Title: October 16 Content: == Events == === Up to 1950 === * 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire. * 690 - Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire. * 1590 - Composer Carlo Gesualdo murders his wife, Donna Maria d'Avalos and her lover Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria, at the Palazzo San Saverio in Naples. * 1780 - Great Hurricane of 1780 devastates the Caribbean. * 1781 - George Washington captures Yorktown, Virginia, after the Siege of Yorktown. * 1793 – Marie Antoinette is executed on the guillotine. * 1813 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Leipzig between Napoleon Bonaparte and the forces of the Sixth Coalition. * 1834 - Much of the ancient structure of the Palace of Westminster in London burns to the ground. * 1843 - William Rowan Hamilton comes up with the idea of quaternions, a non-commutative extension of complex numbers. * 1846 - William T. G. Morton demonstrates anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital. * 1859 – John Brown leads a raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). * 1875 – Brigham Young University is founded in Provo, Utah. * 1905 - Partition of Bengal in India. * 1909 - William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz hold the first summit meeting between Presidents of the United States and Mexico. * 1916 - In Brooklyn, New York, Margaret Sanger opens the first family planning clinic in the United States. * 1923 – The Walt Disney Company is founded. * 1934 – Chinese Communists begin the Long March. * 1939 - World War II: First attack on British territory by the German Luftwaffe. * 1940 – Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto is established. * 1945 - The Food and Agriculture Organization is founded in Quebec City. * 1946 – Execution of Nazi war criminals who were sentenced in the Nuremberg Trials. * 1949 - East Germany and the Soviet Union form diplomatic relations. === 1951 2000 === * 1951 – Pakistan's Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan is assassinated. * 1962 - John F. Kennedy is shown photographs of military sites in Cuba. * 1963 – Ludwig Erhard is chosen to succeed Konrad Adenauer as Chancellor of Germany. * 1964 - The People's Republic of China detonates its first nuclear weapon. * 1964 - Leonid Brezhnev is inaugurated as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with Alexei Kosygin becoming Premier. * 1968 - At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, US athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos are kicked off the US team for their part in the Black Power Salute. * 1970 – In response to the October Crisis, Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act. * 1970 - The University of Augsburg in Bavaria opens. * 1973 – Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho are announced as the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. * 1975 - Rahima Banu, a two-year-old girl from Bangladesh, is the last person known to be infected with naturally-occurring smallpox. * 1978 – Karol Wojtyła becomes Pope John Paul II. * 1978 - Wanda Rutkiewicz becomes the first person from Poland, and the first European woman, to climb to the top of Mount Everest. * 1984 – Desmond Tutu wins the Nobel Peace Prize. * 1984 - The British TV series The Bill is first shown. * 1986 – Reinhold Messner reaches the top of Lhotse in the Himalayas with Hans Kammerlander. Messner becomes the first person to climb all the mountains over 8000 metres high. * 1987 – The southern part of the United Kingdom is hit by a major storm which causes a lot of damage, especially with fallen trees, and kills 18 people. * 1991 - George Hennard runs amok in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 people. * 1994 - The majority of voters in Finland support entry into the EU. * 1995 – The Skye Bridge, linking the Isle of Skye to mainland Scotland, is opened. * 1995 - Million-Man March on Washington, DC. * 1996 – 84 people are crushed to death at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala. * 1998 – Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London after Spain issued an arrest warrant for murder. === From 2001 === * 2002 - The Bibliotheca Alexandrina library is opened in Alexandria, Egypt. * 2006 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Hawaii, causing widespread damage. * 2012 - Planet Alpha Centauri Bb is discovered orbiting a star outside the Solar System. * 2013 - Lao Airlines Flight 301 crashes on approach