November 15
November 15 is the 320th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 46 days remain until the year's end. It falls in autumn (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Scorpio.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On November 15 the Sun's declination is approximately -19.4°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter 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 November 15.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- America Recycles Day (United States)
- Christian feast day: Abibus of Edessa
- Christian feast day: Albert the Great
- Christian feast day: Blessed Caius of Korea
- Christian feast day: Didier of Cahors
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2022 — The world population reached eight billion. ↗(4 years ago)more
In world demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently alive. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded 8 billion (8,000,000,000) on November 15, 2022. It took around 300,000 years of human prehistory and history for the human population to reach a billion and only 218 more years from there to reach 8 billion.
2020 — Lewis Hamilton wins the Turkish Grand Prix and secures his seventh drivers' title, equalling the all-time record held by Michael Schumacher. ↗(6 years ago)more
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with Michael Schumacher—and holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (203), among others.
2017 — A flood a few miles outside of Athens results in the death of 25 people. ↗(9 years ago)more
During the morning hours of 15 November 2017, after heavy rainfall caused because of the barometric low Eurydice and the Cyclone Numa, flooding occurred in Western Attica and mainly in Mandra, Nea Peramos, Magoula and Elefsina. The floods killed 24 people and caused severe damage. This is the third largest flood in Attica based on the number of dead.
2016 — Hong Kong's High Court bans elected politicians Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung from the city's Parliament. ↗(10 years ago)more
The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of the Judiciary of Hong Kong, consisting of the upper Court of Appeal and the lower Court of First Instance. It also deals with criminal and civil cases which have risen beyond the lower courts.
2012 — Xi Jinping becomes General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and a new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee is inaugurated. ↗(14 years ago)more
Xi Jinping is a Chinese statesman and politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Party Central Military Commission (CMC) since 2012, and the president of China and chairman of the State Central Military Commission since 2013.
2010 — A fire in a high-rise apartment building in Shanghai, China kills 58 people. ↗(16 years ago)more
The 2010 Shanghai fire was a fire on 15 November 2010 that destroyed a 28-story high-rise apartment building in the heart of Shanghai, China, killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 70 others. Most of the residents were retired state school senior educators. It is remembered as an iconic high-rise fire in China in the 2010s.
2007 — Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 5,000 people and destroying parts of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. ↗(19 years ago)more
Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Sidr was an extremely deadly and devastating tropical cyclone that resulted in one of the worst natural disasters in Bangladesh. The fourth named and the deadliest storm of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Sidr formed in the central Bay of Bengal, and quickly strengthened to reach peak 1-minute sustained winds of...
2006 — Al Jazeera English launches worldwide. ↗(20 years ago)more
Al Jazeera English, often known as Al Jazeera, is a 24-hour English-language news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is partially funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is the first global English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East.
2003 — The first day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings, in which two car bombs, targeting two synagogues, explode, kill 25 people and wound 300 more. ↗(23 years ago)more
The 2003 Istanbul bombings were a series of suicide attacks carried out with trucks fitted with bombs detonated at four locations in Istanbul, Turkey, on 15 and 20 November 2003.
2002 — Hu Jintao becomes General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and a new nine-member Politburo Standing Committee is inaugurated. ↗(24 years ago)more
Hu Jintao is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Commission from 2004 to 2012.
2001 — Microsoft launches the Xbox game console in North America. ↗(25 years ago)more
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. The company became influential in the rise of personal computers through software like Windows and has since expanded into areas such as Internet services, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, video gaming, and more.
2000 — A chartered Antonov An-24 crashes after takeoff from Luanda, Angola, killing more than 40 people. ↗(26 years ago)more
The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin turboprop regional airliner designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau. Later variants saw other uses, such as military transport and aerial cartography. The aircraft was manufactured by the Kyiv, Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude Aviation Factories. It is still license-produced in China as the Xi'an Y-7.
Notable births
2001 — TyTy Washington Jr., American basketball player ↗(25 years ago)more
Tyrone Lewis "TyTy" Washington Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the San Diego Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
1997 — Paula Badosa, Spanish tennis player ↗(29 years ago)more
Paula Badosa Gibert is a Spanish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles by the WTA and No. 124 in doubles, achieved on 25 April 2022. She has won four WTA Tour singles titles, including a WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, and reached a major semifinal at the 2025 Australian Open.
1996 — Kim Min-jae, South Korean footballer ↗(30 years ago)more
Kim Min-jae is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the South Korea national team.
- 1995 — Blake Pieroni, American swimmer ↗(31 years ago)
more
Blake John Pieroni is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming. He is a two time Olympian and gold medalist in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics.
1995 — Karl-Anthony Towns, Dominican-American basketball player ↗(31 years ago)more
Karl-Anthony Towns Jr., also known by his initials KAT, is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Towns was named to the Dominican Republic national team as a 16-year-old.
1994 — Ekaterina Alexandrova, Russian tennis player ↗(32 years ago)more
Ekaterina Evgenyevna Alexandrova is a Russian professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 10, achieved on 13 October 2025 and a best doubles ranking of No. 41, reached on 8 September 2025.
Notable deaths
- 2024 — Celeste Caeiro, Portuguese pacifist (born 1933) ↗(2 years ago)
more
Celeste Martins Caeiro, also known as Celeste dos Cravos, was a Portuguese communist and restaurant worker. Her actions led to the naming of the 1974 coup as the Carnation Revolution.
2024 — Béla Károlyi, Romanian-American gymnastics coach (born 1942) ↗(2 years ago)more
Béla Károlyi was a Romanian and American gymnastics coach of Hungarian origin. Early in his coaching career he developed the Romanian centralized training system for gymnastics. One of his earliest protégés was Nadia Comăneci, the first Olympic Games gymnast to be awarded a perfect score.
2024 — Jon Kenny, Irish comedian and actor (born 1957) ↗(2 years ago)more
Jon Kenny was an Irish comedian and actor, best known as one half of the Irish comic duo D'Unbelievables with Pat Shortt. They were a successful duo until 2000, releasing One Hell of a Video, D'Unbelievables, D'Video, D'Telly, D'Mother and D'collection but the group stopped touring after Kenny was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
2024 — Yuriko, Princess Mikasa, Japanese princess (born 1923) ↗(2 years ago)more
Yuriko, Princess Mikasa was a member of the Imperial House of Japan as the wife of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. The Princess was the last surviving paternal great-aunt by marriage of Emperor Naruhito and, before her death, was the oldest member of the imperial family, and the final living member who was bo...
- 2023 — Žarko Laušević, Serbian actor (born 1960) ↗(3 years ago)
more
Žarko Laušević was a Serbian actor. He became a leading actor early in his career. By the age of 33, he was a major star across the former Yugoslavia on both stage and screen.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (320) | 2^6 × 5 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (46) | 2 × 23 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 15112026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -19.37° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 35 days |