April 16

April 16 is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 259 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1178 BC - A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War.
• 73 - Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.
• 1071 - Bari falls to Robert Guiscard, ending Byzantine rule in Italy.
• 1346 - The Serbian Empire is proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the Balkans.
• 1395 - Azzo X d'Este is defeated at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Venetian-Ferrarese troops.
• 1521 - Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.
• 1582 - Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
• 1746 - The Battle of Culloden takes place.
• 1780 - The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.
• 1799 - Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
• 1853 - The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
• 1858 - The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
• 1862 - American Civil War: The Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia.
• 1862 - American Civil War: A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia becomes law.
• 1863 - American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
• 1881 - In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
• 1912 - Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
• 1917 - Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Finland.
• 1919 - Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the British slaughter of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre.
• 1922 - The Treaty of Rapallo, in which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow, is signed.
• 1925 - During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
• 1941 - World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
• 1941 - Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
• 1943 - Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD.
• 1945 - The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin.
• 1945 - The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) Prisoner of War camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz Castle).
• 1945 - More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.
• 1946 - Syria gains independence.
• 1947 - Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
• 1947 - Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• 1953 - Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht Britannia.
• 1955 - The Burma-Japanese peace treaty signed in Rangoon on November 5, 1954 comes into force, formally ending the state of war.
• 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
• 1964 - Great Train Robbery - 12 men are sentenced to a total of 307 years.
• 1972 - Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• 1972 - Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes the bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.
• 1987 - British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appears at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London charged with gross indecency.
• 1988 - In Forlì, Italy, Red Brigades kill Italian Senator Roberto Ruffilli, an advisor to Prime Minister Ciriaco de Mita.
• 1990 - The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, goes through with his first assisted suicide.
• 1992 - The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique. 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
• 2003 - The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
• 2004 - The super liner Queen Mary 2 embarks on her first Trans-Atlantic crossing, linking the golden age of ocean travel to the modern age of ocean travel.
• 2007 - Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, shoots 32 people to death and injures 23 others before committing suicide.
• 2008 - Start of Papal Journey of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States

Births

• 778 - King Louis the Pious (d. 840)
• 1319 - King John II of France (d. 1364)
• 1495 - Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
• 1646 - Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
• 1660 - Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
• 1661 - Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)
• 1682 - John Hadley, British inventor (d. 1744)
• 1693 - Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1743)
• 1728 - Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
• 1738 - Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
• 1755 - Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
• 1800 - George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
• 1821 - Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)
• 1823 - Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
• 1827 - Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (d. 1879)
• 1844 - Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
• 1847 - Hans Auer, Swiss architect, (d. 1906)
• 1848 - Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Social Reformer of Andhra Pradesh, India (d. 1919)
• 1859 - Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (d. 1924)
• 1865 - Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
• 1866 - José de Diego, Puerto Rico statesman and journalist (d. 1918)
• 1867 - Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
• 1871 - John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
• 1878 - Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
• 1886 - Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
• 1889 - Charlie Chaplin, English actor, writer, and film producer (d. 1977)
• 1895 - Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer (d. 1948)
• 1896 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)
• 1899 - Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (d. 1988)
• 1904 - Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
• 1905 - Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
• 1907 - August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)
• 1907 - Joseph-Armand Bombardier, French-Canadian inventor and businessman (Bombardier) (d. 1964)
• 1912 - Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1912 - Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)
• 1915 - Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)
• 1917 - Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1918 - Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
• 1918 - Joan Alexander, American actress
• 1918 - Dick Gibson, British racing driver
• 1919 - Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer
• 1919 - Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
• 1921 - Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)
• 1922 - Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
• 1924 - John Harvey-Jones, Industrialist (d. 2008)
• 1924 - Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
• 1924 - Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
• 1927 - Edie Adams, American actress
• 1927 - Pope Benedict XVI
• 1927 - Peter Mark Richman, American actor
• 1928 - "Night Train" Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
• 1929 - Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
• 1929 - Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1930 - Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
• 1933 - Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
• 1935 - Sarah Kirsch, German poet
• 1935 - Bobby Vinton, American singer
• 1938 - Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
• 1938 - Rich Rollins, American baseballer
• 1939 - Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
• 1939 - Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008.)
• 1940 - Margrethe II of Denmark, queen regnant
• 1940 - Benoît Bouchard, French-Canadian politician
• 1942 - Sir Frank Williams, English F1 constructor and team principal (WilliamsF1)
• 1942 - Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
• 1943 - Ruth Madoc, British actress
• 1943 - Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
• 1944 - Richard Bradshaw British opera conductor
• 1945 - Tom Allen, American politician
• 1946 - Margot Adler, American journalist
• 1947 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
• 1947 - Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter
• 1948 - Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
• 1949 - Melody Patterson, American actress
• 1950 - David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1951 - Pierre Toutain-Dorbec, French photographer
• 1951 - Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer
• 1951 - Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
• 1951 - Mordechai Ben David, Jewish singer
• 1952 - Bill Belichick, American football coach
• 1952 - Michel Blanc, French actor
• 1952 - Billy West, American voice actor
• 1953 - Peter Garrett, Australian musician (Midnight Oil)
• 1953 - J. Neil Schulman, American writer
• 1954 - Ellen Barkin, American actress
• 1954 - John Bowe, Australian racing driver
• 1955 - Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
• 1955 - Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
• 1956 - David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1956 - Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
• 1959 - Scott McKinsey, American television director
• 1959 - Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
• 1960 - Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager
• 1960 - Pierre Littbarski, German footballer
• 1960 - Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
• 1961 - Doris Dragović, Croatian singer
• 1962 - Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)
• 1963 - Jimmy Osmond, American pop singer (The Osmonds)
• 1963 - Salim Malik, Pakistani cricket player
• 1964 - Dave Pirner, American rock singer (Soul Asylum)
• 1964 - David Kohan, American television producer
• 1965 - Jon Cryer, American actor
• 1965 - Martin Lawrence, American actor
• 1965 - Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director
• 1968 - Vickie Guerrero, WWE professional wrestling personality
• 1969 - Fernando Viña, American Baseball Player
• 1970 - Walt Williams, American basketball player
• 1971 - Peter Billingsley, American actor
• 1971 - Selena Quintanilla,Mexican American singer (d. 1995)
• 1971 - Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
• 1971 - Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
• 1972 - Conchita Martinez, Spanish tennis player
• 1973 - Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
• 1974 - Mat Devine, American singer (Kill Hannah)
• 1974 - Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director
• 1974 - Valarie Rae Miller, American actress
• 1975 - Sean Maher, American actor
• 1975 - Nick Pickard, British actor
• 1976 - Lukas Haas, American actor
• 1976 - Dan Kellner, American fencer
• 1976 - Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
• 1977 - Alek Wek, Sudanese supermodel
• 1977 - Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
• 1978 - Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
• 1978 - Lara Dutta, Indian actress
• 1979 - Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula One driver
• 1979 - Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer
• 1980 - Paul London, American professional wrestler
• 1982 - Boris Diaw, French basketball player
• 1982 - Barry Jones, Scottish magician
• 1982 - Jonathan Vilma, American football player
• 1982 - Gina Carano, American Mixed Martial Arts fighter.
• 1983 - Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
• 1983 - George Patis, Greek badminton player
• 1983 - Marié Digby, American Singer
• 1984 - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
• 1984 - Noah Fleiss, American actor
• 1985 - Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian
• 1985 - Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player
• 1985 - Benjamín Rojas, Argentine actor and singer
• 1986 - Paul di Resta, British racing driver
• 1986 - Neil Haskell, Finalist of SYTYCD Season 3
• 1987 - Aaron Lennon, English footballer
• 1990 - Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
• 1992 - Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, Prince of Luxembourg
• 1993 - Mirai Nagasu, American Figure Skater
• 1994 - Liliana Mumy, American actress
• 2008 - Princess Eléonore of Belgium, Belgian princess

