August 16

Events

 * - The of  hears a case of a couple who tore  while fighting over them—a case considered equal to the act of destroying stamped government documents, which by law necessitated one hundred floggings by a . However, the Hongwu Emperor decided to pardon them, seeing as how their intention was not to tear up the money.
 * - (Battle of the Spurs) - King Henry VIII of England defeats French Forces who beat a hasty retreat.
 * - American Revolutionary War: - The British defeat the Americans near.
 * - presents the petition of the  to the, which demanded the formation of a.
 * - : American General surrenders  without a fight to the.
 * - Eleven people die and 400 are injured by charges at the  at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.
 * -  vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the . Enraged  members riot outside the  in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
 * - U.S. President inaugurates the new  by exchanging greetings with Queen . However, a weak signal will force a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
 * - Restoration Day in the : The Dominican Republic regains its independence after 4 years of fighting against the.
 * - (now Chile) is devastated by a tsunami which followed a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in the Peru-Chile Trench off the coast. The earthquake and tsunami killed an estimated 25,000 people in Arica and perhaps 70,000 people in all.
 * - : A battalion made up of children is massacred by the  during the.
 * - : The is fought, resulting in a  victory.
 * -, and  discover gold in a tributary of the  in , setting off the.
 * - Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day ) admits its first female students.
 * - : begins.
 * - World War I: Should victory be achieved over the, the promises the Kingdom of : the Austro-Hungarian territories of , , , and ; and the eastern ⅔ of  (from the river of  to the city of ).
 * - of the  is hit in the head by a  thrown by  of the, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the only player to die from injuries sustained in a  game.
 * 1920 - The congress of the opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.
 * - The first color sound, called Fiddlesticks, is made by.
 * - : The is banned in -occupied.
 * - : The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the . The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in,.
 * - First flight of the.
 * - An attempt was made on 's,.
 * 1945 -, the last Chinese emperor and ruler of , was captured by Soviet troops.
 * - The Japan Business Federation, or, is established, and Ichirō Ishikawa is appointed its representative.
 * - gains its independence from the.
 * 1960  -  parachutes from a balloon over  at 102,800 feet (31,330 m), setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump,, and fastest speed by a  without an aircraft.
 * - : A  replaces with General  as President of . A new  is established with aid from the.
 * - : The begins investigations of Americans who have aided the . The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
 * - The fires upon, in an unsuccessful  attempt, 's plane while he is traveling back to.
 * - A carrying  crashes on take-off from  in , killing 155 passengers and crew. The sole survivor is four-year-old.
 * - In response to an appeal by  to wear  as a way to show support for him, thousands of Brazilians take to the streets dressed in black.
 * - The distribution was first announced by, then a student at . Murdock initially called his system the "Debian Linux Release"
 * - from   hits and kills a motorcyclist with his car at a rural intersection near ; he will eventually be convicted of  and will resign from.
 * - crashes near, , killing the 160 aboard.

Births

 * -, Countess of Ulster
 * - of China (d. )
 * -, Italian artist (d. )
 * -, queen of Poland (d.
 * - (d. )
 * -, German countess and poet (d. )
 * -, French writer (d. )
 * -, Italian cartographer and encylopedist (d. )
 * -, heir-apparent to the French throne (d. )
 * -, Russian composer (d. )
 * -, Italian priest and educator (d. )
 * -, Canadian politician (d. )
 * -, Quebec politician (d. )
 * -, German psychologist (d. )
 * -, German mathematician (d. )
 * -, French physicist, (d. )
 * -, German writer (d. )
 * -, French poet (d. )
 * -, American coach (d. )
 * -, American publisher (d. )
 * -, Russian illustrator (d. )
 * -, Luxembourg-born editor and publisher (d. )
 * 1884 -, German field marshal (d. )
 * -, English writer and soldier (d. )
 * 1888 -, American musician (d. )
 * -, American cartoonist (d. )
 * -, American labor union leader (d. )
 * -, Swiss novelist (d. )
 * 1895 -, Austrian actress (d. )
 * -, English novelist (d. )
 * -, American chemist, (d. )
 * -, American novelist and editor (d. )
 * -, German economist and statistician (d. )
 * -, English footballer (d. )
 * -, 6th , (d. )
 * -, American singer (d. )
 * -, American race car driver (d. )
 * -, American poet (d. )
 * -, American pianist and arranger (d. )
 * -, Brazilian playwright
 * -, American actor
 * -, American baseball player (d. )
 * -, American actress
 * -, American jazz pianist (d. )
 * 1929  -, German footballer (d. )
 * 1929  -, American professional wrestler (d. )
 * -, American actor
 * 1930  -, American football player and announcer
 * 1930  -, American former tennis player
 * -, American singer
 * -, American actress
 * 1933  -, American astronaut (d. )
 * -, British author
 * 1934  -, American singer
 * 1934  -, French actor
 * -, Greek footballer and coach
 * 1935  -, Canadian National Hockey League executive
 * -, Canadian politician
 * - Sir, Trinidadian-born British television newsreader
 * -, Australian film director
 * -, American singer and songwriter (d. )
 * -, ballet dancer
 * -, Iraqi Kurdish politician
 * 1946  -, American actress
 * 1946  -, American professional wrestler (d. )
 * -, American politician and lawyer
 * 1947  -, English fashion designer
 * 1947  -, Quebec actor
 * -, American baseball player
 * 1948  -, Quebec politician and teacher
 * -, American musician
 * -, Trinidadian athlete
 * 1950  -, Iranian-born American actor
 * 1950  -, Canadian politician
 * -, Australian cricketer
 * -, American puppeteer (d. )
 * -, American actor
 * -, American singer and actress
 * 1953  -, American singer
 * -, Canadian film director
 * -, Australian musician
 * -, American actress
 * 1958  -, American singer and actress
 * 1958  -, Argentine tennis player
 * -, American actor
 * -, American actor and comedian
 * -, American tennis player
 * -, American choreographer, musician and actor
 * -, Swedish television personality
 * 1967  -, American convicted murderess
 * -, Slovenian alpine skier
 * -, American sportscaster
 * 1970  -, Italian cyclist (d. )
 * 1970  -, Indian actor
 * -, German footballer
 * -, Australian soccer player
 * 1972  -, American country singer, instrumentalist and songwriter
 * -, American baseball player
 * -, Hungarian swimmer
 * 1974  -, Ecuadorian footballer
 * 1974  -, Venezuelan baseball player
 * -, French footballer
 * 1975  -, American actor
 * -, Finnish footballer
 * 1976  -, American concert producer
 * -, American basketball player
 * -, American rower and coach
 * -, American singer/songwriter
 * 1980  -, English bassist
 * -, Paraguayan footballer
 * 1981  -, American pornographic actress
 * -, English footballer
 * -, English TV presenter and DJ
 * 1983  -, Greek basketball player
 * 1983  -, University of Hawai'i Quarterback
 * -, American actress
 * -, American actor
 * -, Australian actor
 * -, American actor
 * 1988  -, American actress
 * -, Irish actress
 * 1991  -, Canadian actress

