November 16

2024 Calendar

November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 45 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1950

1272 - Edward I of England becomes King while fighting in the Ninth Crusade.
1532 – Inca ruler Atahualpa is captured by Spanish Conquistadors.
1632 – Thirty Years' War: Swedish troops defeat an imperial army under Albrecht von Wallenstein, but lose their king, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.
1776 - American Revolutionary War: British and Hessian units take Fort Washington from the patriots.
1776 - The United Provinces (Low Countries) recognize US independence.
1793 - Reign of Terror: 90 anti-republican Roman Catholic priests are executed by drowning in Nantes, France.
1797 - Frederick William III of Prussia becomes King.
1849 – A Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group; his execution is canceled at the last minute.
1855 – David Livingstone becomes the first European to reach Victoria Falls.
1857 - 24 Victoria Crosses are given in one day, a record that still stands.
1863 - American Civil War: The Battle of Campbell's Station is fought near Knoxville, Tennessee.
1869 - The Suez Canal is opened to shipping.
1885 - Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel is executed for treason.
1896 – First transmission of electrical power between two cities was sent from Niagara Falls to industries in Buffalo, New York.
1904 – John Ambrose Fleming invents the vacuum tube.
1907 – Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory become Oklahoma and are admitted as the 46th U.S. state.
1907 - RMS Mauretania is launched by the Cunard Line. The ship sets sail on its first voyage from Liverpool to New York City.
1914 – The Federal Reserve System in the United States officially starts business.
1915 - The characterised Coca-Cola bottle is patented in the United States.
1920 - Australian airline Qantas is founded as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.
1933 – The United States and the Soviet Union establish formal diplomatic relations.
1933 - American Jimmie Angel re-discovers Angel Falls in Venezuela.
1940 – World War II: In response to Germany leveling Coventry two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.
1944 - World War II: The German city of Düren is destroyed by Allied bombing.
1945 – UNESCO is founded.

From 1951

1957 – Serial killer Ed Gein murders his last victim, Bernice Worden.
1959 - The Sound of Music opens on Broadway, New York.
1965 – The Soviet Venera 3 probe is launched to the planet Venus.
1970 – Hafez al-Assad comes to power in Syria.
1973 - NASA launches Skylab 4 with three astronauts on board for an 84-day mission, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1973 - US President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, allowing for building work to begin on the Trans-Alaska oil Pipeline.
1979 - The first line of the Bucharest Metro is opened.
1980 - An explosion at a military base in Bangkok, Thailand kills 38 people.
1988 – The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR declares that the Estonia was "sovereign" but stopped short of declaring independence.
1988 – In the first open election in more than a decade, voters in Pakistan choose Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister.
1993 – Guyana joins the UN.
1994 - Emomalii Rahmon becomes President of Tajikistan.
1996 – Mother Teresa receives honorary US citizenship.
1997 - After 18 years of imprisonment, the People's Republic of China releases activist Wei Jingsheng for medical reasons.
2000 – Bill Clinton becomes the first current US President to visit Vietnam.
2006 – Rioting occurs in Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
2013 - Sachin Tendulkar, one of most famous cricketers in the world, retires from playing cricket after his last test match (India v. West Indies).
2017 - Cambodia's highest court declares the main opposition party illegal.
2018 - After several resignations in the British cabinet over Brexit, Stephen Barclay is appointed Brexit Secretary and former Home Secretary Amber Rudd becomes Work and Pensions Secretary.
2019 - Gotabaya Rajapaksa is elected President of Sri Lanka.
2022 - NASA launches Artemis 1.

Births

Up to 1900

498 - Pope Anastasius II
1093 – Saint Margaret, Queen Consort of Scotland, wife of King Malcolm III, mother of Kings Alexander I, David I and Edgar (b. 1045)
1240 - Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1175)
1272 – Henry III, King of England (b. 1207)
1328 - Prince Hisaaki, Japanese shogun (b. 1276)
1632 – King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (b. 1594) (killed in battle)
1672 - Heinrich Schuetz, German composer (b. 1585)
1724 - Jack Sheppard, English highwayman (b. 1702)
1779 - Pehr Kalm, Finnish explorer and naturalist (b. 1716)
1790 - Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723)
1797 – Frederick William II of Prussia (b. 1744)
1802 - André Michaux, French botanist (b. 1746)
1806 - Moses Claeveland, American lawyer and surveyor (b. 1754)
1878 - Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (b. 1874)
1885 - Louis Riel, Canadian political activist (b. 1844)

