1896 one of the deadliest tsunamis in japans history kills more 06 15
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1896 130 years ago Selected Events June 15 3 sources

An earthquake registering 8.5 Mw and subsequent tsunami struck Japan, killing at least 22,000 people and destroying about 9,000 homes.

On June 15, in the year 1896, An earthquake registering 8.5 Mw and subsequent tsunami struck Japan, killing at least 22,000 people and destroying about 9,000 homes. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of June 15, one of 378 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The 1896 Sanriku earthquake was one of the most destructive seismic events in Japanese history. The 8.5 magnitude earthquake occurred at 19:32 on June 15, 1896, approximately 166 kilometres (103 mi) off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, Honshu. It resulted in two tsunami waves which destroyed about 9,000 homes and caused at least 22,000 deaths. The waves reached a then-record height of 38.2 metres (125 ft); this would remain the highest on record until waves from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake exceeded that height by more than 2 metres.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on June 15, 1896 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 3 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 2 May 2026.

On This Date in History 378

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Jun 15 James Kent, American chef (born 1979)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jun 15 Matija Sarkic, English-born Montenegrin footballer (born 1997)
Notable Deaths 2023 Jun 15 Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2019 Jun 15 Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film director (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jun 15 Jacques Bergerac, French actor and businessman (born 1927)
Historical Events 2013 Jun 15 A bomb explodes on a bus in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 25 people and wounding 22 others
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 15 Heinz Flohe, German footballer and manager (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 15 José Froilán González, Argentinian racing driver (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 15 Dennis O'Rourke, Australian director and producer (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 15 Kenneth G
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 15 Phillip D
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 15 Barry MacKay, American tennis player and sportscaster (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 15 Israel Nogueda Otero, Mexican economist and politician, 10th Governor of Guerrero (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 15 Jerry Tubbs, American football player and coach (born 1935)
Selected Events 2012 Jun 15 American acrobat Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls
Notable Deaths 2011 Jun 15 Bill Haast, American herpetologist and academic (born 1910)
Notable Deaths 2008 Jun 15 Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jun 15 Hugo Corro, Argentine boxer (born 1953)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jun 15 Raymond Devos, Belgian-French comedian and clown (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jun 15 Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (born 1910)
Selected Events 2006 Jun 15 US president George W
Notable Deaths 2005 Jun 15 Suzanne Flon, French actress (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2004 Jun 15 Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician and mayor of İzmir (born 1952)
Notable Births 2003 Jun 15 Pablo Barrios, Spanish footballer
Notable Deaths 2003 Jun 15 Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor (born 1911)
Notable Deaths 2002 Jun 15 Choi Hong Hi, South Korean general and martial artist, founded Taekwondo (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2001 Jun 15 Henri Alekan, French cinematographer (born 1909)
Selected Events 2001 Jun 15 Leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Notable Deaths 2000 Jun 15 Jules Roy, French author, poet, and playwright (born 1907)
Notable Deaths 1999 Jun 15 Omer Côté, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1906)
Notable Births 1997 Jun 15 Madison Kocian, American gymnast
Historical Events 1996 Jun 15 The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonates a powerful truck bomb in the middle of Manchester, E
Notable Births 1996 Jun 15 Aurora, Norwegian singer-songwriter
Notable Births 1996 Jun 15 Tia-Adana Belle, Barbadian athlete
Notable Births 1996 Jun 15 Hoshi, South Korean singer and dancer
Notable Deaths 1996 Jun 15 Ella Fitzgerald, American singer and actress (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 1996 Jun 15 Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Scottish general and politician (born 1911)
Notable Deaths 1996 Jun 15 Dick Murdoch, American wrestler (born 1946)
Selected Events 1996 Jun 15 The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in the commercial centre of Manchester, Engla
Notable Deaths 1995 Jun 15 John Vincent Atanasoff, American physicist and inventor, invented the Atanasoff–Berry computer (born 1903)
Selected Events 1995 Jun 15 Western Greece was struck by an earthquake registering 6
Notable Births 1994 Jun 15 Iñaki Williams, Basque-Ghanaian footballer
Notable Deaths 1994 Jun 15 Manos Hatzidakis, Greek composer and theorist (born 1925)
Notable Births 1993 Jun 15 Cooper Kupp, American football player
Notable Births 1993 Jun 15 Irfan Hadžić, Bosnian footballer
Notable Deaths 1993 Jun 15 John Connally, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 1993 Jun 15 James Hunt, English racing driver and sportscaster (born 1947)
Historical Events 1992 Jun 15 The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v
Notable Births 1992 Jun 15 Michał Kopczyński, Polish footballer
Notable Births 1992 Jun 15 Mohamed Salah, Egyptian footballer

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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