On this day in History - Dec. 16

• 0714 - Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia.
• 0882 - John VIII dies. Italian Pope (872-82).
• 0955 - John XII is elected Pope.
• 0999 - Saint Adelaide of Italy dies (b. 0931).
• 1279 - D. Afonso III dies. King of Portugal (1248 - 1279).
• 1325 - Charles of Valois dies (b. 1270). Son of Philip III of France.
• 1379 - John Fitzalan dies (drowned). Marshal of England.
• 1392 - Emperor Go-Kameyama of Japan abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu, ending the nanboku-cho period of competing imperial courts.
• 1431 - King Henry VI of England crowned King of France.
• 1470 - John II, Duke of Lorraine was born (b. 1425).
• 1485 - Catherine of Aragon, was born. Queen of England (d. 1536) .
• 1515 - Afonso de Albuquerque dies (b. 1543). Portuguese naval general.
• 1584 - John Selden was born (d. 1654). English jurist and oriental scholar.
• 1598 - An outnumbered Korean and Ming navy ambush and defeat a Japanese army at the Battle of Noryang Point.
• 1600 - Henri IV épouse Marie de Médicis.
• 1614 - Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg was born (d. 1674)
• 1631 - Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000.
• 1653 - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• 1669 - Nathaniel Fiennes dies. English politician
• 1672 - John II Casimir Vasa dies at 63. Cardinal / King of Poland (1648-68).
• 1687 - William Petty dies (b. 1623). English scientist and philosopher.
• 1689 - The English Parliament adopts the Bill of Rights.
• 1714 - George Whitefield was born (d. 1770). English-born Methodist leader.
• 1716 - Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc de Nivernais was born (d. 1798). French diplomat and writer.
• 1717 - Elizabeth Carter was born (d. 1806). English writer.
• 1742 - Gebhard Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt was born (d. 1819). German field marshal.
• 1751 - Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau dies (b. 1700). Prussian general.
• 1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, was born in Bonn [he was baptized on 17 December 1770, and it is presumed he was born on 16 December]. (d. 1827); German Composer, he is universally recognized as one of the greatest composers of the Western European music.
• 1773 - The Boston Tea Party took place. A crowd of colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians dumps 342 crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the British Tea Act.
• 1774 - François Quesnay dies (b. 1694). French economist and personal physician of Louis XIV.
• 1775 - Jane Austen was born (d. 1817). English novelist (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice , Emma)
• 1775 - François-Adrien Boieldieu was born (d. 1834). French composer.
• 1776 - Johann Wilhelm Ritter was born (d. 1810). German physicist.
• 1783 - Johann A. Hasse dies (b. 1699). German composer.
• 1783 - William James dies (b. 1720). British naval commander.
• 1790 - King Leopold I of Belgium was born (d. 1865)
• 1809 - Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy dies (b. 1755). French chemist.
• 1809 - Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine by French Senate.
• 1811 - The first of a series of severe earthquakes occurs, in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri in the United States.
• 1815 - Criação do Reino Unido de Portugal, Brasil e Algarves, pelo príncipe regente D. João, futuro D. João VI.
• 1824 - Great North Holland Canal opens.
• 1834 - Léon Walras was born (d. 1910). French economist.
• 1835 - Fire consumes over 600 buildings in NYC .
• 1838 - Boers defeat Zulu troops at Battle of Blood River, led by Dambuza and Nhlela, celebrated in South Africa as the day of the vow.
• 1850 - The first four ships arrive at Lyttelton to settle Christchurch, New Zealand.
• 1859 - Wilhelm Grimm dies (b. 1786). German writer and folklorist.
• 1861 - Antonio de La Gandara was born (d. 1917). French painter.
• 1863 - George Santayana was born (d. 1952). Spanish philosopher, essayst and poet.
• 1864 - Union troops led by general George Thomas defeat Confederate troops in the Battle of Nashville.
• 1865 - Olavo Bilac, was born (d. 1918). Brazilian poet.
• 1866 - Wassily Kandinsky, was born. Russian painter.
• 1882 - Zoltán Kodály was born (d. 1967). Hungarian composer.
• 1882 - Walther Meissner was born (d. 1974). German physicist.
• 1884 - Great Britain recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State.
• 1888 - King Alexander of Yugoslavia was born (d. 1934)
• 1893 - World premiere of Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony".
• 1898 - Pavel Tretyakov dies (b. 1832). Russian businessman and art collector.
• 1899 - Noel Coward was born (d. 1973). English playwright.
