December 16 in recent years
2009 (Wednesday)
2008 (Tuesday)
2007 (Sunday)
2006 (Saturday)
2005 (Friday)
2004 (Thursday)
2003 (Tuesday)
2002 (Monday)
2001 (Sunday)
2000 (Saturday)
December 16 leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 14 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events [ ] 755 - An Lushan revolted against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang , beginning of the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China .1392 - Historku-cho - Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu .1431 - Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris .1497 - Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope , the point where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal .1598 - Seven Year War : Battle of Noryang Point - The final battle of the Seven Year War is fought between the Korean and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive Korean victory.1653 - English Interregnum : The Protectorate - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England , Scotland and Ireland .1689 - Convention Parliament : The Declaration of Right is embodied in the Bill of Rights 1707 - Last recorded eruption of Fuji Mount in Japan .1761 - Seven Years' War : After four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kolobrzeg .1773 - American Revolution : Boston Tea Party - Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act .1811 - The first two in a series of severe earthquakes occurs, in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri .1838 - Battle of Blood River : Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius combat Zulu impis , led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal , South Africa .1850 - History of New Zealand : The Charlotte-Jane Randolph Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton .1864 - American Civil War : Franklin-Nashville Campaign - Battle of Nashville - Major General George H. Thomas 's Union forces defeat Lieutenant General John Bell Hood 's Confederate Army of Tennessee .1893 - Antonín Dvořák 's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From The New World" was given its world premiere at Carnegie Hall .1910 - During a ground test of his Coandă-1910 plane, Henri Coandă , caught unaware by the power of the engine, finds himself briefly airborne and loses control of the machine which crashes to the ground.1922 - President of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw .1925 - A regular broadcasting service was instituted in Ceylon .1925 - Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity was founded at Lafayette College .1937 - Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay ; neither is ever seen again.1941 - World War II : Japanese occupy Miri , Sarawak 1942 - Holocaust : Porajmos - Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination should be deported to Auschwitz .1944 - World War II : Battle of the Bulge - General Dwight D. Eisenhower 's allied forces and Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt 's German army engage in the Belgian Ardennes .1946 - Léon Blum becomes Prime Minister of France .1957 - Sir Feroz Khan Noon replaces Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar as Prime Minister of Pakistan .1960 - 1960 New York air disaster : While approaching New York's Idlewild Airport , a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation in a blinding snowstorm over Staten Island , killing 134.1971 - Bangladesh War of Independence & Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 : The surrender of the Pakistan army simultaneously brings an end to both conflicts.1971 - Independence Day of the State of Bahrain from British Protectorate Status
1973 - O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills becomes the first NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.1985 - Mafia : In New York City , Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti , who assumes leadership of the Gambino family .1986 - revolt in Kazakhstan against Communist party , known as Zheltoksan , which became the first signs of ethnic strife during Gorbachev 's tenure1989 - Protest breaks out in Timişoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor, László Tőkés .1991 - United Nations General Assembly : UN General Assembly Resolution 4686 revokes UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 after Israel makes revocation of resolution 3379 a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991 .1991 - Independence of The Republic of Kazakhstan .
