October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). There are 76 days remaining.
Events:
- 456 - Count Ricimer defeats the Roman Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western empire
- 1775 - Portland, Maine burned by the British
- 1781 - George Washington captures Yorktown, Virginia
- 1859 - John Brown leads raid on Harper's Ferry, West Virginia
- 1934 - Chinese Communists under Mao Zedong begin their Long March
- 1940 - Benjamin O. Davis Sr.[?] named first African-American general in the United States Army
- 1940 - Warsaw ghetto established
- 1946 - Ten war criminals of the Second World War, condemned in the Nuremberg trials were hanged: Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel[?], Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Julius Streicher. Hermann Göring committed suicide the night before his planned execution.
- 1964 - People's Republic of China detonates its first nuclear weapon
- 1970 - Anwar Sadat elected President of Egypt
- 1973 - Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1978 - Karol Wojtyla becomes Pope John Paul II
- 1984 - Desmond Tutu awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Births:
- 1430 - James II of Scotland(+ 1460)
- 1663 - Eugene of Savoy, general of the Austrian army.
- 1714 - Giovanni Arduino, geologist (+ 1795)
- 1758 - Noah Webster, American lexicographer.
- 1854 - Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (+ 1900)
- 1886 - David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel (+ 1973)
- 1888 - Eugene O'Neill, American playwright (+ 1953)
- 1890 - Michael Collins, Irish patriot (+ 1922)
- 1890 - Paul Strand[?], photographer
- 1898 - William O. Douglas[?], justice of the United States Supreme Court
- 1925 - Angela Lansbury, actress
- 1927 - Günter Grass, German novelist
- 1931 - Charles Colson[?], Watergate scandal conspirator
- 1936 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer
- 1940 - Barry Corbin[?], actor
- 1940 - Dave DeBusschere, NBA basketball player (+ 2003)
- 1941 - Tim McCarver[?], baseball star, commentator
- 1946 - Suzanne Somers[?], actress
- 1947 - Bob Weir[?], musician (The Grateful Dead)
- 1952 - Boogie Mosson[?], musician (P Funk)
- 1958 - Tim Robbins[?], American actor, director, writer
- 1959 - Gary Kemp[?], musician, actor
- 1962 - Flea, bassist (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- 1965 - Steve Lamacq, journalist and BBC radio DJ
Deaths:
- 1793 - Marie Antoinette, queen of France
- 1796 - Victor Amadeus III of Savoy
- 1877 - Theodore Barrière, French dramatist
- 1888 - John Wentworth, mayor of Chicago, United States
- 1946 - Hans Frank, German war criminal
- 1946 - Wilhelm Frick, German war criminal
- 1946 - Alfred Jodl, German military officer
- 1946 - Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian SS officer
- 1946 - Wilhelm Keitel, German military officer
- 1946 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, German politician
- 1946 - Alfred Rosenberg, Estonian collaborator
- 1946 - Fritz Sauckel[?], German war criminal
- 1946 - Artur Seiss-Inquart[?], Austrian Nazi leader, governor of The Netherlands during the German occupation (1940-1945).
- 1946 - Julius Streicher, German propagandist
- 1959 - George C. Marshall, general, United States Secretary of State
- 1972 - Hale Boggs, Congressman from Louisiana
- 1972 - Leo G. Carroll, actor
- 1973 - Gene Krupa, musician
- 1978 - Dan Dailey, actor
- 1981 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli general
- 1989 - Cornel Wilde, actor
- 1990 - Art Blakey, jazz drummer
- 1992 - Shirley Booth, actress
- 1997 - James Michener[?], writer
- 1998 - Jon Postel, American Internet pioneer
- 1999 - Jean Shepherd[?], writer, actor
Holidays:
- Bahá'í Faith - Feast of 'Ilm (Knowledge) - First day of the 12th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
See Also: January,
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
September,
October,
November,
December
October 15 - October 17 - September 16 - November 16 - more historical anniversaries