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| Today in History; what happened this day in history |
December 16
| 1431 | Henry VI of England is crowned King of France. | |
| 1653 | Oliver Cromwell takes on dictatorial powers with the title of "Lord Protector." | |
| 1773 | To protest the tax on tea from England, a group of young Americans, disguised as Indians, throw chests of tea from British ships in Boston Harbor. | |
| 1835 | A fire in New York City destroys property estimated to be worth $20,000,000. It lasts two days, ravages 17 blocks, and destroys 674 buildings including the Stock Exchange, Merchants’ Exchange, Post Office, and the South Dutch Church. | |
| 1863 | Confederate General Joseph Johnston takes command of the Army of Tennessee. | |
| 1864 | Union forces under General George H. Thomas win the battle at Nashville, smashing an entire Confederate army. | |
| 1930 | In Spain, a general strike is called in support of the revolution. | |
| 1939 | The National Women’s Party urges immediate congressional action on equal rights. | |
| 1940 | British troops carry out an air raid on Italian Somalia. | |
| 1944 | Germany mounts a major offensive in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. As the center of the Allied line falls back, it creates a bulge, leading to the name–the Battle of the Bulge. | |
| 1949 | Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung is received at the Kremlin in Moscow. | |
| 1950 | President Harry Truman declares a state of National Emergency as Chinese communists invade deeper into South Korea. | |
| 1976 | President Jimmy Carter appoints Andrew Young as Ambassador to the United Nations. | |
| 1978 | Cleveland becomes the first U.S. city to default since the depression. | |
| 1998 | The United States launches a missile attack on Iraq for failing to comply with United Nations weapons inspectors. | |
| 2003 | President George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which establishes the United States’ first national standards regarding email and gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce the act. | |
| Born on December 16 | ||
| 1485 | Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, who bore him six children; only one, Mary I, survived to adulthood. | |
| 1770 | Ludwig Van Beethoven, German composer best known for his 9th Symphony. | |
| 1775 | Jane Austen, novelist (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice). | |
| 1917 | Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction writer (2001: A Space Odyssey) | |
| 1932 | Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, illustrator and children’s writer; received the Hans Christian Andersen Award (2002) and was Britain’s first Children’s Laureate (1999–2001). | |
| 1936 | Morris Dees, activist; co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. | |
| 1938 | Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress and director; won Golden Globe for Best Actress–Motion Picture Drama for The Emigrants (1971). | |
| 1943 | Steven Bochco, TV producer and writer (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law). | |
| 1949 | Billy Gibbons, sinner, songwriter, musician with ZZ Top and Moving Sidewalks bands. | |
| 1955 | Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este. | |
| 1962 | William Perry, pro football defensive lineman nicknamed The Refrigerator because of his size. | |
| 1963 | Benjamin Bratt, actor best known for his role of Rey Curtis on the Law & Order TV series. | |
| 1969 | Adam Riess, astrophysicist; shared 2006
Shaw Prize in Astronomy and 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for providing
evidence the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Source: History Net | |