15 August
What happened today in history?
- 1519 – Panama City is founded in Panama.
- 1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 1914 – The first ship (SS Ancon) passes through the Panama Canal.
- 1914 – Battle of Cer starts (the first Allied victory of World War 1).
- 1952 – A flood in Lynmouth, England, kills 34 people.
- 2013 – The olinguito, a member of the racoon family, is announced as the first new carnivore to be discovered in the Americas in more than 30 years.
Who was born today?
- 1769 – Napoleon – French general and emperor.
- 1771 – Walter Scott – Scottish author ( Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake).
- 1858 – Edith Nesbitt – English author (The Railway Children, Five Children and It)
- 1904 – George Klein – Canadian inventor of the electric wheelchair.
- 1912 – Julia Child – American chef.
- 1946 – Tony Robinson – English actor and presenter (Blackadder and Time Team).
- 1972 – Ben Affleck – American actor (Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, Dogma, Batman v Superman)
- 1990 – Jennifer Lawrence – American actress (Winter’s Bone, X-Men: First Class, The Hunger Games)
Who died today?
- 1057 – Macbeth – King of Scotland
- 1935 – Will Rogers – American actor and singer.
- 1935 – Paul Signac – French artist.