Nicosia, Cyprus. July 15 has been marked by significant events in literature, politics, sport, technology and popular culture, including the deaths of Anton Chekhov and Gianni Versace.
Early events
In 1904, Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, author of “The Cherry Orchard”, died.
In 1927, nearly 90 people were killed in riots in Vienna following a strike.
Political and legal developments
In 2002, John Walker Lindh, a Californian Muslim convert captured among al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to aiding the Taliban.
In 2004, former Rwandan finance minister Emmanuel Ndindabahizi was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the country’s 1994 genocide.
Deaths and records
In 1997, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot and killed outside his Miami Beach mansion.
In 2005, American Herbert Brown, a 105-year-old survivor of the Nazi Dachau concentration camp, and his 100-year-old wife Magda were awarded The Guinness Book of World Records title of the world’s oldest married couple.
In 2011, an Italian free-diving couple set a record for the longest underwater kiss, lasting three minutes and eight seconds.
In 2017, Great Britain’s Samantha Kinghorn set the 200m T53 world record at the ParaAthletics Championships.
Technology
In 2006, social media site Twitter launched.