August 16
1777 - The Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington (Vermont) was won by American forces, a major turning point in the war.
1812 - Detroit fell to British and Native American forces during the War of 1812.
1829 - The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang, arrived in Boston.
1861 - President Abraham Lincoln issued Proclamation 86, which prohibited the states of the Union from engaging in commercial trade with states that were in rebellion.
1896 - Gold was discovered in Canada's Yukon Territory, sparking the "Klondike Fever" that would draw tens of thousands to the region in search of fortune.
1960 - Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, became an independent republic.
1962 - Algeria was admitted to the Arab League.
1962 - The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, and replaced him with Ringo Starr.
1977 - Elvis Presley died at his Memphis, Tennessee home, Graceland, at age 42 from heart failure.
1978 - James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he had been set up by a mysterious man named "Raoul."
1987 - People worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "Harmonic Convergence," which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.
2003 - Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin died.
2014 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where police and protesters repeatedly clashed in the week since a Black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer.
2018 - Aretha Franklin, known by many as the "Queen of Soul," died in Detroit at age 76.
2020 - Lightning sparked the August Complex wildfire in California. More than 1,600 square miles—greater than the size of Rhode Island—would burn over the following three months.
Birthdays
22 - Talia Ryder (actress)
27 - Piper Curda (actress)
28 - Caeleb Dressel (swimmer)
29 - Alanna Panday (model)
33 - Evanna Lynch (actress)
36 - Rumer Willis (actress)
39 - Arden Cho (actress)
44 - Vanessa Carlton (singer)
49 - Taika Waititi (director)
52 - Emily Strayer (singer)
55 - Jase Robertson (reality star)
62 - Steve Carell (actor)
64 - Timothy Hutton (actor)
66 - Angela Bassett (actress)
66 - Madonna (actress/singer)
70 - James Cameron (director)
71 - J.T. Taylor (singer)
71 - Kathie Lee Gifford (TV host)
72 - Reginald VelJohnson (actor)
78 - Lesley Ann Warren (actress)
79 - Bob Balaban (actor)
91 - Julie Newmar (actress)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - August 16
1743 - Champion of England titleholder Jack Broughton publishes "Rules of the Ring," the earliest boxing code.
1920 - The only fatality to occur in a major league baseball game happened. Ray Chapman (Cleveland Indians) was hit in the head with a fastball from Carl Mays of the New York Yankees.
1948 - Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53.
1954 - The first issue of "Sports Illustrated" was published.
1965 - The AFL's ninth franchise is officially awarded to Joe Robbie's Miami Dolphins.
1996 - In Monterrey, Mexico, the New York Mets played the San Diego Padres. The Padres won the game 15-10. It was the first-ever regular season major league game to be played outside the United States and Canada.
2002 - Curt Shilling (Arizona Diamondbacks) won his 20th game of the year.
2008 - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt wins the 100 meters at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in world record time of 9.69 seconds.
2009 - Usain Bolt, one year to the day, sets another world record in the 100 meters, winning the event at the World Championships in Berlin in 9.58 seconds.
2018 - International Tennis Federation votes to change format of the Davis Cup to a big prize money, season-ending, 18-team tournament at a neutral site; 24 team qualifying tournament to start in February 2019
2022 - With an 11-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies become the ninth team in MLB history with 10,000 franchise victories (and last of the teams founded in the 19th century). (They were also the first franchise to record 10,000 losses, in 2007).
1777 - The Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington (Vermont) was won by American forces, a major turning point in the war.
1812 - Detroit fell to British and Native American forces during the War of 1812.
1829 - The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang, arrived in Boston.
1861 - President Abraham Lincoln issued Proclamation 86, which prohibited the states of the Union from engaging in commercial trade with states that were in rebellion.
1896 - Gold was discovered in Canada's Yukon Territory, sparking the "Klondike Fever" that would draw tens of thousands to the region in search of fortune.
1960 - Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, became an independent republic.
1962 - Algeria was admitted to the Arab League.
1962 - The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, and replaced him with Ringo Starr.
1977 - Elvis Presley died at his Memphis, Tennessee home, Graceland, at age 42 from heart failure.
1978 - James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he had been set up by a mysterious man named "Raoul."
1987 - People worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "Harmonic Convergence," which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.
2003 - Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin died.
2014 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where police and protesters repeatedly clashed in the week since a Black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer.
2018 - Aretha Franklin, known by many as the "Queen of Soul," died in Detroit at age 76.
2020 - Lightning sparked the August Complex wildfire in California. More than 1,600 square miles—greater than the size of Rhode Island—would burn over the following three months.
Birthdays
22 - Talia Ryder (actress)
27 - Piper Curda (actress)
28 - Caeleb Dressel (swimmer)
29 - Alanna Panday (model)
33 - Evanna Lynch (actress)
36 - Rumer Willis (actress)
39 - Arden Cho (actress)
44 - Vanessa Carlton (singer)
49 - Taika Waititi (director)
52 - Emily Strayer (singer)
55 - Jase Robertson (reality star)
62 - Steve Carell (actor)
64 - Timothy Hutton (actor)
66 - Angela Bassett (actress)
66 - Madonna (actress/singer)
70 - James Cameron (director)
71 - J.T. Taylor (singer)
71 - Kathie Lee Gifford (TV host)
72 - Reginald VelJohnson (actor)
78 - Lesley Ann Warren (actress)
79 - Bob Balaban (actor)
91 - Julie Newmar (actress)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - August 16
1743 - Champion of England titleholder Jack Broughton publishes "Rules of the Ring," the earliest boxing code.
1920 - The only fatality to occur in a major league baseball game happened. Ray Chapman (Cleveland Indians) was hit in the head with a fastball from Carl Mays of the New York Yankees.
1948 - Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53.
1954 - The first issue of "Sports Illustrated" was published.
1965 - The AFL's ninth franchise is officially awarded to Joe Robbie's Miami Dolphins.
1996 - In Monterrey, Mexico, the New York Mets played the San Diego Padres. The Padres won the game 15-10. It was the first-ever regular season major league game to be played outside the United States and Canada.
2002 - Curt Shilling (Arizona Diamondbacks) won his 20th game of the year.
2008 - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt wins the 100 meters at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in world record time of 9.69 seconds.
2009 - Usain Bolt, one year to the day, sets another world record in the 100 meters, winning the event at the World Championships in Berlin in 9.58 seconds.
2018 - International Tennis Federation votes to change format of the Davis Cup to a big prize money, season-ending, 18-team tournament at a neutral site; 24 team qualifying tournament to start in February 2019
2022 - With an 11-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies become the ninth team in MLB history with 10,000 franchise victories (and last of the teams founded in the 19th century). (They were also the first franchise to record 10,000 losses, in 2007).
