15 Oct 1917 - Mata Hari executed

15 Oct 1945 - Pierre Laval executed.

On the other hand, it's not an especially auspicious day for US drivers:

October 15

1966 The Worst Driver In American History

On this day in McKinney, Texas, it was reported that a 75-year-old male driver received 10 traffic tickets, drove on the wrong side of the road four times, committed four hit-and-run offenses, and caused six accidents, all within 20 minutes. It is ironic that the record book's worst driver is a native Texan, because Texans, especially residents of Houston, are consistently ranked as the best drivers in the nation. On another record-breaking bad driver note, Mrs. Fannie Turner of Little Rock, Arkansas, finally overcame her driving demons this month in 1978 when she finally passed the written test for drivers--it was her 104th attempt.


1964 The Longest Skid Marks On Record

While trying to set a new one mile land-speed record, Craig Breedlove inadvertently set another kind of record after he lost control of the Spirit of America jet-powered car on the Bonneville Salt Flats testing area in Utah. The vehicle began a skid moments into the run, taking nearly six miles to decelerate from an initial speed of well over 400mph. When the dust cleared, Breedlove emerged shaken from the vehicle as the not-so-proud record-holder for the longest skid marks ever recorded. Nevertheless, Breedlove, who already held the land-speed record, did manage to break the 500mph speed barrier that year, just as he had broken the 400mph barrier the year before, and just as he would surpass 600mph in the year following.

Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America is on permanent display here at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.