• 1901 - Margaret Mead, was born in Philadelphia (d. 1978). American anthropologist, author and lecturer.
• 1904 - Edward Morris Bernstein was born. Economist .
• 1905 - Piet Hein was born (d. 1996). Danish mathematician and inventor.
• 1906 - Leonid Brezhnev was born (Russian leader of the Communist Party) .
• 1910 - Henri Coanda makes first short flight in aircraft with jet engine.
• 1914 - Ivan Zajc dies (b. 1832). Croatian composer.
• 1915 - Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
• 1916 - Grigori Rasputin dies assassinated by a group of noble Russian conspirators (b. 1869). Russian monk.
• 1917 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke, was born. Science fiction writer (2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010, Childhood's End) .
• 1920 - One of the deadliest earthquakes in history hit the Gansu province in China. The 8.6 quake killed 200,000 people.
• 1921 - Camille Saint-Saëns dies (b. 1835). French composer.
• 1922 - Gabriel Narutowicz dies (b. 1865). First President of Poland
• 1922 - Poland's President Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated.
• 1926 - James McCracken was born (d. 1988). American tenor.
• 1927 - Randall Garrett was born. American writer.
• 1928 - Philip K. Dick was born (d. 1982) American writer.
• 1928 - Elinor Wylie dies (b. 1885). American poet and writer.
• 1929 - Nicholas Courtney was born. British actor
• 1929 - Chic Blackhawks 1st game at Chicago Stadium, beat Pitts Pirates, 3-1
• 1932 - Heavy earthquake ravages Kansu China, 70,000 killed
• 1932 - Rodion Shchedrin was born. Russian composer
• 1934 - Elgin Baylor was born. American basketball player.
• 1935 - São Paulo Futebol Clube (Brazil) is founded.
• 1938 - Liv Ullmann was born. Norwegian actress.
• 1941 - Lesley Stahl was born. American journalist.
• 1942 - SS Chief Heinrich Himmler orders that the Roma (gypsy) people be sent to Auschwitz for extermination.
• 1943 - Steven Bochco was born. American television producer and writer.
• 1944 - World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins.
• 1944 - The Battle of the Bulge begins. A V-2 rocket hits the Rex Cinema in Antwerp killing 567 people.
• 1945 - Giovanni Agnelli dies (d. 1866). Italian automobile manufacturer.
• 1945 - Fumimaro Konoye dies (b. 1891). Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1946 - Thailand becomes member of The United Nations.
• 1946 - Léon Blum becomes Prime Minister of France
• 1946 - Benny Andersson was born. Swedish singer and songwriter (ABBA)
• 1946 - Trevor Pinnock was born. English conductor and harpsichordist
• 1947 - Vincent Matthews was born. American athlete.
• 1949 - Traitsjo Kostov dies executed. Bulgarian communist vice-premier
• 1949 - Sidney Olcott dies (b. 1873). Canadian film director.
• 1949 - Sukarno becomes President Indonesia, Mokammed Hatta Premier
• 1949 - Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung is received at the Kremlin in Moscow.
• 1949 - Future SAAB makes its first car . A Swedish company by the name of Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget produced its first motorcar.
• 1951 - Robben Ford was born. American guitarist.
• 1952 - Joel Garner was born. West Indian cricketer
• 1956 - UN troops occupy Port Said, Suez Canal Zone, following the abortive Tripartite Invasion.
• 1956 - Nina Hamnett dies (b. 1890). Welsh artist.
• 1957 - I.I. Chundrigar left the office of Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• 1958 - A fire at a store in Bogotá, Colombia kills 83 people.
• 1960 - A United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super-Constellation collide over New York City killing 134.
• 1961 - Bill Hicks was born (d. 1994). American comedian.
• 1962 - David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" premieres.
• 1962 - Nepal gets constitution / becomes Constitutional Hindu Monarchy.
• 1962 - Luciana Braga was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian actress.
• 1963 - Park Chung-Hee is sworn in as South Korea's fifth president.
• 1963 - A general amnesty is announced for Mau Mau forest fighters in Kenya.
• 1963 - Kenia becomes member of The United Nations.
• 1963 - Benjamin Bratt was born. American actor
• 1964 - Heike Drechsler, was born. Track and field athlete.
• 1965 - W. Somerset Maugham dies (b. 1874). English playwright, novelist and short story writer.
• 1966 - Mao's Little Red Book is published in Beijing.
