December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 15 days remaining until the end of the year.

[edit] Events

• 755 - An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China.
• 1392 - Nanboku-chō - 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 occurs, 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.
• 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 Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From The New World" was given its world premiere at Carnegie Hall.
• 1907 - Great White Fleet started its circumnavigation of the world
• 1910 - During a ground test of his Coandă-1910 plane, Henri Coandă, caught unaware by the power of the engine, finds himself briefly airborne and loses control of the machine which crashes to the ground.
• 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 Zachęta 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: Battle of the Bulge - General Dwight D. Eisenhower's allied forces and Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt's German army engage in the Belgian Ardennes.
• 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 - Protest breaks out in Timişoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor, László Tőkés.
• 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.

[edit] 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
• 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)
• 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)
• 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 Bădoi, 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 Trăistariu, Romanian singer
• 1979 - Jessie Ward, American professional wrestler
• 1979 - Trevor Immelman, South African golfer
• 1981 - 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 - Hallee Hirsh, American actress
• 1988 - Anna Popplewell, English actress

[edit] 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. circa 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)
• 1944 - Don Meyer Basketball coach Northern State, Lipscomb, and Hamline
• 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)
• 1984 - 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 - Oscar 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 - 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)

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada