On This Day … 16 September

Events

  • 1400 – Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers.
  • 1620 – Pilgrims set sail from England on the Mayflower.
  • 1701 – James Francis Edward Stuart, sometimes called the “Old Pretender”, becomes the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland.
  • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Harlem Heights is fought.
  • 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Franco-American Siege of Savannah begins.
  • 1810 – With the Grito de Dolores, Father Miguel Hidalgo begins Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain.
  • 1914 – World War I: The Siege of Przemyśl (present-day Poland) begins.
  • 1940 – World War II: Italian troops conquer Sidi Barrani.
  • 1943 – World War II: The German Tenth Army reports that it can no longer contain the Allied bridgehead around Salerno.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong comes to an end.
  • 1955 – The military coup to unseat President Juan Perón of Argentina is launched at midnight.
  • 1955 – A Zulu-class submarine becomes the first to launch a ballistic missile.
  • 1963 – Malaysia is formed from the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak.
    • However, Singapore is soon expelled from this new country.
  • 1970 – King Hussein of Jordan declares war against the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
    • The conflict came to be known as Black September.
  • 1975 – Papua New Guinea gains independence from Australia.
  • 1975 – The first prototype of the Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptor makes its maiden flight.
  • 1982 – Lebanon War: The Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon takes place.
  • 1992 – The trial of the deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega ends in the United States with a 40-year sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering.
  • 1994 – The British government lifts the broadcasting ban imposed against members of Sinn Féin and Irish paramilitary groups in 1988.
  • 2013 – A gunman kills twelve people at the Washington Navy Yard.
  • 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant launches its Kobani offensive against Syrian-Kurdish forces.
  • Cry of Dolores, celebrates the declaration of independence of Mexico from Spain in 1810.
  • Malaysian Armed Forces Day (Malaysia).

People (Births)

  • 1722 – Gabriel Christie, Scottish-Canadian general (d. 1799).
  • 1745 – Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (d. 1813).
  • 1859 – Yuan Shikai, Chinese general and politician, President of the Republic of China (d. 1916).
  • 1891 – Karl Dönitz, German admiral and politician, President of Germany (d. 1980).
  • 1906 – Jack Churchill, Sri Lankan-English colonel (d. 1996).
  • 1910 – Erich Kempka, German colonel and chauffeur (d. 1975).
  • 1920 – Staryl C. Austin, American air force general (d. 2015).
  • 1952 – Karen Muir, South African swimmer and physician (d. 2013).
  • 1966 – Kevin Young, American hurdler.
  • 1973 – Alexander Vinokourov, Kazakh cyclist and manager.
  • 1977 – Gregory Ball, US Air Force captain and politician.
  • 1978 – Claudia Marx, German runner.
  • 1980 – Kenny van Weeghel, Dutch wheelchair racer.
  • 1981 – LaVerne Jones-Ferrette, Virgin Islander sprinter.
  • 1983 – Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwean swimmer.
  • 1987 – Burry Stander, South African cyclist (d. 2013).

People (Deaths)

  • 1736 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-Dutch physicist and engineer, invented the thermometer (b. 1686).
  • 1865 – Christian de Meza, Danish general (b. 1792).
  • 1987 – Christopher Soames, English soldier and politician, Governor of Southern Rhodesia (b. 1920).
  • 1996 – McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, 6th United States National Security Advisor (b. 1919).
  • 2005 – Gordon Gould, American physicist and academic, invented the laser (b. 1920).
  • 2012 – Julien J. LeBourgeois, American admiral (b. 1923).
  • 2015 – Allan Wright, English captain and pilot (b. 1920).
  • 2017 – Arjan Singh, Marshal of the Indian Air Force (b. 1919).
  • 2018 – James Burdette Thayer, American brigadier general (b. 1920).

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