Editing August 15 (section)

===1901–present===
*[[1907]] &ndash; Ordination in Constantinople of Fr. [[Raphael Morgan]], the first African-American [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] priest, "Priest-Apostolic" to America and the West Indies.
*[[1914]] &ndash; A servant of American [[architect]], [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], sets fire to the living quarters of Wright's [[Wisconsin]] home, [[Taliesin (studio)|Taliesin]], and murders seven people there.
*  1914   &ndash; The [[Panama Canal]] opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship {{SS|Ancon|1901|6}}.
*  1914   &ndash; [[World War I]]: The [[1st Army (Russian Empire)|First Russian Army]], led by [[Paul von Rennenkampf]], enters [[East Prussia]].
*  1914   &ndash; World War I: Beginning of the [[Battle of Cer]], the first [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] victory of World War I.
*[[1915]] &ndash; A story in ''New York World'' newspaper reveals that the Imperial German government had purchased excess phenol from Thomas Edison that could be used to make explosives for the war effort and [[Great Phenol Plot|diverted it]] to Bayer for aspirin production.
*[[1920]] &ndash; [[Polish–Soviet War]]: [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]], so-called Miracle at the Vistula.
*[[1935]] &ndash; [[Will Rogers]] and [[Wiley Post]] are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in [[Barrow, Alaska]].
*[[1939]] &ndash; Twenty-six [[Junkers Ju 87]] bombers commanded by [[Walter Sigel]] meet unexpected ground fog during a dive-bombing demonstration for Luftwaffe generals at [[Świętoszów|Neuhammer]]. Thirteen of them crash and burn.
*  1939   &ndash; ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theater in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]].<ref>{{cite web | title= No Place Like Home: 'Wizard of Oz' premiered here 70 years ago | url= http://host.madison.com/article_5c61ec86-41d1-5eef-a2da-e2ad874a4aeb.html | date= August 18, 2009 | first= Katjusa | last= Cisar | publisher= Madison.com | access-date= October 21, 2011 | archive-date= August 25, 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170825104341/http://host.madison.com/article_5c61ec86-41d1-5eef-a2da-e2ad874a4aeb.html | url-status= live }}</ref>
*[[1940]] &ndash; An [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] submarine torpedoes and sinks the {{ship|Greek cruiser|Elli|1912|6}} at [[Tinos]] harbor during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the [[Greco-Italian War]] in October.
*[[1941]] &ndash; Corporal [[Josef Jakobs]] is executed by firing squad at the [[Tower of London]] at 07:12, making him the last person to be executed at the Tower for [[espionage]].
*[[1942]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: [[Operation Pedestal]]: The oil tanker {{SS|Ohio}} reaches the island of [[Malta]] barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island's defenses.
*[[1943]] &ndash; World War II:  [[Battle of Trahili]]: Superior German forces surround Cretan partisans, who manage to escape against all odds.
*[[1944]] &ndash; World War II: [[Operation Dragoon]]: Allied forces land in [[southern France]].
*[[1945]] &ndash; [[Hirohito|Emperor Hirohito]] [[Hirohito surrender broadcast|broadcasts his declaration of surrender]] following the effective [[surrender of Japan]] in [[World War II]]; [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea]] gains [[National Liberation Day of Korea|independence]] from the [[Empire of Japan]].
*[[1947]] &ndash; [[India]] gains [[Indian independence movement|independence]] from [[British Raj|British rule]] after near 190 years of [[Company rule in India|British company]] and [[British Raj|crown rule]] and joins the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
*  1947   &ndash; Founder of Pakistan, [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] is sworn in as first [[Governor-General of Pakistan]] in [[Karachi]].
*[[1948]] &ndash; The [[First Republic of Korea]] (South Korea) is established in the southern half of the peninsula.
*[[1950]] &ndash; Measuring {{M|w|link=y}} 8.6, the [[1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake|largest earthquake on land]] occurs in the [[India–Myanmar border|Assam-Tibet-Myanmar border]], killing 4,800.<ref>{{cite web |title=M 8.6 – 1950 Assam-Tibet Earthquake |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/official19500815140934_30/executive |website=earthquake.usgs.gov |publisher=USGS |access-date=14 August 2021}}</ref>
*[[1952]] &ndash; [[Lynmouth Flood|A flash flood]] drenches the town of [[Lynmouth]], England, killing 34 people.
*[[1954]] &ndash; [[Alfredo Stroessner]] begins his dictatorship in [[Paraguay]].
*[[1959]] &ndash; [[American Airlines Flight 514]], a [[Boeing 707]], crashes near the [[Calverton Executive Airpark]] in [[Calverton, New York]], killing all five people on board.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-123 N7514A Calverton-Peconic River Airport, NY (CTO) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19590815-0 |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=aviation-safety.net |publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]}}</ref>
*[[1960]] &ndash; [[Republic of the Congo]] ([[Brazzaville]]) becomes independent from [[French Fourth Republic|France]].
*[[1961]] &ndash; Border guard [[Conrad Schumann]] flees from [[East Germany]] while on duty guarding the construction of the [[Berlin Wall]].
*[[1962]] &ndash; [[James Joseph Dresnok]] defects to [[North Korea]] after running across the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]]. Dresnok died in 2016.
*[[1963]] &ndash; Execution of [[Henry John Burnett]], the last man to be hanged in [[Scotland]].
*  1963   &ndash; President [[Fulbert Youlou]] is overthrown in the [[Republic of the Congo]], after a [[Trois Glorieuses (1963)|three-day uprising]] in the capital.
