On This Day — 16 August

2020

The August Complex fire in California burns more than one million acres of land.

August Complex fire

2015

More than 96 people are killed and hundreds injured following a series of air-raids by the Syrian Arab Air Force on the rebel-held market town of Douma.

Douma massacre (2015)

2015

Trigana Air Flight 267, an ATR 42, crashes in Oksibil, Bintang Mountains Regency, killing all 54 people on board.

Trigana Air Flight 267

2013

The ferry St. Thomas Aquinas collides with a cargo ship and sinks at Cebu, Philippines, killing 61 people with 59 others missing.

MV St. Thomas Aquinas

2012

South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute at Marikana near Rustenburg.

South African Police Service

2010

AIRES Flight 8250 crashes at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport in San Andrés, San Andrés y Providencia, Colombia, killing two people.

AIRES Flight 8250

2008

The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at 1,389 feet (423 m), at the time becoming the world's highest residence above ground-level.

Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)

2005

West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes in Machiques, Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board.

West Caribbean Airways Flight 708

1991

Indian Airlines Flight 257, a Boeing 737-200, crashes during approach to Imphal Airport, killing all 69 people on board.

Indian Airlines Flight 257

1989

A solar particle event affects computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, forcing a halt to trading.

Solar particle event

1987

Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes after takeoff in Detroit, Michigan, killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus two people on the ground.

Northwest Airlines Flight 255

1986

A Sudan Airways Fokker F27 Friendship is shot down near Malakal in present day South Sudan, killing 60.

Sudan Airways

1975

Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically hands over land to the Gurindji people after the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration.

Gough Whitlam

1972

In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.

Coup d'état

1966

Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.

House Un-American Activities Committee

1964

Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.

Vietnam War

1960

Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

Cyprus

1960

Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico, United States, at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.

Joseph Kittinger

1954

The first issue of Sports Illustrated is published.

Sports Illustrated

1946

Mass riots in Kolkata begin; more than 4,000 people would be killed in 72 hours.

Direct Action Day

1946

The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress is founded in Secunderabad.

All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress

1945

The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam, convenes in Sơn Dương.

National Assembly of Vietnam

1944

First flight of a jet with forward-swept wings, the Junkers Ju 287.

Forward-swept wing

1943

World War II: 317 Greek civilians are murdered by soldiers of the German 1st Mountain Division in the village of Kommeno, Greece.

Massacre of Kommeno

1942

World War II: US Navy L-class blimp L-8 drifts in from the Pacific and eventually crashes in Daly City, California. The two-man crew cannot be found.

World War II

1933

Christie Pits riot takes place in Toronto, Ontario.

Christie Pits riot

1930

The first color sound cartoon, Fiddlesticks, is released by Ub Iwerks.

Cartoon

1930

The first British Empire Games are opened in Hamilton, Ontario, by the Governor General of Canada, the Viscount Willingdon.

Commonwealth Games

1929

The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.

1929 Palestine riots

1927

The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.

Dole Air Race

1923

The United Kingdom gives the name "Ross Dependency" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator.

Ross Dependency

1920

Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. Next day, Chapman will become the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game.

Ray Chapman

1920

The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.

Communist Party of Bukhara

1920

Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Radzymin concludes; the Soviet Red Army is forced to turn away from Warsaw.

Polish–Soviet War

1918

The Battle of Lake Baikal was fought between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Red Army.

Battle of Lake Baikal

1916

The Migratory Bird Treaty between Canada and the United States is signed.

Migratory Bird Treaty

1913

Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.

Tohoku University

1913

Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.

Royal Navy

1906

The 8.2 Mw Valparaíso earthquake hits central Chile, killing 3,882 people.

Seismic magnitude scales

1900

The Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.

Battle of Elands River (1900)

1896

Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

Keish

1891

The Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.

San Sebastian Church (Manila)

1876

Richard Wagner's Siegfried, the penultimate opera in his Ring cycle, is premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

Richard Wagner

1870

Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.

Franco-Prussian War

1869

Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion largely made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War.

Battle of Acosta Ñu

1863

The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country.

Dominican Restoration War

1859

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany formally deposes the exiled House of Lorraine.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany

1858

U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.

James Buchanan

1844

Governor-general of the Philippines Narciso Claveria, signs a decree to reform the country's calendar by skipping Tuesday, December 31, as a solution to anomalies that had existed since Ferdinand Magellan's arrival in 1521.

Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa

1841

U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.

President of the United States

1837

Three African soldiers in the 1st West India Regiment – Daaga, Edward Coffin and Maurice Ogston – were executed for their role in the St. Joseph Mutiny in the British colony of Trinidad.

West India Regiments

1819

Peterloo Massacre: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.

Peterloo Massacre

1793

French Revolution: A levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention.

French Revolution

1792

Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.

Maximilien Robespierre

1780

American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden: The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.

Battle of Camden

1777

American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.

American Revolutionary War

1652

Battle of Plymouth: Inconclusive naval action between the fleets of Michiel de Ruyter and George Ayscue in the First Anglo-Dutch War.

Battle of Plymouth (1652)

1570

The Principality of Transylvania is established after John II Zápolya renounces his claim as King of Hungary in the Treaty of Speyer.

Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)

1550

Rabbi Moses Isserles issues his ruling in the Bragadin-Giustiniani dispute, one of the earliest instances of a copyright suit over any book.

Moses Isserles

1513

Battle of the Spurs (Battle of Guinegate): King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.

Battle of the Spurs

1328

The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708.

House of Gonzaga

963

Nikephoros II Phokas is crowned emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

Nikephoros II Phokas

942

Start of the four-day Battle of al-Mada'in, between the Hamdanids of Mosul and the Baridis of Basra over control of the Abbasid capital, Baghdad.

Battle of al-Mada'in

-1

Wang Mang consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who died the previous day, had no heirs.

Wang Mang