May 15 moves from Rotterdam’s smoke-filled streets to the mountain roads of Afghanistan, from the rise of Córdoba to a wartime law in Washington that changed American farming.
It is a date where power changes form. Military defeat becomes occupation. Independence becomes regional war. Exile becomes dynasty. Withdrawal becomes uncertainty. Even a government department, created during civil war, becomes part of a nation’s long-term future.
For anyone asking what happened on May 15, this date offers a wide and dramatic view of history.
In 1940, the Netherlands surrendered to Nazi Germany after the bombing of Rotterdam.
In 1948, armies from neighboring Arab states entered the war against the newly declared State of Israel. In 756, Abd al-Rahman I’s victory near Córdoba helped establish one of the most important Islamic states in medieval Europe.
Today in History May 15 is a date of surrender, conflict, state-building, retreat, and institutional change.
Major Events on May 15
1940 | The Netherlands Surrenders to Nazi Germany
The Netherlands did not fall slowly.
On May 10, 1940, German forces invaded. Five days later, on May 15, the Netherlands formally surrendered to Nazi Germany after Dutch defenses were overwhelmed and the bombing of Rotterdam placed unbearable pressure on the country’s military and political leadership.
Rotterdam changed everything.
The destruction of the city showed what further resistance could cost. Dutch leaders feared more cities would face the same fate, and the main phase of Dutch military resistance came to an end. Fighting continued briefly in Zeeland, but for most of the country, May 15 marked the beginning of a new and darker reality.
The surrender did not end fear. It changed its form.
Occupation brought repression, forced labor, resistance, deportation, hunger, and years of uncertainty. For the Netherlands, May 15 became more than a military date. It became part of the national memory of defeat, survival, and life under Nazi rule.
Read the full article on the Netherlands’ surrender in 1940 and how the bombing of Rotterdam helped force a nation into occupation.
This event also connects closely with our wider World War II history archive.
1948 | Arab States Attack the Newly Declared State of Israel
On May 15, 1948, armies from neighboring Arab states entered the conflict against the newly declared State of Israel. Israel had declared independence the day before, and the fighting that followed became a major phase of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
This was not only a military escalation.
It was the beginning of a regional war that carried different meanings for different peoples. For Israelis, May 15 became connected to survival, statehood, and the defense of a new country. For Palestinians, the same period is inseparable from displacement, loss, and the Nakba. Across the wider Middle East, the date became tied to war, identity, contested memory, and unresolved political conflict.
The consequences did not remain in 1948.
Borders, refugees, diplomacy, security, and national narratives continued to be shaped by what happened during this period. May 15 remains one of the most sensitive and historically charged dates in modern Middle Eastern history.
Continue with the full article on May 15, 1948, and why this date remains central to Israeli, Palestinian, and Middle Eastern history.
You can also explore more War Conflicts and Middle East history.
756 | Battle of Alameda Helps Establish the Emirate of Córdoba
Córdoba did not become powerful by accident.
On May 15, 756, Abd al-Rahman I defeated rival forces near Córdoba in the Battle of Alameda. He was an Umayyad survivor who had escaped the collapse of his dynasty in the east and reached al-Andalus, where he began rebuilding power at the far western edge of the Islamic world.
The victory near Córdoba gave him more than control of a battlefield.
It gave him the political space to establish the independent Emirate of Córdoba, a state that would become one of the most important centers of medieval Islamic Spain. Over time, Córdoba grew into a city associated with administration, architecture, scholarship, trade, and religious complexity.
The Battle of Alameda helped turn exile into dynasty.
From that victory came a new western Umayyad power that shaped the history of Iberia and the Mediterranean for centuries. It is one of the May 15 historical events that shows how a single battle can create a lasting political and cultural world.
Read the full story of the Battle of Alameda and how Abd al-Rahman I turned exile into one of medieval Europe’s most influential states.
This story also fits into our broader Ancient History and medieval Islamic Spain coverage.
1988 | Soviet Troops Begin Withdrawing from Afghanistan
Withdrawal was not peace.
On May 15, 1988, Soviet troops began leaving Afghanistan after nearly a decade of war. The withdrawal followed the Geneva Accords and marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union’s direct military involvement in the country.
For Moscow, the war had become a burden that was difficult to justify and impossible to turn into a clear victory. Soviet soldiers, armored vehicles, and convoys began moving out of a landscape that had drained money, lives, political confidence, and military credibility.
But for Afghanistan, the departure of Soviet troops did not mean stability had arrived.
The war had devastated communities, displaced millions, and left behind a fractured political landscape. Armed groups, foreign influence, and internal conflict continued to shape the country long after the Soviet withdrawal began. May 15 therefore stands as one of the major late Cold War turning points, not because it ended Afghanistan’s suffering, but because it exposed the limits of Soviet power.
Explore the full article on the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and why leaving the battlefield did not end the war’s consequences.
This event also connects with our broader Major Historical Events and Cold War history coverage.
1862 | Abraham Lincoln Establishes the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Not every historical turning point begins with an army.
On May 15, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating the United States Department of Agriculture. The country was in the middle of the Civil War, yet the federal government was also thinking about food, land, research, and the future of American farming.
That made the decision more important than it first appears.
The United States was still heavily agricultural, and farmers needed better access to scientific information, seed testing, crop data, weather knowledge, and practical research. The new department helped create a federal structure for agricultural science, food production, rural development, and farming innovation.
In a time of national crisis, Lincoln’s government was not only fighting a war. It was building systems that would support the country after the war. The Department of Agriculture became part of that long-term vision, linking science, policy, food security, and national development.
