November 16

### 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.

### Up to 1900

- 42 BC – Tiberius, Roman Emperor (d. 37)
- 1436 – Leonardo Loredan, Doge of Venice (d. 1521)
- 1569 – Paul Sartorius, German composer and organist (d. 1609)
- 1643 – Jean Chardin, French explorer (d. 1703)
- 1717 – Jean le Rond d'Alembert, French mathematician (d. 1793)
- 1720 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, Italian composer (d. 1788)
- 1753 – James McHenry, American statesman (d. 1816)
- 1766 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist (d. 1831)
- 1807 – Jónas Hallgrímsson, Icelandic poet (d. 1845)
- 1823 – Henry G. Davis, United States Senator (d. 1916)
- 1827 – Charles Eliot Norton, American scholar (d. 1908)
- 1835 – Eugenio Beltrami, Italian mathematician (d. 1900)
- 1836 – David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii (d. 1891)
- 1839 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Canadian poet, author and politician (d. 1908)
- 1841 – Jules Violle, French physicist (d. 1923)
- 1847 – Edmund James Flynn, 10th Premier of Quebec (d. 1927)
- 1850 – Federico Errázuriz Echaurren, President of Chile (d. 1901)
- 1851 – Minnie Hauk, American soprano (d. 1929)
- 1855 – Tommaso Tittoni, Italian Prime Minister (d. 1931)
- 1857 – Jón Sveinsson, Icelandic writer (d. 1944)
- 1873 – W. C. Handy, American blues musician (d. 1958)
- 1874 – Alexander Kolchak, Russian explorer and politician (d. 1920)
- 1880 – Alexander Blok, Russian poet (d. 1921)
- 1883 – Emil Breitkreutz, American runner (d. 1972)
- 1886 – Arthur B. Krock, American political journalist (d. 1974)
- 1889 – George Kaufman, American playwright (d. 1961)
- 1890 – Elpidio Quirino, President of the Philippines (d. 1956)
- 1891 – Julius Leber, German politician and Resistance activist (d. 1945)
- 1892 – Guo Moruo, Chinese poet, author and historian (d. 1978)
- 1895 – Paul Hindemith, German composer (d. 1963)
- 1896 – Pavel Alexandrov, Russian mathematician (d. 1982)
- 1896 – Joan Lindsay, Australian novelist, playwright, essayist and visual artist (d. 1984)
- 1896 – Oswald Mosley, British fascist politician (d. 1980)
- 1896 – Lawrence Tibbett, American baritone (d. 1960)
- 1897 – Choudhary Rahmat Ali, Pakistani student (d. 1951)
- 1898 – Warren McCulloch, American neuropsychologist (d. 1969)

### 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, English musician (d. 2025)
- 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

### 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 – 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)