May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (137th in leap years). There are 229 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 1204 - Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
- 1527 - The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes a republic.
- 1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
- 1568 - Mary Queen of Scots flees to England.
- 1605 - Paul V becomes Pope.
- 1770 - 14-year old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste who later becomes king of France.
- 1771 - The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called "The Regulators" occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
- 1777 - Lachlan McIntosh and Button Gwinnett shoot each other during a duel near Savannah, Georgia. Gwinnett, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, dies three days later.
- 1811 - Peninsular War - Allies (Spain, Portugal & Britain) defeat French at the Battle of Albuera.
- 1822 - Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
- 1836 - Edgar Allan Poe marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia.
- 1843 - The first major wagon train heading for the Northwest sets out with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri on the Oregon Trail.
- 1866 - The U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel.
- 1866 - Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer.
- 1868 - President Andrew Johnson is acquitted during his impeachment trial, by one vote in the United States Senate.
- 1874 - A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroyed much of four villages and killed 139 people.
- 1877 - May 16, 1877 political crisis in France.
- 1910 - The U.S. Congress authorizes the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines.
- 1918 - The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government a jailable offense.
- 1919 - US Navy Naval Curtiss aircraft NC-4 commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
- 1920 - In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc as a saint.
- 1929 - In Hollywood, California, the first Academy Awards are handed out.
- 1938 - A fire at the Terminal Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, kills 35 people.
- 1943 - Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
- 1943 - World War II: The Dambuster Raids by No. 617 Squadron RAF on German dams.
- 1948 - Chaim Weizmann is elected as the first President of Israel.
- 1960 - Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower for U-2 spy plane flights over the Soviet Union thus ending a Big Four summit in Paris.
- 1960 - Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
- 1965 - Campbell Soup Company introduces SpaghettiOs under its Franco-American brand.
- 1966 - The Communist Party of China issued the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1969 - Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus.
- 1972 - Decimal currency introduced in Malta. The Pound sterling is henceforth divided into 100 cents.
- 1975 - India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state held a referendum where popular vote was in favour of merging with India.
- 1975 - Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 1986 - The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain.
- 1987 - The ska-punk band Operation Ivy plays their first show, in drummer Dave Mello's garage.
- 1988 - A report by United States' Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
- 1992 - STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage.
- 2003 - In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
- 2004 - The Day of Mourning at Bykivnia forest, just outside of Kiev, Ukraine. Here during 1930s and early 1940s communist bolsheviks executed over 100.000 Ukrainian civilians.
- 2005 - Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote.
- 2006 - A large earthquake (7.4 on the Richter scale) occurs near New Zealand.
[edit] Births
- 1490 - Duke Albert of Prussia (d. 1568)
- 1578 - Everard Digby, English conspirator (d. 1606)
- 1611 - Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689)
- 1710 - William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician (d. 1782)
- 1718 - Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician (d. 1799)
- 1763 - Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist (d. 1829)
- 1788 - Friedrich Rückert, German Poet, Translator and Orientalist (d. 1866)
- 1801 - William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State, bought Alaska at 2 ¢/acre (d. 1872)
- 1821 - Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician (d. 1894)
- 1827 - Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect (d. 1921)
- 1845 - Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, Russian microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1916)
- 1891 - Richard Tauber, Austrian tenor (d. 1948)
- 1898 - Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (d. 1980)
- 1905 - Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1906 - Alfred Pellan, French Canadian painter (d. 1988)
- 1906 - Margret Rey, author and illustrator (d. 1996)
- 1910 - Olga Berggolts, Russian poet (d. 1975)
- 1910 - Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter (d. 1972)
- 1912 - Studs Terkel, American writer
- 1913 - Woody Herman, American musician and band leader (d. 1987)
- 1914 - Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author
- 1916 - Adriana Caselotti, American actress (d. 1997)
- 1917 - Juan Rulfo, Mexican novelist (d. 1986)
- 1917 - James C. Murray, American politician (d. 1999)
