April 15
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Featured Event
The Bettmann Archive
The sinking of the unsinkable Titanic
On this day in 1912, the British luxury passenger liner Titanic sank en route to New York City from Southampton in England, after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage. Of the approximately 2,200 people on board, some 1,500 people died, with the shipâs crew and third-class passengers experiencing the most losses. [Read todayâs edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Photos.com/Getty Images
The most praiseworthy form of painting is the one that most resembles what it imitates.
Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, whose genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal and whose Last Supper (1495â98) and Mona Lisa (1503â06) are widely influential paintings, was born this day in 1452.
Famous Birthdays
More on April 15
Cedric HerpsonâAP/Shutterstock.com
2019
The iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral caught fire during a restoration campaign, and the blaze destroyed most of the cathedralâs roof, the 19th-century spire, and some of the rib vaulting. A restoration project began almost immediately, and the cathedral was reopened to the public in 2024. [Test your knowledge of Paris.]
David L. RyanâThe Boston Globe/Getty Images
2013
Near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, two homemade bombs were detonated in the crowd of spectators; 3 people were killed and more than 260 were wounded in the terrorist attack.
Ali Heider/AP Images
2003
U.S. President George W. Bush declared that the government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq had fallen as a result of the Iraq War. The following day he asked the United Nations to lift sanctions against Iraq. [Sort fact from fiction in our wars throughout history quiz.]
© dgrilla/stock.adobe.com
2000
U.S. President Bill Clinton established the Giant Sequoia National Monument, a preserve near Sequoia National Park covering more than 500 square miles (1,300 square km) of Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada of California. [How much do you know about national parks and landmarks?]
© Kenny1/Dreamstime.com
1989
Tragedy occurred at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, when a crush of football (soccer) fans ultimately resulted in 97 deaths and hundreds of injuries; police mistakes were later blamed for the incident.
Gisele Freund
1980
French novelist and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre, who was a leading exponent of existentialism, died at age 74. [Take our quiz about famous authors.]
Sygma
1955
Ray Kroc opened the first McDonaldâs franchise, launching an enterprise that would eventually become the worldâs largest fast-food chain, in Des Plaines, Illinois. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about food.]
UPI/Bettmann Archive
1947
Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseballâs racial barrier, played in his first major league game for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. [Watch: how Jackie Robinson become the first Black player in Major League Baseball.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1926
Robertson Aircraft, one of the companies that later developed into American Airlines, flew its first mail route, between Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri, with Charles Lindbergh as the pilot. [Test your knowledge of early aviation.]
Image: EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1924
The Rand McNally Auto Chum was released; it was the American publishing companyâs first road atlas. [Watch the evolution of cars over time.]
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1920
Two men were murdered in South Braintree, Massachusetts, leading to the Sacco-Vanzetti case and the still-controversial conviction of the two Italian immigrants. [Take our quiz about American history and politics.]