September 16



Events

Up to 1900 
 307  Emperor Severus II is captured and imprisoned at Tres Tabernae.
 1400  Owain Glyndwr is declared Prince of Wales.
 1620  The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, England, for America.
 1701  James Francis Edward Stuart, referred to as the 'Old Pretender', becomes the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of Scotland and England.
 1776  American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Harlem Heights is fought.
 1779  American Revolutionary War: The French-American Siege of Savannah begins.
 1795  The first British occupation of the Cape Colony, South Africa, begins.
 1810  Grito de Dolores: Miguel Hidalgo begins Mexico's fight for independence from Spain.
 1812  The Fire of Moscow begins. Three quarters of the city are destroyed.
 1859  David Livingstone reaches Lake Malawi.
 1893  Settlers make a land run for prime land in the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma.

1901  2000 
 1902  Alagoas becomes a state of Brazil.
 1908  General Motors is founded.
 1918  On the British Monitor (a type of warship), a munitions explosion occurs while it is located in Dover Harbour, killing 77 people.
 1919  The American Legion is incorporated
 1920  Wall Street bombing: A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City, killing 38 people and injuring over 400.
 1925  HC Rotterdam, the biggest field hockey team in the Netherlands, is founded.
 1928  The Okeechobee hurricane in Florida kills 2500 people.
 1939  The Japanese-Soviet border conflict is settled.
 1941  The Shah of Iran is forced to resign by the United Kingdom and Soviet Union.
 1943  World War II: The Allied invasion of Italy concludes.
 1945  Japanese forces in Hong Kong surrender.
 1947  Typhoon Kathleen hits Saitama, Tokyo and the Tone River in Japan, killing at least 1,930 people.
 1947  The United Kingdom formally ends its state of war with Austria.
 1955  Juan Peron is removed from power in a coup in Argentina.
 1955  A Soviet Navy Zulu class submarine becomes the first submarine to launch a ballistic missile.
 1959  The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced in a demonstration in live television in New York City.
 1961  The remainder of Hurricane Debbie causes damage in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
 1963  Malaysia is formed by the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (Sabah), and Sarawak. Singapore withdraws a short time later.
 1966  The Metropolitan Opera House opens in New York City.
 1970  King Hussein of Jordan declares military rule following the hijacking of four civilian airlineers by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
 1971  Typhoon Nancy makes landfall in Osaka, Japan, killing 173 people.
 1975  Papua New Guinea becomes independent from Australia.
 1975  Cape Verde, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe join the UN.
 1976  Sharvash Karapetyan saves 20 people from a trolleybus that had fallen into a Yerevan reservoir.
 1978  An earthquake with a magnitude of over 7.5 hits Tabas in Iran, killing at least 25,000 people.
 1980  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the UN.
 1982  Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon.
 1983  Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes a US citizen.
 1987  The Monntreal Protocol for preservation of ozone layer against ozone depletion enters into force.
 1990  The railroad connecting China and Kazakhstan is completed.
 1991  The trial of the deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega begins in the United States.
 1992  The pound sterling, the UK's currency, is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
 1995  Greece ends its embargo on the Republic of Macedonia.
 1998  Meryl Streep receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

From 2001 
 2005  Camorra organised crime boss Paolo Di Lauro is arrested in Naples, Italy.
 2007  An aircraft carrying 128 people crashes in Phuket, Thailand, killing 89 people.
 2009  Yukio Hatoyama becomes Prime Minister of Japan, after just under a year with Taro Aso in this position.
 2013  A gunman kills 12 people at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC.

