December 16

Events

• 1653 - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• 1689 - The English Parliament adopts the Bill of Rights.
• 1773 - The Boston Tea Party
• 1811 - The first of a series of severe earthquakes occurs, in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri in the United States.
• 1838 - Boers defeat Zulu troops led by Dambuza and Nhlela, celebrated as the day of the vow.
• 1850 - The first four ships arrive at Lyttelton to settle Christchurch, New Zealand.
• 1864 - Union troops led by general George Thomas defeat Confederate troops in the Battle of Nashville.
• 1893 - World premiere of Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony".
• 1910 - Henri Coanda makes first short flight in aircraft with jet engine
• 1922 - Poland's President Gabriel Narutowicz assassinated.
• 1944 - The Battle of the Bulge begins. A V-2 rocket hits the Rex Cinema in Antwerp killing 567 people.
• 1946 - Léon Blum becomes Prime Minister of France
• 1960 - A United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super-Constellation collide over New York City killing 134
• 1966 - Mao's Little Red Book is published in Beijing
• 1971 - Pakistan surrenders, leading to the establishment of Bangladesh the following day.
• 1973 - O.J. Simpson becomes the first player in NFL history to rush for 2000 yards in one season.
• 1985 - In New York City, mafia bosses Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead when exiting from Sparks Steak House, making hit organizer John Gotti the leader of the powerful Gambino organized crime family.
• 1990 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected president of Haiti
• 1991 - United Nations reverses ruling that Zionism is racism by 111-25, with 13 abstentions
• 1998 - Operation Desert Fox: American and British troops begin to bomb Iraqi targets after Iraq obstructs UN weapons inspectors.
• 1999 - Mud streams kill thousands in Venezuela.
• 2000 - NASA announces that there is an ocean beneath Jupiter moon Ganymede's icy surface.
• 2003 - Deborah Jin induces the formation of a fermionic condensate among fermionic atoms

Births

• 1485 - Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England (d. 1536)
• 1742 - Gebhard Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt, general field marshal (d. 1819)
• 1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, composer (d. 1827)
• 1775 - Jane Austen, writer (d. 1817)
• 1776 - Johann Wilhelm Ritter, physicist (d. 1810)
• 1790 - King Leopold I of Belgium (d. 1865)
• 1861 - Antonio de La Gandara, painter (d. 1917)
• 1863 - George Santayana, philosopher, poet (d. 1952)
• 1865 - Olavo Bilac, poet (d. 1918)
• 1882 - Zoltán Kodály, composer (d. 1967)
• 1882 - Walther Meissner, physicist
• 1888 - King Alexander of Yugoslavia (d. 1934)
• 1899 - Noel Coward, playwright (d. 1973)
• 1901 - Margaret Mead, anthropologist (d. 1978)
• 1917 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction writer
• 1928 - Philip K. Dick, science fiction writer (d. 1982)
• 1934 - Elgin Baylor, basketball great
• 1938 - Frank DeFord, sports journalist
• 1938 - Liv Ullmann, actress
• 1941 - Lesley Stahl, journalist
• 1943 - Steven Bochco, producer, writer
• 1946 - Benny Andersson, musician (ABBA)
• 1952 - Joel Garner, West Indian cricketer
• 1964 - Heike Drechsler, track and field athlete
• 1967 - Donovan Bailey, athlete

Deaths

• 716 - Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia (b. 635 or 640)
• 999 - Saint Adelaide of Italy (b. 931)
• 1515 - Afonso de Albuquerque portuguese naval general (in sea) (b. 1453)
• 1783 - Johann A. Hasse, composer
• 1859 - Wilhelm Grimm, folklorist (b. 1786)
• 1916 - Grigori Rasputin, Russian monk (b. 1869)
• 1921 - Camille Saint-Saens, composer (b. 1835)
• 1922 - Gabriel Narutowicz, first President of Poland (b. 1865)
• 1945 - Fumimaro Konoye, prince and prime minister of Japan (b. 1891)
• 1949 - Sidney Olcott, pioneer motion picture director (b. 1873)
• 1956 - Nina Hamnett, artist (b. 1890)
• 1965 - W. Somerset Maugham, writer (b. 1874)
• 1980 - Colonel Harland Sanders, fast food entrepreneur (Kentucky Fried Chicken) (b. 1890)
• 1980 - Hellmuth Walter, engineer and inventor (b. 1900)
• 1985 - Paul Castellano, mafia boss (b. 1915)
• 1989 - Lee Van Cleef, actor (b. 1925)
• 1993 - Tanaka Kakuei, Japanese political leader (b. 1918)
• 2003 - Robert Stanfield, Canadian politician (b. 1914)

Holidays and Observances:

• Bahrain - National Day
• Bangladesh - Victory Day
• Kazakhstan - Independence Day
• Nepal - Constitution Day
• South Africa - Day of reconciliation

See Also

December 15 - December 17 - November 16 - January 16 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By