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Today November 16th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
534 – A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published.
1384 – Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, although she is a woman.
1491 – An auto de fe, held in the Brasero de la Dehesa outside of Ávila, concludes the case of the Holy Child of La Guardia with the public execution of several Jewish and converso suspects.
1532 – Francisco Pizarro and his men capture Inca Emperor Atahualpa.
1632 – The Battle of Lützen, where King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is killed.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Hessian mercenaries capture Fort Washington from the Patriots.
1776 – American Revolution: The United Provinces (Low Countries) recognize the independence of the United States.
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Schöngrabern – Russian forces under Bagration delay the pursuit by French troops under Murat.
1821 – American Old West: Missouri trader William Becknell arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico over a route that became known as the Santa Fe Trail.
1849 – A Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group; his sentence is later commuted to hard labor.
1857 – Second relief of Lucknow. The most Victoria Crosses won in a single day with 24.
1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Campbell s Station near Knoxville, Tennessee. Confederate troops unsuccessfully attack Union forces.
1885 – Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and Father of Manitoba, Louis Riel is executed for treason.
1907 – Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory become Oklahoma and are admitted as the 46th U.S. state.
1907 – Cunard Line s RMS Mauretania sister ship of RMS Lusitania, sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
1914 – The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens.
1938 – LSD is first synthesized by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.
1940 – World War II: In response to Germany s leveling of Coventry, England two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.
1940 – Holocaust: In occupied Poland, the Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.
1943 – World War II: American bombers strike a hydro-electric power facility and heavy water factory in German-controlled Vemork, Norway.
1944 – Dueren, Germany is completely destroyed by Allied bombers.
1945 – Cold War: Operation Paperclip: The United States Army secretly admits 88 German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology.
1945 – UNESCO is founded.
1965 – Venera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet.
1973 – Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission.
1973 – U.S. President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
1979 – The first line of Bucharest Metro (Line M1) is opened from Timpuri Noi to Semanatoarea in Bucharest, Romania.
1988 – The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR declares that Estonia was sovereign but stopped short of declaring independence.
1988 – In the first open election in more than a decade, voters in Pakistan elect populist candidate Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister of Pakistan.
1989 – A death squad composed of El Salvadoran army troops kills six Jesuit priests and two others at Jose Simeon Canas University.
1989 – UNESCO adopts the Seville Statement on Violence at the twenty-fifth session of its General Conference.
1997 – After nearly 18 years of incarceration, the People s Republic of China releases Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons.
2000 – Bill Clinton becomes the first U.S. President to visit Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War.
Births
42 BC – Tiberius, Roman emperor (d. 37)
1436 – Leonardo Loredan, Doge of the Republic of Venice (d. 1521)
1603 – Augustyn Kordecki, Polish prior (d. 1673)
1609 – Henrietta Maria, French-born, Queen Consort of England (d. 1669)
1643 – Jean Chardin, French explorer (d. 1703)
1717 – Jean le Rond d Alembert, French mathematician (d. 1793)
1720 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, Italian composer (d. 1788)
1758 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish author and philologist (d. 1841)
1766 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist (d. 1831)
1836 – David Kalakaua of Hawaii, Hawaiian king (d. 1891)
1839 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, French Canadian poet (d. 1908)
