August 16 Historical Events

The following events took place on August 16. The list is arranged in chronological order.

Found 53 events. Showing 1 - 30.

• 1 BC
  Wang Mang consolidates his power and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who had died the previous day, had no heirs.
• 963
  Nikephoros II Phokas is crowned emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
• 1328
  The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708.
• 1513
  Battle of the Spurs (Battle of Guinegate): King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.
• 1777
  American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.
• 1780
  American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden: The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.
• 1792
  Maximilien de Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.
• 1793
  French Revolution: A levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention.
• 1812
  War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.
• 1819
  Peterloo Massacre: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, England.
• 1841
  U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
• 1858
  U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
• 1859
  The Tuscan National Assembly formally deposes the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
• 1863
  The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country.
• 1869
  Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War.

• 1870
  Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.
• 1891
  The Basilica of San Sebastian in Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.
• 1896
  Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
• 1900
  The Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.
• 1906
  An estimated 8.2 MW earthquake hits Valparaíso, Chile, killing 3,886 people.
• 1913
  Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.
• 1913
  Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.
• 1918
  The Battle of Lake Baikal was fought between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Red Army.
• 1920
  Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.
• 1920
  The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.
• 1920
  Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Radzymin concludes; the Soviet Red Army is forced to turn away from Warsaw.
• 1923
  The United Kingdom gives the name “Ross Dependency” to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator.
• 1927
  The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.
• 1929
  The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.
• 1930
  The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks.