November 16

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 Duren 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
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 - Jonas Hallgrimsson, 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-Honore Frechette, 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 Errazuriz Echaurren, President of Chile (d. 1901)
1851 - Minnie Hauk, American soprano (d. 1929)
1855 - Tommaso Tittoni, Italian Prime Minister (d. 1931)
1857 - Jon 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 - Jose 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 Rene, 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 - Hector Cuper, 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 Hermes, 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 Medard, 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
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 - Andre 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 Lotbiniere, 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)
Days of the year