April 15
April 15 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 260 days remain until the year's end. It falls in spring (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Aries.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On April 15 the Sun's declination is approximately +9.8°. At this latitude the Sun is north of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere longer days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a April 15.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Tax Day (United States, typical filing deadline)
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1755 — Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was published in London. ↗(271 years ago)more
A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, was published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson. It is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language.
1865 — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln died nine hours after being shot. ↗(161 years ago)more
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederate States and playing a major role in the abolition of slavery.
1912 — The RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, killing more than 1,500 people. ↗(114 years ago)more
RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the 2,208 passengers and crew aboard, approximately 1,500 died, making the incident one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a single ship.
1947 — Jackie Robinson made his MLB debut, breaking baseball's colour line. ↗(79 years ago)more
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
2013 — Two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three. ↗(13 years ago)more
The Boston Marathon bombing, sometimes referred to as simply the Boston bombing, was an Islamist domestic terrorist attack that took place during the 117th annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs that detonated near the finish line of the race 14 seconds and 210 yards (19...
2019 — Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral was severely damaged by a fire. ↗(7 years ago)more
On 15 April 2019, at 18:18 CEST, a structural fire broke out in the roof space of Notre-Dame de Paris, a medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris, France, that is part of the "Paris, Banks of the Seine" UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Notable births
1452 — Leonardo da Vinci, Italian polymath. ↗(574 years ago)more
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he has also become known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, includin...
1707 — Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician. ↗(319 years ago)more
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss polymath who was active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, geographer, music theorist and engineer. He founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made influential discoveries in many other branches of mathematics, such as analytic number theory, complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus.
1894 — Bessie Smith, American blues singer. ↗(132 years ago)more
Bessie Smith was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s.
Notable deaths
- 1865 — Abraham Lincoln. ↗(161 years ago)
more
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederate States and playing a major role in the abolition of slavery.
1980 — Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher. ↗(46 years ago)more
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (106) | 2 × 53 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (260) | 2^2 × 5 × 13 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 15042026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | +9.78° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 66 days |