- 1917 - George Gaynes, American actor
- 1919 - Liberace, American pianist (d. 1987)
- 1920 - Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967)
- 1923 - Merton Miller, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 - Bobbejaan Schoepen, Belgian entertainer
- 1927 - Nílton Santos, Brazilian football player
- 1928 - Billy Martin, baseball player and coach (d. 1989)
- 1929 - Adrienne Rich, American writer
- 1929 - Claude Morin, French Canadian politician
- 1930 - Betty Carter, American jazz singer (d. 1998)
- 1930 - Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist (d. 2000)
- 1931 - Natwar Singh, Indian politician
- 1931 - Denise Filiatrault, Quebec actress and director
- 1936 - Roy Hudd, British radio and television actor
- 1936 - Karl Lehmann, German Catholic cardinal
- 1944 - Billy Cobham, American virtuoso drummer
- 1945 - Nicky Chinn, songwriter (The Sweet, Suzi Quatro)
- 1946 - Robert Fripp, English guitarist (King Crimson)
- 1946 - Roger Earl, British rock drummer (Savoy Brown, Foghat)
- 1948 - Judy Finnegan, British TV presenter, Richard & Judy
- 1950 - J. Georg Bednorz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 - Ray Condo, Canadian rockabilly musician
- 1952 - James Herndon, American media psychologist
- 1953 - Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor
- 1955 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast
- 1955 - Jack Morris, baseball player
- 1955 - Hazel O'Connor, British singer
- 1955 - Debra Winger, American actress
- 1961 - Charles Wright, American professional wrestler known as "The Godfather"
- 1963 - Mercedes Echerer, Austrian actress and politician
- 1964 - Boyd Tinsley, American violinist (Dave Matthews Band)
- 1965 - Krist Novoselic, American bassist (Nirvana)
- 1966 - Janet Jackson, American singer
- 1966 - Scott Reeves, American actor and singer
- 1966 - Thurman Thomas, American football player
- 1969 - David Boreanaz, American actor
- 1969 - Tucker Carlson, American television commentator
- 1969 - Tracey Gold, American actress
- 1969 - Steve Lewis, American athlete
- 1970 - Gabriela Sabatini, Argentine tennis player
- 1970 - Danielle Spencer, Australian singer and actress
- 1973 - Special Ed, American rapper
- 1973 - Tori Spelling, American actress
- 1974 - Laura Pausini, Italian pop singer
- 1974 - Sonny Sandoval, American singer (P.O.D.)
- 1975 - Tony Kakko, Finnish singer (Sonata Arctica)
- 1977 - Dolcenera, Italian singer
- 1977 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Canadian hockey player
- 1978 - Lionel Scaloni, Argentine footballer
- 1979 - McKenzie Lee, British pornographic actress
- 1980 - Michael Ryan, American hockey player
- 1982 - Joo Ji Hoon, Korean actor and model
- 1982 - Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
- 1983 - Kyle Wellwood, Canadian hockey player
- 1983 - Nancy Ajram, Lebanese singer
- 1985 - Anja Mittag, German footballer
- 1985 - Corey Perry, Canadian hockey player
- 1986 - Megan Fox, American actress
- 1990 - Thomas Sangster, British actor
- 1998 - Ariel Waller, Canadian actress
[edit] Deaths
- 583 - Saint Brendan, Irish navigator (b. 484)
- 1265 - Saint Simon Stock, English saint (b. 1165)
- 1620 - William Adams, English navigator (b. 1564)
- 1657 - Andrzej Bobola, Polish Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
- 1667 - Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English statesman (b. 1607)
- 1669 - Pietro da Cortona, Italian architect (b. 1596)
- 1691 - Jacob Leisler, American colonist (b. 1640)
- 1703 - Charles Perrault, French author (b. 1628)
- 1778 - Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat (b. 1718)
- 1782 - Daniel Solander, Swedish botanist (b. 1736)
- 1790 - Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician (b. 1720)
- 1830 - Joseph Fourier, French scientist (b. 1768)
- 1891 - Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian statesman (b. 1821)
- 1913 - Louis Perrier, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1849)
- 1926 - Mehmed VI, last Ottoman Sultan (b. 1861)
- 1943 - Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist (b. 1865)
- 1944 - George Ade, American author (b. 1866)
- 1947 - Frederick Hopkins, English biochemist and Nobel laureate (b. 1861)
- 1953 - Django Reinhardt, Belgian musician (b. 1910)
- 1954 - Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor (b. 1893)
- 1955 - James Agee, American writer (b. 1909)
- 1956 - H. B. Reese, American founder of Reese's (b. 1876)
- 1957 - Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903)
- 1959 - Elisha Scott, footballer (b. 1894)
- 1969 - Robert R., first confirmed death from AIDS in North America (b. 1954)
- 1979 - A. Philip Randolph, American activist (b. 1889)
- 1981 - Ernie Freeman, American pianist and arranger (b. 1922)
- 1984 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (b. 1949)
- 1984 - Irwin Shaw, American author (b. 1913)
- 1985 - Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1988 - Charles Keeping, British illustrator (b. 1924)
- 1990 - Sammy Davis, Jr., American entertainer (b. 1925)
- 1990 - Jim Henson, American puppeteer (b. 1936)
- 1993 - Marv Johnson, American R&B and soul singer (b. 1938)
- 2001 - Brian Pendleton, musician, The Pretty Things (b. 1944)
- 2002 - Big Dick Dudley, professional wrestler (b. 1968)
- 2002 - Alec Campbell, The last surviving ANZAC
- 2003 - Mark McCormack, American businessman (b. 1930)
- 2006 - Dan Ross, American football player (b. 1957)
[edit] Holidays and observances
saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