Deaths

 * -, King of Georgia (b. )
 * - (b. )
 * -, French saint (b. )
 * - Duke (b. )
 * -, King of Bohemia (b. )
 * -, Japanese shogun (b. )
 * -, wife of the future King (b. )
 * -, French composer
 * - (b. )
 * -, English churchman and historian (b. )
 * -, English poet (b. )
 * -, Swiss mathematician and scientist (b. )
 * -, English deist (b. )
 * -, French soldier and diplomat (b. )
 * -, French mathematician (b. )
 * -, British publisher (b. ?)
 * -, i saint, of  (b. )
 * -, American druggist and inventor of (b. )
 * -, French neurologist (b. )
 * -, German chemist (b. )
 * -, Portuguese writer (b. )
 * -, Scottish geologist (b. )
 * - King (b. )
 * -, American singer and guitarist (b. )
 * 1938  -, Slovak politician and priest (b. )
 * -, American baseball player (b. )
 * -, American novelist (b. )
 * -, French actor and producer (b. )
 * -, American painter (b. )
 * -, Hungarian actor (b. )
 * -, American chemist, (b. )
 * -, Polish harpsichordist (b. )
 * -, Father of Modern (b. )
 * -, Greek-American movie executive, chairman of the (b. )
 * -, French actor (b. )
 * -, Ukrainian-born biochemist, (b. )
 * -, Ukrainian-born runner (b. )
 * -, American singer and actor (b. )
 * -, Dutch lawyer and politician (b. )
 * -, 13th (b. )
 * -, American baseball player (b. )
 * -, Bolivian poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. )
 * -, American actress (b. )
 * -, New Zealand professional wrestler (b. )
 * -, One of the famous whales that star at (b. )
 * 1991  -, Italian film director (b. )
 * -, British film actor (b. )
 * -, American radio personality (b. )
 * -, Pakistani musician (b. )
 * 1997  -, Irish playwright and actor (b. )
 * -, American country musician and songwriter (b. )
 * -, American actor (b. )
 * 2002  -, Palestinian political leader (b. )
 * 2002  -, American baseball player and coach (b. )
 * -, Ugandan dictator (b. )
 * -, Czech ice hockey coach (b. )
 * 2004  -, American photographer (b. )
 * 2004  -, American boxer (b. )
 * -, American animator (b. )
 * 2005  -, Swiss monk and mystic (b. )
 * 2005  -, American musician (b. )
 * 2005  -, Greek singer (b. )
 * -, Australian playwright and author (b. )
 * 2006  -, American pilot (b. )
 * 2006  -, Swedish musician (b. )
 * 2006  -,  (b. )
 * -, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. )
 * 2007  -, Iranian MP (b. 1945)
 * 2007  - ,

Holidays and observances

 * in (on the day after the )
 * : legal in Vermont, USA, for the  in  (which actually took place in the state of New York)
 * commemoration of the translation of the which means "Not made by hands", (also known as the Mandelion; now lost) from Edessa to Constantinople on 16 August
 * , confessor (helps against plague and skin diseases), patron saint of pilgrims, plague victims, and dogs
 * , bishop
 * , bishop