Today In History - October 15

1520 King Henry VIII of England orders bowling lanes be installed at Whitehall
1582 Many Catholic countries switch to the Gregorian calendar: thereby losing 10 days
1641 Paul de Chomedy de Maisonneuve claims Montreal
1655 The Jews of Lublin are massacred
1783 Jean Pilƒtre de Rozier makes a captive-balloon ascent
1789 The first US presidental tour: George Washington in New England
1846 Dr. William Thomas Green Morton: the first public use of ether
1860 11-year-old Grace Bedell writes to President Lincoln and tells him to grow a beard
1877 The 45th Congress (1877-79) convenes
1878 The Edison Electric Light Company incorporated
1881 The first American fishing magazine is published: American Angler
1883 Supreme Court declares that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 is unconstitutional
1890 Alabama Penny Savings Bank organizes in Birmingham, AL
1914 ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is founded
1914 The Clayton Antitrust Act is passed
1917 Mata Hari, the Dutch dancer and German spy, is executed by firing squad in Paris
1928 The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin" lands in Lakehurst, NJ
1937 The Ernest Hemingway novel "To Have and Have Not" is published
1939 LaGuardia Airport opens in New York City
1949 Billy Graham begins his ministry
1951 TV series "I Love Lucy" debuts on CBS TV
1956 William J. Brennan, Jr. is appointed to the Supreme Court
1959 TV series "Untouchables" premieres
1962 Byron R. White is appointed to the Supreme Court
1964 Kosygin and Brezhnev replace Soviet premier Nikita Krushchev
1964 Cole Porter dies
1966 LBJ signs a bill creating the Departmentt of Transportation
1969 The Bank of America World Headquarters is dedicated
1969 Vietnam Moratorium Day: millions protest the war in the US
1974 National Guard mobilizes to restore order in Boston
1983 US Marine sharpshooters kill five snipers at the Beirut International Airport
1985 Shuttle Columbia carries the Spacelab into orbit
1987 The NFL Players Association orders an end to the 24 day strike
1988 Amnesty International's Global Concert Tour ends in Buenos Aires
1989 Minister Billy Graham is given the 1,900th star on Hollywood Blvd.
1989 Wayne Gretsky passes Gordie Howes as NHL's all time top scorer
1991 Clarence Thomas is confirmed as Supreme Court Justice (52-48) amid sex scandal

1674 Robert Herrick Mass, British poet (Together)
1829 Asaph Hall
1844 Friedrich Nietzsche
1858 John L. Sullivan
1881 P.G. Wodehouse
1896 Melville Cooper
1900 Fritz Feld
1900 Mervyn Le Roy
1902 William Edmundson
1905 C. P. Snow
1907 John Cardinal Dearden
1908 John Kenneth
1909 Robert Trout
1917 Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
1917 Jan Miner
1921 Mario Puzo
1924 Colin Romoff
1924 Lee A. Iacocca
1926 Evan Hunter
1926 Jean Peters
1930 Phillipe Leroy
1932 Abby Dalton
1934 Peter Haskell
1935 Bobby-Joe Morrow
1937 Barry McGuire
1937 Linda Lavin
1939 Carmelo Bossi
1942 Penny Marshall
1945 Jim Palmer
1946 Richard Carpenter
1951 Roscoe Tanner
1953 Tito Jackson
1955 Tanya Roberts
1958 Jayne Modean
1959 Sarah Ferguson
1966 Jeffrey Jacquet
1991 Owen Joseph Kline