December 16

December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 15 days remaining.

Events:

• 1653: Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• 1689: The English Parliament adopts the Bill of Rights.
• 1773: Boston Tea Party: In Boston, tea is thrown in the sea as a protest against British taxation. This event marks the beginning of the [American War of Independence]? (it doesn't really mark the beginning, the [Boston Massacre]? was earlier. Historian to advise?).
• 1809: The French Senate divorces Napoleon Bonaparte from empress Josephine.
• 1838: Boer?s defeat Zulu chieftain Dingaan?.
• 1850: The first four ships arrive at Lyttleton to settle Christchurch, New Zealand.
• 1864: Union troops led by general [George Thomas]? crush federate troops in the [Battle of Nashville]?.
• 1893: World premier of Dvorak?'s "New World Symphony".
• 1915: Albert Einstein publishes the General Relativity.
• 1922: Poland's President [Gabriel Narutowicz]? assassinated
• 1969: The British House of Commons votes to abolish the death penalty.
• 1971: Bangladesh declares independence from Pakistan.
• 1990: [Jean-Bertrand Aristide]? elected president in Haiti's first democratic election.
• 1998: Beginning of [Desert Fox]?: American and British troops bomb Iraqi targets after Iraq obstructs the workings of the UNSCOM (UN inspection of Iraqi weapons).
• 1999: Mud streams kill thousands in Venezuela.
• 2000: NASA announces that there is an ocean beneath Jupiter moon Ganymedes?'s icy surface.

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Births:

• 1770: [Ludwig von Beethoven]?, composer
• 1775: Jane Austen, writer
• 1882: [Walther Meissner]?, physicist
• 1899: [Noel Coward]?, playwright
• 1901: Margaret Mead, anthropologist
• 1906: [Leonid Brezhnev]?, president of the Soviet Union
• 1917: Arthur C. Clarke, science-fiction? writer
• 1939: [Liv Ullman]?, Norwegian actress
• 1946: Benny Andersson, pop musician (ABBA)
• 1964: [Heike Drechsler]?, [track and field]? athlete
• 1967: [Donovan Bailey]?, Canadian athlete

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Deaths:

• 1783: [Johann A. Hasse]?, German composer
• 1916: Grigori Rasputin, powerful Russian monk (murder)
• 1944: [Glenn Miller]?, jazz musician
• 1945: [Fumimaro Konu]?, prince and prime minister of Japan (harakiri)

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Holidays:

• Bangladesh : Victory Day (1971)
• Kazakhstan : Independence Day (1991)
• Nepal: Constitution Day (1962)
• South Africa : [Day of Reconciliation]?
• Underdog Day
• Ember Day

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December 15 - December 17 - November 16 - January 16 - more historical anniversaries

See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December