Deaths

• 69 - Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
• 744 - al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
• 924 - Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy
• 1113 - Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
• 1118 - Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily
• 1198 - Duke Frederick I of Austria
• 1645 - Tobias Hume, English composer
• 1687 - George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
• 1689 - Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)
• 1783 - Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
• 1788 - Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
• 1828 - Francisco de Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
• 1846 - Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
• 1850 - Marie Tussaud, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)
• 1859 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
• 1879 - Bernadette Soubirous, French shepherd girl (b. 1844)
• 1888 - Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)
• 1899 - Emilio Jacinto, Filipino poet and revolutionary (b 1875)
• 1904 - Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
• 1904 - Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
• 1914 - George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
• 1915 - Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
• 1928 - Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henri Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
• 1930 - José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, political philosopher and activist (b. 1894)
• 1938 - Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
• 1946 - Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
• 1947 - Rudolf Höß, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)
• 1958 - Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
• 1968 - Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
• 1970 - Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
• 1972 - Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1978 - Lucius Clay, American general (b. 1897)
• 1985 - Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
• 1991 - David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)
• 1992 - Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1992 - Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
• 1994 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)
• 1995 - Arthur English, English actor and comedian (b. 1919)
• 1995 - Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)
• 1996 - Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)
• 1997 - Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
• 1997 - Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)
• 1998 - Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
• 1998 - Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)
• 1999 - Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (b. 1946)
• 2001 - Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
• 2002 - Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)
• 2002 - Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
• 2003 - Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
• 2003 - Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
• 2005 - Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
• 2005 - Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
• 2005 - Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)
• 2006 - Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)
• 2007 - Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)
• 2007 - Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)
• 2007 - Seung-Hui Cho, Korean American murderer (b. 1984), see List of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
• 2007 - Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, American instructor of French (b. 1958)
• 2007 - Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
• 2007 - Liviu Librescu, American Jewish-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics (b. 1930)
• 2007 - G. V. Loganathan, Indian American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)
• 2007 - Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
• 2008 - Edward Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
• 2008 - Joseph Solman, American painter

Holidays and observances

• Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.

in the Roman Catholic Church:

• Saint Benedict Joseph Labre
• Saint Drogo
• Saint Fructuosus
• Saint Paternus
• Saint Turibius
• Martyrs of Zaragoza, martyrs of 304
• Saint Bernadette

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada