August 16

August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 137 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1513 – Battle of Guinegate (Battle of the Spurs) – King Henry VIII of England defeats French Forces who are then forced to retreat.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.
• 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden – The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.
• 1792 – Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.
• 1812 – War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.
• 1819 – Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.
• 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
• 1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
• 1859 – The Tuscan National Assembly formally deposes the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
• 1865 – Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic regains its independence after 4 years of fighting against the Spanish Annexation.
• 1868 – Arica, Peru (now Chile) is devastated by a tsunami that follows a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in the Peru-Chile Trench off the coast. The earthquake and tsunami kill an estimated 25,000 people in Arica and perhaps 70,000 people in all.
• 1869 – Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the War of the Triple Alliance.
• 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-La-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.
• 1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
• 1913 – Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tōhoku University) admits its first female students.
• 1913 – Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.
• 1914 – World War I: Battle of Cer begins.
• 1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.
• 1920 – The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.
• 1929 – The 1929 Palestine riots break out in the British Mandate of Palestine between Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.
• 1930 – The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks.
• 1940 – World War II: The Communist Party is banned in German-occupied Norway.
• 1941 – HMS Mercury, Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School opens at Leydene, near Petersfield, Hampshire, England.
• 1942 – World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California.
• 1944 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.
• 1945 – An assassination attempt is made on Japan's prime minister, Kantaro Suzuki.
• 1945 – Puyi, the last Chinese emperor and ruler of Manchukuo, is captured by Soviet troops.
• 1954 – The first edition of Sports Illustrated is published.
• 1960 – Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1960 – Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump, free-fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.
• 1962 – Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) replaces Pete Best as drummer of The Beatles.
• 1964 – Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.
• 1966 – Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
• 1972 – In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.
• 1987 – A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes on take-off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan (Detroit), killing 155 passengers and crew. The sole survivor is four-year-old Cecelia Cichan.
• 1989 – A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.
• 1992 – In response to an appeal by President Fernando Collor de Mello to wear green and yellow as a way to show support for him, thousands of Brazilians take to the streets dressed in black.
• 2005 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes near Machiques, Venezuela, killing the 160 aboard.