1998 - Iraq disarmament crisis : Operation Desert Fox - The United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq .Births [ ] 1485 - Catherine of Aragon , Queen of England (d. 1536 )1584 - John Selden , English jurist and oriental scholar (d. 1654 )1614 - Eberhard III (d. 1674 )1714 - George Whitefield , British-born Methodist leader (d. 1770 )1716 - Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini , French diplomat and writer (d. 1798 )1717 - Elizabeth Carter , British writer (d. 1806 )1742 - Gebhard Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt , German Field Marshal (d. 1819 )1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven , German composer (Is his supposed birthday, since he was baptized the following day it is believed his birthday is on the 16th.) (d. 1827 )1775 - Jane Austen , British writer (d. 1817 )1775 - François-Adrien Boïeldieu , French composer (d. 1834 )
1776 - Johann Wilhelm Ritter , German physicist (d. 1810 )1790 - King Léopold I of Belgium (d. 1865 )1804 - Viktor Bunyakovsky , Russian mathematician (d. 1889 )1834 - Léon Walras , French economist (d. 1910 )1861 - Antonio de La Gandara , French painter (d. 1917 )1863 - George Santayana , Spanish philosopher and writer (d. 1952 )1865 - Olavo Bilac , Brazilian poet (d. 1918 )1866 (N.S. ) - Wassily Kandinsky , Russian-born French abstract painter (d. 1944 )1867 - Amy Carmichael - missionary in Dohnavur, India (d. 1951 )1869 - Hristo Tatarchev - Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1952 )1872 - Anton Ivanovich Denikin , Russian general (d. 1947 )1882 - Sir Jack Hobbs , English test cricketer (d. 1963 )1882 - Zoltán Kodály , Hungarian composer (d. 1967 )
1882 - Walther Meissner , German physicist (d. 1974 )
1883 - Max Linder , French pioneer of silent film (d. 1925 )1888 - King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (d. 1934 )1888 - Alphonse Juin , marshall of France (d. 1967 )
1899 - Sir Noel Coward , British playwright, actor and composer (d. 1973 )1900 - V. S. Pritchett , British author and critic (d. 1997 )1901 - Margaret Mead , American anthropologist (d. 1978 )1902 - Rafael Alberti , Spanish poet (d. 1999 )1905 - Piet Hein , Danish mathematician and inventor (d. 1996 )1906 - Barbara Kent , Canadian actress1917 - Nabi Bux Khan Baloch , Sindhi Scholar1917 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke , British writer1926 - James McCracken , American tenor (d. 1988 )1927 - Randall Garrett , American writer (d. 1987 )1928 - Philip K. Dick , American writer (d. 1982 )1929 - Nicholas Courtney , British actor1932 - Rodion Shchedrin , Soviet-born Russian composer1938 - Liv Ullmann , Norwegian actress1941 - Lesley Stahl , American journalist1943 - Steven Bochco , American television producer and writer1943 - Tony Hicks , British guitarist (The Hollies )
1945 - Bobby George , English professional darts player1945 - Yukio Hattori , Japanese Iron Chef commentator
1946 - Benny Andersson , Swedish musician, singer and songwriter (ABBA )1946 - Trevor Pinnock , British conductor and harpsichordist
1947 - Ben Cross , British actor1947 - Vincent Matthews , American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist
1949 - Billy Gibbons , American guitarist (ZZ Top )1950 - Claudia Cohen , American gossip columnist and socialite (d. 2007 )1950 - Roy Schuiten , Dutch cyclist (d. 2006 )
1951 - Robben Ford , American guitarist1952 - Joel Garner , Barbadian West Indies cricketer1955 - Xander Berkeley , American actor1955 - Prince Lorenz of Belgium
1961 - Bill Hicks , American comedian (d. 1994 )1962 - William Perry , American football player1963 - Benjamin Bratt , American actor1963 - Jeff Carson , American singer
1964 - Heike Drechsler , East German-born sprinter1964 - Billy Ripken , American baseball player
1965 - Chris Jones , American baseball player1965 - Melanie Sloan , American attorney
1965 - Nancy Valen , American actress
1966 - Dennis Wise , English footballer1966 - Clifford Robinson , American basketball player1967 - Donovan Bailey , Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter1967 - Miranda Otto , Australian actress
1971 - Paul van Dyk , German Trance music DJ 1971 - Michael McCary , American singer (Boyz II Men )
1972 - Charles Gipson , American baseball player1972 - Željko Kalac , Australian soccer player
1972 - Angela Bloomfield , New Zealand actress
1973 - Scott Storch , Canadian-American hip-hop producer1973 - Themba Mnguni , South African footballer
1974 - Frida Hallgren , Swedish actress1975 - Benjamin Kowalewicz , Canadian musician (Billy Talent )1975 - Nawo Kawakita , Japanese drummer (Maximum the Hormone )
