Oct 15
1951
Putting the power of birth control in a pill
On this day Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes synthesized norethindrone, a hormone that would help revolutionize birth control. Working with two other chemists in Mexico City, he developed a synthetic form of progesterone that was effective when taken orally. The breakthrough helped pave the way for the birth control pill, giving women greater control over reproduction and transforming their educational, economic, and social opportunities.
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On this day in 1959 a final conference on the Antarctic Treaty convened in Washington, D.C., and, after six weeks of negotiations, the treaty was signed by 12 countries, preserving the continent for free scientific study.
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American prizefighter John L. Sullivan, born this day in 1858, was one of the most popular heavyweight champions and a symbol of the bare-knuckle era of boxing that effectively ended with his knockout of Jake Kilrain in 1889.
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2025
A paper published in the journal Biology Letters determined that the Chicago “rat hole”—an imprint made in the wet concrete of one of the city’s sidewalks, which later became a tourist attraction—was not made by a rat but instead, almost certainly, by a squirrel. [Was Chicago’s “rat hole” really made by a rat?]
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2018
Investor and philanthropist Paul Allen, who cofounded Microsoft and later owned the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks, died at age 65.
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2017
The Me Too movement gained global momentum after actress Alyssa Milano encouraged survivors of sexual harassment and assault to share their experiences on social media, amplifying a movement founded by activist Tarana Burke in 2006.
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2003
China became the third country to launch a crewed spaceflight; Shenzhou 5, which was piloted by Yang Liwei, orbited Earth 14 times during the 21-hour flight. [Take our famous astronauts and cosmonauts quiz.]
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1994
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected president, returned from exile and was restored to power three years after being overthrown in a military coup.
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1993
Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk were named the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.” [How much do you know about the Nobel Prize?]
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1987
A military coup in Burkina Faso overthrew head of state Thomas Sankara, killing him and eight others.
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1969
President Cabdirashiid Cali Shermaʾarke (Abdirashid Ali Shermarke) of Somalia was assassinated. [Test your knowledge of African leaders.]
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1966
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party, the mission of which was to protect Black Americans from police brutality. [Learn the answers to five FAQs about the Black Panther Party.]
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1951
The first episode of I Love Lucy aired on CBS. The comedy series—which starred Lucille Ball and her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz—became a television classic. [Find out more about 1950s TV sitcoms.]
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1940
The comedy classic The Great Dictator premiered in New York City. Charlie Chaplin’s biggest box-office success, it satirized Adolf Hitler and Nazism and condemned antisemitism. [Test your knowledge of cinema.]
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1934
Chinese communists began the Long March, the 6,000-mile (10,000-km) trek that resulted in the relocation of the communist revolutionary base from southeast China to northwest China and the emergence of Mao Zedong as the undisputed leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
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1928
Some four days after leaving Germany, the Graf Zeppelin landed in Lakehurst, New Jersey, completing its first transatlantic trip. [Take our quiz about aviation and aircraft.]
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1917
Mata Hari was executed by a firing squad near Paris after a French military court convicted her on charges of spying for Germany during World War I. [Read about 10 famous spies, including Mata Hari.]
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1844
Classical scholar and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the most influential of all modern thinkers, was born in Prussia. [Test your knowledge of famous philosophers.]
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1839
Encouraged by her uncle Leopold, Queen Victoria of England proposed to her cousin, Prince Albert. [Take our queens of England quiz.]
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70 bce
Virgil, the Roman poet best known for his national epic, the Aeneid, was born near Mantua. [Sort fact from fiction in our poetry quiz.]
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