Births

• 1355 – Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of Ulster (d. 1382)
• 1378 – Hongxi Emperor of China (d. 1425)
• 1401 – Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut, dauphine of France (d. 1436)
• 1557 – Agostino Carracci, Italian artist (d. 1602)
• 1573 – Anna of Austria, queen of Poland (d. 1598)
• 1596 – Frederick V, Elector Palatine (d. 1632)
• 1637 – Emilie Juliane of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, German countess and poet (d. 1706)
• 1645 – Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (d. 1696)
• 1650 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encylopedist (d. 1718)
• 1682 – Louis, duc de Bourgogne, heir-apparent to the French throne (d. 1712)
• 1761 – Yevstigney Fomin, Russian composer (d. 1800)
• 1815 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator (d. 1888)
• 1820 – Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian politician (d. 1892)
• 1831 – John Jones Ross, Quebec politician (d. 1901)
• 1832 – Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (d. 1920)
• 1842 – Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (d. 1922)
• 1845 – Gabriel Lippmann, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1921)
• 1856 – Aparicio Saravia, Uruguayan politician and military leader (d. 1904)
• 1858 – Arthur Achleitner, German writer (d. 1927)
• 1860 – Jules Laforgue, French poet (d. 1887)
• 1860 – Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, England cricketer (d. 1938)
• 1862 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American coach (d. 1965)
• 1868 – Bernarr McFadden, American publisher (d. 1955)
• 1876 – Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator (d. 1942)
• 1876 – Julian Ashby Burruss, American academic (d. 1947)
• 1882 – Christian Mortensen, Danish-American supercentenarian (d. 1998)
• 1884 – Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourg-born editor and publisher (d. 1967)
• 1884 – Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (d. 1942)
• 1888 – T. E. Lawrence, English writer and soldier (d. 1935)
• 1888 – Armand J. Piron, American musician (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Otto Messmer, American cartoonist (d. 1983)
• 1894 – George Meany, American labor union leader (d. 1980)
• 1895 – Albert Cohen, Swiss novelist (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Liane Haid, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
• 1902 – Georgette Heyer, English novelist (d. 1974)
• 1904 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
• 1908 – William Maxwell, American novelist and editor (d. 2000)
• 1908 – Orlando Cole, American classical cellist and educator (d. 2010)
• 1911 – E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (d. 1977)
• 1912 – Ted Drake, English footballer (d. 1995)
• 1913 – Menachem Begin, 6th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel laureate (d. 1992)
• 1915 – Al Hibbler, American singer (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (d. 2003)
• 1920 – Charles Bukowski, American poet (d. 1994)
• 1922 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist and arranger (d. 2001)
• 1923 – Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian playwright
• 1924 – Fess Parker, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Inez Voyce, American female baseball player
• 1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball player (d. 1983)
• 1928 – Ann Blyth, American actress
• 1929 – Bill Evans, American jazz pianist (d. 1980)
• 1929 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist
• 1929 – Fritz Von Erich, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
• 1930 – Robert Culp, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Frank Gifford, American football player and announcer
• 1930 – Tony Trabert, American former tennis player
• 1931 – Eydie Gormé, American singer
• 1933 – Julie Newmar, American actress
• 1933 – Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (d. 1994)
• 1934 – Diana Wynne Jones, British author
• 1934 – Ketty Lester, American singer
• 1934 – Pierre Richard, French actor
• 1935 – Andreas Stamatiadis, Greek footballer and coach
• 1935 – Cliff Fletcher, Canadian National Hockey League executive
• 1937 – David Anderson, Canadian politician
• 1939 – Sir Trevor Mcdonald, Trinidadian-born British television newsreader
• 1939 – Seán Brady, Cardinal-Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
• 1940 – Bruce Beresford, Australian film director
• 1940 – John Craven, English journalist and television presenter
• 1941 – Théoneste Bagosora, former Rwandan army officer, and alleged planner of the Rwandan Genocide
• 1942 – Barbara George, American singer and songwriter (d. 2006)
• 1943 – Sharon Baird, American actress and tap dancer
• 1945 – Suzanne Farrell, ballet dancer
• 1946 – Massoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdish politician
• 1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress
