December 16th archived daily history

Today December 16th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009

Events
755 – An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China.
1392 – Nanboku-cho – Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
1431 – Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris.
1497 – Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope, the point where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.
1575 – The 1575 Valdivia earthquake takes place.
1598 – Seven Year War: Battle of Noryang Point – The final battle of the Seven Year War is fought between the Korean and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive Korean victory.
1653 – English Interregnum: The Protectorate – Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1689 – Convention Parliament: The Declaration of Right is embodied in the Bill of Rights.
1707 – Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.
1761 – Seven Years War: After four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kolobrzeg.
1773 – American Revolution: Boston Tea Party – Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
1811 – The first two in a series of severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri. These three so-called Mega-quakes are believed to be an ongoing cataclysmic danger that could reprise the 1811-12 series of 2,000 quakes that affected the lands of what would be eight of today s heartland states of the United States.
1826 – Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia.
1838 – Battle of Blood River: Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius combat Zulu impis, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
1850 – History of New Zealand: The Charlotte-Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand.
1863 – American Civil War: Joseph E. Johnston replaces Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee.
1864 – American Civil War: Franklin-Nashville Campaign – Battle of Nashville – Major General George H. Thomas s Union forces defeat Lieutenant General John Bell Hood s Confederate Army of Tennessee.
1893 – Antonín Dvorák s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, From The New World is given its world première at Carnegie Hall.
1907 – The Great White Fleet begins its circumnavigation of the world
1914 – World War I: German battleships under Franz von Hipper bombard the English ports of Hartlepool and Scarborough.
1920 – The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000.
1922 – President of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski at the Zacheta Gallery in Warsaw.
1925 – Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity is founded at Lafayette College.
1937 – Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again.
1938 – Adolf Hitler institutes the Cross of Honor of the German Mother
1941 – World War II: Japanese occupy Miri, Sarawak
1942 – Holocaust: Porajmos – Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination be deported to Auschwitz.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.
1946 – Léon Blum becomes Prime Minister of France.
1947 – William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor.
1949 – Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, later knows as SAAB, is founded in Sweden.
1950 – President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency, after Chinese troops enter the fight with communist North Korea in the Korean War.
1957 – Sir Feroz Khan Noon replaces Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
1960 – 1960 New York air disaster: While approaching New York s Idlewild Airport, a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation in a blinding snowstorm over Staten Island, killing 134.
1965 – Vietnam War: General William Westmoreland sends U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara a request for 243,000 more men by the end of 1966.
1971 – Bangladesh War of Independence and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: The surrender of the Pakistan army brings an end to both conflicts.
1971 – Independence Day of the State of Bahrain from British Protectorate Status
1972 – Vietnam War: Henry Kissinger announces that North Vietnam has left private peace negotiations, in Paris.
1978 – Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks.
1979 – Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices, having an immediate dramatic effect on the United States.
1982 – The Federal Reserve announces that the operating capacity of factories has gone down to 67.8%.
1985 – Mafia: In New York City, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of the Gambino family.
1986 – Revolt in Kazakhstan against Communist party, known as Zheltoksan, which becomes the first sign of ethnic strife during Gorbachev s tenure
1989 – Protests break out in Timisoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tokés.
1989 – Walter LeRoy Moody begins his terrorist bombing streak when he sends Judge Robert Smith Vance a bomb in the mail, instantly killing him near his house in Birmingham, Alabama.
1991 – United Nations General Assembly: UN General Assembly Resolution 4686 revokes UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 after Israel makes revocation of resolution 3379 a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991.
1991 – Independence of The Republic of Kazakhstan.
1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Operation Desert Fox – The United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq.
2007 – Ron Paul raises a record amount of money online in a single day money bomb: over six million dollars in 24 hours.