to Pakse International Airport in Laos, killing 49 people. * 2013 - Erna Solberg becomes Prime Minister of Norway, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg. Solberg is Norway's second female Prime Minister, after Gro Harlem Brundtland. * 2013 - US politicians agree to end the government shutdown, and narrowly avoid the United States being unable to repay its debts. * 2017 - The remainder of Hurricane Ophelia hits the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. * 2017 - Maltese blogger and journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is murdered in a car bomb attack. *2020 - Murder of Samuel Paty of Islamist terrorism happens. == Births == === Up to 1800 === * 1396 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English soldier (d. 1450) * 1430 – King James II of Scotland (d. 1460) * 1483 – Gasparo Contarini, Italian diplomat and cardinal (d. 1542) * 1535 – Niwa Nagahide, Japanese warlord (d. 1585) * 1620 - Pierre Paul Puget, French painter and sculptor (d. 1694) * 1663 – Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (d. 1736) * 1679 - Jan Dismas Zelenka, Bohemian composer (d. 1745) * 1710 – Andreas Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (d. 1790) * 1714 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian geologist (d. 1795) * 1726 – Daniel Chodowiecki, Polish painter (d. 1801) * 1729 - Pierre van Maldere, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1768) * 1751 – Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, Queen of Prussia (d. 1805) * 1752 – Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, German theologian (d. 1827) * 1754 – Morgan Lewis, Governor of New York (1804-07) (d. 1844) * 1758 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (d. 1843) * 1760 - Jonathan Dayton, American politician (d. 1824) * 1762 – Paul Hamilton, Governor of South Carolina (1804–06) and U.S. Secretary of Navy (1809–12) (d. 1816) * 1789 – William Burton, Governor of Delaware (1859–63) (d. 1866) * 1795 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and writer (d. 1876) === 1801 1900 === * 1802 – Isaac Murphy, Governor of Arkansas (1864-68) (d. 1882) * 1804 - Benjamin Russell, American artist (d. 1885) * 1806 – William Pitt Fessenden, U.S. Secretary of Treasury (1864-65) (d. 1869) * 1815 – Francis Lubbock, Governor of Texas (d. 1905) * 1819 – Austin F. Pike, American politician from New Hampshire (d. 1886) * 1831 - Lucy Stanton, American abolitionist (d. 1910) * 1840 – Kuroda Kiyotaka, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1900) * 1841 – Prince Hirobumi Ito, Japanese governor of Korea and 1st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1909) * 1847 - Maria Pia of Savoy (d. 1911) * 1849 - George Washington Williams, American jurist, historian and politician (d. 1891) * 1854 - Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (d. 1900) * 1854 - Karl Kautsky, Czech-born German theoretician (d. 1938) * 1855 - Samedbey Mehmandarov, Russian general (d. 1931) * 1861 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian (d. 1927) * 1863 – Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1937) * 1876 – Jimmy Sinclair, South African cricketer, rugby union and soccer player (d. 1913) * 1878 - Eugenio Canfari, Italian sports official (d. 1962) * 1878 - Miguel Llobet, Catalan guitarist and composer (d. 1938) * 1878 – Maxie Long, American athlete (d. 1959) * 1884 - Rembrandt Bugatti, Italian sculptor (d. 1916) * 1885 - Dorando Pietri, Italian marathon runner (d. 1942) * 1886 - David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1973) * 1886 - Armin T. Wegner, German poet (d. 1978) * 1888 - Eugene O'Neill, American writer (d. 1953) * 1890 - Michael Collins, Irish patriot (d. 1922) * 1890 - Maria Goretti, Italian murder victim and saint (d. 1902) * 1895 - Ling Hau Shang, Convicted Triad Leader (d. 1954) * 1897 - Louis de Cazenave, French World War I veteran (d. 2008) * 1900 - Primo Conti, Italian painter and poet (d. 1988) === 1901 1950 === * 1901 - Federico Munerati, Italian footballer (d. 1980) * 1903 - Big Joe Williams, American blues guitarist (d. 1982) * 1905 - Ernst Kuzorra, German footballer (d. 1990) * 1908 - Enver Hoxha, Albanian political leader (d. 1985) * 1912 - Clifford Hansen, American politician, Governor of Wyoming (d. 2009) * 1914 - Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (d. 2007) * 1918 - Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher (d. 1990) * 1918 - Géori Boué, French soprano (d. 2017) * 1918 - Abraham Nemeth, American mathematician (d. 2013) * 1918 - Henri Vernes, Belgian writer and comics creator * 1922 - Max Bygraves, English singer, songwriter and entertainer (d. 2012) * 1923 - Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby commentator (d. 2010) * 1923 - Linda Darnell, American actress (d. 1965) * 1925 - Angela Lansbury, British-born actress * 1927 - Günter Grass, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015) * 1928 - Mary Daly, American philosopher, theologian and professor (d. 2010) * 1928 - Ann Morgan Guilbert, American actress (d. 2016) * 1929 - Fernanda Montenegro, Brazilian actress * 1929 - Ivor Allchurch, Welsh footballer (d. 1997) * 1930 - John Polkinghorne, English physicist, theologian and priest * 1930 - Carmen Sevilla, Spanish actress and singer * 1931 - Valery Klimov, Ukrainian-Russian violinist * 1931 - Charles Colson, American Watergate conspirator (d. 2012) * 1932 - Detlev Karsten Rohwedder, German politician and manager (d. 1991) * 1932 - Gudbergur Bergsson, Icelandic writer * 1936 - Akira Machida, Japanese judge, 15th Chief Justice of Japan * 1936 - Peter Bowles, English actor * 1936 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer (d. 1994) * 1938 - Nico, German musician, fashion model and actress (d. 1988) * 1940 - Ivan Della Mea, Italian singer- songwriter (d. 2009) * 1941 - Baddeley Devesi, 1st Governor-General of the Solomon Islands (d. 2012) * 1941 - Tim McCarver, American baseball player and sportscaster * 1941 - Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, English computer programmer and politician * 1943 - Fred Turner, Canadian bassist (Bachman–Turner Overdrive) * 1946 - Suzanne Somers, American actress * 1947 - Bob Weir, American singer and musician * 1947 - Terry Griffiths, Welsh snooker player * 1947 - David Zucker, American director and screenwriter * 1950 - Angry Grandpa, American internet personality (d. 2017) === 1951 1975 === * 1952 - Glenys Thornton, Baroness Thornton, English politician * 1954 - Corinna Harfouch, German actress * 1954 - Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean, Scottish politician * 1956 - Marin Alsop, American conductor * 1958 - Tim Robbins, American actor, director, and writer * 1959 - Tessa Munt, English politician * 1959 - John Whittingdale, English politician * 1960 - Bob Mould, American singer and guitarist * 1960 - Cressida Dick, English police officer, Head of the London Metropolitan Police * 1960 - Guy LeBlanc, Canadian keyboardist and composer (d. 2015) * 1961 - Yahiro Kazama, Japanese footballer * 1962 - Manute Bol, Sudanese basketball player (d. 2010) * 1962 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian opera singer (d. 2017) * 1962 - Flea, Australian- American musician (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) * 1964 - James Thompson, American- Finnish author (d. 2014) * 1965 - Steve Lamacq, British DJ * 1965 - Tom Tolbert, American basketball player * 1966 - Stefan Reuter, German footballer * 1967 - Davina McCall, English television presenter * 1968 - Francesco Libetta, Italian pianist, composer and conductor * 1970 - Mehmet Scholl, German footballer * 1972 - Adrianne Frost, American comedienne, actress and author * 1972 - Tomas Lindberg, Swedish singer-songwriter * 1973 - Justin Credible, American wrestler * 1973 - Thomas Myhre, Norwegian footballer * 1974 - Paul Kariya, Canadian ice hockey player * 1975 - Brynjar Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer * 1975 - Kellie Martin, American actress and director === From 1976 === * 1977 - John Mayer, American singer-songwriter * 1979 - Erin Brown, American actress, model, movie maker and musician * 1982 - Prithotraj Sukumaran, Indian actor, producer and singer * 1982 - Cristian Riveros, Paraguayan footballer * 1982 - Frédéric Michalak, French rugby player * 1983 - Rémi Ochlik, French photographer (d. 2012) * 1983 - Philipp Kohlschreiber, German tennis player * 1983 - Loreen, Swedish singer * 1984 - Shayne Ward, English singer, winner of the 2005 X Factor * 1985 - Verena Sailer, German sprinter * 1985 - Casey Stoner, Australian motorcycle racer * 1986 - Inna, Romanian singer * 1986 - Craig Pickering, British sprinter * 1988 - Zoltan Stieber, Hungarian footballer * 1988 - Max Thieriot, American actor * 1988 - Tumua Anae, American water polo player * 1989 - Dan Biggar, Welsh rugby player * 1990 - Johanna Gudrun Jonsdottir (Yohanna), Icelandic singer * 1990 - Amina Sato, Japanese singer (AKB48) * 1991 - Jedward, Irish pop singers * 1992 - Viktorija