August 16
1777 - The Battle of Bennington was fought in Vermont during the Revolutionary War, a battle in what many consider a major turning point in the war.
1812 - Detroit fell to British and Native American forces during the War of 1812.
1829 - The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang, arrived in Boston.
1861 - President Abraham Lincoln issued Proclamation 86, which prohibited the states of the Union from engaging in commercial trade with states that were in rebellion.
1960 - Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, became an independent republic.
1962 - Algeria was admitted to the Arab League.
1962 - The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, and replaced him with Ringo Starr.
1977 - Elvis Presley died at his Memphis, Tennessee home Graceland at age 42 from heart failure.
1978 - James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he had been set up by a mysterious man named "Raoul."
1987 - People worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.
2003 - Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin died.
2012 - Ecuador decided to identify WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a refugee and give him asylum in its London embassy.
2014 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where police and protesters repeatedly clashed in the week since a Black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer.
2017 - The University of Florida denied a request by white supremacist Richard Spencer to rent space on the campus for a September event. (The university later allowed Spencer to appear in October, saying it was legally obligated to allow the expression of many viewpoints.)
2018 - Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul," died after battling pancreatic cancer at age 76.
2020 - California's Death Valley recorded a temperature of 130 degrees, the third-highest temperature ever recorded.
2021 - Afghans desperate to escape the Taliban takeover of their country clung to the side of a departing U.S. military jet as it rolled down the tarmac at the Kabul airport, and some apparently fell to their death as the aircraft gained altitude; U.S. officials said at least seven people died during the chaotic evacuation at the airport. Witnesses said hundreds of people were trapped between American forces trying to push them out of the airport and Taliban forces trying to keep them in.
2021 - The Country Music Association announced that R&B legend Ray Charles and the Grammy-winning duo The Judds would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Birthdays
25 - Greyson Chance (singer)
25 - Piper Curda (actress)
26 - Caeleb Dressel (swimmer)
28 - Sabrina Nicole Stewart (singer)
29 - Cameron Monaghan (actor)
31 - Evanna Lynch (actress)
34 - Parker Young (actor)
34 - Rumer Willis (actress)
34 - Kevin G. Schmidt (actor)
35 - Dan Smyers (singer)
36 - Ashton Shepherd (singer)
36 - Shawn Pyfrom (actor)
36 - Yu Darvish (baseball player)
37 - Arden Cho (actress)
37 - Cristin Milioti (actress)
37 - Agnes Bruckner (actress)
42 - Vanessa Carlton (singer)
47 - George Stults (actor)
47 - Taika Waititi (director)
50 - Emily Strayer (singer)
52 - Seth Peterson (actor)
53 - Jase Robertson (reality star)
54 - Andy Milder (actor)
58 - Jimmy Arias (tennis player)
60 - Steve Carell (actor)
62 - Timothy Hutton (actor)
64 - Angela Bassett (actress)
64 - Madonna (singer)
65 - Laura Innes (actress)
67 - Jeff Perry (actor)
68 - James Cameron (director)
69 - J.T. Taylor (singer)
69 - Kathie Lee Gifford (TV host)
70 - Reginald VelJohnson (actor)
72 - Marshall Manesh (actor)
76 - Lesley Ann Warren (actress)
77 - Bob Balaban (actor)
86 - Anita Gillette (actress)
88 - John Standing (actor)
88 - Ketty Lester (actress/singer)
89 - Julie Newmar (actress)
89 - Gary Clarke (actor)
94 - Ann Blyth (actress)
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Today in Sports History - August 16
1920 - The only fatality to occur in a major league baseball game happened. Ray Chapman (Cleveland Indians) was hit in the head with a fastball from Carl Mays of the New York Yankees.
1948 - Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53.
1954 - Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.
1965 - The AFL awards its ninth franchise to the Miami Dolphins.
1996 - In Monterrey, Mexico, the New York Mets played the San Diego Padres. The Padres won the game 15-10. It was the first-ever regular season major league game to be played outside the United States and Canada.
2002 - Curt Shilling (Arizona Diamondbacks) won his 20th game of the year.
2008 - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt sets a new world record in the men's 100 meter dash while winning the gold at the Beijing Summer Olympics with a time of 9.69 seconds.
2009 - One year to the day of setting the world record in the 100 meters, Usain Bolt breaks his own record with a time of 9.58 seconds at the World Track & Field Championships in Berlin, Germany.
