Famous people born on August 15 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is August 15, you share it with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lawrence, Napoleon Bonaparte — and you were born under Leo, the sign of the warm, confident, and born for the spotlight.
Birthday basics for August 15
Leo ♌
Zodiac sign
Peridot
Birthstone
Gladiolus
Birth flower
227th
Day of the year
August 15 is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years), with 138 days still to come.
Famous people born on August 15
Ben Affleck — Oscar-winning filmmaker and star of Argo and Gone Girl (born 1972).
Jennifer Lawrence — Oscar-winning actor of The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook (born 1990).
Napoleon Bonaparte — French general and emperor who reshaped 19th-century Europe (born 1769).
Also sharing the day:
Sir Walter Scott (b. 1771) — Scottish novelist and poet who wrote Ivanhoe and Rob Roy.
Julia Child (b. 1912) — American chef who brought French cooking into home kitchens.
Oscar Peterson (b. 1925) — Canadian jazz pianist regarded as one of the greatest of all time.
August 15 in history
1969 — The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opened in upstate New York.
1947 — India gained independence from British rule and was partitioned with Pakistan.
1971 — President Richard Nixon ended the gold standard by suspending dollar convertibility.
1914 — The Panama Canal officially opened to ship traffic, linking the Atlantic and Pacific.
1939 — The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
1965 — The Beatles played to nearly 60,000 fans at New York's Shea Stadium, the first big stadium rock concert.
August 15 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is August 15?
Anyone born on August 15 is a Leo — warm, confident, and born for the spotlight.
What is the birthstone for August 15?
The birthstone for a August 15 birthday is Peridot, and the birth flower is the Gladiolus.
Who is the most famous person born on August 15?
Ben Affleck is among the best known — Oscar-winning filmmaker and star of Argo and Gone Girl (born 1972).
What happened on August 15?
In 1969, The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opened in upstate New York.
What day of the year is August 15?
August 15 is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years), with 138 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on August 15? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.