What happened on April 16? There are more than 280 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About April 16
April 16 is the 107th day of the year 2024. There are 259 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday. This day falls under the 16th week of the year 2024.
On this day in New Orleans, Louisiana 70140 sunrise occured at 06:30 AM and sunset occured at 07:29 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aries. The modern birthstone for this month is Diamond while the mystical birthstone is Opal.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 288 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 27 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For April 16
- 1178 BCThe calculated date of the Greek king Odysseus’ return home from the Trojan War.
- 1457 BCLikely date of the Battle of Megiddo between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh, the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.
- 73Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.
- 1346Dušan the Mighty is proclaimed Emperor, with the Serbian Empire occupying much of the Balkans.
- 1521Martin Luther’s first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.
- 1582Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
- 1746The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland after the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants.
- 1780The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.
- 1799Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
- 1818The United States Senate ratifies the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada.
- 1847The accidental shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand land wars.
- 1853The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
- 1858The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
- 1862American Civil War: A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia becomes law.
- 1862American Civil War: The Battle at Lee’s Mills in Virginia.
- 1863American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- 1881In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
- 1908Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.
- 1912Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
- 1917Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Switzerland.
- 1919Gandhi organizes a day of “prayer and fasting” in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British.
- 1919Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
- 1922The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.
- 1925During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
- 1941Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
- 1941World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
- 1944Allied forces started bombing of Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
- 1945More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.
- 1945The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
- 1945The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
- 1947Bernard Baruch coins the term “Cold War” to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
- 1947Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
- 1953Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht Ship HMY.
- 1962Walter Cronkite takes over as the lead news anchor of the CBS Evening News, during which time he would become “the most trusted man in America”.
- 1963Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
- 1972Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1990The “Doctor of Death”, Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
- 1992The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
- 2001India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
- 2003The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
- 2007President of Côte d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo declares the First Ivorian Civil War to be over.
- 2007Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest spree killing in modern American history. Seung-Hui Cho, kills 32 and injures 23 before committing suicide.
Who Were Born On April 16?
- 778King Louis the Pious (d. 840)
- 1319King John II of France (d. 1364)
- 1495Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
- 1516Tabinshwehti, King of Burma (d. 1550)
- 1646Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
- 1660Sir Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
- 1661Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)
- 1682John Hadley, British inventor (d. 1744)
- 1693Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1743)
- 1728Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
- 1730Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
- 1755Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
- 1800George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
- 1821Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)
- 1823Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
- 1827Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet (d. 1879)
- 1844Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
- 1847Hans Auer, Swiss architect (d. 1906)
- 1848Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian social reformer (d. 1919)
- 1859Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, Welsh socialite (d. 1924)
- 1865Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
- 1866José de Diego, Puerto Rican statesman and journalist (d. 1918)
- 1867Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
- 1871John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
- 1878Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
- 1885Leo Weiner, Hungarian composer and music educator (d. 1960)
- 1886Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
- 1889Charlie Chaplin, English actor and filmmaker (d. 1977)
- 1890Michalis Dorizas, Greek javelin thrower, Olympic medal winner (d. 1957)
- 1895Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer (d. 1948)
- 1896Pat Clayton, British surveyor and explorer (d. 1962)
- 1896Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)
- 1899Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (d. 1988)
- 1904Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
- 1905Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
- 1907August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)
- 1907Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman (d. 1964)
- 1910Berton Roueché, American medical writer (d. 1994)
- 1912Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)
- 1912Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
- 1915Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)
- 1915Joan Alexander, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1917Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1918Dick Gibson, British racing driver
- 1918Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
- 1919Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
- 1919Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
- 1921Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)
- 1922Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
- 1922Pat Peppler, American pro football coach and executive
- 1924Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
- 1924Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
- 1924Sir John Harvey-Jones, British industrialist (d. 2008)
- 1927Edie Adams, American actress (d. 2008)
- 1927Peter Mark Richman, American actor
- 1927Pope Benedict XVI
- 1928Dick “Night Train” Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
- 1929Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1929Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
- 1930Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
- 1933Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
- 1935Bobby Vinton, American singer
- 1935Sarah Kirsch, German poet
- 1937George “The Animal” Steele, American professional wrestler
- 1938Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
- 1938Rich Rollins, American baseball player
- 1939Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008)
- 1939Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
- 1940Benoît Bouchard, Canadian politician
- 1940Margrethe II of Denmark
- 1942Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
- 1942Sir Frank Williams, English Formula One constructor and team principal
- 1943Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
- 1943Ruth Madoc, Welsh actress
- 1944Richard Bradshaw British opera conductor
- 1945Tom Allen, American politician
- 1946Margot Adler, American journalist
- 1947Gerry Rafferty, Scottish musician and songwriter (d. 2011)
- 1947Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
- 1948Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
- 1949Melody Patterson, American actress
- 1950David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1951Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