Golubic, Swiss tennis player * 1992 - Bryce Harper, American baseball player * 1994 - Amelia Lily, English singer * 1997 - Naomi Osaka, Japanese tennis player * 2003 - Princess Kritika of Nepal, Nepalese princess == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 640 – Saint Gall, monk and missionary (b. around 550) * 1333 - Antipope Nicholas V (b. 1260) * 1355 - Louis, King of Sicily (b. 1337) * 1396 - Agnolo Gaddi, Italian painter * 1553 – Lucas Cranach the Elder, German painter (b. 1472) * 1591 – Pope Gregory XIV (b. 1535) * 1628 - Francois de Malherbe, French poet (b. 1555) * 1655 - Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Italian physician, mathematician and theorist (b. 1591) * 1730 - Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, French-American explorer and politician (b. 1658) * 1750 - Sylvius Leopold Weiss, German composer (b. 1687) * 1755 - Gerard Majella, Italian saint (b. 1725) * 1791 – Grigory Potemkin, Russian general and statesman (b. 1739) * 1793 – Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (b. 1755) * 1793 - John Hunter, Scottish anatomist (b. 1728) * 1796 – Victor Amadeus III of Savoy (b. 1726) * 1799 - Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian activist (b. 1760) * 1822 – Eva Marie Veigel, Austrian ballet dancer (b. 1724) * 1888 – John Wentworth, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1815) === 1901 2000 === * 1913 - Ralph Rose, American athlete (b. 1885) * 1937 - Jean de Brunhoff, French poet and playwright (b. 1899) * 1944 – Jon Sveinsson, Icelandic writer (b. 1857) * 1946 - Nazi war criminals executed following Nuremberg trials: **Joachim von Ribbentrop, German politician (b. 1893) **Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Austrian Nazi leader (b. 1892) **Julius Streicher, German propagandist (b. 1884) **Alfred Jodl, German military officer (b. 1890) **Ernst Kaltenbrunner, SS officer (b. 1903) * 1947 - Jean de Brunhoff, French poet and playwright (b. 1899) * 1951 – Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1895) * 1952 - Ghulam Bhik Nairang, Indian-Pakistani Muslim leader and poet (b. 1876) * 1954 – Jules Rimet, French football administrator (b. 1873) * 1959 – George Marshall, United States Secretary of State (b. 1880) * 1962 - Gaston Bachelard, French philosopher and poet (b. 1884) * 1966 - George O'Hara, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1899) * 1971 - Robin Boyd, Australian architect (b. 1919) * 1973 - Gene Krupa, American drummer and composer (b. 1909) * 1975 - Vittorio Gui, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1885) * 1981 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (b. 1915) * 1982 – Mario del Monaco, Italian tenor (b. 1915) * 1983 - Jakob Gotovac, Croatian composer (b. 1895) * 1983 - Willi Ritschard, Swiss politician (b. 1918) * 1989 - Cornel Wilde, American actor (b. 1915) * 1990 – Art Blakey, American jazz drummer (b. 1919) * 1991 - Ole Beich, Danish bass player (b. 1955) * 1992 - Shirley Booth, American actress and singer (b. 1898) * 1997 – James Michener, American writer (b. 1907) === From 2001 === * 2003 – Laszlo Papp, Hungarian boxer (b. 1926) * 2004 - Pierre Salinger, White House Press Secretary (b. 1925) * 2006 – Valentin Paniagua Corazao, President of Peru (b. 1936) * 2007 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress (b. 1921) * 2007 – Tose Proeski, Macedonian singer (b. 1981) * 2010 – Barbara Billingsley, American actress (b. 1915) * 2011 – Dan Wheldon, British auto racer (b. 1978) * 2012 - Eddie Yost, American baseball player (b. 1926) * 2013 - Ed Lauter, American actor (b. 1938) * 2014 - John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English peer (b. 1926) * 2014 - Patrick Paul D'Souza, Indian bishop (b. 1928) * 2014 - Sumi Haru, American actress (b. 1939) * 2014 - Tim Hauser, American musician (b. 1941) * 2015 - Ralph Andrews, American television producer (b. 1928) * 2015 - Francesc de Paula Burguera, Spanish journalist (b. 1928) * 2016 - Anthony Foley, Irish rugby player and coach (b. 1973) * 2016 - Kigeli V, former King of Rwanda (b. 1936) * 2016 - Arsen Pavlov, Russian soldier (b. 1983) * 2017 - Roy Dotrice, English actor (b. 1923) * 2017 - Sean Hughes, Irish actor and comedian (b. 1965) * 2017 - Daphne Caruana Galizia, Maltese blogger and journalist (b. 1964) * 2017 - John Dunsworth, Canadian actor (b. 1946) == Observances == * Teacher's Day (Poland, Chile) * World Food Day (FAO) * Air Force Day (Bulgaria) * World Anesthesia Day Category:Days of the year