• 1946 – Dick Murdoch, American professional wrestler (d. 1996)
• 1947 – Carol Moseley Braun, American politician and lawyer
• 1947 – Katharine Hamnett, English fashion designer
• 1947 – Marc Messier, Canadian actor
• 1948 – Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player
• 1948 – Pierre Reid, Canadian politician and teacher
• 1948 – Barry Hay, Indian-born Dutch singer (Golden Earring)
• 1949 – Scott Asheton, American musician (The Stooges)
• 1949 – Barbara Goodson, American voice actress
• 1950 – Hasely Crawford, Trinidadian athlete
• 1950 – Marshall Manesh, Iranian-born American actor
• 1950 – Stockwell Day, Canadian politician
• 1950 – Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer
• 1951 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (d. 1992)
• 1951 – Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigerian politician
• 1952 – Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
• 1952 – Mahes Goonatilleke, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford, American singer and actress
• 1953 – James "J.T." Taylor, American singer (Kool & The Gang)
• 1954 – George Galloway, British politician
• 1954 – James Cameron, Canadian film director
• 1956 – Daniel Willems, Belgian cyclist
• 1957 – Tim Farriss, Australian musician (INXS)
• 1957 – Randhir Singh, Indian cricketer
• 1958 – Angela Bassett, American actress
• 1958 – José Luis Clerc, Argentine tennis player
• 1958 – Oscar Collodo, Swiss-born Italian rugby player and coach
• 1958 – Michael Harkin, American anthropologist
• 1958 – Madonna, American singer and actress
• 1959 – Laura Innes, American actress
• 1959 – Marc Sergeant, Belgian cyclist
• 1960 – Timothy Hutton, American actor
• 1961 – Christian Okoye, American football player
• 1961 – Michaela Dornonville de la Cour, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)
• 1962 – Steve Carell, American actor and comedian
• 1963 – Christine Cavanaugh, American voice actress
• 1964 – Jimmy Arias, American tennis player
• 1966 – Barry Lather, American choreographer, musician and actor
• 1967 – Ulrika Jonsson, Swedish television personality
• 1967 – Pamela Smart, American convicted murderess
• 1968 – Mateja Svet, Slovenian alpine skier
• 1969 – Andy Milder, American voice actor
• 1970 – Bonnie Bernstein, American sportscaster
• 1970 – Fabio Casartelli, Italian cyclist (d. 1995)
• 1970 – Killah Priest, American rapper
• 1970 – Manisha Koirala, Nepalese Bollywood actress
• 1970 – Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor
• 1971 – Rulon Gardner, American Greco-Roman wrestler
• 1971 – Stefan Klos, German footballer
• 1972 – Stan Lazaridis, Australian footballer
• 1972 – Emily Robison, American country singer (Dixie Chicks)
• 1972 – Frankie Boyle, Scottish comedian
• 1972 – George Stroumboulopoulos, Canadian television and radio personality
• 1973 – Damian Jackson, American baseball player
• 1974 – Roger Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1974 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer
• 1974 – Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian swimmer
• 1974 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1975 – Didier Agathe, French footballer
• 1975 – Pantelis Konstantinidis, Greek footballer
• 1975 – George Stults, American actor
• 1976 – Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer
• 1976 – Tiina Kankaanpää, Finnish discus thrower
• 1976 – Dave Ockun, American concert producer
• 1977 – Tamer Hosny, Egyptian singer/actor
• 1978 – Fu Mingxia, Chinese female diver
• 1978 – Thalia Pellegrini, British children's tv presenter
• 1978 – Eddie Gill, American basketball player
• 1979 – Monder Rizki, Belgian athlete
• 1979 – Paul Gallacher, Scottish football player
• 1980 – Vanessa Carlton, American singer/songwriter
• 1980 – Emerson, Brazilian footballer
• 1980 – Robert Hardy, English musician (Franz Ferdinand)
• 1980 – Raniere, Brazilian footballer
• 1980 – Piet Rooijakkers, Dutch professional bicyclist
• 1981 – Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer
• 1981 – Taylor Rain, American pornographic actress
• 1982 – Cam Gigandet, American actor
• 1982 – Joleon Lescott, English footballer
• 1983 – Colt Brennan, American football player
• 1983 – Colin Griffiths, English TV presenter and DJ
• 1983 – Nikos Zisis, Greek basketball player
• 1984 – Candice Dupree, American basketball player
• 1985 – Agnes Bruckner, American actress
• 1986 – Yu Darvish, Japanese baseball player
• 1986 – Shawn Pyfrom, American actor
• 1987 – Carey Price, Canadian Hockey Player
• 1987 – Evan Berger, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Kyal Marsh, Australian actor
• 1988 – Kevin Schmidt, American actor
• 1988 – Rumer Willis, American actress
• 1991 – Evanna Lynch, Irish actress
• 1991 – Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Canadian actress
• 1991 – G.E.M., Hong Kong singer
• 1997 – Greyson Chance, American singer

