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May 16: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – May 16 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 16th May 1204: Count of Flanders, Baldwin IX, was today crowned as the first emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.
2. 16th May 1527: Florence became a Republic today.
3. 16th May 1532: Sir Thomas More today relinquished his office as Lord Chancellor of England.
4. 16th May 1547: In Wittenberg, a protestant German monarch surrendered to Karel today.
5. 16th May 1568: Queen of Scots, Queen Mary fled England today.
6. 16th May 1605: Camillo Borghese was today elected as Pope. He became Pope Paul V and succeeded Pope Leo XI.
7. 16th May 1606: In Russia, about 2000 foreigners were murdered.
8. 16th May 1648: After battling for 18 days Bohdan Chmielricki’s Cossacks defeated Polish King John Casimir.
18th Century – What Happened on May 16 – The 1700s
9. 16th May 1747: Prince William V was today sworn in as the Admiral-General of the Netherlands.
10. 16th May 1763: Samuel Johnson met James Boswell for the first time today in London. Boswell became Johnson’s biographer.
11. 16th May 1792: The slave trade was abolished in Denmark.
19th Century – May 16 This Day That Year – The 1800s
12. 16th May 1817: Steamboat services begin in the Mississippi River.
13. 16th May 1822: In the Greek War of Independence the Greek town of Souli was today captured by the Turks.
14. 16th May 1860: In Chicago, the Republican Convention today selected Abraham Lincoln as the Presidential candidate.
15. 16th May 1861: In the American Civil War Major General Twiggs today surrendered to the Confederate Army in San Antonio Texas.
16. 16th May 1862: Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir built the first automobile.
17. 16th May 1866: The US Congress today authorized the nickel 5-cent piece, replacing the silver dime.
18. 16th May 1868: The US Senate failed in its attempt to impeach Andrew Johnson. They fell short by one vote.
19. 16th May 1872: The lamps of Metropolitan Gas Company were lit for the first time today.
20. 16th May 1875: Venezuela and Columbia were struck by an earthquake that killed about 16,000 people.
21. 16th May 1879: The Afghan state was set between Russia and English by the treaty of Gandamak.
22. 16th May 1881: The world’s first electric tram was commissioned into service today in Lichterfelder near Berlin.
23. 16th May 1894: A fire broke out in Boston destroying the baseball stadium and 170 other buildings.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 16th – The 1900s
24. 16th May 1903: This day marks the start of the first transcontinental motorcycle trip in San Francisco by George A Wyman. He arrived in New York on the 6th of June.
25. 16th May 1907: Great Britain, Spain, and France entered into the Pact of Cartagena in which they agreed to maintain the status quo in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of Europe and Africa.
26. 16th May 1910: US Bureau of Mines was formed on this day.
27. 16th May 1914: In Kansas City The American Horseshoe Pitchers Association was formed today.
28. 16th May 1918: US Congress today passed the Sedition Act. Punishments to people who were against America’s participation in World War I were made harsher. Dissenters insulting the government were also liable for punishment.
29. 16th May 1920: Fighting his last bull, the Spanish bullfighter was gored badly which proved fatal.
30. 16th May 1920: French soldier and National Heroine Joan of Arc was canonized as a saint.
31. 16th May 1924: Blitzen in Oregon recorded a temperature of 108°F i.e. 42°C.
32. 16th May 1927: There were floods in Louisiana left many dead and rendered homeless. Rescue workers had so far found 20 people dead.
33. 16th May 1927: It was ruled by the Supreme Court of America today that bootleggers must pay income tax.
34. 16th May 1929: Actor Emil Jennings and actress Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Awards for “Wings”.
35. 16th May 1929: At a banquet held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel the first ever Academy Awards of Motion Picture Arts and Science Awards were handed over today.
36. 16th May 1938: A fire in Terminal Hotel in Atlanta Georgia killed 38 people today.
37. 16th May 1938: Bradman scored 278 runs for Australia playing against MCC. He hit 35 fours and a six.
38. 16th May 1939: The first issue of food stamps was released today.
39. 16th May 1940: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill returned from Paris to London today.
40. 16th May 1941: Bennett’s “Symphony in D for Dodgers” was performed on US radio for the first time.
41. 16th May 1941: The Dutch Organization for Actors was forbidden by the Nazis.
42. 16th May 1941: At Amba Alagi in Ethiopia, the Italian army led by Aosta surrendered to Britain.
43. 16th May 1942: British and Dutch prisoners were transported to South Burma for the first time.
44. 16th May 1943: The uprising and resistance in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw were crushed by SS police using tanks and armored vehicles.
45. 16th May 1944: As the Allied forces pushed the Nazis back on all fronts, many believed that the end of World War is getting closer.
46. 16th May 1946: The Irving Berlin musical “Annie Get Your Gun” debuted at the Imperial Theatre in New York today. It went on to make 1,146 more performances.
47. 16th May 1960: American President Dwight Eisenhower and Soviet chief Nikita Khrushchev came to verbal blows in Paris on the issue of U.S. spy plane U 2 which flew over Russia.
48. 16th May 1968: A gas explosion on the 18th floor of flat, a block of flats in Newham London collapsed which left at least 3 dead and 80 families fleeing the tower block.
49. 16th May 1969: USSR today performed a nuclear test on Eastern Kazakh in Semipalatinsk, USSR.
50. 16th May 1969: Verna V landed on Venus and started returning data on the atmosphere.
51. 16th May 1969: Rioting and protests against the war in Vietnam continued on campuses throughout California.
52. 16th May 1969: The nuclear submarine Guitarro of the United States today sank off the coast of San Francisco.