1977 - Éric Bélanger , Canadian ice hockey player1977 - Sylvain Distin , French footballer
1978 - Gunter Van Handenhoven , Belgian footballer1978 - Kaine , American rapper (Ying Yang Twins )
1979 - Mihai Trăistariu , Romanian singer1979 - Jessie Ward , American professional wrestler
1979 - Flo-Rida American African rapper1981 - Anna Sedokova , Ukrainian singer1981 - Took Leng How , Malaysian criminal
1981 - Gareth Williams , Scottish footballer
1982 - Garnon Davies , Welsh actor1983 - Kelenna Azubuike , English basketball player1983 - Danielle Lloyd , English model
1985 - Keita Tachibana , member of Japanese boy band w-inds. 1987 - Hallee Hirsh , American actress1988 - Anna Popplewell , English actress1989 - Chen Yaoye , Chinese professional Go playerDeaths [ ] 705 - Empress Wu of Zhou (b. 625 )714 - Pippin of Herstal , Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia867 - Eberhard of Friuli 999 - Saint Adelaide of Italy (b. 931 )1325 - Charles of Valois , son of Philip III of France (b. 1270 )1378 - Otto III of Montferrat 1379 - John Fitzalan , Marshal of England1470 - John II (b. 1425 )1515 - Afonso de Albuquerque Portuguese naval general (b. 1453 )1598 - Yi Sun-sin , Korean admiral (b. 1545 )1669 - Nathaniel Fiennes , English politician1687 - William Petty , English scientist and philosopher (b. 1623 )1751 - Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau , Prussian general (b. 1700 )1765 - Peter Frederick Haldimand , Swiss military officer and surveyor1774 - François Quesnay , French economist (b. 1694 )1783 - Johann A. Hasse , German composer (b. 1699 )1783 - Sir William James British naval commander (b. 1720 )
1809 - Antoine François , French chemist (b. 1755 )1859 - Wilhelm Grimm , German writer and folklorist (b. 1786 )1898 - Pavel Tretyakov , Russian businessman and art collector (b. 1832 )1914 - Ivan Zajc , Croatian composer (b. 1832 )1916 - Grigori Rasputin , Russian monk (b. 1869 )1921 - Camille Saint-Saëns , French composer (b. 1835 )1922 - Gabriel Narutowicz , first President of Poland (b. 1865 )1928 - Elinor Wylie , American poet and writer (b. 1885 )1935 - Thelma Todd , American actress (b. 1906 )1940 - Billy Hamilton , MLB Hall of Fame Outfielder (b. 1866 )1945 - Giovanni Agnelli , Italian automobile manufacturer (b. 1866 )1945 - Fumimaro Konoye , Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1891 )
1949 - Sidney Olcott , Canadian film director (b. 1873 )1956 - Nina Hamnett , British artist (b. 1890 )1965 - W. Somerset Maugham , British writer (b. 1874 )1976 - Réal Caouette , French Canadian politician (Social Credit Party of Canada ) (b. 1917 )1977 - Risto Jarva , Finnish filmmaker (b. 1934 )1980 - Colonel Harland Sanders , American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1890 )1980 - Hellmuth Walter , German engineer and inventor (b. 1900 )
1982 - Colin Chapman , British engineer and automobile manufacturer, founder of Lotus Cars (b. 1928 )1984 - Debs Garms , baseball player (b. 1907 )1985 - Paul Castellano , American mafioso (b. 1915 )1985 - Thomas Bilotti , American mafioso (b. 1940 )
1988 - Sylvester James , American R&B singer, disco performer (b. 1948 )1989 - Lee Van Cleef , American actor (b. 1925 )1989 - Aileen Pringle , American actress (b. 1895 )
1989 - Silvana Mangano , Italian actress (b. 1930 )
1989 - Oscar Alfredo Gálvez , Argentine racing driver (b. 1913 )
1990 - Douglas Campbell , American pilot (b. 1896 )1993 - Moses Gunn , American actor (b. 1929 )1993 - Tanaka Kakuei , Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1918 )
1995 - Mariele Ventre , Italian choir director (b. 1939 )1995 - Johnny Moss , American poker player (b. 1907 )
1996 - Quentin Bell , British art historian (b. 1910 )1997 - Nicolette Larson , American singer (b. 1952 )1998 - William Gaddis , American writer (b. 1922 )2001 - Stuart Adamson , British musician (b. 1958 )2001 - Stefan Heym , German author (b. 1913 )
2003 - Robert Stanfield , Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914 )2003 - Gary Stewart , American musician, singer and songwriter (b. 1944 )
2004 - Ted Abernathy , American baseball player (b. 1933 )2005 - Kenneth Bulmer , British author (b. 1921 )2005 - John Spencer , American actor (b. 1946 )
2006 - Pnina Salzman , Israeli pianist (b. 1922 )2006 - Taliep Petersen , South African singer and composer (b. 1950 )
2006 - Don Jardine , professional wrestler (b. 1940 ) Holidays and observances [ ] External links [ ]
120 Familypedia people were born on December 16
146 Familypedia people died on December 16
111 Familypedia people were first married on December 16