Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
Today in History
August 16
| 1513 | Henry VIII of England and Emperor Maximilian defeat the French at Guinegatte, France, in the Battle of the Spurs. | |
| 1777 | France declares a state of bankruptcy. | |
| 1780 | American troops are badly defeated by the British at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina. | |
| 1812 | American General William Hull surrenders Detroit without resistance to a smaller British force under General Issac Brock. | |
| 1858 | U.S. President James Buchanan and Britain's Queen Victoria exchange messages inaugurating the first transatlantic telegraph line. | |
| 1861 | Union and Confederate forces clash near Fredericktown and Kirkville, Missouri. | |
| 1863 | Union General William S. Rosecrans moves his army south from Tullahoma, Tennessee to attack Confederate forces in Chattanooga. | |
| 1896 | Gold is discovered in the Klondike of Canada's Yukon Territory, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. | |
| 1914 | Liege, Belgium, falls to the German army. | |
| 1945 | Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright, who was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Corregidor on May 6, 1942, is released from a POW camp in Manchuria by U.S. troops. | |
| 1965 | The Watts riots end in south-central Los Angeles after six days. | |
| 1977 | Elvis Presley dies of a heart attack in the upstairs bedroom suite area of his Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. | |
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Born on August 16 |
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| 1645 | Jean de la Bruyere, French writer and moralist famous for his work Characters of Theophratus. | |
| 1868 | Bernard McFadden, publisher responsible for the magazine True Story. | |
| 1913 | Menachem Begin, Israeli statesman and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. | |
| 1920 | Charles Bukowski, poet and novelist. | |
| 1929 | Bill Evans, jazz pianist. | |
| 1930 | Ted Hughes, English poet. | |
| 1940 | Bruce Beresford, Australian film director whose films include Breaker Morant and Driving Miss Daisy. | |
| 1945 | Suzanne Farrel, ballerina. | |
| 1958 | Madonna [Louise Veronica Ciccone], entertainer and singer. | |
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