16 September
September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). There are 106 days remaining.
Events
- 1597 - Yi Sun-sin led 12 ships of the Korean fleet against an invasion by 133 Japanese ships. The Koreans sank 31 enemy ships and forced a Japanese retreat.
- 1701 - Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, more commonly referred to as the "Old Pretender", becomes the Jacobite claimant of the thrones of Scotland and England
- 1776 - Battle of Harlem Heights
- 1795 - United Kingdom conquers Cape Town, South Africa
- 1810 - Independence of Mexico from Spain, one of the Mexican Fiestas Patrias.
- 1829 - Russo-Turkish War, 1828-29 ends with the signing of the Treaty of Adrianople (Edirne).
- 1893 - Oklahoma Land Race, settlers race for prime land in the Cherokee Strip
- 1908 - General Motors founded
- 1919 - American Legion incorporated
- 1940 - United States government begins Selective Service Act, instituting the draft
- 1940 - Sam Rayburn elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1941 - Concerned that Reza Pahlavi the Shah of Persia was about to align his petroleum-rich country with Germany during World War II, the United Kingdom and the USSR occupied Iran and forced him to resign in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
- 1956 - Play-Doh is introduced to the world
- 1963 - Malaysia formed from Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo and Sarawak
- 1975 - Papua New Guinea gains independence from Australia
- 1981 - Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by a knockout in round 14 in Las Vegas to unify boxing's world Welterweight championship.
- 1982 - Sabra and Shatila massacre
- 1991 - Manuel Noriega trial begins in the United States
- 1992 - Black Wednesday - the Pound Sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the Deutschmark
Births
- 1745 - Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, Russian field marshal, (d. 1813)
- 1823 - Francis Parkman, author (d. 1893)
- 1875 - James C. Penney, department store founder (d. 1971)
- 1886 - Jean Arp, sculptor, painter, and poet (d. 1966)
- 1893 - Alexander Korda, film director (d. 1956)
- 1914 - Allen Funt, radio & television personality (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first Prime Minister (1965-1990)
- 1924 - Lauren Bacall, actress
- 1925 - B. B. King, musician
- 1925 - Charlie Byrd, jazz musician (d. 1999)
- 1925 - Charles J. Haughey, former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland
- 1927 - Peter Falk, actor, best known for Columbo
- 1934 - Elgin Baylor, National Basketball Association star
- 1934 - George Chakiris, actor
- 1935 - Carl Andre, artist
- 1939 - Breyten Breytenbach, South African poet, writer and painter
- 1943 - James Alan McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction
- 1947 - Russ Abbott, comedian
- 1949 - Ed Begley Jr, actor
- 1950 - Loyd Grossman, TV presenter
- 1950 - Mickey Rourke, actor
- 1955 - Janet Ellis, former Blue Peter presenter
- 1955 - Yolandita Monge, Puerto Rican singer of international fame
- 1955 - Robin Yount, baseball player
- 1956 - David Copperfield, magician
- 1958 - Orel Hershiser, baseball pitcher
- 1958 - Jennifer Tilly, actress
- 1958 - Barbara Lora, Mexican journalist and kendoka
- 1960 - John Franco, baseball relief pitcher
- 1963 - Richard Marx, singer
- 1964 - Molly Shannon, Saturday Night Live star
- 1968 - Marc Anthony, singer
Deaths
Holidays
September 15 · September 17 · August 16 · October 16 · more historical anniversaries
