December 16
1653 - Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1773 - The Boston Tea Party took place.
1809 - Napoleon Bonaparte was divorced from the Empress Josephine by an act of the French Senate.
1811 - The first of the powerful New Madrid earthquakes, with an estimated magnitude of 7.7, struck the central Mississippi Valley.
1916 - Grigori Rasputin was assassinated by a group of noble Russian conspirators.
1920 - One of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history hit the Gansu province in China. The 8.6 magnitude quake killed more than 200,000 people.
1944 - The Battle of the Bulge during World War II began in Belgium.
1950 - President Harry Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight "communist imperialism".
1960 - 134 people were killed when a United Air Lines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collided over New York City.
1976 - The government halted its swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis apparently linked to the vaccine.
1985 - Reputed organized crime chief Paul Castellano was shot to death outside a New York City restaurant.
1990 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president of Haiti in the country's first democratic elections.
1991 - The U.N. General Assembly rescinded its 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism.
1998 - President Bill Clinton ordered a sustained series of air strikes against Iraq by American and British forces in response to Saddam Hussein's continued defiance of U.N. weapons inspectors.
2000 - Colin Powell was selected to become the first African-American secretary of state.
2007 - British forces formally handed over to Iraq responsibility for Basra, the last Iraqi region under their control.
2010 - Larry King concluded his CNN talk show after 25 years.
Birthdays
20 - Zara Larsson (singer)
24 - Stephan James (actor)
24 - Qimmah Russo (fitness instructor)
29 - Anna Popplewell (actress)
29 - Park Seo-joon (actor)
33 - Theo James (actor)
36 - Krysten Ritter (actress)
38 - Luke Harper (professional wrestler)
54 - Benjamin Bratt (actor)
68 - Billy Gibbons (musician)
===============================================
Today in Sports History - December 16
1929 - The Chicago Blackhawks played their first game at Chicago Stadium. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1.
1930 - Golfer Bobby Jones became the first recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award honoring outstanding amateur athletes.
1945 - The Cleveland Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15-14 in the NFL championship game.
1962 - New York Giants' Y.A. Tittle sets NFL season touchdown pass record at 33 with six touchdowns versus Dallas Cowboys (41-31).
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers scores 68 points against the Chicago Bulls.
1972 - The Miami Dolphins become the first team in NFL history to finish a regular season with a perfect record (14-0).
1973 - O.J. Simpson broke Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record in the NFL. Brown had rushed for 1,863 yards, while Simpson became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards when he attained 2,003 yards in a single season.
1979 - Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys) played his last regular season game. The Cowboys came from behind to win the game in the last five minutes.
1990 - Warren Moon (Houston Oilers) threw for 527 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.
1991 - The Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators were officially granted membership in the NHL.
1995 - Fox-TV aired a fight between Mike Tyson and Buster Mathis Jr. Tyson knocked Mathis out in the third round. The fight brought in Fox's highest Nielsen rating to date.
2001 - The Detroit Lions won their first game of the 2001-2002 season against the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions, after the win, had the record 1-12.
2001 - An instant replay decision led to a bottle-throwing melee in a game between the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The decision disallowed a catch by the Browns with 48 seconds left in the game. The Jaguars won the game 15-10.
2003 - Miguel Tejada agrees to a six-year $72 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles making it the largest deal in the history of the franchise.
2006 - During a game in New York, a fight occurred between multiple players for the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks. Ten players were ejected from the game. The NBA suspended several players and both teams were fined $500,000.
1653 - Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1773 - The Boston Tea Party took place.
1809 - Napoleon Bonaparte was divorced from the Empress Josephine by an act of the French Senate.
1811 - The first of the powerful New Madrid earthquakes, with an estimated magnitude of 7.7, struck the central Mississippi Valley.
1916 - Grigori Rasputin was assassinated by a group of noble Russian conspirators.
1920 - One of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history hit the Gansu province in China. The 8.6 magnitude quake killed more than 200,000 people.
1944 - The Battle of the Bulge during World War II began in Belgium.
1950 - President Harry Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight "communist imperialism".
1960 - 134 people were killed when a United Air Lines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collided over New York City.
1976 - The government halted its swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis apparently linked to the vaccine.
1985 - Reputed organized crime chief Paul Castellano was shot to death outside a New York City restaurant.
1990 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president of Haiti in the country's first democratic elections.
1991 - The U.N. General Assembly rescinded its 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism.
1998 - President Bill Clinton ordered a sustained series of air strikes against Iraq by American and British forces in response to Saddam Hussein's continued defiance of U.N. weapons inspectors.
2000 - Colin Powell was selected to become the first African-American secretary of state.
2007 - British forces formally handed over to Iraq responsibility for Basra, the last Iraqi region under their control.
2010 - Larry King concluded his CNN talk show after 25 years.
Birthdays
20 - Zara Larsson (singer)
24 - Stephan James (actor)
24 - Qimmah Russo (fitness instructor)
29 - Anna Popplewell (actress)
29 - Park Seo-joon (actor)
33 - Theo James (actor)
36 - Krysten Ritter (actress)
38 - Luke Harper (professional wrestler)
54 - Benjamin Bratt (actor)
68 - Billy Gibbons (musician)
===============================================
Today in Sports History - December 16
1929 - The Chicago Blackhawks played their first game at Chicago Stadium. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1.
1930 - Golfer Bobby Jones became the first recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award honoring outstanding amateur athletes.
1945 - The Cleveland Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15-14 in the NFL championship game.
1962 - New York Giants' Y.A. Tittle sets NFL season touchdown pass record at 33 with six touchdowns versus Dallas Cowboys (41-31).
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers scores 68 points against the Chicago Bulls.
1972 - The Miami Dolphins become the first team in NFL history to finish a regular season with a perfect record (14-0).
1973 - O.J. Simpson broke Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record in the NFL. Brown had rushed for 1,863 yards, while Simpson became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards when he attained 2,003 yards in a single season.
1979 - Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys) played his last regular season game. The Cowboys came from behind to win the game in the last five minutes.
1990 - Warren Moon (Houston Oilers) threw for 527 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.
1991 - The Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators were officially granted membership in the NHL.
1995 - Fox-TV aired a fight between Mike Tyson and Buster Mathis Jr. Tyson knocked Mathis out in the third round. The fight brought in Fox's highest Nielsen rating to date.
2001 - The Detroit Lions won their first game of the 2001-2002 season against the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions, after the win, had the record 1-12.
2001 - An instant replay decision led to a bottle-throwing melee in a game between the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The decision disallowed a catch by the Browns with 48 seconds left in the game. The Jaguars won the game 15-10.
2003 - Miguel Tejada agrees to a six-year $72 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles making it the largest deal in the history of the franchise.
2006 - During a game in New York, a fight occurred between multiple players for the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks. Ten players were ejected from the game. The NBA suspended several players and both teams were fined $500,000.