1901 – 1950

1901 – Ernest Nagel, Czech philosopher (d. 1985)
1904 – Nnamdi Azikiwe, first President of Nigeria (d. 1996)
1905 – Eddie Condon, American jazz musician (d. 1973)
1907 – Burgess Meredith, American actor (d. 1997)
1908 – Soeur Emmanuelle, French-Belgian nun (d. 2008)
1909 - Maurizio Valenzi, Italian politician (d. 2009)
1913 - Ellen Albertini Dow, American actress (d. 2015)
1915 - Jean Fritz, American writer (d. 2017)
1916 - Daws Butler, American voice actor (d. 1988)
1916 - Al Lucas, Canadian jazz musician (d. 1983)
1921 - Edmondo Fabbri, Italian footballer (d. 1995)
1922 – José Saramago, Portuguese writer (d. 2010)
1922 - Gene Amdahl, American computer scientist, physicist and engineer (d. 2015)
1924 - Mel Patton, American athlete (d. 2014)
1925 - Gianfranco Dell'Innocenti, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
1930 – Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet and academic (d. 2013)
1930 - Salvatore Riina, Italian mafia boss (d. 2017)
1931 - Hubert Sumlin, American blues musician (d. 2011)
1935 – Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, Iraqi-Lebanese spiritual leader (d. 2010)
1935 – France-Albert René, former President of the Seychelles (d. 2019)
1935 - Elizabeth Drew, American journalist
1935 - Magdi Yacoub, Egyptian heart surgeon
1937 - Lothar Spaeth, German politician (d. 2016)
1938 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher (d. 2002)
1940 - Donna McKechnie, American actress, singer and dancer
1942 – Willie Carson, Scottish jockey
1942 - Chi Coltrane, American musician and singer
1946 – Wolfgang Kleff, German footballer
1946 - Terence McKenna, American philosopher (d. 2000)
1946 - Ole Olsen, Danish speedway rider
1946 - Colin Burgess, Australian drummer
1948 – Arie Haan, Dutch footballer
1948 - Norbert Lammert, German politician
1948 - Bonnie Greer, American playwright and critic
1950 - David Leisure, American actor
1950 - David Wilson-Johnson, English operatic baritone

1951 – 1975

1951 - Miguel Sandoval, American actor
1952 – Shigeru Miyamoto, Japanese video game creator (Nintendo)
1952 - Sam Watson, Australian indigenous activist, politician and writer (d. 2019)
1952 - Piero Falchetta, Italian archivist, essayist and translator
1953 – Griff Rhys Jones, Welsh actor, comedian and writer
1953 - Brigitte Zypries, German politician
1954 - Luis Conte, Cuban drummer
1955 - Héctor Cúper, Argentine footballer and coach
1957 - Rafael Amador, Mexican footballer
1957 - Jacques Gamblin, French actor
1958 - Sooronbay Jeenbekov, President of Kyrgyzstan
1958 – Marg Helgenberger, American actress
1961 – Frank Bruno, British boxer
1961 - Corinne Hermès, French singer
1962 - Gary Mounfield (Mani), English musician
1962 - Darwyn Cooke, Canadian comic writer (d. 2016)
1962 - Josh Silver, American musician
1963 – Zina Garrison, American tennis player
1964 – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Italian actress
1964 - Luciano Floridi, Italian philosopher
1964 - Dwight Gooden, American baseball player
1964 – Diana Krall, Canadian jazz singer
1964 - Maeve Quinlan, American actress
1965 - Mika Aaltonen, Finnish footballer
1965 - Mark Benton, English actor
1966 - Joey Cape, American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer
1966 - Christian Lorenz, German musician
1967 – Lisa Bonet, American actress
1968 - Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (d. 2014)
1970 - Martha Plimpton, American actress
1971 - Alexander Popov, Russian swimmer
1971 - Waqar Younis, Pakistani cricketer
1972 - Michael Irby, American actor
1972 - Missi Pyle, American actress
1973 - Christian Horner, British Formula One team principal
1974 – Paul Scholes, English footballer
1974 - Brooke Elliott, American actress and singer
1974 - Maurizio Margaglio, Italian ice dancer

From 1976

1976 – Danny Wallace, British writer
1977 – Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress
1977 – Oksana Baiul, Ukrainian figure skater
1978 – Gary Naysmith, Scottish footballer
1979 – Bruce Irons, American surfer
1980 – Osi Umeniyora, American football player
1981 – Allison Crowe, Canadian singer-songwriter
1981 – Caitlin Glass, American voice actress, singer and director
1981 – Kate Miller-Heidke, Australian singer-songwriter
1982 – Amar'e Stoudemire, American basketball player
1983 – Kari Lehtonen, Finnish ice hockey player
1983 – Britta Steffen, German swimmer
1983 – Victor Vazquez, American musician and artist
1984 – Kimberly J. Brown, American actress
1985 - Sanna Marin, Finnish politician, Prime Minister of Finland
1985 – Saori Yamamoto, Japanese model
1986 – Saeko, Japanese actress
1986 – Maxime Médard, French rugby player
1986 – Aleksey Kozlov, Russian footballer
1987 – Vicky Pattison, British television personality
1988 – Siva Kaneswaran, British singer (The Wanted)
1989 – Vicki Adams, Scottish curler
1991 – Tomomi Kasai, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48)
1993 – Pete Davidson, American comedian and actor
1995 – Noah Gray-Cabey, American actor and pianist

