On this day in History - May 16

• 0583 - Saint Brendan dies (b. 0484). Irish navigator.
• 1204 - Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
• 1265 - Saint Simon Stock dies (b. 1165). English saint.
• 1490 - Albert of Prussia was born (d. 1568). First duke of Prussia.
• 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.
• 1578 - Everard Digby was born (d. 1606). English conspirator.
• 1605 - Paul V becomes Pope.
• 1611 - Pope Innocent XI was born († 1689).
• 1620 - William Adams dies (b. 1564). English navigator and Japanese samurai.
• 1657 - Andrzej Bobola dies (b. 1591). Polish Jesuit missionary.
• 1667 - Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton dies (b. 1607). English statesman.
• 1669 - Pietro da Cortona dies (b. 1598). Italian architect.
• 1678 - Andreas Silbermann was born (d. 1734). Organ builder.
• 1691 - Jacob Leisler dies (b. 1640). American colonist.
• 1703 - Charles Perrault dies (b. 1628). French author.
• 1710 - William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot was born (d. 1782). English politician.
• 1718 - Maria Gaetana Agnesi was born († 1799). Italian mathematician.
• 1763 - Louis Nicolas Vauquelin was born (d. 14 Nov 1829). French chemist who discovered the elements chromium (1797) and beryllium (1798).
• 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 - Patriot general Lachlan McIntosh shots Button Gwinnett during a duel near Savannah, Georgia. Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies three days later.
• 1778 - Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness dies (b. 1718). English diplomat and politician
• 1782 - Daniel Solander dies (b. 1736). Swedish botanist.
• 1788 - Friedrich Rückert was born (d. 1866). German Poet, Translator and Orientalist.
• 1790 - Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke dies (b. 1720). English politician.
• 1801 - William H. Seward was born (d. 1872). United States Secretary of State, bought Alaska at 2 ¢/acre.
• 1811 - Peninsular War - Allies (Spain, Portugal & Britain) defeat French at the Battle of Albuera. Portugal: Ocorreu a Batalha de Albuera entre forças francesas lideradas pelo General Soult e o exército anglo-luso.
• 1821 - Pafnuty Chebyshev was born (d. 1894). Russian mathematician.
• 1822 - Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
• 1827 - Pierre Cuypers was born (d. 1921). Dutch architect.
• 1930 - Betty Carter was born (d. 1998). American jazz singer.
• 1930 - Friedrich Gulda was born (d. 2000). Austrian pianist.
• 1830 - Joseph Fourier dies. French mathematicien and physicist.
• 1931 - Natwar Singh was born. Indian politician.
• 1931 - Denise Filiatrault was born. Quebec actress and director.
• 1831 - David E. Hughes was born (d. 22 Jan 1900). British inventor (namely Printing Telegraph and Microphone)
• 1833 - Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana assume a presidência do México.
• 1834 - Batalha da Asseiceira. As forças liberais comandadas pelo duque da Terceira, derrotam as tropas miguelistas, terminando de facto com a Guerra Civil que durava desde 1832.
• 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.
• 1845 - Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov was born (d. 1916). Russian microbiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 1864 - Em Portugal, D. Luís I assina o decreto que institui o Banco Nacional Ultramarino.
• 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.
• 1882 - Anne McCormick was born († 1954). Journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner.
• 1891 - Richard Tauber was born (d. 1948). Austrian tenor.
• 1891 - Ion C. Bratianu dies (b. 1821). Romanian statesman.
• 1893 - Ronald de Carvalho was born (d. 15 Fev 1935). Brazilian writer.
• 1898 - Tamara de Lempicka was born (d. 1980). Polish-born painter.
• 1905 - Henry Fonda was born (d. 1982). American actor.
• 1906 - Arturo Úslar Pietri was born. Venezuelan writer.
• 1906 - Alfred Pellan was born (d. 1988). French Canadian painter.
• 1906 - Margret Rey was born (d. 1996). Author and illustrator.
• 1907 - Britain, France, and Spain sign the Pact of Cartagena - an agreement to maintain the status quo in the Mediterranean and West Africa.
• 1910 - The U.S. Congress authorizes the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines.
• 1910 - Olga Berggolts was born (d. 1975). Russian poet.
• 1910 - Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov was born (d. 1972). Russian painter.
• 1912 - Studs Terkel was born. American writer.
• 1913 - Woody Herman was born (d. 1987). American musician, band leader.
• 1913 - Louis Perrier dies (b. 1849). Member of the Swiss Federal Council.
• 1914 - Edward T. Hall was born. American anthropologist and author
• 1915 - Em Portugal, é constituído o governo liderado por João Chagas que marca o final da ditadura do general Pimentel de Castro.
• 1916 - Adriana Caselotti was born (d. 1997). American actress.
• 1917 - James C. Murray was born (d. 1999). American politician.
