Historical timeline for September 15

Signing of the Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement occurs in Washington, D.C., normalizing relations between Israel and two Arab nations, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The Parsons Green bombing takes place in London.

Four miners are killed in the Gleision Colliery mining accident in the Swansea Valley, Wales.

Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players' union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.

During a CART race at the Lausitzring in Germany, former Formula One driver Alex Zanardi suffers a heavy accident resulting in him losing both his legs.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 2133 crashes at Tawau Airport in Malaysia, killing 34.

Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigns.

The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C.

The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

At the Superdome in New Orleans, Muhammad Ali outpoints Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title three times.

The French department of "Corse" (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica) and Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica).

Air Vietnam Flight 706 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board.

A Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm is hijacked and flown to Malmö Bulltofta Airport.

The first Greenpeace ship departs from Vancouver to protest against the upcoming Cannikin nuclear weapon test in Alaska.

The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.

Baptist Church bombing: Four children are killed in the bombing of an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States.

The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the United States.