December 15th in History

An episode of Pokemon triggers seizures, vomiting, and dizziness in over 600 Japanese children (1997)
Today in History
- The Twenty-first Amendment to the US Constitution, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition) takes effect (1933)
- Gone With the Wind premiers (1939)
- Douglas MacArthur abolishes Shinto as the state religion of Japan (1945)
- Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death for Holocaust crimes (1961)
- US Space Program: Gemini 6A is launched (1965)
- Soviet Space Program: Venera 7 achieves the first successful soft landing on another planet (1970)
- John Paul Getty III is found alive following his kidnapping five months previously (1973)
- Homosexuality is officially removed from the DSM-II official list of psychiatric disorders (1973)
- The US recognizes the People’s Republic of China and severs official diplomatic relations with Taiwan (1978)
- The first modern suicide bombing takes place in Beirut (1981)
- An episode of the TV series Pokemon triggers seizures, vomiting, and dizziness in over 600 Japanese children (1997)
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27 million in repairs (2001)
- The F-22 Raptor enters active service (2005), and both the F-35 Lightning II (2006) and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (2009) make their maiden flights
Birthdays
- Nero, Roman emperor (37)
- Gustave Eiffel, engineer and architect (1832)
- Henri Becquerel, Nobel laureate (1852)
- Charles Duryea, car manufacturer (1861)
- Maxwell Anderson, journalist and playwright (1888)
- J. Paul Getty, businessman (1892)
- Stan Kenton, jazz musician (1911)
- Ray Eames, designer (1912)
- Buddy Cole, jazz musician (1916)
- Max Yasgur, farmer who owned the Woodstock Festival site (1919)
- Kurt Schaffenberger, comic book artist (1920)
- Alan Freed, radio host (1921)
- Freeman Dyson, physicist and mathematician (1923)
- Uziel Gal, weapons designer, creator of the Uzi gun (1923)
- Tim Conway, actor (1933)
- Dave Clark, rock and roll musician (1942)
- Don Johnson, actor (1949)
- Robert Charles Wilson, science fiction writer (1953)
Deaths
- Johannes Vermeer, painter (1675)
- Izaak Walton, fisher and author (1683)
- Sitting Bull, tribal chief (1890)
- Fats Waller, musician (1943)
- Glenn Miller, musician (1944)
- Wolfgang Pauli, Nobel laureate (1958)
- Charles Laughton, actor
- Walt Disney, animator and theme park entrepreneur (1966)
- Chill Wills, actor (1978)
- William Proxmire, politician (2005)
- Oral Roberts, evangelist (2009)
- Blake Edwards, filmmaker (2010)
- Christopher Hitchens, journalist and author (2011)
- Joan Fontaine, actress (2013)
Holidays and Celebrations
- Bill of Rights Day (United States)
- Consualia (Roman Empire)
- Homecoming Day (Alderney)
- Kingdom Day (Netherlands)
- Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty (Russia)
- Zamenhof Day (Esperanto community)
Informal and made-up holidays include Cat Herders Day and National Lemon Cupcake Day. Some people simply celebrate the latter as “Cupcake Day” without regard for flavor.
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December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years). There are 16 days remaining until the end of the year.