1777 - The Battle of Bennington was fought in Vermont during the Revolutionary War, a battle in what many consider a major turning point in the war.
1812 - Detroit fell to British and Native American forces during the War of 1812.
1829 - The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang, arrived in Boston.
1861 - President Abraham Lincoln issued Proclamation 86, which prohibited the states of the Union from engaging in commercial trade with states that were in rebellion.
1960 - Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, became an independent republic.
1962 - Algeria was admitted to the Arab League.
1962 - The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, and replaced him with Ringo Starr.
1977 - Elvis Presley died at his Memphis, Tennessee home Graceland at age 42 from heart failure.
1978 - James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he had been set up by a mysterious man named "Raoul."
1987 - People worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.
2003 - Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin died.
2012 - Ecuador decided to identify WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a refugee and give him asylum in its London embassy.
2014 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where police and protesters repeatedly clashed in the week since a Black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer.
2017 - The University of Florida denied a request by white supremacist Richard Spencer to rent space on the campus for a September event. (The university later allowed Spencer to appear in October, saying it was legally obligated to allow the expression of many viewpoints.)
2018 - Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul," died after battling pancreatic cancer at age 76.
2020 - California's Death Valley recorded a temperature of 130 degrees, the third-highest temperature ever recorded.
2021 - Afghans desperate to escape the Taliban takeover of their country clung to the side of a departing U.S. military jet as it rolled down the tarmac at the Kabul airport, and some apparently fell to their death as the aircraft gained altitude; U.S. officials said at least seven people died during the chaotic evacuation at the airport. Witnesses said hundreds of people were trapped between American forces trying to push them out of the airport and Taliban forces trying to keep them in.
2021 - The Country Music Association announced that R&B legend Ray Charles and the Grammy-winning duo The Judds would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Birthdays
25 - Greyson Chance (singer)
25 - Piper Curda (actress)
26 - Caeleb Dressel (swimmer)
28 - Sabrina Nicole Stewart (singer)
29 - Cameron Monaghan (actor)
31 - Evanna Lynch (actress)
34 - Parker Young (actor)
34 - Rumer Willis (actress)
34 - Kevin G. Schmidt (actor)
35 - Dan Smyers (singer)
36 - Ashton Shepherd (singer)
36 - Shawn Pyfrom (actor)
36 - Yu Darvish (baseball player)
37 - Arden Cho (actress)
37 - Cristin Milioti (actress)
37 - Agnes Bruckner (actress)
42 - Vanessa Carlton (singer)
47 - George Stults (actor)
47 - Taika Waititi (director)
50 - Emily Strayer (singer)
52 - Seth Peterson (actor)
53 - Jase Robertson (reality star)
54 - Andy Milder (actor)
58 - Jimmy Arias (tennis player)
60 - Steve Carell (actor)
62 - Timothy Hutton (actor)
64 - Angela Bassett (actress)
64 - Madonna (singer)
65 - Laura Innes (actress)
67 - Jeff Perry (actor)
68 - James Cameron (director)
69 - J.T. Taylor (singer)
69 - Kathie Lee Gifford (TV host)
70 - Reginald VelJohnson (actor)
72 - Marshall Manesh (actor)
76 - Lesley Ann Warren (actress)
77 - Bob Balaban (actor)
86 - Anita Gillette (actress)
88 - John Standing (actor)
88 - Ketty Lester (actress/singer)
89 - Julie Newmar (actress)
89 - Gary Clarke (actor)
94 - Ann Blyth (actress)
=================================
Today in Sports History - August 16
1920 - The only fatality to occur in a major league baseball game happened. Ray Chapman (Cleveland Indians) was hit in the head with a fastball from Carl Mays of the New York Yankees.
1948 - Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53.
1954 - Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.
1965 - The AFL awards its ninth franchise to the Miami Dolphins.
1996 - In Monterrey, Mexico, the New York Mets played the San Diego Padres. The Padres won the game 15-10. It was the first-ever regular season major league game to be played outside the United States and Canada.
2002 - Curt Shilling (Arizona Diamondbacks) won his 20th game of the year.
2008 - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt sets a new world record in the men's 100 meter dash while winning the gold at the Beijing Summer Olympics with a time of 9.69 seconds.
2009 - One year to the day of setting the world record in the 100 meters, Usain Bolt breaks his own record with a time of 9.58 seconds at the World Track & Field Championships in Berlin, Germany.
