At A Glance

15 May 1969 at a glance

Day of the week
15 May 1969 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” by The 5th Dimension.
Top Film of 1969
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1969 was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Bestselling Novel of 1969
“Portnoy's Complaint” by Philip Roth was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1969.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In” (NBC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1969–70 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 15 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 15 May 1969 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 15 May 1969 was New Moon.

On this day: 15 May

  • 1948 Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel, thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
  • 1963 Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
  • 1970 President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington as the first female United States Army generals.
  • 1972 The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since their conquest in 1945, revert to Japanese control.
  • 1988 Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.

Famous people born on May 15

  • Don Nelson, American basketball player and coach (1940–2026)
  • Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress and singer (born 1981)
  • David Krumholtz, American actor (born 1978)
  • Ousmane Dembélé, French footballer (born 1997)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1969 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1969 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • February 9 – The Boeing 747 makes its maiden flight, from Paine Field at Everett, Washington.
  • May 25 – Midnight Cowboy, an X-rated, Oscar-winning John Schlesinger film, is released.
  • June 28 – The Stonewall riots in New York City mark the start of the modern gay rights movement in the U.S.

Life in the US in 1969

President

Richard Nixon

Gas (per gallon)

$0.35

Loaf of Bread

$0.24

Average House

$17,400

Weekly Wage

$130

Or

Browse by Year

Famous Faces Born in the 1960s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →