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October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). There are 76 days remaining.
Events
400-1899
- 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Roman Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Roman Empire
- 1775 - Portland, Maine burned by the British
- 1781 - George Washington captures Yorktown, Virginia
- 1793 - Marie Antoinette, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and wife of Louis XVI and hence Queen Consort of France, was guillotined at the height of the French Revolution.
- 1793 - Battle of Wattignies
- 1813 - The Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Leipzig, on their way to an invasion of France to restore the House of Bourbon to the French throne.
- 1834 - Much of the ancient structures of the Palace of Westminster in London is burnt down
- 1859 - John Brown leads raid on Harper's Ferry, West Virginia
- 1869 - Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous American hoaxes, discovered.
- 1869 - England's first residential college for women, Girton College, is founded in Cambridge.
- 1882 - The Nickel Plate Railroad opens for business.
1900-1999
- 1906 - The Captain of Köpenick fools the city hall of Köpenick and several soldiers by impersonating a Prussian officer.
- 1912 - Bulgarian pilots Radul Minkov and Prodan Toprakchiev perform the first bombing with an airplane in history at the railway station of Karaagac near Edirne against Turkey.
- 1934 - Chinese Communists under Mao Zedong begin their Long March
- 1940 - Benjamin O. Davis Sr. named first African American general in the United States Army
- 1940 - Warsaw ghetto was established
- 1946 - Ten war criminals of the Second World War, condemned in the Nuremberg trials were hanged.
- 1949 - Nikos Zakhiariadis, leader of the Communist Party of Greece, announced a "temporary cease-fire to prevent the complete annihilation of Greece", effectively marking the end of the Greek Civil War.
- 1951 - The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated in Rawalpindi
- 1964 - People's Republic of China detonates its first nuclear weapon
- 1968 - US-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos are kicked out of the USA's team for performing a raised-fist Black Power salute during the 200m dash medal ceremony.
- 1968 - Kingston, Jamaica is rocked by the Rodney Riots, inspired by the barring of Walter Rodney from the country.
- 1970 - Anwar Sadat elected President of Egypt
- 1970 - Canada - In response to the October Crisis terrorist kidnapping, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act imposing martial law.
- 1973 - Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1975 - The Balibo Five, a group of Australian television journalists based in the town of Balibo in the then Portuguese Timor (now East Timor), were killed by Indonesian troops.
- 1978 - Karol Józef Wojtyła becomes Pope John Paul II
- 1984 - Desmond Tutu awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1991 - George Hennard runs amok in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 and wounding 19 in Luby's Cafeteria.
- 1992 - Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson files a 1.4 million USD lawsuit against French tabloids for running topless photos taken of her on the French Riviera, including some of Texas millionaire John Bryan suckling on her toes.
- 1995 - The Million Man March occurs in Washington, DC.
- 1996 - 84 are killed and more than 180 injured as 47,000 soccer fans attempt to squeeze into the 36,000-seat Mateo Flores Stadium in Guatemala City.
2000-2099
Births
1400-1899
- 1430 - James II of Scotland (d. 1460)
- 1483 - Gasparo Contarini, Italian diplomat and cardinal (d. 1542)
- 1535 - Niwa Nagahide, Japanese retainer, samurai, and daimyo (d. 1585)
- 1663 - Eugene of Savoy, general of the Austrian army.
- 1714 - Giovanni Arduino, geologist (d. 1795)
- 1758 - Noah Webster, American lexicographer
- 1815 - Francis Lubbock, Governor of Texas (d. 1905)
- 1840 - Kuroda Kiyotaka, Japanese politician and prime minister (d. 1900)
- 1854 - Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (d. 1900)
- 1861 - J. B. Bury, historian (d. 1927)
- 1878 - Maxey Long, American athlete
- 1886 - David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1973)
- 1888 - Eugene O'Neill, American playwright (d. 1953)
- 1890 - Michael Collins, Irish patriot (d. 1922)
- 1890 - Paul Strand, photographer
- 1898 - William O. Douglas, justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1980)
1900-1999
- 1900 - Primo Conti, Futurist painter
- 1914 - Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan
- 1925 - Angela Lansbury, actress
- 1927 - Günter Grass, German novelist
- 1931 - Charles Colson, Watergate scandal conspirator
- 1936 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer
- 1940 - Barry Corbin, actor
- 1940 - Dave DeBusschere, NBA basketball player (d. 2003)
- 1941 - Tim McCarver, baseball star, commentator
- 1946 - Suzanne Somers, actress
- 1947 - Bob Weir, musician (The Grateful Dead)
- 1947 - Terry Griffiths, Welsh snooker player
- 1952 - Boogie Mosson, musician (P Funk)
- 1952 - Ron Taylor, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1958 - Tim Robbins, American actor, director, writer
- 1959 - Gary Kemp, musician, actor
- 1962 - Flea, bassist (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- 1965 - Steve Lamacq, journalist and BBC radio DJ
- 1974 - Paul Kariya, hockey star
- 1977 - John Mayer, musician
- 1980 - Sue Bird, WNBA basketball star
Deaths
1500-1899
1900-1999
- 1946 - Hans Frank, German war criminal
- 1946 - Wilhelm Frick, German war criminal
- 1946 - Alfred Jodl, German military officer
- 1946 - Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian SS officer
- 1946 - Wilhelm Keitel, German military officer
- 1946 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, German politician
- 1946 - Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi ideologist
- 1946 - Fritz Sauckel, German war criminal
- 1946 - Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Austrian Nazi leader, governor of The Netherlands during the German occupation (1940-1945).
- 1946 - Julius Streicher, German propagandist
- 1951 - Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan
- 1959 - George C. Marshall, general, United States Secretary of State
- 1972 - Hale Boggs, Congressman from Louisiana
- 1972 - Leo G. Carroll, actor
- 1973 - Gene Krupa, musician
- 1978 - Dan Dailey, actor
- 1981 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli general
- 1983 - Jakov Gotovac, Croatian composer
- 1986 - Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist (b. 1921)
- 1989 - Cornel Wilde, actor
- 1990 - Art Blakey, jazz drummer
- 1992 - Shirley Booth, actress
- 1997 - James Michener, American writer
- 1998 - Jon Postel, American Internet pioneer
- 1999 - Jean Shepherd, writer, actor
2000-2099
Holidays
Links to dates and months
October 15 - October 17 - September 16 - November 16 - more historical anniversaries
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