Births

Up to 1850 
 16  Drusilla, daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder (d. 38)
 1098  Hildegard of Bingen, German writer, composer, and saint (d. 1179)
 1387  King Henry V of England (d. 1422)
 1494  Francesco Mauriloco, Italian polymath (d. 1575)
 1507  Jiajing Emperor, Emperor of China (d. 1567)
 1615  Heinrich Bach, German organist and composer (d. 1692)
 1666  Antoine Parent, French mathematician (d. 1716)
 1678  Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (d. 1751)
 1688  John Gay, English writer (d. 1732)
 1716  Angelo Maria Amorevoli, Italian Baroque tenor (d. 1798)
 1725  Nicolas Demarest, French geologist (d. 1815)
 1736  Carter Braxton, American founding father (d. 1797)
 1745  Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (d. 1813)
 1777  Nathan Mayer Rothschild, English banker and financier (d. 1813)
 1782  Daoguang Emperor, Emperor of China (d. 1850)
 1812  Robert Fortune, Scottish gardener, scientist and explorer (d. 1880)
 1823  Mihailo Obrenovic III, Prince of Serbia (d. 1868)
 1825  Simeon Bavier, Swiss diplomat, engineer and politician (d. 1896)
 1830  Patrick Francis Moran, Irish-Australian cardinal (d. 1911)
 1837  King Peter V of Portugal (d. 1861)
 1842  Alessandro Fortis, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1909)
 1844  Paul Taffanel, French flautist and conductor (d. 1908)

1851  1900 
 1851  Emilia Pardo Bazan, Galician-Spanish writer (d. 1912)
 1853  Albrecht Kossel, German doctor, won the 1910 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1917)
 1858  Andrew Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1923)
 1859  Yuan Shikai, Chinese military leader and politician (d. 1916)
 1866  Georg Voigt, German politician (d. 1927)
 1867  Vantila Bratianu, Romanian politician (d. 1930)
 1870  John Pius Boland, Irish jurist, politician and tennis player (d. 1958)
 1875  James C. Penney, founder of American department store J.C. Penney (d. 1971)
 1877  Jacob Schick, American-Canadian inventor and businessman (d. 1937)
 1878  Herwarth Walden, German writer, publisher and composer (d. 1941)
 1886  Demetre Chiparis, Romanian sculptor (d. 1947)
 1886  Jean Arp, German-French sculptor, painter and writer (d. 1966)
 1887  Nadia Boulanger, French composer and pianist (d. 1979)
 1888  Frans Eemil Sillanpaa, Finnish writer (d. 1964)
 1888  W. O. Bentley, British racing driver and entrepreneur (d. 1971)
 1891  Stephanie von Hohenlohe, Austrian-born German spy (d. 1972)
 1891  Karl Dönitz, German naval leader (d. 1980)
 1893  Alexander Korda, Hungarian movie director (d. 1956)
 1893  Albert Szent-Györgyi de Nagyrápolt, Hungarian scientist, won the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1986)
 1898  H. A. Rey, American author and illustrator (d. 1977)
 1899  Hans Swarowsky, Austrian conductor (d. 1975)

1901  1950 
 1901  Ugo Frigerio, Italian athlete (d. 1968)
 1903  Joe Venuti, Italian-American jazz violinist (d. 1978)
 1903  Gwen Bristow, American writer and journalist (d. 1980)
 1905  Vladimir Holan, Czech poet (d. 1980)
 1909  Marshall Carter, American general, Director of the NSA (d. 1993)
 1912  Gyorgy Sarosi, Hungarian footballer (d. 1993)
 1913  Felicien Marceau, French journalist and writer (d. 2012)
 1916  Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, 1st Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis (d. 1978)
 1917  Alexander Schmorell, German Resistance activist (d. 1943)
 1919  Lawrence Dobkin, American actor (d. 2002)
 1920  J. J. C. Smart, British-Australian philosopher (d. 2012)
 1920  Staryl C. Austin, American air force general (d. 2015)
 1921  Jon Hendricks, American jazz songwriter and singer
 1922  Guy Hamilton, English movie director (d. 2016)
 1922  Janis Paige, American actress
 1923  Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore and statesman (d. 2015)
 1924  Lauren Bacall, American actress (d. 2014)
 1924  Hank Peters, American baseball executive (d. 2015)
 1925  Charlie Byrd, American jazz guitarist (d. 1999)
 1925  Charles Haughey, Prime Minister of Ireland (d. 2006)
 1925  B. B. King, American blues musician (d. 2015)
 1926  Robert H. Schuller, American televangelist (d. 2015)
 1927  Peter Falk, American actor (d. 2011)
 1927  Sadako Ogata, Japanese academic, diplomat ad writer
 1928  Rex Trailer, American television presenter, actor and singer (d. 2013)
 1929  Stan Stephens, American politician, 20th Governor of Montana
 1930  Anne Francis, American actress (d. 2011)
 1930  Jerry Parr, American secret service agent (d. 2015)
 1934  Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners) (d. 2008)
 1935  Jules Bass, American Stop-motion animator
 1935  Billy Boy Arnold, American blues musician and songwriter
 1937  Pavel Bobek, Czech singer (d. 2013)
 1942  Bernie Calvert, British musician
 1943  Oskar Lafontaine, German politician
 1943  James Alan McPherson, American writer (d. 2016)
 1944  B. J. Ward, American actress and singer
 1945  Alexander Rutskoy, Russian politician
 1946  Mike Reynolds, Australian politician
 1946  Camilo Sesto, Spanish singer-songwriter
 1947  Russ Abbot, British comedian
 1948  Rosemary Casals, American tennis player
 1948  Julia Donaldson, English writer
 1948  Kenney Jones, English musician
 1949  Ed Begley, Jr., American actor
 1949  Chrisye, Indonesian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2007)
 1950  Loyd Grossman, American television presenter and food critic
 1950  Loyola de Palacio, Spanish politician (d. 2006)