• 1917 - George Gaynes was born. American actor.
• 1917 - Juan Rulfo was born (d. 1986). Mexican novelist.
• 1918 - The Sedition Act is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government a jailable offense.
• 1919 - Liberace was born (d. 1987). American pianist.
• 1919 - Gisela Uhlen was born. Actress.
• 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 - Switzerland joins the League of Nations
• 1920 - In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc as a saint.
• 1920 - Martine Carol was born (d. 1967). French actress.
• 1923 - Luísa Barbosa was born. Portuguese actress.
• 1923 - Merton Miller was born. American economist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1925 - Bobbejaan Schoepen was born. Belgian entertainer.
• 1926 - Mehmed VI dies (b. 1861). Last Ottoman Sultan.
• 1927 - Nílton Santos was born. Brazilian football player.
• 1928 - Billy Martin was born (d. 1989). Baseball player and coach.
• 1929 - Friedrich Nowottny was born. Journalist.
• 1929 - In Hollywood, California the first Academy Awards are handed out. Best actor Emil Jannings; Best actress award went to Janet Gaynor. The best film was "Wings".
• 1929 - Adrienne Rich was born. American writer
• 1929 - Claude Morin was born. French Canadian politician
• 1930 - Betty Carter was born (d. 1998). American jazz singer.
• 1930 - Friedrich Gulda was born (d. 2000). Austrian pianist.
• 1931 - Natwar Singh was born. Indian politician.
• 1931 - Denise Filiatrault was born. Quebec actress and director
• 1936 - Karl Lehmann was born. German cardinal and theologian.
• 1936 - Roy Hudd was born. British radio and television actor.
• 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 RAF 617 Squadron on German dams.
• 1943 - Alfred Hoche dies (b. 1865). German psychiatrist.
• 1944 - George Ade dies (b. 1866). American author.
• 1944 - Billy Cobham was born. American virtuoso drummer
• 1945 - Nicky Chinn was born. Songwriter (The Sweet, Suzi Quatro)
• 1946 - Robert Fripp was born. English guitarist (King Crimson)
• 1946 - Roger Earl was born. British rock drummer (Savoy Brown, Foghat)
• 1946 - the magnetic tape recorder is demonstrated for the first time by Jack Mullin.
• 1947 - Frederick Hopkins dies (b. 1861). English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 1948 - Chaim Weizmann is elected as the first President of Israel.
• 1948 - Judy Finnegan was born. British TV presenter, Richard & Judy
• 1949 - Alfredo Monteiro Brochado dies in Lisbon (suicide) (b. 3 Feb 1897 in S. Gonçalo, Amarante). Portuguese poet.
• 1950 - Ray Condo was born. Canadian rockabilly musician.
• 1950 - J. Georg Bednorz was born. German physicist who, with Karl Alex Müller, was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize for Physics for their joint discovery of superconductivity in a new class of materials at temperatures higher than had previously been thought attainable.
• 1952 - James Herndon was born. American media psychologist.
• 1953 - Pierce Brosnan was born. Irish actor.
• 1953 - The French newspaper L'Express is founded.
• 1953 - Django Reinhardt dies (b. 1910). Belgian musician.
• 1954 - Clemens Krauss dies (b. 1893). Austrian conductor.
• 1955 - Olga Korbut was born. Russian gymnast
• 1955 - Jack Morris was born. Baseball pitcher
• 1955 - Hazel O'Connor was born. British singer
• 1955 - Debra Winger was born. American actress.
• 1955 - James Agee dies (b. 1909). American writer.
• 1956 - H. B. Reese dies (b. 1876). American founder of Reese's.
• 1957 - O belga Paul-Henri Spaak assume o cargo de secretário-geral da OTAN
• 1957 - Eliot Ness dies (b. 1903). American federal agent.
• 1958 - Amp Fiddler was born. Musician (P Funk).
• 1959 - Elisha Scott dies (b. 1894). Northern Irish footballer (goalkeeper).
• 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.
• 1961 - Charles Wright was born. American professional wrestler known as "The Godfather"
• 1963 - Mercedes Echerer was born. Austrian actress and politician
• 1963 - Rosie Perez was born. American actress
• 1964 - Boyd Tinsley was born. American violinist (Dave Matthews Band).
• 1965 - Krist Novoselic was born. American bassist (Nirvana)
• 1965 - Cambpell Soup Company introduces SpaghettiOs under its Franco-American brand.
• 1965 - Krist Novoselic was born. Musician, former bassist for Nirvana.
• 1966 - Janet Jackson was born. American singer.
• 1966 - Thurman Thomas was born. American football player.
