On This Day
What Happened on January 15 in History
9 events that happened on January 15, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
Colonial America and the Revolution
1777
Settlers meeting in Westminster declared the independence of New Connecticut, the future Vermont.
The convention broke away from both Britain and the colony of New York, which claimed the territory. Future governor Thomas Chittenden was among the delegates.
Source: history.com
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1870
A Thomas Nast cartoon in Harper's Weekly used a donkey to stand for the Democrats, an image that became the party's symbol.
The cartoon, titled A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion, mocked Democratic newspapers. Nast's later cartoons made the donkey a lasting party symbol.
Source: history.com; library.osu.edu
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1919
A storage tank burst in Boston's North End, sending a wave of molasses through the streets and killing 21 people.
The tank belonged to the United States Industrial Alcohol Company near Commercial Street. Scores of people were injured in the flood.
Source: history.com
1919
German revolutionaries Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered in Berlin after a failed uprising.
Right-wing paramilitary units crushed the Spartacist revolt over several days in January. Both leaders were seized and killed by the troops.
Source: history.com
1929
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
The son of a Baptist minister, King became the leading voice of the civil rights movement, beginning with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. His birthday is now a federal holiday.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
The Cold War
1967
The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first Super Bowl.
Played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the game was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship. The NFL champion Packers had been heavily favored.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
1968
Jeannette Rankin, 87, led about 5,000 women in a march on Washington against the Vietnam War.
Rankin had been the first woman elected to Congress. The marchers, called the Jeannette Rankin Brigade, sought to deliver a petition to Congress.
Source: history.com; rozsixties.unl.edu
The Modern Era
2001
Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia anyone can edit, went live.
Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger started it after their earlier project, Nupedia, struggled. It grew to millions of articles in hundreds of languages.
Source: history.com
2009
Captain Chesley Sullenberger landed a disabled airliner on the Hudson River, saving everyone aboard.
A bird strike knocked out both engines of US Airways Flight 1549 soon after takeoff from New York. New York's governor called the landing the miracle on the Hudson.
Source: history.com