1951  1975 
 1951  Andy Irvine, Scottish rugby player
 1952  Fatos Nano, Albanian politician
 1952  Mickey Rourke, American actor
 1953  Kurt Fuller, American actor
 1953  Jerry Pate, American golfer
 1953  Manuel Pellegrini, Chilean footballer and coach
 1953  Mark Malloch Brown, British politician
 1954  Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Indian sitarist and composer
 1954  Colin Newman, British singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
 1955  Janet Ellis, British television presenter
 1956  David Copperfield, American magician
 1957  Norman Lamb, English politician
 1957  Pierre Moscovici, French politician
 1958  Jennifer Tilly, American actress
 1958  Neville Southall, Welsh footballer
 1958  Orel Hershiser, American baseball player and coach
 1960  Ean Evans, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2009)
 1960  Danny John-Jules, English actor
 1961  Bilinda Butcher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 1964  Molly Shannon, American actress
 1965  Karl-Heinz Riedle, German footballer
 1966  John Bel Edwards, American attorney and politician 
 1968  Rafael Alkorta, Spanish footballer
 1968  Marc Anthony, American musician
 1971  Amy Poehler, American actress, comedienne and writer
 1972  Liz Bonnin, Irish television presenter
 1972  Sprent Dabwido, Nauruan politician, former President of Nauru
 1973  Alexander Vinokourov, Kazakhstani cyclist
 1974  Mario Haas, Austrian footballer
 1974  Loona, Dutch singer
 1975  Adel Chedli, Tunisian footballer

From 1976 
 1976  Tina Barrett, British singer (S Club)
 1976  Greg Buckner, American basketball player
 1978  Ebrahim Mirzapour, Iranian footballer
 1978  Carolina Dieckmann, Brazilian actress
 1979  Keisuke Tsuboi, Japanese footballer
 1979  Flo Rida, American rapper
 1979  Fanny, French singer
 1980  Patrik Stefan, Czech ice hockey player
 1981  Alexis Bledel, American actress
 1983  Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwean swimmer
 1983  Brandon Moss, American baseball player
 1984  Katie Melua, Georgian-British singer
 1984  Sabrina Bryan, American actress and singer
 1986  Ian Harding, British actor
 1987  Kyle Lafferty, Northern Irish footballer
 1987  Burry Stander, South African cyclist (d. 2013)
 1987  Daren Kagasoff, American actor
 1988  Teddy Geiger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor
 1988  Sarah Steele, American actress
 1989  José Salomon Rondon, Venezuelan footballer
 1992  Nick Jonas, American singer and guitarist (The Jonas Brothers)
 1992  Jake Roche, English actor and singer
 2005  Princess Jalilah bint Ali of Jordan