1841 – Jules Violle, French physicist (d. 1923)
1847 – Edmund James Flynn, Canadian politician (d. 1927)
1862 – Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (d. 1944)
1880 – Alexander Blok, Russian poet (d. 1921)
1885 – Michael Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (d. 1984)
1873 – W. C. Handy, American composer (d. 1958)
1888 – Luis Cluzeau Mortet, Uruguayan composer and musician (d. 1957)
1889 – George S. Kaufman, American playwright (d. 1961)
1890 – Elpidio Quirino, 6th President of the Philippines (d. 1956)
1892 – Guo Moruo, Chinese writer (d. 1978)
1892 – Tazio Nuvolari, Italian racing driver (d. 1953)
1895 – Paul Hindemith, German composer (d. 1963)
1896 – Pavel Sergeevich Alexandrov, Russian mathematician (d. 1982)
1896 – Joan Lindsay, Australian author (d. 1984)
1896 – Oswald Mosley, British fascist (d. 1980)
1896 – Lawrence Tibbett, American singer (d. 1960)
1897 – Choudhary Rehmat Ali, Pakistani nationalist (d. 1951)
1904 – Nnamdi Azikiwe, President of Nigeria (d. 1996)
1905 – Eddie Condon, American musician (d. 1973)
1908 – Burgess Meredith, American actor (d. 1997)
1916 – Daws Butler, American voice actor (d. 1988)
1922 – Gene Amdahl, American computer scientist
1922 – José Saramago, Portuguese writer, Nobel laureate
1924 – Mel Patton, American athlete
1928 – Clu Gulager, American actor
1930 – Chinua Achebe, Nigerian author
1930 – Salvatore Riina, Sicilian mafioso
1931 – Luciano Bottaro, Italian comic book artist (d. 2006)
1931 – Hubert Sumlin, American blues musician
1933 – Garnet Mimms, American singer
1936 – John Moore, Australian politician
1938 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher (d. 2002)
1941 – Gerry Marshall, British race car driver (d. 2005)
1942 – Willie Carson, Scottish jockey
1942 – Joanna Pettet, English-American actress
1944 – Oliver Braddick, British psychologist
1946 – Terence McKenna, American writer (d. 2000)
1947 – Ebby Thust, German boxing promoter and writer
1948 – Bonnie Greer, American playwright and critic
1950 – David Leisure, American actor
1950 – John Swartzwelder, American television writer and novelist
1951 – Miguel Sandoval, American actor
1952 – Robin McKinley, American writer
1952 – Piero Falchetta, Italian archivist, Biblioteca Marciana
1952 – Shigeru Miyamoto, Japanese video game designer
1953 – Griff Rhys Jones, Welsh comedian, writer and actor
1954 – Andrea Barrett, American author
1954 – Bruce Edwards, American golf caddy (d. 2004)
1954 – Dick Gross, Australian politician
1955 – Pierre Larouche, Canadian National Hockey League player
1956 – Terry Labonte, American NASCAR driver
1957 – Jacques Gamblin, French actor
1958 – Marg Helgenberger, American actress
1958 – Boris Krivokapic, Serbian academic
1961 – Frank Bruno, British boxer
1961 – Corinne Hermès, French singer
1962 – Gary Mounfield, English musician (Primal Scream)
1962 – Josh Silver, American musician (Type O Negative)
1964 – Dwight Gooden, American baseball player
1964 – Diana Krall, Canadian Jazz pianist and singer
1964 – Harry J. Lennix, American actor
1964 – Maeve Quinlan, American actress
1964 – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Italian actress
1965 – Mika Aaltonen, Finnish footballer
1966 – Christian Lorenz, German keyboardist (Rammstein)
1966 – Dean McDermott, Canadian actor
1966 – Tahir Shah, British travel writer and explorer
1967 – Craig Arnold, American poet
1967 – Lisa Bonet, American actress
1968 – Vlado Šola, Croatian handball goalkeeper
1970 – Martha Plimpton, American actress
1971 – Mustapha Hadji, Moroccan footballer
1971 – Alexander Popov, Russian swimmer
1971 – Koshi Rikdo, Japanese mangaka
1971 – Waqar Younis, Pakistani cricketer
1972 – Missi Pyle, American actress
1973 – Christian Horner, British Formula One team owner
1973 – Brendan Laney, Scottish rugby player
1974 – Eric Judy, American Musician
1974 – Maurizio Margaglio, Italian ice dancer
1974 – Paul Scholes, British footballer
1975 – Julio Lugo, Dominican baseball player
1976 – Juha Pasoja, Finnish footballer
1976 – Danny Wallace, British author
1976 – Martijn Zuijdweg, Dutch swimmer
1977 – Oksana Baiul, Ukrainian figure skater
1977 – Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress
1977 – Mauricio Ochmann, Mexican actor
1978 – Kip Bouknight, American baseball player
1978 – Gary Naysmith, Scottish footballer
1978 – Carolina Parra, Brazilian musician (CSS)
1979 – Tony Frias, American footballer
1979 – Bruce Irons, American surfer
1980 – Kayte Christensen, American basketball player
1980 – Nicole Gius, Italian alpine skier