• 1966 - Scott Reeves was born. American actor and singer
• 1966 - Two extremely influencial rock albums are released on the same day: Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
• 1966 - The Communist Party of China issued the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution
• 1968 - Estudiantes de la Plata vence a Palmeiras de Brasil, por 2 goles a 0, en el partido definitorio de la Copa Libertadores, obteniendo este título, tras 16 partidos jugados. Luego se consagraría también en los dos años siguientes.
• 1969 - Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus.
• 1969 - Steve Lewis was born. American athlete.
• 1969 - Tucker Carlson was born. American television commentator
• 1969 - David Boreanaz was born. American actor.
• 1969 - Tracey Gold was born. American actress.
• 1969 - Robert R. dies (b. 1954). First confirmed death from AIDS in North America.
• 1970 - Danielle Spencer was born. Australian singer and actress
• 1970 - Gabriela Sabatini was born. Argentine tennis player.
• 1972 - Decimal currency introduced in Malta. The Pound sterling is henceforth divided into 100 cents.
• 1973 - Tori Spelling was born. American actress.
• 1973 - Special Ed was born. American rapper.
• 1974 - Sonny Sandoval was born. American singer (P.O.D.).
• 1974 - Laura Pausini was born. Italian pop singer.
• 1974 - António Branquinho da Fonseca dies. Portuguese writer.
• 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.
• 1975 - Tony Kakko was born. Finnish singer (Sonata Arctica)
• 1977 - Estreia na RTP de Gabriela, a primeira telenovela brasileira apresentada em Portugal
• 1977 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere was born. Canadian hockey player.
• 1977 - Dolcenera was born. Italian singer.
• 1978 - Lionel Scaloni was born. Argentine footballer.
• 1979 - McKenzie Lee was born. British pornographic actress.
• 1979 - A. Philip Randolph dies (b. 1889). American activist.
• 1980 - Michael Ryan was born. American hockey player.
• 1981 - Ernie Freeman dies (b. 1922). American pianist and arranger.
• 1982 - Joo Ji Hoon was born. Korean actor and model.
• 1982 - Łukasz Kubot was born. Polish tennis player.
• 1982 - Adriano Correia de Oliveira dies in Avintes (b. 1942). Portuguese singer and resistent against the fascist regimen.
• 1983 - Nancy Ajram was born. Lebanese singer.
• 1983 - Kyle Wellwood was born. Canadian hockey player.
• 1984 - Andy Kaufman dies (b. 1949). American comedian.
• 1984 - Irwin Shaw dies (b. 1913). American author.
• 1985 - Sinn Fein wins its first seats in the Northern Ireland local elections
• 1985 - Anja Mittag was born. German footballer.
• 1985 - Corey Perry was born. Canadian hockey player.
• 1985 - Margaret Hamilton dies (b. 1902). American actress.
• 1985 - Anja Mittag was born. German footballer.
• 1985 - Corey Perry was born. Canadian hockey player.
• 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.
• 1986 - Megan Fox was born. American actress.
• 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.
• 1988 - Charles Keeping dies (b. 1924). British illustrator.
• 1988 - A report by American Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
• 1990 - Thomas Sangster was born. British actor.
• 1990 - Jim Henson dies (b. 1936). American puppeteer, creator of the Muppets.
• 1990 - Sammy Davis, Jr. dies (b. 1925). American singer, actor, comedian.
• 1992 - STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage.
• 1993 - Süleyman Demirel assume a presidência da Turquia.
• 1993 - Marv Johnson dies (b. 1938). American R&B and soul singer.
• 1995 - Lola Flores (Dolores Flores Ruiz) dies (b. 21 Jan 1923). Spanish dancer, singer and actress.
• 1996 - A team of American palaeontologists announce the discovery of a 1.5 million year old skull of the shark-toothed reptile Carcharodontosaurus saharicus in the Sahara desert, Morocco.
• 1998 - Ariel Waller was born. Canadian actress.
• 1999 - Daisuke Matsuzaka was in his rookie season at age 18, he faced Ichiro Suzuki for the first time and recorded 3 strikeouts in 3 at bats with a walk
• 2000 - Ahmet Necdet Sezer assume a presidência da Turquia.
• 2001 - Brian Pendleton dies (b. 1944). Musician, The Pretty Things.
• 2002 - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones opens in theaters.
• 2002 - Big Dick Dudley dies (b. 1968). Professional wrestler.
• 2002 - Alec Campbell dies. The last surviving ANZAC
• 2003 - Mark McCormack dies (b. 1930). American businessman.
• 2003 - Mark McCormack dies. American sports business pioneer, founder of IMG
• 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 magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurs near New Zealand.
• 2006 - Dan Ross dies (b. 1957). American football player.
• 2007 - Two Spanish clubs fight for the title of Uefa Cup winner in football: Sevilla and Spanyol.
• In the Irish Calendar - Feast of Saint Brendan the Navigator
• Portugal: Municipal Holliday in Fafe
• Teacher's Day in Malaysia.
• Middlesex Day.