Important Historical Events Today, What Happened Today in History?
Today's Historical Events. What Happened This Day In History? Here is 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 16 December in history.
Historical Events on December 16
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 714 | Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom. |
| 755 | An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Yanjing, initiating the An Lushan Rebellion during the Tang dynasty of China. |
| 1431 | Hundred Years' War: Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris. |
| 1497 | Vasco da Gama passes the Great Fish River at the southern tip of Africa, where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal. |
| 1575 | An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.5Mw strikes Valdivia, Chile. |
| 1598 | Seven-Year War: Battle of Noryang: The final battle of the Seven-Year War is fought between the China and the Korean allied forces and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive allied forces 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. |
| 1761 | Seven Years' War: After a four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg. |
| 1773 | American Revolution: Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. |
| 1777 | Virginia becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. |
| 1782 | British East India Company: Muharram Rebellion: Hada and Mada Miah lead the first anti-British uprising in the subcontinent against Robert Lindsay and his contingents in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah. |
| 1811 | The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri. |
| 1826 | Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican-controlled Nacogdoches, Texas, and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia. |
| 1838 | Great Trek: Battle of Blood River: Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers defeat Zulu impis, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. |
| 1843 | The discovery of octonions by John T. Graves, who denoted them with a boldface O, was announced to his mathematician friend William Hamilton, discoverer of quaternions, in a letter on this date. |
| 1850 | The Charlotte Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand. |
| 1863 | American Civil War: Joseph E. Johnston replaces Braxton Bragg as commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. |
| 1864 | American Civil War: Battle of Nashville: The Union's Army of the Cumberland routs and destroys the Confederacy's Army of Tennessee, ending its effectiveness as a combat unit. |
| 1880 | Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire. |
| 1882 | Wales and England contest the first Home Nations (now Six Nations) rugby union match. |
| 1883 | Tonkin Campaign: French forces capture the Sơn Tây citadel. |
| 1905 | In Rugby Union, The "Match of the Century" is played between Wales and New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park.[9] |
| 1912 | First Balkan War: The Royal Hellenic Navy defeats the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Elli. |
| 1914 | World War I: Admiral Franz von Hipper commands a raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. |
| 1920 | The Haiyuan earthquake of 8.5Mw , rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000. |
| 1942 | The Holocaust: Schutzstaffel chief Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination be deported to Auschwitz. |
| 1944 | World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest. |
| 1960 | A United Airlines Douglas DC-8 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation collide over Staten Island, New York and crash, killing all 128 people aboard both aircraft and six more on the ground. |
| 1968 | Second Vatican Council: Official revocation of the Edict of Expulsion of Jews from Spain. |
| 1971 | Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: The ceasefire of the Pakistan Army brings an end to both conflicts. This is commemorated annually as Victory Day in Bangladesh, and as Vijay Diwas in India. |
| 1971 | The United Kingdom recognizes Bahrain's independence, which is commemorated annually as Bahrain's National Day. |
| 1989 | Romanian Revolution: Protests break out in Timișoara, Romania, in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés. |
| 2013 | A bus falls from an elevated highway in the Philippines capital Manila killing at least 18 people with 20 injured. |
| 2014 | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants attack an Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 150 people, 132 of them schoolchildren. |
| 2022 | A landslide occurs at a camp at an organic farm near the town of Batang Kali in Selangor, Malaysia, trapping 92 people and killing 31.[13] |
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