July 15 in Pop Culture History

850 (Earthquake) Iran

1149 – The reconstructed Church of the Holy Sepulchre was consecrated in Jerusalem.

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

1823 – A fire destroyed the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy.

1834 – The Spanish Inquisition was officially disbanded after nearly 356 years. Several thousand people were actually executed over this time, averaging about a dozen per year.

1838 – Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Christian Community was not pleased.

1950 – #1 Hit July 15, 1950 – August 18, 1950: Nat King Cole – Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)

1954 – First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and C-135 series.

1955 – Eighteen Nobel laureates signed the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others.

1979 – US President Jimmy Carter gives his Malaise Speech, where he characterizes the greatest threat to the country as “this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.”

1983 – Staying Alive, Zelig, Puberty Blues and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (re-issue) debuted in theaters.

1988 – Die Hard, Bambi (re-issue), The Dead Pool, Boyfriends and Girlfriends, A Killing Affair and A Fish Called Wanda were released in theaters.

1989 – #1 Hit July 15, 1989 – July 21, 1989: Simply Red – If You Don’t Know Me By Now

1994 – True Lies and Angels in the Outfield debuted in theaters.

1995 – Under Siege 2: Dark Territory debuted in theaters.

1998 – There’s Something About Mary was released in theaters.

2000 – #1 Hit July 15, 2000 – July 21, 2000: Vertical Horizon – Everything You Want

2003 – The Mozilla Foundation was established.

2005 – Wedding Crashers and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were released in theaters.

2006 – Twitter was launched. 140 characters could say a lot.

2007 – Rock of Love with Bret Michaels premiered on VH1

2009 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince debuted in theaters.

2011 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Winnie the Pooh were released in theaters.

2016 – Ghostbusters and Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party was released in theaters.