On This Day ( November 16 )

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November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 45 days remaining until the end of the year.

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 Brasero de la Dehesa outside of ÃÂ￾vila, 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, the first country in the world to do so (This is a controversial statement, because other sources say that the Kingdom of Morocco was the first to extend diplomatic recognition to the new United States).

* 1805 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Schöngrabern - Russian force 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 execution is canceled at the last minute.

* 1857 - Second relief of Lucknow. The most Victoria Crosses won in a single day (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.

* 1896 - First transmission of electricity between a power plant and a city was sent from the Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant to industries in Buffalo, New York.

* 1904 - John Ambrose Fleming invents the vacuum tube.

* 1906 - Opera star Enrico Caruso is charged with an indecent act after allegedly pinching a woman's bottom in the monkey house of New York's Central Park Zoo.

* 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.

* 1920 - Qantas, the national airline of Australia is registered as an aerial carrier under the name of “Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limitedâ€Â￾. Only KLM (now part of Air France-KLM) and Avianca are older.

* 1932 - New York City's Palace Theatre fully coverted to a cinema, which is considered the final death knell of vaudeville as a popular entertainment in the United States.

* 1933 - The United States and the Soviet Union establish formal diplomatic relations.

* 1934 - James J. Braddock won one of the most important fights of his career against then future heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis

* 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, German Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.

* 1940 - New York City's Mad Bomber places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.

* 1943 - World War II: American bombers strike a hydro-electric power facility and heavy water factory in German-controlled Vermork, Norway.

* 1944 - Dueren, Germany is completely destroyed by Allied aerial bombers.

* 1945 - Cold War: The United States Army secretly admits 88 German scientists & engineers to help in the production of rocket technology.

* 1957 - Serial killer Edward Gein murders his last victim, Bernice Worden.

* 1959 - The Broadway musical, The Sound of Music, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel opens at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater.

* 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 - US President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.

* 1977 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind opens in theaters.

* 1979 - The first line of Bucharest Metro (Line M1) is opened from Timpuri Noi to Semanatoarea in Bucharest, Romania.

* 1981 - Luke and Laura marry on the U.S. soap opera General Hospital; it is the highest-rated hour in daytime television history.

* 1984 - Queen Elizabeth II visited Uppingham School, Rutland, UK on the occasion of its Quatercentenary.

* 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 choose populist candidate Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister of Pakistan.

* 1989 - A death squad composed of El Salvadoran army troops kill six Jesuit priests and two others at Jose Simeon Canas University.

* 1989 - Devastating tornado strikes Huntsville, Alabama.

* 1989 - UNESCO adopts the Seville Statement on Violence at the twenty-fifth session of its General Conference.

* 1996 - Mother Teresa receives honorary US citizenship.

* 1996 - The Jumbotron at Buffalo's HSBC Arena falls to the ice hours before a hockey game; no one is injured.

* 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.

* 2004 - X-43A scramjet becomes the fastest air-breathing jet flying at nearly Mach 10 at approx. 11,200 km/h or 3.11 km/s.

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)

* 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)

* 1889 - George S. Kaufman, American playwright (d. 1961)

* 1892 - Guo Moruo, Chinese writer (d. 1978)

* 1892 - Tazio Nuvolari, Italian racing driver (d. 1953)

* 1895 - Paul Hindemith, German composer (d. 1963)

* 1896 - Oswald Mosley, British fascist (d. 1980)

* 1896 - Lawrence Tibbett, American singer (d. 1960)

* 1897 - Choudhary Rehmat Ali, Pakistani nationalist (d. 1951)

* 1905 - Eddie Condon, American musician (d. 1973)

* 1907 - Burgess Meredith, American actor (d. 1997)

* 1916 - Daws Butler, 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 - Hubert Sumlin, American blues musician

* 1933 - Garnet Mimms, American singer

* 1938 - Robert Nozick, American philosopher (d. 2002)

* 1942 - Willie Carson, Scottish jockey

* 1942 - Joanna Pettet, English-American actress

* 1946 - Terence McKenna, American writer (d. 2000)

* 1947 - Ebby Thust, German Boxing promoter and writer

* 1950 - David Leisure, American actor

* 1951 - Miguel Sandoval, American actor

* 1952 - Robin McKinley, writer

* 1952 - Shigeru Miyamoto, Japanese video game designer

* 1954 - Andrea Barrett, American author

* 1954 - Dick Gross, Australian politician

* 1954 - Bruce Edwards, golf caddy (d. 2004)

* 1955 - Pierre Larouche, National Hockey League player

* 1956 - Terry Labonte, NASCAR driver

* 1957 - Jacques Gamblin, French actor

* 1958 - Marg Helgenberger, American actress

* 1958 - Boris Krivokapić, Serbian academic

* 1961 - Frank Bruno, British boxer

* 1961 - Corinne Hermès, French singer

* 1962 - Josh Silver, American musician (Type O Negative)

* 1964 - Dwight Gooden, American athlete

* 1964 - Diana Krall, Canadian Jazz pianist and singer

* 1964 - Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Italian actress

* 1965 - Mika Aaltonen, Finnish footballer

* 1966 - Dean McDermott, Canadian actor

* 1966 - Christian Lorenz, German keyboardist (Rammstein)

* 1966 - Tahir Shah, British travel writer and explorer

* 1967 - Lisa Bonet, American actress

* 1967 - Craig Arnold, American poet

* 1968 - Vlado Å ola, Croatian handball goalkeeper

* 1969 - Maeve Quinlan, American actress

* 1970 - Martha Plimpton, American actress

* 1971 - Alexander Popov, Russian swimmer

* 1971 - Waqar Younis, Pakistani cricketer

* 1971 - Mustapha Hadji, Moroccan footballer

* 1972 - Missi Pyle, American actress

* 1973 - Brendan Laney, Scottish rugby player

* 1973 - Christian Horner, British Formula One team owner

* 1974 - Paul Scholes, British footballer

* 1974 - Eric Judy, American Musician

* 1974 - Maurizio Margaglio, Italian ice dancer

* 1975 - Julio Lugo, Dominican baseball player

* 1976 - Danny Wallace, British author

* 1976 - Martijn Zuijdweg, Dutch swimmer

* 1976 - Juha Pasoja, Finnish footballer

* 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)

* 1980 - Kayte Christensen, American basketball player

* 1980 - Nicole Gius, Italian alpine skier

* 1981 - Allison Crowe, Canadian singer

* 1981 - Caitlin Glass, American actress

* 1981 - Osi Umenyiora, NFL football player

* 1982 - Jannie du Plessis, South African rugby player

* 1982 - Amare Stoudemire, American basketball player

* 1983 - K, South Korean singer

* 1983 - Kari Lehtonen, Finnish ice hockey goaltender

* 1984 - Kimberly J. Brown, American actress

* 1984 - Gemma Atkinson, British actress and model

* 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

* 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 (b. 1915)

* 1981 - William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)

* 1982 - Arthur Askey, British comedian (b. 1900)

* 1982 - Pavel Sergeevich Alexandrov, Russian mathematician (b. 1896)

* 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 (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 - Achille Zavatta, French clown (b. 1915)

* 1993 - Lucia Popp, Slovakian soprano (b. 1939)

* 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)

Holidays and Observances

* R.C. Saints - Saint Margaret of Scotland ; Gertrude the Great

* International Day for Tolerance

* Iceland - Dagur íslenskrar tungu (Icelandic Language Day)

* United Kingdom and Ireland - Children In Need Day