Deaths

• 1027 – Giorgi I, King of Georgia (b. 998)
• 1297 – John II of Trebizond (b. 1262)
• 1327 – Roch, French saint (b. 1295)
• 1358 – Duke Albert II of Austria (b. 1298)
• 1419 – Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, King of Bohemia (b. 1361)
• 1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1434)
• 1445 – Margaret of Scotland, consort of Louis XI (b. 1424)
• 1518 – Loyset Compère, French composer (b. circa 1445)
• 1532 – John, Elector of Saxony (b. 1468)
• 1661 – Thomas Fuller, English churchman and historian (b. 1608)
• 1678 – Andrew Marvell, English poet (b. 1621)
• 1705 – Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and scientist (b. 1654)
• 1733 – Matthew Tindal, English deist (b. 1657)
• 1791 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1719)
• 1836 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician (b. 1755)
• 1855 – Henry Colburn, British publisher (b. ?)
• 1886 – Sri Ramakrishna, Bengali saint, guru of Swami Vivekananda (b. 1836)
• 1888 – John Pemberton, American druggist and inventor of Coca-Cola (b. 1831)
• 1893 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist (b. 1825)
• 1899 – Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, German chemist (b. 1811)
• 1900 – Eça de Queiroz, Portuguese writer (b. 1845)
• 1907 – James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834)
• 1921 – King Peter I of Serbia (b. 1844)
• 1938 – Robert Johnson, American blues singer and guitarist (b. 1911)
• 1938 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and priest (b. 1864)
• 1948 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player (b. 1895)
• 1949 – Margaret Mitchell, American novelist (b. 1900)
• 1951 – Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (b. 1887)
• 1952 – Lydia Field Emmet, American painter (b. 1866)
• 1956 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian actor (b. 1882)
• 1957 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1881)
• 1959 – William Halsey Jr., American Navy Admiral (b. 1882)
• 1959 – Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (b. 1879)
• 1961 – Maulvi Abdul Haq, Indian educator and linguist, Father of Modern Urdu (b. 1870)
• 1971 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive, chairman of the Twentieth Century Fox (b. 1893)
• 1972 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor (b. 1905)
• 1973 – Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born American biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888)
• 1975 – Vladimir Kuts, Ukrainian-born Soviet distance runner (b. 1927)
• 1977 – Elvis Presley, American singer, actor, and guitarist (b.1935)
• 1978 – Alidius Stachouwer, Dutch lawyer and politician (b. 1888)
• 1979 – John Diefenbaker, Canadian politician and 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895)
• 1983 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (b. 1902)
• 1986 – Jaime Saenz, Bolivian poet and novelist, and short story writer (b. 1921)
• 1989 – Amanda Blake, American actress (b. 1929)
• 1990 – Pat O'Connor, New Zealand professional wrestler (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Luigi Zampa, Italian film director (b. 1905)
• 1992 – Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
• 1993 – Stewart Granger, British film actor (b. 1913)
• 1995 – J.P. McCarthy, American radio personality (b. 1933)
• 1997 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician & singer (b. 1948)
• 1997 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright and actor (b. 1915)
• 1999 – Pee Wee King, American country musician and songwriter (b. 1914)
• 2002 – Jeff Corey, American actor (b. 1914)
• 2002 – Abu Nidal, Palestinian political leader (b. 1937)
• 2002 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (b. 1933)
• 2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey coach (b. 1950)
• 2004 – Carl Mydans, American photographer (b. 1907)
• 2004 – Robert Quiroga, American boxer (b. 1969)
• 2005 – Joe Ranft, American animator (b. 1960)
• 2005 – Frère Roger, Swiss monk and mystic (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Vassar Clements, American musician (b. 1928)
• 2005 – William Corlett, English children's author (b. 1938)
• 2005 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Tonino Delli Colli, Italian cinematographer (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Alex Buzo, Australian playwright and author (b. 1944)
• 2006 – Herschel Green, American pilot (b. 1920)
• 2006 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish musician (b. 1975)
• 2006 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan politician and President of Paraguay (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian politician (b. 1945)
• 2007 – Dewey Robertson, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners) (b. 1934)
• 2008 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer and songwriter (b. 1914)
• 2008 – Elena Leuşteanu, Romanian gymnast and Olympic medalist (b. 1935)
• 2008 – Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese sustainable farmer and author (b. 1913)
• 2010 – Bobby Thomson, American baseball player

Holidays and observances

• Children's Day (Paraguay)
• Christian Feast Day
  • Roch
  • Simplician
  • Stephen I of Hungary
  • August 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Commemoration of the translation of the Acheiropoietos icon from Edessa to Constantinople. This "Shroud of Constantinople" is believed to be the Shroud of Turin. (Eastern Orthodox Church)
• Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto, Japan)
• Xicolatada (Palau-de-Cerdagne, France)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada