December 16

December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 15 days remaining.

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Births
3 Deaths
4 Holidays and Observances:
5 See Also

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 - Largest recorded earthquake in the United States, at New Madrid, Missouri
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.

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