December 16 Totally Explained

Events

755 - An Lushan revolted against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, beginning of An Shi Rebellion.
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 and the Randolph bring the first of the 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 tenure
1989 - 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, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1674)

1714 - George Whitefield, British-born Methodist leader (d. 1770)

1716 - Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc de Nivernais, 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's belived 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 actress

1917 - Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Sindhi Scholar

1917 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke, British writer

1926 - 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 actor

1932 - Rodion Shchedrin, Soviet-born Russian composer

1938 - Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress

1941 - Lesley Stahl, American journalist

1943 - Steven Bochco, American television producer and writer

1943 - Tony Hicks, British guitarist (The Hollies)

1945 - Bobby George, English professional darts player

1945 - 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 actor

1947 - 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 guitarist

1952 - Joel Garner, Barbadian West Indies cricketer

1955 - Xander Berkeley, American actor

1955 - Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

1961 - Bill Hicks, American comedian (d. 1994)

1962 - William Perry, American football player

1963 - Benjamin Bratt, American actor

1963 - Jeff Carson, American singer

1964 - Heike Drechsler, East German-born sprinter

1964 - Billy Ripken, American baseball player

1965 - Chris Jones, American baseball player

1965 - Melanie Sloan, American attorney

1965 - Nancy Valen, American actress

1966 - Dennis Wise, English footballer

1966 - Clifford Robinson, American basketball player

1967 - Donovan Bailey, Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter

1967 - 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 player

1972 - Željko Kalac, Australian soccer player

1972 - Angela Bloomfield, New Zealand actress

1973 - Scott Storch, Canadian-American hip-hop producer

1973 - Themba Mnguni, South African footballer

1974 - Frida Hallgren, Swedish actress

1975 - Benjamin Kowalewicz, Canadian musician (Billy Talent)

1975 - Nawo Kawakita, Japanese drummer (Maximum the Hormone)

1977 - Éric Bélanger, Canadian ice hockey player

1977 - Sylvain Distin, French footballer

1978 - Gunter Van Handenhoven, Belgian footballer

1978 - Kaine, American rapper (Ying Yang Twins)

1979 - Mihai Trăistariu, Romanian singer

1979 - Jessie Ward, American professional wrestler

1981 - Anna Sedokova, Ukrainian singer

1981 - Took Leng How, Malaysian criminal

1981 - Gareth Williams, Scottish footballer

1982 - Garnon Davies, Welsh actor

1983 - Kelenna Azubuike, English basketball player

1983 - Danielle Lloyd, English model

1985 - Keita Tachibana, Japanese singer

1987 - Hallee Hirsh, American actress

1988 - Anna Popplewell, English actress

1989 - Chen Yaoye, Chinese professional Go player

Deaths

705 - Empress Wu of Zhou (b. 625)

714 - Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia

867 - 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 England

1470 - John II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1425)

1515 - Afonso de Albuquerque Portuguese naval general (b. 1453)

1598 - Yi Sun-sin, Korean admiral (b. 1545)

1669 - Nathaniel Fiennes, English politician

1687 - 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 surveyor

1774 - 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, comte de Fourcroy, 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. 1905)

1940 - Billy Hamilton (baseball player), 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. 1945)

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

Bahrain - National Day

Bangladesh - Victory Day

Kazakhstan - Independence Day

South Africa - Day of Reconciliation

Afrikaners (South Africa) - Day of the Vow

Mexico - First day of Las Posadas

Philippines - First day of Misa de Gallo

Adelaide of Italy

External results

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