Oct. 15 history: H.L. Hunley sub

 Oct. 15 in history

In 1863, the H.L. Hunley, the world’s first successful combat submarine, sinks during a test run, killing its inventor and seven crew members. The sub was initially built and tested on Mobile Bay, Ala. H.L. Hunley sinks during tests | October 15, 1863 | HISTORY 

In 1883, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Civil Rights Bill of 1875 as unconstitutional, saying the government could not control the prejudices of people or companies. 1883: Supreme Court struck down Civil Rights Bill of 1875 - Mississippi Today

In 1892, 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' is published.

In 1912, before a campaign speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt is shot at close range by saloonkeeper John Schrank while greeting the public in front of the Gilpatrick Hotel. [Needless to say, he survived and became President.]

In 1917, Dancer and spy Mata Hari is executed outside of Paris.

In 1945, Pierre Laval, the puppet leader of Nazi-occupied Vichy France, is executed by firing squad for treason against France.

In 1944, German Gen. Erwin Rommel, nicknamed “the Desert Fox,” is given the option of facing a public trial for treason, as a co-conspirator in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, or taking cyanide. He chooses the latter.

In 1946, Hermann Göring, commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, president of the Reichstag, head of the Gestapo, prime minister of Prussia, chief forester of the Reich, chief liquidator of sequestered estates, supreme head of the National Weather Bureau, and Hitler’s designated successor dies by his own hand.

In 1947, Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier. 

In 1962, Soviet missiles photographed in Cuba.

In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wins Nobel Prize.

In 1964, in the midst of the conflict in Vietnam, Nikita Khrushchev is ousted as both premier of the Soviet Union and chief of the Communist Party after 10 years in power.

In 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending Cold War tensions.

In 1989, Wayne Gretzky breaks NHL ponts record.

1991, Clarence Thomas appointed to US Supreme Court. (History.com 10/15/23)