Daily Calendar – October 15
10/15/2026
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.