• 1967 - Donovan Bailey was born. Canadian athlete
• 1969 - MPs vote to abolish hanging British Parlament abolish the death penalty
• 1970 - 1st successful landing on Venus (USSR).
• 1970 - Shipworkers in Gdańsk, Poland clash with government police and the seeds of the Solidarity movement are sown.
• 1970 - Cláudia Lira was born in João Pessoa. Brazilian actress.
• 1971 - The Pakistan Army surrenders, ending the Liberation War of Bangladesh and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 simultaneously.
• 1971 - Don McLean's 8+ minute version of "American Pie" released
• 1 971 - Pakistan surrenders, leading to the establishment of Bangladesh the following day.
• 1973 - O.J. Simpson becomes the first player in NFL history to rush for 2000 yards in one season.
• 1973 - Mariza was born. Mozambican-born Portuguese singer. 2003 Best European World Music Artist ( from BBC Radio 3 )
• 1974 - União Democrática Popular, Portuguese politic party, is founded.
• 1975 - Benjamin Kowalewicz was born. Canadian singer (Billy Talent)
• 1977 - England: Queen opens 'tube' link to Heathrow
• 1977 - Sylvain Distin was born. French footballer.
• 1977 - Risto Jarva dies (b. 1934). Finnish filmmaker.
• 1979 - Nicole Werra was born. Miss Wisconsin Teen USA (1996).
• 1980 - Colonel Harland Sanders dies (b. 1890). American fast food entrepreneur.
• 1980 - Hellmuth Walter dies (b. 1900). German engineer and inventor.
• 1982 - Colin Chapman dies (b. 1928). English engineer and automobile manufacturer.
• 1985 - In New York City, mafia bosses Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead when exiting from Sparks Steak House, making hit organizer John Gotti the leader of the powerful Gambino organized crime family.
• 1987 - Roh Tae Woo wins Presidential Election in South Korea
• 1989 - The Romanian Revolution began in the city of Timişoara as a protest against an attempt by the government to evict a dissident Methodist priest, László Tőkés.
• 1989 - Silvana Mangano dies. Italian actress (Death in Venice).
• 1989 - Lee Van Cleef dies (b. 1925). American actor (Good, Bad and Ugly)
• 1989 - Aileen Pringle dies (b. 1895). American actress.
• 1990 - Douglas Campbell dies (b. 1896), American World War I flying ace
• 1990 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected president of Haiti .
• 1991 - United Nations reverses ruling that Zionism is racism by 111-25, with 13 abstentions.
• 1993 - Moses Gunn dies (b. 1929). American actor.
• 1993 - Tanaka Kakuei dies (b. 1918). Japanese political leader.
• 1994 - Herberto Helder, Portuguese poet, is distinguished with The Pessoa Prize but he refused to receive it.
• 1995 - Mariele Ventre dies (1934). Italian choir director.
• 1996 - Quentin Bell dies (b. 1910). English biographer and art historian.
• 1996 - Former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, condemned to death for a 1979 coup and a deadly military crackdown, had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
• 1997 - Super Typhoon Paka makes landfall on the island of Guam with 150 mph winds.
• 1997 - 685 kids went to hospital in Japan after an episode of pokemon see also: Pokémon: Banned Episodes.
• 1998 - Operation Desert Fox: American and British troops begin to bomb Iraqi targets after Iraq obstructs UN weapons inspectors.
• 1999 - Mud streams kill thousands in Venezuela.
• 2000 - NASA announces that there is an ocean beneath Jupiter moon Ganymede's icy surface.
• 2000 - Colin Powell selected to become the first African-American secretary of state.
• 2001 - Yakoub Dakidak, senior Hamas military wing activist, killed after nightfall by Israeli troops which had entered Palestiniain Hebron, who say that he was fleeing arrest
• 2002 - Le Canada devient le 99e pays à signer le protocole de Kyoto.
• 2003 - Deborah Jin induces the formation of a fermionic condensate among fermionic atoms.
• 2003 - Robert Stanfield dies (b. 1914). Premier of Nova Scotia.
• 2003 - Gary Stewart dies (suicide) (b. 1945). American singer.
• 2004 - Ted Abernathy dies (b. 1933). baseball player
• 2005 - The last scheduled day of the terrestial radio version of the popular US radio program The Howard Stern Show is broadcast.
• R.C. Saints - O Sapientia ; Adeleide of Italy
• Bahrain - National Day
• Bangladesh - Victory Day
• Kazakhstan - Independence Day
• South Africa - Day of Reconciliation