Deaths

1901 – 2000

1907 - Robert I, Duke of Parma (b. 1848)
1908 - Henri-Gustave de Lotbinière, 4th Premier of Quebec (b. 1829)
1911 - A. A. Ames, American politician (b. 1842)
1911 - Lawrence Feuerbach, American athlete (b. 1879)
1912 - William Larrabee, 13th Governor of Iowa (b. 1832)
1922 – Max Abraham, German physicist (b. 1875)
1934 – Carl von Linde, German inventor and engineer (b. 1842)
1941 - Eduard Ellman-Eelma, Estonian footballer (b. 1902)
1945 – Sigurdur Eggerz, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1875)
1947 - Giuseppe Volpi, Italian businessman and politician (b. 1877)
1950 - Bob Smith, American physician and surgeon (b. 1879)
1956 - Otori Tanigoro, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1887)
1960 - Gilbert Harding, English television personality (b. 1907)
1960 – Clark Gable, American actor (b. 1901)
1961 – Sam Rayburn, American Speaker of the House (b. 1882)
1965 – W. T. Cosgrave, Irish Taoiseach (b. 1880)
1971 – Edie Sedgwick, American actress (b. 1943)
1972 - Vera Karalli, Russian ballerina and actress (b. 1889)
1973 - Alan Watts, English writer and philosopher (b. 1915)
1974 - Walther Meissner, German technical physicist (b. 1882)
1980 - Jayan, Indian actor (b. 1938)
1982 - Pavel Sergeevich Alexandrov, Russian mathematician (b. 1896)
1985 - Omayra Sanchez, Colombian girl, high-profile victim of the Nevado del Ruiz volcanic eruption (b. 1972)
1986 - Siobhan McKenna, Irish actress (b. 1923)
1993 - Lucia Popp, Slovakian soprano (b. 1939)
1999 – Daniel Nathans, American microbiologist (b. 1928)
2000 - Russ Conway, British pianist, composer and singer (b. 1925)
2000 - DJ Screw, American hiphop DJ (b. 1971)

From 2001

2004 - Margaret Hassan, Irish aid worker (b. 1945)
2005 – Henry Taube, Canadian-born chemist (b. 1915)
2006 – Milton Friedman, American economist (b. 1912)
2008 – Reg Varney, British actor (b. 1916)
2009 – Edward Woodward, British actor (b. 1930)
2009 – Antonio de Nigris, Mexican footballer (b. 1978)
2012 - Aliu Mahama, Ghanaian politician (b. 1946)
2014 - Peter Kassig, American aid worker (b. 1988)
2014 - Kim Ja-ok, South Korean actress (b. 1951)
2014 - Sik Kok Kwong, Hong Kong Buddhist monk (b. 1919)
2014 - Jadwiga Pilsudska, Polish pilot (b. 1920)
2014 - Carl Sanders, American politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1925)
2014 - Serge Moscovici, French psychologist (b. 1925)
2015 - Nando Gazzolo, Italian actor (b. 1928)
2015 - David Canary, American actor (b. 1938)
2015 - Michael C. Gross, American graphic designer (b. 1945)
2015 - Bert Olmstead, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
2016 - Melvin Laird, American politician, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1922)
2016 - Jay Wright Forrester, American computer technology pioneer (b. 1918)
2017 - Tobias Enverga, Filipino-Canadian politician (b. 1955)
2017 - Robert Hirsch, French comedian and actor (b. 1925)
2017 - Franciszek Kornicki, Polish fighter pilot (b. 1916)
2017 - Erik Meijs, Dutch badminton player (b. 1991)
2017 - Hiromi Tsuru, Japanese voice actress (b. 1960)
2017 - Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (b. 1934)
2017 - Adalberto Giazotto, Italian physicist (b. 1940)
2018 - Scott English, American songwriter (b. 1937)
2018 - Pablo Ferro, Cuban-American graphic movie title designer (b. 1935)
2018 - William Goldman, American screenwriter (b. 1931)
2018 - Hiromasa Yonekura, Japanese businessman (b. 1937)
2019 - John Campbell Brown, Scottish astronomer (b. 1947)
2019 - Zeng Guoyuan, Singaporean businessman and politician (b. 1953)
2019 - Diane Loeffler, American politician (b. 1953)
2019 - Terry O'Neill, British photographer (b. 1938)

Observances

Icelandic Language Day
International Day of Tolerance
Day of Declaration of Sovereignty (Estonia)