December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 15 days remaining.
Events:
- 1653: Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
- 1689: The English Parliament adopts the Bill of Rights.
- 1773: Boston Tea Party: In Boston, tea is thrown in the sea as a protest against British taxation. This event marks the beginning of the American War of Independence (it doesn't really mark the beginning, the Boston Massacre was earlier. Historian to advise?).
- 1809: The French Senate divorces Napoleon Bonaparte from empress Josephine.
- 1838: Boers defeat Zulu chieftain Dingaan.
- 1850: The first four ships arrive at Lyttleton to settle Christchurch, New Zealand.
- 1864: Union troops led by general George Thomas crush federate troops in the Battle of Nashville.
- 1893: World premier of Dvorak's "New World Symphony".
- 1915: Albert Einstein publishes the General Relativity.
- 1922: Poland's President Gabriel Narutowicz assassinated
- 1969: The British House of Commons votes to abolish the death penalty.
- 1971: Bangladesh declares independence from Pakistan.
- 1990: Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected president in Haiti's first democratic election.
- 1998: Beginning of Desert Fox: American and British troops bomb Iraqi targets after Iraq obstructs the workings of the UNSCOM (UN inspection of Iraqi weapons).
- 1999: Mud streams kill thousands in Venezuela.
- 2000: NASA announces that there is an ocean beneath Jupiter moon Ganymedes's icy surface.
Births:
- 1770: Ludwig von Beethoven, composer
- 1775: Jane Austen, writer
- 1882: Walther Meissner, physicist
- 1899: Noel Coward, playwright
- 1901: Margaret Mead, anthropologist
- 1906: Leonid Brezhnev, president of the Soviet Union
- 1917: Arthur C. Clarke, science-fiction writer
- 1939: Liv Ullman, Norwegian actress
- 1946: Benny Andersson, pop musician (ABBA)
- 1964: Heike Drechsler, track and field athlete
- 1967: Donovan Bailey, Canadian athlete
Deaths:
- 1783: Johann A. Hasse, German composer
- 1916: Grigori Rasputin, powerful Russian monk (murder)
- 1944: Glenn Miller, jazz musician
- 1945: Fumimaro Konu, prince and prime minister of Japan (harakiri)
Holidays:
- Bangladesh : Victory Day (1971)
- Kazakhstan : Independence Day (1991)
- Nepal: Constitution Day (1962)
- South Africa : Day of Reconciliation
- Underdog Day
- Ember Day
December 15 - December 17 - November 16 - January 16 - more historical anniversaries
See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December