UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
15 May 2011 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 15 May 2011 was a Sunday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “E.T.” by Katy Perry featuring Kanye West.
- Top Film of 2011
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2011 was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
- Bestselling Novel of 2011
- “The Litigators” by John Grisham was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 2011.
- Top-Rated TV Show
- “Sunday Night Football” (NBC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 2011–12 season.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 15 May is Taurus.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 15 May 2011 fell in the Year of the Rabbit.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for May is Emerald.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 15 May 2011 was Waxing Gibbous.
On this day: 15 May
- 1997 The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.
- 2001 A CSX EMD SD40-2 8888 rolls out of a train yard in Walbridge, Ohio, with 47 freight cars, including some tank cars with flammable chemical, after its engineer fails to reboard it after setting a yard switch. It travels south driverless for 66 miles (106 km) until it is brought to a halt near Kenton. The incident became the inspiration for the 2010 film Unstoppable.
- 2004 Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C. with the right to claim the title "The Invincibles".
- 2008 California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
- 2010 Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
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 2011 in the United States
A selection from Wikipedia's '2011 in the United States'. Not a complete list.
- February 27 – The 83rd Academy Awards, hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, are held at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Tom Hooper's The King's Speech wins four awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
- March 11 – Following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues a tsunami warning to parts of the U.S. West Coast along the affected coastal areas in Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. Territories in the Pacific Ocean.
- April 15 – Rio is released in theaters.
Life in the US in 2011
President
Barack Obama
Gas (per gallon)
$3.52
Loaf of Bread
$1.74
Average House
$242,300
Weekly Wage
$737
Or
Browse by Year
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 →