Major events that occurred on May 15

Nicosia, Cyprus. Selected major events from history occurred on May 15, spanning political developments, scientific milestones, cultural records and international justice.

1934

Karlis Ulmanis seized power in a coup in Latvia.

1940

Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the United States.

1955

The Vienna Treaty, signed by Britain, France, the United States and Soviet Union, restored Austrian sovereignty.

1957

Britain dropped its first hydrogen bomb on Christmas Island in the Pacific.

1990

“Portrait of Doctor Gachet” by Vincent Van Gogh sold for a record $82.5 million at Christies in New York.

1991

President Francois Mitterrand appointed Edith Cresson as France’s first woman prime minister. Known for her outspokenness, she was replaced after less than a year.

1996

Atal Bihari Vajpayee became India’s first Hindu nationalist prime minister after his Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the largest single group in a hung parliament.

2001

After nearly eight years of marriage, Japan’s Princess Masako was confirmed pregnant with a possible heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne, the world’s oldest monarchy.

2002

Former Yugoslav Army general Mile Mrksic and Milan Martic, a former rebel leader in Croatia, arrived in The Hague to surrender to the war crimes tribunal.

Which of these May 15 events do you think had the most lasting impact?