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 96  Domitian, Roman Emperor (b. 51)
 307  Flavius Valerius Severus, Roman Emperor
 655  Pope Martin I
 1087  Severus II, Roman Emperor
 1100  Bernold of Constance, German chronicler and writer (b. 1054)
 1345  John IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1295)
 1380  King Charles V of France (b. 1338)
 1394  Avignon Pope Clement VII (b. 1342)
 1498  Tomas de Torquemada, Spanish grand inquisitor (b. 1420)
 1589  Michael Baius, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
 1701  James II of England and VII of Scotland (b. 1633)
 1736  Gabriel Fahrenheit, physicist (b. 1686)
 1782  Farinelli, Italian singer (b. 1705)
 1792  Quang Trung, Emperor of Vietnam (b. 1753)
 1803  Nicolas Baudin, French explorer, cartographer and naturalist (b. 1754)
 1819  John Jeffries, American physician, balloonist and meteorologist (b. 1744)
 1824  King Louis XVIII of France (b. 1755)
 1843  Ezekiel Hart, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1770)
 1845  Thomas Davis, Irish nationalist and writer (b. 1814)
 1887  Sakoigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1841)
 1911  Edward Whymper, English mountain climber (b. 1840)
 1925  Alexander Friedmann, Russian mathematician and cosmologist (b. 1888)
 1925  Leo Fall, Austrian composer (b. 1873)
 1932  Ronald Ross, British doctor, won the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1857)
 1931  Omar Mukhtar, resistance leader in Italian Libya
 1936  Jean-Baptiste Charcot, French scientist (b. 1867)
 1940  Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, British politician, 8th Governor of Queensland, Australia (b. 1860)
 1944  Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1870)
 1946  James Hopwood Jeans, English physicist, astronomer and mathematician (b. 1877)

From 1951 
 1957  Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (b. 1864)
 1965  Ahn Eak-tai, Korean composer and conductor (b. 1906)
 1965  Fred Quimby, American animation producer (b. 1886)
 1977  Marc Bolan, English musician (b. 1947)
 1977  Maria Callas, Greek-American soprano (b. 1923)
 1980  Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (b. 1896)
 1984  Louis Reard, French engineer and fashion designer (b. 1897)
 1987  Christopher Soames, Baron Soames, British politician (b. 1920)
 1987  Howard Moss, American poet, playwright and critic (b. 1922)
 1991  Olga Spessivtseva, Russian ballerina (b. 1895)
 1992  Millicent Fenwick, American politician and writer (b. 1910)
 1993  Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Australian poet and activist (b. 1920)
 1996  Gene Nelson, American actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1920)
 2000  Georgiy Gongadze, Georgian-Ukrainian journalist (b. 1969)
 2002  James Gregory, American actor (b. 1911)
 2003  Sheb Wooley, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
 2004  Izora Armstead, American singer (The Weather Girls) (b. 1942)
 2005  Gordon Gould, American inventor (b. 1920)
 2006  Floyd Curry, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1925)
 2006  Fouad el-Mohandes, Egyptian actor (b. 1924)
 2007  Robert Jordan, American writer (b. 1948)
 2009  Mary Travers, American singer (b. 1936)
 2012  Princess Ragnhild of Norway, Norwegian royal, sister of Harald V of Norway (b. 1930)
 2012  John Ingle, American actor (b. 1928)
 2013  Kim Hamilton, American actress (b. 1932)
 2013  Patsy Swayze, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1927)
 2014  Buster Jones, American actor and television presenter (b. 1943)
 2014  Alf Ivar Samuelsen, Norwegian politician (b. 1942)
 2015  Guy Béart, French singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
 2015  Ton van de Ven, Dutch industrial designer (b. 1944)
 2015  David Ashby, British motorcycle racer (b. 1949)
 2016  Edward Albee, American playwright (b. 1928)
 2016  Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, 10th President of Italy (b. 1920)
 2016  Gabriele Amorth, Italian priest and exorcist (b. 1925)
 2016  Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, former President of Cape Verde (b. 1944)

Observances 
 Independence Day in Mexico and Papua New Guinea
 Malaysia Day
 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone layer
 National Heroes' Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
 Statehood Day (Alagoas, a state of Brazil)

Days of the year