Read more about Lincoln’s creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and how wartime legislation helped shape American farming, research, and food security.
You can also explore more Science & Space and agricultural innovation history.
Famous Birthdays on May 15
- L. Frank Baum — 1856
American author best known for creating The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one of the most enduring fictional worlds in children’s literature. - Pierre Curie — 1859
French physicist and Nobel Prize winner whose work on radioactivity helped transform modern science and atomic research. - Ellen Wilson — 1860
First Lady of the United States and artist, remembered for her interest in social reform during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. - Katherine Anne Porter — 1890
American writer known for her short stories, essays, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Ship of Fools. - Jasper Johns — 1930
American artist whose paintings and prints helped reshape postwar art and influenced pop art, minimalism, and conceptual art. - Madeleine Albright — 1937
Diplomat and political leader who became the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State. - Brian Eno — 1948
British musician, producer, and artist known for pioneering ambient music and reshaping modern sound design. - Emmitt Smith — 1969
American football player and NFL all-time rushing leader, widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in football history.
The famous birthdays on May 15 bring together imagination, scientific discovery, diplomacy, visual art, music, literature, and sport. L. Frank Baum created a story world that became part of American cultural memory, while Katherine Anne Porter gave modern literature sharp psychological depth and moral complexity.
Science and public life also stand out on this date. Pierre Curie helped open new paths in the study of radioactivity, while Madeleine Albright broke one of the most visible barriers in American diplomacy. Ellen Wilson connects the date to social reform and public service from inside the White House.
May 15 is also unusually strong in modern culture. Jasper Johns changed the language of postwar art, Brian Eno reshaped how music could sound and feel, and Emmitt Smith became one of the defining athletes in American football history. Together, these birthdays show that May 15 is not only a date of war and political crisis. It is also a date of invention, imagination, public influence, and cultural endurance.
Notable Deaths on May 15
- Valentinian II — 392
Western Roman emperor whose mysterious death at Vienne deepened instability in the late Roman Empire. - Emily Dickinson — 1886
American poet whose compressed, unconventional verse became one of the defining voices of American literature. - Kazimir Malevich — 1935
Ukrainian-Russian avant-garde artist and theorist best known for Suprematism and his radical painting Black Square. - Edward Hopper — 1967
American painter whose quiet, psychologically charged scenes captured loneliness, stillness, and modern American life. - Robert Menzies — 1978
Australian statesman and long-serving prime minister who helped shape twentieth-century Australian politics. - June Carter Cash — 2003
American singer, songwriter, actress, and member of the Carter Family, remembered as a central figure in country music history. - Carlos Fuentes — 2012
Mexican novelist and essayist whose work became central to the Latin American literary Boom. - Fred Willard — 2020
American actor and comedian known for his improvisational style and decades of film and television work.
The notable deaths on May 15 carry an unusually strong artistic weight. Emily Dickinson’s poetry transformed silence, restraint, and private observation into one of the most original bodies of work in American letters. Kazimir Malevich pushed art toward abstraction so radically that a black square could become a manifesto. Edward Hopper, by contrast, made empty rooms, diners, windows, and streets feel charged with unspoken emotion.
The date also reaches into politics, music, literature, and comedy. Valentinian II belongs to the uncertainty of the late Roman Empire, while Robert Menzies shaped modern Australian public life. June Carter Cash carried country music tradition through performance and songwriting, Carlos Fuentes helped define modern Latin American literature, and Fred Willard brought a distinct comic timing to American film and television.
Why This Day Matters in History
Today in History May 15 is a date about power changing form.
In the Netherlands in 1940, military resistance gave way to occupation. In the Middle East in 1948, independence immediately became regional war, contested memory, and a conflict whose consequences still shape international politics. In Córdoba in 756, exile became dynasty when Abd al-Rahman I used victory to build a new Umayyad state in al-Andalus.
The later events show the same pattern in different forms. The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988 turned occupation into retreat, but not into peace. Lincoln’s creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862 turned wartime legislation into a long-term institution for agricultural science, food security, and national development.
Across centuries, historical events on May 15 show that power rarely disappears cleanly. It shifts, collapses, reorganizes, and leaves structures behind.
Explore More History
Continue exploring related historical themes and daily history pages:
You can also continue with nearby daily history pages:
- Today in History – May 14
- Today in History – May 16
Did You Know?
The Netherlands surrendered on May 15, 1940, but fighting continued briefly in Zeeland, where Dutch and French forces resisted longer than the rest of the country.
May 15, 1948, remains one of the most contested dates in modern Middle Eastern history. For Israelis, it is closely tied to state survival after independence. For Palestinians, the same period is tied to displacement and the Nakba.
Abd al-Rahman I was an Umayyad survivor who escaped dynastic collapse in the east and built a new center of power in al-Andalus. His victory near Córdoba helped create a state that would shape medieval Iberia for centuries.
The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan began in 1988, but Afghanistan did not enter peace when Soviet troops started leaving. The country remained deeply unstable after years of war, displacement, and foreign involvement.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was created during the American Civil War. Even while the country was divided by conflict, Lincoln’s government was building systems for farming research, food production, and national development.
Today in History May 15 brings together surrender, invasion, state formation, withdrawal, and institution-building. It is a date where one form of power often gives way to another: surrender becomes occupation, independence becomes war, exile becomes dynasty, withdrawal becomes uncertainty, and legislation becomes a national institution.
From Rotterdam and Israel to Córdoba, Afghanistan, and Washington, May 15 shows that history is not only made in moments of victory. It is also shaped by collapse, retreat, survival, and the difficult work of building what comes next.
