November 15 in history — What Happened Today in History

Jharkhand officially becomes the 28th state of India, formed from eighteen districts of southern Bihar.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits the central Philippine island of Mindoro, killing 78 people, injuring 430 and triggering a tsunami up to 8.5 m (28 ft) high.

The Communist People's Republic of Bulgaria is disestablished and a new republican government is instituted.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-38, a classified mission for the Department of Defense.

In the Soviet Union, the uncrewed Shuttle Buran makes its only space flight.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict: An independent State of Palestine is proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council.

The first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, is launched in the Netherlands.

In Brașov, Romania, workers rebel against the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu.

Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crashes during takeoff from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, killing 25.

A research assistant is injured when a package from the Unabomber addressed to a University of Michigan professor explodes.

The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed at Hillsborough Castle by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declares independence; it is only recognized by Turkey.

A package from Unabomber Ted Kaczynski begins smoking in the cargo hold of a flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C., forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.

A chartered Douglas DC-8 crashes near Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 183.

René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois take power to become the first Quebec government of the 20th century clearly in favor of independence.

Intel releases the world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, the 4004.

Cold War: The Soviet submarine K-19 collides with the American submarine USS Gato in the Barents Sea.

Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 250,000–500,000 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the war, including a symbolic "March Against Death".

The Cleveland Transit System becomes the first transit system in the western hemisphere to provide direct rapid transit service from a city's downtown to its major airport.

The only fatality of the North American X-15 program occurs during the 191st flight when Air Force test pilot Michael J. Adams loses control of his aircraft which is destroyed mid-air over the Mojave Desert.

Project Gemini: Gemini 12 completes the program's final mission, when it splashes down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.

Craig Breedlove sets a land speed record of 600.601 mph (966.574 km/h) in his car, the Spirit of America, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Four members of the Clutter family are murdered near Holcomb, Kansas, by Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, a crime later detailed by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.

Short Solent 3 crashes near Chessell.

The first part of the Saint Petersburg Metro is opened.

Nikos Beloyannis, along with 11 comrades, is sentenced to death for attempting to reestablish the Communist Party of Greece.

The Holocaust: German SS leader Heinrich Himmler orders that Gypsies are to be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps".

World War II: The Battle of Guadalcanal ends in a decisive Allied victory.

Dylan Bundy, American baseball player

Sofia Goggia, Italian skier

Minami Minegishi, Japanese singer

Kevin Wimmer, Austrian footballer

Maxime Colin, French footballer

Shailene Woodley, American actress

Jona Viray, Filipino singer

B.o.B, American rapper, songwriter, and producer

Quanitra Hollingsworth, American-Turkish basketball player

Morgan Parra, French rugby player

Billy Twelvetrees, English rugby player

Sergio Llull, Spanish basketball player

Winston Duke, Tobagonian-American actor

Valéry Mézague, Cameroonian footballer (born 1983)

Reg Withers, Australian soldier and politician, Australian Minister for the Capital Territory (born 1924)

Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (born 1929)

Glafcos Clerides, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 4th President of Cyprus (born 1919)

Mike McCormack, American football player and coach (born 1930)

Théophile Abega, Cameroonian footballer and politician (born 1954)

Luís Carreira, Portuguese motorcycle racer (born 1976)

Maleli Kunavore, Fijian rugby player (born 1983)

K. C. Pant, Indian politician, 18th Indian Minister of Defence (born 1931)

Frode Thingnæs, Norwegian trombonist, composer, and conductor (born 1940)

Oba Chandler, American murderer (born 1946)

Larry Evans, American chess player and journalist (born 1932)

Ed Kirkpatrick, American baseball player (born 1944)