  10. 1937 Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republicans both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
  11. 1943 World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
  12. 1943 The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington County, Virginia.
  13. 1947 The Black Dahlia murder: The dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short is found in Los Angeles.
  14. 1949 Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist government.
  15. 1962 The Derveni papyrus, Europe's oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.

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