1980 – Carol Huynh, 2008 Canadian Gold Medalist,48 kg. wrestling
1981 – Allison Crowe, Canadian singer
1981 – Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
1981 – Osi Umenyiora, English-born NFL football player
1982 – Jannie du Plessis, South African rugby player
1982 – Amar e Stoudemire, American basketball player
1982 – Ronald Pognon, French athlete
1983 – K, South Korean singer
1983 – Kari Lehtonen, Finnish ice hockey goaltender
1983 – Britta Steffen, German swimmer
1984 – Gemma Atkinson, British actress and model
1984 – Kimberly J. Brown, American actress
1986 – Saeko, Japanese actress
1995 – Noah Gray-Cabey, American child actor
Deaths
1093 – Saint Margaret of Scotland, wife of Malcolm III of Scotland
1240 – Edmund Rich, St. Edmund of Canterbury (b. 1175)
1272 – King Henry III of England (b. 1207)
1328 – Prince Hisaaki, Japanese shogun (b. 1276)
1613 – Trajano Boccalini, Italian satirist (b. 1556)
1628 – Paolo Quagliati, Italian composer
1632 – King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (killed in battle) (b. 1594)
1695 – Pierre Nicole, French philosopher (b. 1625)
1724 – Jack Sheppard, English burglar (hanged) (b. 1702)
1745 – James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish statesman and soldier (b. 1665)
1773 – John Hawkesworth, English writer
1779 – Pehr Kalm, Finnish explorer and naturalist (b. 1716)
1790 – Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723)
1797 – Frederick William II of Prussia (b. 1744)
1802 – André Michaux, French botanist (b. 1746)
1806 – Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland, Ohio (b. 1754)
1836 – Christian Hendrik Persoon, Dutch mycologist (b. 1761)
1884 – František Chvostek, Moravian physician (b. 1835)
1885 – Louis Riel, Canadian politician (b. 1844)
1907 – Robert I, Duke of Parma, last ruling Duke of Parma (b. 1848)
1908 – Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, French-born Canadian politician (b. 1829)
1911 – Albert Alonzo Ames, Mayor of Minneapolis (b. 1842)
1922 – Max Abraham, German physicist (b. 1875)
1939 – Pierce Butler, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1866)
1950 – Bob Smith, American doctor, co-founder of the Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1879)
1960 – Clark Gable, American actor (b. 1901)
1961 – Sam Rayburn, U.S. Speaker of the House (b. 1882)
1971 – Edie Sedgwick, American socialite and heiress (b. 1940)
1972 – Vera Karalli, Russian ballerina and actress (b. 1889)
1973 – Alan Watts, English writer/philosopher (b. 1915)
1974 – Walther Meissner, German technical physicist (b. 1882)
1980 – Jayan,Indian actor(malayalam)(b.1938)
1981 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
1982 – Arthur Askey, British comedian (b. 1900)
1982 – Lenny Murphy, Leader of Belfast s notorious Shankill Butchers (b. 1952)
1984 – Vic Dickenson, American trombonist (b. 1906)
1986 – Siobhán McKenna, Irish stage and screen actress, Gok (b. 1923)
1987 – Jim Brewer, Major League Baseball relief pitcher (b. 1937)
1987 – Zubir Said, Singaporean composer who composed Singapore s national anthem (b. 1907)
1989 – Jean-Claude Malépart, Quebec politician (b. 1938)
1993 – Lucia Popp, Slovakian soprano (b. 1939)
1993 – Achille Zavatta, French clown (b. 1915)
1994 – Doris Speed, British actress (b. 1899)
1994 – Dino Valente, American musician (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (b. 1943)
1995 – Jack Finney, American author (b. 1911)
1999 – Daniel Nathans, American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1928)
2000 – DJ Screw, American hiphop DJ (b. 1971)
2000 – Joe C., American rapper (b. 1974)
2001 – Tommy Flanagan, American jazz pianist (b. 1930)
2003 – Bettina Goislard, French relief worker (b. 1974)
2004 – Margaret Hassan, Irish-born aid worker (b. 1945)
2005 – Henry Taube, Canadian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
2005 – Robert Tisch, American football team owner (b. 1926)
2005 – Donald Watson, English founder of the Vegan Society (b. 1910)
2006 – Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
2006 – Yuri Levada, Russian sociologist (b. 1930)
2007 – Harold Alfond, American businessman (b. 1914)
2007 – Grethe Kausland, Norwegian actress and singer (b. 1947)
2007 – Trond Kirkvaag, Norwegian comedian and author (b. 1946)
2008 – Reg Varney, British actor (On The Buses) (b. 1916)
Holidays and observances
R.C. Saints – Saint Margaret of Scotland ; Gertrude the Great
International Day for Tolerance
Iceland – Dagur íslenskrar tungu (Icelandic Language Day)
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