Daily Calendar – October 15

The 288th day of the year; 77 days remain until the New Year.

Church Calendar

Commemoration of the Great Martyrs, the Princes of Argveti: David and Constantine (of the Mkheidze family) (740). Hieromartyr Cyprian and the martyrs Justina and Theoctistus (304); Blessed Andrew, the Fool-for-Christ (936).

Born:

70 BC – Virgil, Roman poet; died in 19 BC.

1608 – Evangelista Torricelli, Italian mathematician and physicist, a student of Galileo Galilei; died in 1647.

1814 – Mikhail Lermontov, Russian poet; died in 1841. 1827 – Mihály Zichy, Hungarian painter and graphic artist, illustrator of The Knight in the Panther's Skin. Died in 1906.

1829 – Asaph Hall, American astronomer; in 1877, he discovered the two moons of Mars—Deimos and Phobos. Died in 1907.

1844 – Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher. Died in 1900.

1859 – Kosta Khetagurov (Khetagati), Ossetian poet, painter, and public figure. Died in 1906.

1897 – Ilya Ilf (Ilya Faynzilberg), Soviet writer. Executed by firing squad in 1937.

1903 – Konstantin Leselidze, Soviet military commander, Colonel General. Died in 1944.

1905 – Charles Percy Snow, English writer. Died in 1980.

1920 – Mikheil Shavishvili, performer of Georgian folk songs and lotbari (choirmaster/conductor of traditional polyphonic singing). Died in 1998.

1923 – Italo Calvino, Italian writer. Died in 1985.

Deaths:

1817 – Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish political and military figure, leader of the Polish Uprising of 1793; he also participated in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

1833 – Michał Ogiński, Polish ambassador to England and the Netherlands, and a participant in the Kościuszko Uprising.

1934 – Raymond Poincaré, French politician.

1972 – Poliarpe Kakabadze, Georgian playwright.

Events:

1582 – The Gregorian calendar was adopted by Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France; October 5 was followed by October 15.

1666 – King Charles II of England introduced a new fashion—he was the first to wear a waistcoat (vest).

1860 – Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, suggesting that he grow a beard. The President followed her advice.

1880 – Construction of Cologne Cathedral was completed, 632 years after it began.

1915 – Great Britain declared war on Bulgaria.

1962 – "Amnesty International" was founded in London, with the primary goal of a global campaign against the death penalty.

1963 – Ludwig Erhard was elected Chancellor of Germany.

1964 – Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1970 – The Brazinskas (father and son) hijacked an An-24 aircraft and demanded to be flown to Turkey.

1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1994 – The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli leaders Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin.

1994 – After three years in exile, the democratically elected president, Aristide, returned to Haiti.

1997 – English pilot Andy Green set a new world land-speed record (763.035 mph) and became the first person to break the sound barrier on land.

Notable Days:

Jamaica — Heroes' Day.