Births
1485 – Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England (d. 1536)
1584 – John Selden, English jurist and oriental scholar (d. 1654)
1614 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1674)
1714 – George Whitefield, English-born Methodist leader (d. 1770)
1716 – Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc de Nivernais, French diplomat and writer (d. 1798)
1717 – Elizabeth Carter, English writer (d. 1806)
1742 – Gebhard Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt, German Field Marshal (d. 1819)
1770 – Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (d. 1827)
1775 – Jane Austen, English writer (d. 1817)
1775 – François-Adrien Boïeldieu, French composer (d. 1834)
1776 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German physicist (d. 1810)
1787 – Mary Russell Mitford, English writer (d. 1855)
1790 – King Léopold I of Belgium (d. 1865)
1804 – Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1889)
1834 – Léon Walras, French economist (d. 1910)
1861 – Antonio de La Gandara, French painter (d. 1917)
1863 – George Santayana, Spanish philosopher and writer (d. 1952)
1865 – Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet (d. 1918)
1866 (N.S.) – Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born French abstract painter (d. 1944)
1867 – Amy Carmichael, missionary in Dohnavur, India (d. 1951)
1869 – Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1952)
1872 – Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (d. 1947)
1882 – Sir Jack Hobbs, English cricketer (d. 1963)
1882 – Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer (d. 1967)
1882 – Walther Meissner, German physicist (d. 1974)
1883 – Max Linder, French pioneer of silent film (d. 1925)
1888 – King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (d. 1934)
1888 – Alphonse Juin, marshall of France (d. 1967)
1899 – Sir Noel Coward, English playwright, actor and composer (d. 1973)
1900 – V. S. Pritchett, English author and critic (d. 1997)
1901 – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (d. 1978)
1902 – Rafael Alberti, Spanish poet (d. 1999)
1905 – Piet Hein, Danish mathematician and inventor (d. 1996)
1906 – Barbara Kent, Canadian actress
1913 – George Ignatieff, Russian-born Canadian diplomat (d. 1989)
1915 – Turk Murphy, American trombonist (d. 1987)
1917 – Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Sindhi scholar
1917 – Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English writer (d. 2008)
1918 – Pierre Delanoë, French songwriter and lyricist (d. 2006)
1922 – Cy Leslie, American music and video executive (d. 2008)
1923 – Menahem Pressler, German-Israeli pianist.
1926 – James McCracken, American tenor (d. 1988)
1927 – Randall Garrett, American writer (d. 1987)
1928 – Philip K. Dick, American writer (d. 1982)
1929 – Nicholas Courtney, English actor
1932 – Rodion Shchedrin, Soviet/Russian composer
1934 – Elgin Gay Baylor, NBA Hall of Famer
1936 – Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center
1937 – Joyce Bulifant, American actress
1938 – Frank Deford, American sportswriter
1938 – Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress
1941 – Lesley Stahl, American journalist
1942 – Donald Carcieri, American politician, governor of Rhode Island
1943 – Steven Bochco, American television producer and writer
1943 – Tony Hicks, English guitarist (The Hollies)
1944 – Don Meyer Basketball coach Northern State, Lipscomb, and Hamline
1945 – Patti Deutsch, American actress and Match Game panelist
1945 – Bobby George, English professional darts player
1945 – Yukio Hattori, Japanese Iron Chef commentator
1946 – Benny Andersson, Swedish musician, singer and songwriter (ABBA)
1946 – Trevor Pinnock, English conductor and harpsichordist
1947 – Ben Cross, English actor
1947 – Vincent Matthews, American sprinter
1948 – Christopher Biggins, English actor
1949 – Billy Gibbons, American guitarist (ZZ Top)
1950 – Claudia Cohen, American gossip columnist and socialite (d. 2007)
1950 – Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (d. 2006)
1951 – Robben Ford, American guitarist
1952 – Joel Garner, Barbadian West Indies cricketer
1952 – Francesco Graziani, Italian footballer
1955 – Xander Berkeley, American actor
1955 – Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
1960 – Pat Van Den Hauwe, Belgian footballer
1961 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (d. 1994)
1961 – Jon Tenney, American actor
1962 – Maruschka Detmers, Dutch actress
1962 – William The Refrigerator Perry, American football player
1963 – Benjamin Bratt, American actor
1963 – Jeff Carson, American singer
1963 – James Mangold, American film director and screenwriter
1964 – Heike Drechsler, East German-born sprinter
1964 – Georgie Parker, Australian actress
1964 – Billy Ripken, American baseball player
1965 – Chris Jones, American baseball player
1965 – Melanie Sloan, American attorney
1965 – Nancy Valen, American actress
1966 – Clifford Robinson, American basketball player
1966 – Dennis Wise, English footballer
1967 – Donovan Bailey, Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter
1967 – Miranda Otto, Australian actress
1971 – Michael McCary, American singer (Boyz II Men)
1971 – Paul van Dyk, German DJ
1972 – Angela Bloomfield, New Zealand actress
1972 – Charles Gipson, American baseball player
1972 – Željko Kalac, Australian soccer player
1973 – Themba Mnguni, South African footballer
1973 – Scott Storch, Canadian-American hip-hop producer
1974 – Frida Hallgren, Swedish actress
1975 – Valentin Badoi, Romanian footballer
1975 – Nawo Kawakita, Japanese drummer (Maximum the Hormone)
1975 – Benjamin Kowalewicz, Canadian musician (Billy Talent)
1975 – Jonathan Scarfe, Canadian actor
1977 – Éric Bélanger, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Sylvain Distin, French footballer
1978 – Gunter Van Handenhoven, Belgian footballer
1978 – Kaine, American rapper (Ying Yang Twins)
1979 – Mihai Traistariu, Romanian singer
1979 – Jessie Ward, American professional wrestler
1979 – Trevor Immelman, South African golfer
1979 – Flo Rida, American rapper
1981 – Anna Sedokova, Ukrainian singer
1981 – Took Leng How, Malaysian criminal (d. 2006)
1981 – Gareth Williams, Scottish footballer
1982 – Garnon Davies, Welsh actor
1982 – Antrel Rolle, National Football League defensive back
1983 – Kelenna Azubuike, English basketball player
1983 – Danielle Lloyd, English model
1985 – Keita Tachibana, member of Japanese boy band w-inds.
1987 – Beau Dowler, Australian rules footballer
1987 – Hallee Hirsh, American actress
1988 – Anna Popplewell, English actress

