Some of the significant events which took place on July 15 taken from the leaf of History:

1099- City of Jerusalem is captured and plundered by Christian forces during the First Crusade.

1205- Pope Innocent III states Jews are doomed to perpetual servitudea and subjugation due to crucifixion of Jesus.

1381- John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hung, drawn and quartered in the presence of Richard II of England.

1410- Battle of Grunwald (First Battle of Tannenburg, Battle of Žalgiris), one of Medieval Europe’s largest battles during Poland-Lithuanian Teutonic War. Polish King Władysław Jagiełło and Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas defeat Teutonic Ulrich von Jungingen.

1783 – Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, great Indian merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, is born in Bombay (present Mumbai in India).

1799- The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign.

1903 – Kumaraswamy Kamraj, great freedom fighter, social reformer, and political leader is born in a trading family at Virudhanagar in Tamil Nadu.

1904 – The first Buddhist temple in the US was established in Los Angeles.

1922 – England Chimney Sweep: The humble chimney sweep is being swept away by machines with the advent of giant vacuum cleaners which do the job quicker, cleaner and cheaper than the traditional chimney sweep.

1933 – China Yellow River Mass Flooding: Hundreds of thousands of Chinese peasants are homeless due to the Yellow River overrunning its dykes and flooding thousands of acres of land. Famine is now also affecting these men, women and children and hundreds are now dying from starvation.

1945 – Italy Declares War on Japan: Italy formally declared war on Japan, a former Axis partner.

1954 – U.S.A. Boeing 707 Maiden Flight: America’s first jet airliner the Boeing 707 took off from Renton Field in Renton, Washington on its maiden flight.

1955 – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister was awarded the Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian honour) by the then President Rajendra Prasad.

1955- 18 Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by 34 more laureates.

1965 – Mars Mariner 4: The unmanned spacecraft Mariner 4 passes over Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet and sends back to Earth the first close-up images of the red planet.

1971 – UK Color Prejudice: Euston Station staffing ‘color bar’ ends after complaints by a West Indian who was refused a job at Euston Station. It is thought a number of British Rail Stations still conduct an unofficial color bar on staff. A new Race Relations Act was implemented in 1968 and a further strengthening of measures to combat racial prejudice in the workplace was implemented in the 1976 Race Relations Act.

1971 – UK Seal Pups Cull off Lincolnshire Coast: The Home Office has granted rights for five fishermen to kill 350 seal pups using high powered rifles off the Lincolnshire coast by the end of next week in a bid to stop overcrowding. Seal Pup pelts sell for up to £12 per pelt.

1971 – Nixon to Visit China: President Richard Nixon announces on a live television and radio broadcast that he will visit communist China the following year. The trip became a starting point for improvements in U.S. Chinese relations.

1984 – India Sikh Unrest in Punjab: Following Sikh unrest in Punjab and North Eastern India the government has given itself sweeping powers through the use of designating area’s as Terrorist Affected which will allow them to set up special courts to try those believed to be involved in terrorism.

1995 – Bosnia Ethnic Cleansing: Ethnic Cleansing by Bosnian Serbs in the “safe area” of Srebrenica with tales of rape, massacres and psychological torture, the 40,000 women, children and elderly people who were under the protection of Dutch peacekeepers have been forced to flee what was set up as a “Safe Haven” because peacekeeping forces did not have the mandate to stop Serb forces taking over the town. It is also believed but not yet confirmed that over 3,000 Muslim men have been shot and murdered during the ethnic cleansing, but Bosnian Serbian forces are refusing entry to journalists and international organizations to confirm reports. After a number of investigations by the United Nations mass graves were found and the number of men killed was estimated at over 7,000 Muslim men who were shot dead and buried in mass graves. The General in charge General Mladic was later indicted by the War Crimes Tribunal for genocide but is still at large.

1997 – Mahesh Chandra Mehta, environmental activist, wins the Raman Magsaysay Award.

2002 – Hormone Replacement Therapy HRT: Research by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) has suggested that women who take HRT (Prempro — equine hormones, oestrogen and progestin) for menopausal symptoms were 26% more likely to develop breast cancer and may be at increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Following the report the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy decreased by 50%, but many women still believe the benefits outweigh the risks.

2006 – UN Sanctions Passed on North Korea: The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea after the country tested a long-range missile and several shorter-range missiles earlier in the month. The vote was unanimous.

2007 – Peru General Strikes and Protests: Massive protests in the country of Peru continued in all major towns and cities. The protests, started as a national strike held by the Peruvian Education Worker’s Union as a sign of disapproval of the government at the time, after the first year of Alan Garcia’s presidency.

2009 – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Part 1” was released in theaters in the U.S. It was the sixth movie in the series.

2011 – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Part 2” was released in theaters in the U.S. and U.K. It was the final film in the Harry Potter series.