Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August 15
This is a list of selected August 15 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article, featured list or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
August 15: Ghost Festival in the Chinese calendar (2008); Victory over Japan Day; Independence Day in North Korea & South Korea (1945), India (1947), and Congo (1960); The Feast of the Assumption/Feast of the Dormition in Christianity.
- 778 – A Frankish army led by Roland was defeated by the Basques at Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain, a tale retold in the Old French epic poem The Song of Roland.
- 1248 – The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral (pictured), built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, was laid.
- 1914 – The Panama Canal opened to traffic, providing a shortcut from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through the Isthmus of Panama.
- 1945 – The surrender of Japan during World War II: The Gyokuon-hōsō was broadcast in Japan, announcing the unconditional surrender of the Japanese army and naval forces.
- 1947 – The British Raj was partitioned into the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.
- 1998 – A car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army killed 29 people and injured approximately 220 others in Omagh, Northern Ireland.