What Happened on December 16?

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events

births

deaths

holidays

EVENTS ON DECEMBER 16

1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes

Year: 1811

The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri.

East India Company

Year: 1782

British East India Company: Muharram Rebellion: Hada and Mada Miah lead the first anti-British uprising in the subcontinent against Robert Lindsay and his contingents in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah.

Articles of Confederation

Year: 1777

Virginia becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.

Great Trek

Year: 1838

Great Trek: Battle of Blood River: Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers defeat Zulu impis, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

American Civil War

Year: 1863

American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints General Joseph E. Johnston to replace General Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee.

Wales national rugby union team

Year: 1882

Wales and England contest the first Home Nations (now Six Nations) rugby union match.

First Boer War

Year: 1880

Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire.

Battle of Nashville

Year: 1864

American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville ends as the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas routs and destroys the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood, ending its effectiveness as a combat unit.

American Revolution

Year: 1773

American Revolution: Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.

Seven Years' War

Year: 1761

Seven Years' War: After a four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg.

BIRTHS ON DECEMBER 16

Sam Most

Year of birth: 1930

Sam Most, American flute player and saxophonist (died 2013)

Lin Zhao

Year of birth: 1932

Lin Zhao, Chinese dissident and Christian executed during the Cultural Revolution (died 1968)

Bill Young (Florida politician)

Year of birth: 1930

Bill Young, American sergeant and politician (died 2013)

Nicholas Courtney

Year of birth: 1929

Nicholas Courtney, Egyptian-English actor (died 2011)

Terry Carter

Year of birth: 1928

Terry Carter, American actor, director, and producer (died 2024)

Grace Alele-Williams

Year of birth: 1932

Grace Alele-Williams, Nigerian mathematician and academic (died 2022)

Morris Dees

Year of birth: 1936

Morris Dees, American lawyer and activist, co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center

Frank Deford

Year of birth: 1938

Frank Deford, American journalist and author (died 2017)

Philip Langridge

Year of birth: 1939

Philip Langridge, English tenor (died 2010)

Liv Ullmann

Year of birth: 1938

Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress, director, and screenwriter

DEATHS ON DECEMBER 16

Frank Eugene

Year of death: 1936

Frank Eugene, American-German photographer and educator (born 1865)

Thelma Todd

Year of death: 1935

Thelma Todd, American actress and comedian (born 1905)

Billy Hamilton (baseball, born 1866)

Year of death: 1940

Billy Hamilton, American baseball player and manager (born 1866)

Eugène Dubois

Year of death: 1940

Eugène Dubois, Dutch paleoanthropologist (born 1858)

Betsie ten Boom

Year of death: 1944

Betsie ten Boom, Dutch Holocaust victim (born 1885)

Elinor Wylie

Year of death: 1928

Elinor Wylie, American poet and author (born 1885)

Gabriel Narutowicz

Year of death: 1922

Gabriel Narutowicz, Lithuanian–Polish engineer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Poland (born 1865)

Pavel Tretyakov

Year of death: 1898

Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and art collector (born 1832)

American Horse

Year of death: 1908

American Horse, American tribal leader and educator (born 1840)

Frank Gotch

Year of death: 1917

Frank Gotch, American wrestler (born 1878)

HOLIDAYS ON DECEMBER 16

National day

National Day, celebrates the withdrawal of United Kingdom from Bahrain, making Bahrain an independent emirate in 1971.

Las Posadas

The beginning of the nine-day celebration beginning December 16 and ending December 24, celebrating the trials which Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born (Hispanidad): The first day of Las Posadas (Mexico, Latin America)

Simbang Gabi

Victory Day (Bangladesh)

Victory Day observances, celebration of the Indo-Bangla allied victory over Pakistan armed forces and the Liberation of Bangladesh. (Bangladesh and India[a])