Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/October 15
This is a list of selected October 15 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
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October 15: Global Handwashing Day; White Cane Safety Day in the United States
- 1582 – Spain, Portugal, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and most of the Italian states became the first countries to replace the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar.
- 1917 – Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari (pictured) was executed by a firing squad for spying for Germany.
- 1951 – Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes synthesized the first oral contraceptive.
- 1966 – The Black Panther Party, a Marxist/Maoist African-American organization that promoted Black Power and self-defense in the United States, was founded in Oakland, California.
- 1997 – On the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, the first supersonic land speed record was set by Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green in the jet-propelled car ThrustSSC when it achieved a speed of 1,228 km/h (763 mph).
- 2003 – Chinese space program: Shenzhou 5, China's first manned space mission was launched, carrying astronaut Yang Liwei.