Deaths
705 – Empress Wu of Zhou (b. 625)
714 – Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia
867 – Eberhard of Friuli
999 – Saint Adelaide of Italy (b. 931)
1325 – Charles of Valois, son of Philip III of France (b. 1270)
1378 – Otto III of Montferrat
1379 – John Fitzalan, Marshal of England
1470 – John II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1425)
1515 – Afonso de Albuquerque Portuguese naval general (b. 1453)
1598 – Yi Sun-sin, Korean admiral (b. 1545)
1669 – Nathaniel Fiennes, English politician (b. c. 1608)
1687 – William Petty, English scientist and philosopher (b. 1623)
1751 – Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (b. 1700)
1765 – Peter Frederick Haldimand, Swiss military officer and surveyor
1774 – François Quesnay, French economist (b. 1694)
1783 – Johann A. Hasse, German composer (b. 1699)
1783 – Sir William James, British naval commander (b. 1720)
1809 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (b. 1755)
1859 – Wilhelm Grimm, German writer and folklorist (b. 1786)
1897 – Alphonse Daudet, French novelist and short story writer (b. 1840)
1898 – Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and art collector (b. 1832)
1914 – Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer (b. 1832)
1921 – Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (b. 1835)
1922 – Gabriel Narutowicz, first President of Poland (b. 1865)
1928 – Elinor Wylie, American poet and writer (b. 1885)
1935 – Thelma Todd, American actress (b. 1905)
1940 – Billy Hamilton, American baseball player (b. 1866)
1945 – Giovanni Agnelli, Italian automobile manufacturer (b. 1866)
1945 – Fumimaro Konoye, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1891)
1949 – Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (b. 1873)
1956 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh artist (b. 1890)
1965 – W. Somerset Maugham, English writer (b. 1874)
1976 – Réal Caouette, French Canadian politician (Social Credit Party of Canada) (b. 1917)
1977 – Risto Jarva, Finnish filmmaker (b. 1934)
1980 – Colonel Sanders, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1890)
1980 – Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (b. 1900)
1982 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and automobile manufacturer, founder of Lotus Cars (b. 1928)
1983 – Debs Garms, American baseball player (b. 1907)
1985 – Thomas Bilotti, American mafioso (b. 1940)
1985 – Paul Castellano, American mafioso (b. 1915)
1988 – Sylvester, American singer (b. 1948)
1989 – Óscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentine racing driver (b. 1913)
1989 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (b. 1930)
1989 – Aileen Pringle, American actress (b. 1895)
1989 – Lee Van Cleef, American actor (b. 1925)
1990 – Douglas Campbell, American pilot (b. 1896)
1993 – Moses Gunn, American actor (b. 1929)
1993 – Tanaka Kakuei, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1918)
1993 – Charizma, American Hip-Hop MC (b. 1973)
1995 – Johnny Moss, American poker player (b. 1907)
1995 – Mariele Ventre, Italian choir director (b. 1939)
1996 – Quentin Bell, English art historian (b. 1910)
1997 – Lillian Disney, Wife of Walt Disney (b. 1899)
1997 – Nicolette Larson, American singer (b. 1952)
1998 – William Gaddis, American writer (b. 1922)
2001 – Stuart Adamson, English-born Scottish musician (The Skids, Big Country) (b. 1958)
2001 – Stefan Heym, German author (b. 1913)
2003 – Robert Stanfield, Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914)
2003 – Gary Stewart, American musician and songwriter (b. 1945)
2004 – Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (b. 1933)
2005 – Kenneth Bulmer, English author (b. 1921)
2005 – Ed Hansen, American film director and editor (b. 1937)
2005 – John Spencer, American actor (b. 1946)
2006 – Don Jardine, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1940)
2006 – Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950)
2006 – Pnina Salzman, Israeli pianist (b. 1922)
2007 – Dan Fogelberg, American singer/songwriter (b. 1951)

Holidays and observances
Bahrain – National Day
Bangladesh – Victory Day
India – Vijay Diwas (Victory Day)
Kazakhstan – Independence Day
South Africa – Day of Reconciliation
Afrikaners (South Africa) – Day of the Vow
Mexico – First day of Las Posadas
Philippines – First day of Misa de Gallo
St. Adelaide