What Happened on October 15

Major Events

• 1581 The first ballet “Ballet Comique de la Reine,” commissioned by Catherine de Medici, is staged in Paris
• 1582 Gregorian calendar is introduced in Spain, Portugal, and the Papal States after skipping 10 days from October 4 to sync the calendar to the solar year and compensate for the drift that has occurred due to the Julian calendar having too many leap days
• 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on the island of Saint Helena to begin his exile

• 1969 Millions nationwide protest against the Vietnam War on Moratorium Day in the US
• 1993 Nelson Mandela and South African President F. W. de Klerk are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

More October 15 Events

Oct 15 in Film & TV

• 1955 Country music radio show “Grand Ole Opry” is first broadcast on television in a live hour-long show by ABC
• 2017 Actress Alyssa Milano‘s tweet “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’” prompts a flood of replies across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Oct 15 in Music

• 1977 Debby Boone’s single “You Light Up My Life” goes #1 and stays #1 for ten weeks

Oct 15 in Sport