- 1951Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer
- 1951Mordechai Ben David, American Yiddish singer
- 1952Bill Belichick, American football coach
- 1952Billy West, American voice actor
- 1952Michel Blanc, French actor
- 1953J. Neil Schulman, American writer
- 1953Peter Garrett, Australian singer (Midnight Oil)
- 1954Ellen Barkin, American actress
- 1954John Bowe, Australian racing driver
- 1955Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
- 1955Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- 1956David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003)
- 1956Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
- 1959Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
- 1959Robert Casilla, American artist and illustrator
- 1959Scott McKinsey, American television director
- 1960Pierre Littbarski, German footballer
- 1960Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager
- 1960Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
- 1961Doris Dragović, Croatian singer
- 1962Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)
- 1963Jimmy Osmond, American pop singer (The Osmonds)
- 1963Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer
- 1964Dave Pirner, American rock singer (Soul Asylum)
- 1964David Kohan, American television producer
- 1965Jon Cryer, American actor
- 1965Martin Lawrence, American actor
- 1965Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director
- 1968Vickie Guerrero, American professional wrestling personality
- 1969Fernando Viña, American baseball player
- 1969Patrik Järbyn, Swedish alpine ski racer
- 1970Dero Goi, German musician
- 1970Walt Williams, American basketball player
- 1971Max Beesley, English musician and actor
- 1971Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
- 1971Peter Billingsley, American actor
- 1971Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
- 1971Selena, American Tejano singer (d. 1995)
- 1972Conchita Martínez, Spanish tennis player
- 1972Ed Byrne, Irish comedian
- 1973Akon, American singer and song writer
- 1973Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
- 1974Mat Devine, American singer (Kill Hannah)
- 1974Valarie Rae Miller, American actress
- 1974Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director
- 1975Kelli O'Hara, American singer/actress
- 1975Keon Clark, American basketball player
- 1975Nick Pickard, British actor
- 1975Sean Maher, American actor
- 1976Dan Kellner, American fencer
- 1976Lukas Haas, American actor
- 1976Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
- 1977Alek Wek, Sudanese supermodel
- 1977Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
- 1978Lara Dutta, Indian actress
- 1978Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
- 1979Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula One driver
- 1979Sean Costello, American blues musician (d. 2008)
- 1979Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer
- 1980Paul London, American professional wrestler
- 1981Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer
- 1982Barry Jones, Scottish magician
- 1982Boris Diaw, French basketball player
- 1982Gina Carano, American Mixed Martial Arts fighter
- 1982Jonathan Vilma, American football player
- 1983Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
- 1983George Patis, Greek badminton player
- 1983Marié Digby, American singer
- 1984Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
- 1984Noah Fleiss, American actor
- 1984Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
- 1985Benjamín Rojas, Argentine actor and singer
- 1985Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player
- 1985Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian
- 1986Paul di Resta, British racing driver
- 1986Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player
- 1987Aaron Lennon, English footballer
- 1990Evangelos Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
- 1990Lily Loveless, British actress
- 1990Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
- 1992Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg
- 1993Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater
- 1994Liliana Mumy, American actress
- 2003Alina Foley, American actress
- 2008Princess Eléonore of Belgium
Who Died On April 16?
- 69Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
- 665Fructuosus of Braga
- 744al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
- 924Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy
- 1113Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
- 1118Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily
- 1198Duke Frederick I of Austria
- 1645Tobias Hume, English composer
- 1687George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
- 1689Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)
- 1783Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
- 1788Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
- 1828Francisco Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
- 1846Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
- 1850Marie Tussaud, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)
- 1859Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
- 1879Bernadette Soubirous, Saint of the Roman Catholic Church and visionary of Lourdes, France during 1858 (b. 1844)
- 1888Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)
- 1899Emilio Jacinto, Filipino poet and revolutionary (b. 1875)
- 1904Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
- 1904Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
- 1914George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
- 1915Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
- 1928Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henri Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
- 1930José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, political philosopher and activist (b. 1894)
- 1938Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
- 1946Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
- 1947Rudolf Höß, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)
- 1955David Kirkwood, Scottish labor leader (b. 1872)
- 1958Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
- 1968Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
- 1968Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1970Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
- 1972Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1973Nino Bravo, Spanish singer (b. 1944)
- 1978Lucius D. Clay, American general (b. 1897)
- 1985Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1989Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1940)
- 1991Sir David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)
- 1992Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1992Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
- 1994Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)
- 1995Arthur English, English actor and comedian (b. 1919)
- 1995Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)
- 1996Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)
- 1997Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
- 1997Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)
- 1998Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)
- 1998Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
- 1999Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (b. 1946)
- 2001Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
- 2002Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2002Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2002Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)
- 2003Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
- 2003Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
- 2005Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
- 2005Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
- 2005Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)
- 2006Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)
- 2007Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
- 2007G. V. Loganathan, Indian American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)
- 2007Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)
- 2007Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Canadian instructor of French at Virginia Tech (b. 1958)
- 2007Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
- 2007Liviu Librescu, American Jewish-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Holocaust survivor (b. 1930)
- 2007Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)
- 2007Seung-Hui Cho, American spree killer (b. 1984)
- 2008Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
- 2008Joseph Solman, American painter (b. 1909)
- 2010Rasim Delic, Bosnian military chief of staff and war criminal (b. 1949)
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