*[[1965]] &ndash; [[The Beatles]] play to nearly [[The Beatles' 1965 US tour|60,000 fans at Shea Stadium]] in New York City, an event later regarded as the birth of [[arena rock|stadium rock]].
*[[1969]] &ndash; The [[Woodstock|Woodstock Music & Art Fair]] opens in [[Bethel, New York]], featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.
*[[1970]] &ndash; [[Patricia Palinkas]] becomes the first woman to play professionally in an [[American football]] game.
*[[1971]] &ndash; President [[Richard Nixon]] completes the break from the [[gold standard]] by [[Nixon Shock|ending]] convertibility of the [[United States dollar]] into gold by foreign investors.
*  1971   &ndash; [[Bahrain]] gains [[Independence Day (Bahrain)|independence]] from the United Kingdom.
*[[1973]] &ndash; [[Vietnam War]]: The USAF [[Operation Freedom Deal|bombing of Cambodia]] ends.
*[[1974]] &ndash; [[Yuk Young-soo]], [[First Lady]] of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon [[President of South Korea|President]] [[Park Chung Hee]].
*[[1975]] &ndash; [[Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]] leader [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] is killed along with most members of his family during a military coup.
*  1975   &ndash; [[Takeo Miki]] makes the first official pilgrimage to [[Yasukuni Shrine]] by an incumbent [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister]] on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
*[[1976]] &ndash; [[SAETA Flight 011 (1976)|SAETA Flight 011]] crashes into the [[Chimborazo]] volcano in [[Ecuador]], killing all 59 people on board; the wreckage is not discovered until 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Vickers 785D Viscount HC-ARS Chimborazo Volcano|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19760815-0|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-27|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109171533/http://www.aviation-safety.net:80/database/record.php?id=19760815-0 |archive-date=2005-11-09 }}</ref>
*[[1977]] &ndash; [[Ohio State University Radio Observatory|The Big Ear]], a [[radio telescope]] operated by [[Ohio State University]] as part of the [[Search for extraterrestrial intelligence|SETI]] project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "[[Wow! signal]]" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.
*[[1984]] &ndash; The [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] in [[Turkey]] starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the [[Turkish Armed Forces]] with an [[1984 PKK attacks|attack on police and gendarmerie bases in Şemdinli and Eruh]].
*[[1985]] &ndash; Signing of the [[Assam Accord]], an agreement between representatives of the [[Government of India]] and the leaders of the [[Assam Movement]] to end the movement.
*[[1989]] &ndash; [[China Eastern Airlines Flight 5510]] crashes after takeoff from [[Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport]], killing 34 of the 40 people on board.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Antonov An-24RV B-3417 Shanghai-Hongqiao Airport (SHA) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890815-1 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*[[1995]] &ndash; In [[South Carolina]], [[Shannon Faulkner]] becomes the first female [[cadet]] matriculated at [[The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina|The Citadel]] (she drops out less than a week later).
*  1995   &ndash; [[Tomiichi Murayama]], Prime Minister of Japan, releases the [[Murayama Statement]], which formally expresses remorse for [[Japanese war crimes]] committed during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/9508.html|title=MOFA: Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama "On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end" (15 August 1995)|website=www.mofa.go.jp|access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref>
*[[1998]] &ndash; [[Northern Ireland]]: [[Omagh bombing]] takes place; 29 people (including a woman pregnant with twins) killed and some 220 others injured.<ref>{{cite web |title=Omagh bomb: Bell tolls to mark 20th anniversary |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-45144511 |website=BBC News |access-date=2 February 2023 |date=15 August 2018}}</ref>
*  1998   &ndash; [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] introduces the [[iMac]] computer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Apple Fast Facts|website=CNN|date=July 2014|access-date=January 12, 2022|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/01/business/apple-fast-facts/index.html}}</ref>
*[[1999]] &ndash; [[Béni Ounif|Beni Ounif massacre]] in [[Algeria]]: Some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with [[Morocco]].
*[[2005]] &ndash; [[Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip|Israel's unilateral disengagement plan]] to evict all [[Israelis]] from the [[Gaza Strip]] and from four [[Israeli settlement|settlements]] in the northern [[West Bank]] begins.
*  2005   &ndash; The Helsinki Agreement between the [[Free Aceh Movement]] and the [[Government of Indonesia]] was signed, ending [[Insurgency in Aceh|almost three decades of fighting]].
*[[2007]] &ndash; An [[2007 Peru earthquake|8.0-magnitude earthquake]] off the Pacific coast devastates [[Ica Region|Ica]] and various regions of [[Peru]] killing 514 and injuring 1,090.
*[[2013]] &ndash; At least 27 people are killed and 226 injured in an [[August 2013 Beirut bombing|explosion]] in southern [[Beirut]] near a complex used by Lebanon's militant group [[Hezbollah]] in Lebanon. A previously unknown [[Syria]]n [[Sunni]] group claims responsibility in an online video.
*  2013   &ndash; The [[Smithsonian]] announces the discovery of the [[olinguito]], the first new carnivorous species found in the Americas in 35 years.
*[[2015]] &ndash; [[North Korea]] moves its clock back half an hour to introduce [[Time in North Korea|Pyongyang Time]], 8{{frac|1|2}} hours ahead of [[UTC]].
*[[2020]] &ndash; Russia begins production on the [[Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Russia Fast Facts|website=CNN|date=29 October 2013|access-date=January 11, 2022|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/29/world/russia-fast-facts/index.html}}</ref>
*[[2021]] &ndash; [[Kabul]] [[Fall of Kabul (2021)|falls]] into the hands of the [[Taliban]] as [[Ashraf Ghani]] flees Afghanistan along with local residents and foreign nationals, effectively reestablishing the [[Afghanistan|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]].