It happened one 15 July

1789 : Lafayette new colonel-general of the National Guard


On July 15, 1789, the Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the American War for Independence, is appointed as the new colonel-general of the National Guard. 4 days earlier he had proposed to the National Assembly a Bill of Rights based on the principles of the American Declaration of Independence.

1888 : Eruption of Mount Bandai in the province of Fukushima


On July 15, 1888, an eruption occured on Mount Bandai, a stratovolcano in the province of Fukushima in Japan. A cloud of ash and steam escaped from the volcano before falling on the surrounding villages. In addition, northern and eastern parts of the volcano collapsed causing massive landslides that buried entire villages. Hundreds of people were killed.
Following the collapse of the caldera, two large lakes and several small lakes were formed.

1918 : Second Battle of the Marne


On July 15, 1918, the Germans launched a double diversionary attack near Reims in order to draw Allied troops, massed in Flanders. However, the Germans launched their attack on an illusion : the first lines of trenches were almost deserted. The firepower of the attack had destroyed nothing and the Allied forces could respond with a fierce barrage. The Germans suffered many casualties and found themselves quickly surrounded.

1983 : Terrorist attack at the Orly airport


On July 15, 1983, a bomb exploded at the check-in counter of the Turkish Airlines in Orly Airport. 8 people were killed and 55 wounded. It was planted by Varoujan Garabedian, a member of the Syrian Armenian organization ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia).

1997 : Gianni Versace murdered


On July 15, 1997, the Italian designer Gianni Versace was murdered at his home in Miami Beach, Florida by a serial killer.

2009 : Natalya Estemirova murdered


On July 15, 2009, at 8:30, the Russian journalist and defender of human rights Natalya Estemirova, was abducted near her home in Grozny in Chechnya. She wa found murdered in the afternoon.
Estemirova worked for the Russian organization of protection of Human Rights Memorial. She was working on sensitive and dangerous cases of violations of human rights in Chechnya. Furthermore, she had been threatened several times by the Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Quote of the day : 15 July

Marquis de Lafayette
When the government violates the people's rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of the rights and the most indispensible of duties.

Birthdays : 15 July

Rembrandt, Dutch painter (1606)
Jean Rey, Belgian politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (1902)
Akhtar Hameed Khan, Paskistani microcredit pioneer (1914)
Albert Ghiorso, American nuclear scientist (1915)
Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist, Nobel Prize (1918)
Robert Bruce Merrifield, American chemist, Nobel Prize (1921)
Leon M. Lederman, American physicist, Nobel Laureate (1922)
Jacques Derrida, French philosopher (1930)
Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (1944)
Linda Ronstadt, American singer (1946)
Anne Sinclair, French journalist (1948)
Terry O'Quinn, American actor (1952)
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian politician (1953)
Patrick Timsit, French comedian (1959)
Vincent Lindon, French actor (1959)
Jean-Christophe Grangé, French writer (1961)
Forest Whitaker, American actor (1961)
Brigitte Nielsen, Danish actress (1963)
Irène Jacob, Swiss actress (1966)
Scott Foley, American actor (1972)
Brian Austin Green, American actor (1973)
Diane Kruger, German actress (1976)
Alexander Frei, Swiss footballer (1979)
Neemia Tialata, New Zealand All Black rugby player (1982)

They left us one 15 July

Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (1904)
John J. Pershing, American general (1948)
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican politician (1979)
Margaret Lockwood, English actress (1990)
Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (1997)
Roberto Bolaño, Chilean writer (2003)
Natalya Estemirova, Russian human rights activist (2009)
Tsilla Chelton, French actress (2012)
Other dates
Vue mer : crédit photo Aseed