What happened on August 15th?
– What happened on August 15th?
Current calendar page for August 15, 2024
Name day
Mechthild, Rupert
Historical events
2014 – Karstadt owner Nicolas Berggruen sells the struggling Karstadt department store to Austrian real estate investor René Benko for one euro.
1994 – One day after his arrest in Sudan, the international terrorist “Carlos” (Ilich Ramírez Sánchez) is extradited to France, where he is serving a multiple life sentence for numerous attacks and murders.
1969 – The Woodstock Festival begins in Bethel, New York. Originally 60,000 visitors were expected, but the three-day open-air concert draws up to 500,000 rock fans.
1944 – Ten weeks after the Allied landings in Normandy, around 200,000 Allied soldiers reach the French Riviera as part of Operation Dragoon.
1914 – The Panama Canal is opened to shipping traffic. The first cargo ship passes through the canal.
Birthdays
1994 – Lina Magull (30), German football player (FC Bayern Munich, 2018-2024)
1964 – Melinda Gates (60), American philanthropist, wife of Bill Gates (1994-2021)
1954 – Stieg Larsson, Swedish crime writer (“Millennium Trilogy”: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, “The Girl Who Played with Dragons”, “Forgiveness”), died in 2004
1944 – Sylvie Vartan (80), French singer (“Si je chante”, “Ne t’en vas pas”)
Deaths
1989 – Heinrich Krone, German politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs (1961-1966), Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group (1955-1961), born 1895
The current owners of Karstadt are René Benko and his employees after the sale by Nicolas Berggruen in 2014.
Despite numerous financial difficulties and changes of ownership, the Karstadt department store remains an important retail group in Germany.
