August 16

Historic Events

2020

The August Complex fire in California burns more than one million acres of land. ›

2015

More than 96 people are killed and hundreds injured following a series of air-raids by the Syrian Arab Air Force on the rebel-held market town of Douma. ›

2015

Trigana Air Flight 267, an ATR 42, crashes in Oksibil, Bintang Mountains Regency, killing all 54 people on board. ›

2013

The ferry St. Thomas Aquinas collides with a cargo ship and sinks at Cebu, Philippines, killing 61 people with 59 others missing. ›

2012

South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute at Marikana near Rustenburg. ›

2010

AIRES Flight 8250 crashes at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport in San Andrés, San Andrés y Providencia, Colombia, killing two people. ›

2008

The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at 1,389 feet (423 m), at the time becoming the world's highest residence above ground-level. ›

2005

West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes in Machiques, Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board. ›

1991

Indian Airlines Flight 257, a Boeing 737-200, crashes during approach to Imphal Airport, killing all 69 people on board. ›

1989

A solar particle event affects computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, forcing a halt to trading. ›

1987

Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes after takeoff in Detroit, Michigan, killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus two people on the ground. ›

1986

A Sudan Airways Fokker F27 Friendship is shot down near Malakal in present day South Sudan, killing 60. ›

1975

Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically hands over land to the Gurindji people after the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration. ›

1972

In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat. ›

1966

Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested. ›

1964

Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy. ›

1960

Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom. ›

1960

Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico, United States, at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft. ›

1954

The first issue of Sports Illustrated is published. ›

1946

Mass riots in Kolkata begin; more than 4,000 people would be killed in 72 hours. ›

1946

The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress is founded in Secunderabad. ›

1945

The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam, convenes in Sơn Dương. ›

1944

First flight of a jet with forward-swept wings, the Junkers Ju 287. ›

1943

World War II: 317 Greek civilians are murdered by soldiers of the German 1st Mountain Division in the village of Kommeno, Greece. ›

1942

World War II: US Navy L-class blimp L-8 drifts in from the Pacific and eventually crashes in Daly City, California. The two-man crew cannot be found. ›

1933

Christie Pits riot takes place in Toronto, Ontario. ›

1930

The first color sound cartoon, Fiddlesticks, is released by Ub Iwerks. ›

1930

The first British Empire Games are opened in Hamilton, Ontario, by the Governor General of Canada, the Viscount Willingdon. ›

1929

The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed. ›

1927

The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear. ›

1923

The United Kingdom gives the name "Ross Dependency" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator. ›

1920

Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. Next day, Chapman will become the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game. ›

1920

The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution. ›

1920

Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Radzymin concludes; the Soviet Red Army is forced to turn away from Warsaw. ›

1918

The Battle of Lake Baikal is fought between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Red Army. ›

1916

The Migratory Bird Treaty between Canada and the United States is signed. ›

1914

German admiral Wilhelm Souchon hands over the two warships under his command to the Ottomans and becomes commander of the Turkish navy, leading later to the entry of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. ›

1913

Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students. ›

1913

Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary. ›

1906

The 8.2 Mw Valparaíso earthquake hits central Chile, killing 3,882 people. ›

1900

The Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift. ›

1896

Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. ›

1891

The Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed. ›

1876

Richard Wagner's Siegfried, the penultimate opera in his Ring cycle, is premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. ›

1870

Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory. ›

1869

Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion largely made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War. ›

1863

The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country. ›

1859

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany formally deposes the exiled House of Lorraine. ›

1858

U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks. ›

1844

Governor-general of the Philippines Narciso Claveria signs a decree to reform the country's calendar by skipping Tuesday, December 31, as a solution to anomalies that had existed since Ferdinand Magellan's arrival in 1521. ›

1841

U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history. ›

1837

Three African soldiers in the 1st West India Regiment – Daaga, Edward Coffin and Maurice Ogston – are executed for their role in the St. Joseph Mutiny in the British colony of Trinidad. ›

1819

Peterloo Massacre: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England. ›

1812

War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army. ›

1793

French Revolution: A levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention. ›

1792

Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal. ›

1780

American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden: The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina. ›

1777

American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York. ›

1717

Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718): An imperial coalition army under Prince Eugene of Savoy defeats an Ottoman army under Haji Halil Pasha, leading to the surrender of the Ottoman garrison of Belgrade a few days later. ›

1685

Great Turkish War: An imperial coalition army under Charles of Lorraine defeats the Ottoman army that had been besieging Esztergom. ›

1652

Battle of Plymouth: Inconclusive naval action between the fleets of Michiel de Ruyter and George Ayscue in the First Anglo-Dutch War. ›

1570

The Principality of Transylvania is established after John II Zápolya renounces his claim as King of Hungary in the Treaty of Speyer. ›

1550

Rabbi Moses Isserles issues his ruling in the Bragadin-Giustiniani dispute, one of the earliest instances of a copyright suit over any book. ›

1513

Battle of the Spurs (Battle of Guinegate): King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French forces who are then forced to retreat. ›

1328

The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708. ›

965

Nikephoros II Phokas captures the city of Tarsus, finalising the Byzantine conquest of Cilicia. ›

963

Nikephoros II Phokas is crowned emperor of the Byzantine Empire, swearing to protect the two sons of the previous emperor Romanos II, who are already crowned co-emperors. ›

942

Start of the four-day Battle of al-Mada'in, between the Hamdanids of Mosul and the Baridis of Basra over control of the Abbasid capital, Baghdad. ›

1 BC

Wang Mang consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who died the previous day, had no heirs. ›