53. 16th May 1971: Bulgaria adopted its constitution today.
54. 16th May 1971: The first class postage tariff in the US was increased today from 6 cents to 8 cents.
55. 16th May 1972: The LPGA Suzuki Golf International title was today won by Jane Blalock.
56. 16th May 1973: Dave Souter won the ABC Masters Bowling Tournament.
57. 16th May 1974: Helmut Schmidt became the West German Chancellor today.
58. 16th May 1974: Seven Palestinian refugee camps were bombed by Israeli planes in southern Lebanon. At least 28 people were killed and close to 140 people were injured.
59. 16th May 1974: USSR today performed a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh in Semipalatinsk, USSR.
60. 16th May 1975: Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest today.
61. 16th May 1975: India today annexed the principality of Sikkim.
62. 16th May 1976: Fierce fighting is taking place in Lebanon between Muslims and Christians. Rocket artillery is deployed and the death toll has already nearly 220.
63. 16th May 1977: Five people lost their lives when a New York Air Way helicopter toppled over the Pan Am building.
64. 16th May 1977: In the heavyweight boxing match, Mohammad Ali beat Alfredo Evangelist.
65. 16th May 1983: The peace accord with Israel was today accepted by the Lebanese parliament.
66. 16th May 1983: The People’s Liberation Army of Sudan rebelled against the Sudanese government.
67. 16th May 1984: Guinea-Bissau adopted its constitution today.
68. 16th May 1984: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
69. 16th May 1985: Pope John Paul arrived in Belgium today.
70. 16th May 1985: Basketball superstar Michael Jordan was today named NBA Rookie of the Year.
71. 16th May 1986: President P W Botha of South Africa sent Coetsee to visit Nelson Mandela.
72. 16th May 1986: Joaquin Balaguers PRSC won the Parliamentary Election of the Dominican Republic.
73. 16th May 1986: An International Meeting of Scientists convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO in Seville, Spain today adopted the Seville Statement on Violence.
74. 16th May 1987: A barge “Bobro 400” sets sail from New York City with a cargo of 3,200 tons of garbage, looking for a dumping site. It searched unsuccessfully for a dumping site for 8 weeks.
75. 16th May 1988: The US Supreme Court today ruled that trash can be searched without a warrant.
76. 16th May 1988: Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has declared that nicotine is as addictive as Heroin and Cocaine and that all cigarette packets should carry a warning on public health.
77. 16th May 1989: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping formally met in Beijing today to resolve the 30-year-old rift.
78. 16th May 1990: Joaquin Ricardo Balaguer was today re-elected as President of the Dominican Republic.
79. 16th May 1991: Queen Elizabeth II today addressed the US Congress. She was the first British Monarch to address the US Congress.
80. 16th May 1997: The project participants including Russia, Kazakhstan, Chevron Corporation, and others today signed the final agreement creating the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
81. 16th May 1997: After his generals told him that they would not defend the capital city of Zaire, Kinshasa against the advancing rebels, President Mobutu left the capital today.
21st Century – May 16 This Day In History – The 2000s
82. 16th May 2003: A terrorist attack in Casablanca, Morocco resulted in the death of 33 civilians and injuring more than 100 people.
83. 16th May 2005: Women’s suffrage was today permitted in Kuwait in a 35-23 National assembly vote
84. 16th May 2005: Army Specialist Sabrina Harman, the woman who was featured in most photographs in the media of the worst abuses of prisoners, was today convicted for her role in the mistreatment of the Iraqi prisoners at Fort Hood in Texas and sentenced to six months imprisonment.
85. 16th May 2005: Pro-nationalization protests of the energy industry in Bolivia were held in the Bolivian capital La Paz today.
86. 16th May 2006: A massive earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck New Zealand today.
87. 16th May 2006: The winner of the first Survivor Series was today sentenced to 4 years R I for failing to pay taxes on his reality TV show earnings.
88. 16th May 2007: In France Nicolas Sarkozy today became the 23rd President of France.
89. 16th May 2007: After a historic victory in the Scottish general election, Alex Salmond today became the first Scottish National Party leader to be elected as First Minister.
90. 16th May 2007: A new Synagogue opened today in Tallinn Estonia. This was the first Synagogue to be built after the Holocaust. It was meant to serve the 2500-strong Jewish community.
91. 16th May 2010: In Japan a first-ever marriage officiated by a robot was conducted in Tokyo today. The couple was associated with the robotics industry and wished the robot to officiate the wedding.
92. 16th May 2011: Space Shuttle launched for its final commission in space.
93. 16th May 2012: Journalist and radio reporter Alfredo Vilatoro of Honduras, who was kidnapped by a group of young men dressed in police uniform was found dead in Tegucigalpa.
94. 16th May 2013: In Iran, The Guardian Council, a constitutional body in Iran, today ruled out the possibility of women contesting the June 14th Presidential elections.
95. 16th May 2013: Human stem cells were successfully cloned today.
96. 16th May 2013: Pope Francis today called for ethical financial reforms to fight speculation.
97. 16th May 2013: Bill Gates with assets of $72.7 billion regained his position as the world’s richest man.
98. 16th May 2014: In India the Bharatiya Janata Party won the general elections, defeating the Indian National Congress signalling the desire for greater economic progress.
99. 16th May 2015: In Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, who was the first democratically elected president, was handed a death sentence for his role in prison outbreak during the 2011 revolution.
100. 16th May 2017: In a landmark case in Rohtak in India, a 10-year-old girl was granted a special 20-week abortion request.
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