What happened on October 15 ?

533 - Byzantine general Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.

1552 - Khanate of Kazan is conquered by troops of Ivan Grozny.

1582 - Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.

1764 - Edward Gibbon observes a group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome, which inspires him to begin work on The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

1815 - Napoleon I of France begins his exile on St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.

1863 - American Civil War: The first submarine to sink a ship, and first to sink an enemy warship, CSS H. L. Hunley sinks during a test, killing its inventor, Horace L. Hunley.

1878 - The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation.

1880 - Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.

1883 - The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional.

1894 - Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying - Dreyfus affair begins.

1904 - The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.

1917 - World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany.

1928 - The airship, the Graf Zeppelin completed its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA.

1932 - Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.

1939 - The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.

1940 - The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.

1945 - World War II: The former premier of Vichy France Pierre Laval is shot by a firing squad for treason.

1946 - Nuremberg Trials: Hermann Göring poisons himself the night before his execution.

1951 - Television sitcom I Love Lucy premieres.

1951 - Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes synthetized the first oral contraceptive

1953 - British nuclear test Totem 1 detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.

1965 - Vietnam War: The National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam stages the first public burning of a draft card in the United States.

1966 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.

1969 - Vietnam War: Hundreds of thousands of people take part in National Moratorium antiwar demonstrations across the United States.

1970 - Thirty-five construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses.

1971 - The start of the 2500 Year Celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia.

1981 - Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.

1987 - The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England.

1989 - Wayne Gretzky becomes the all time leading points scorer in the NHL.

1990 - Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.

1991 - Following a bitter confirmation hearing that involved allegations of sexual misconduct, the United States Senate votes to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States by one of the closest margins ever, 52-48.

1992 - In Russia, Andrei Chikatilo is found guilty of 52 serial murders.

1995 - The Carolina Panthers win their first-ever regular season game by defeating the New York Jets at Clemson Memorial Stadium in South Carolina.

1995 - Saddam Hussein gains 99.96% of votes in Iraq's presidential elections.

1997 - The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom).

1997 - The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.

2001 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.

2003 - China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission.

2003 - Ilham Aliyev becomes President of Azerbaijan succeeding his father Heydar Aliyev.

2003 - The Staten Island Ferry boat Andrew J. Barberi collides with a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, killing 11 people and injuring 43 others (see 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash)

2003 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed following numerous failed petitions by her parents to prevent such action.

2005 - Iraqi constitution ratification vote

2005 - Riot in Toledo, Ohio breaks out during a National Socialist/Neo-Nazi protest; over 100 are arrested

2005 - Brett Hull retires from the NHL as third highest all-time goal scorer