1457 BC The first recorded battle in history in reliable detail was the Battle of Megiddo on April 16, 1457 BC. It was fought between Egyptian forces under the command of Pharaoh Thutmose III and a large rebellious coalition of Canaanite vassal states led by the king of Kadesh. The result was an Egyptian victory and a rout of the Canaanite forces, which fled to safety in the city of Megiddo.
73 In 66 AD a group of Jewish rebels, the Sicarii, overcame the Roman garrison of Masada an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau. Seven years later, the Roman governor of Iudaea, Lucius Flavius Silva, headed the Roman legion X Fretensis and laid siege to Masada. On April 16, 73 AD Masada fell to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Great Jewish Revolt.
1061 The first documented gay marriage was between two men. The Catholic Church allowed its first same-sex marriage when Pedro Díaz and Muño Vandilaz wed in the Galician municipality of Rairiz de Veiga in Spain on April 16, 1061. They were married by a priest at a small chapel.
1210 In 1209 Francis of Assisi and his followers walked barefoot to Rome in 1209 to ask Pope Innocent III for official recognition as an order. The pope was dubious, but after a dream in which he saw the church was bursting apart and a poor man, whom he identified as Francis appearing to hold it together, he granted their wish. According to tradition, the official founding date of the Franciscan Order was April 16, 1210.
1570 Guy Fawkes was from a mainly Protestant family (his mother was a secret Catholic). He was baptized on April 16, 1570 in St Michael-le-Belfry. (The baptismal Register still exists) He became a Roman Catholic at the age of 16 after the marriage of his widowed mother to a man of Catholic background and sympathies. (He may have been converted by his cousin, Father Richard Collinge of York). Fawkes was unusually devout with a passion for theology.
73 In 66 AD a group of Jewish rebels, the Sicarii, overcame the Roman garrison of Masada an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau. Seven years later, the Roman governor of Iudaea, Lucius Flavius Silva, headed the Roman legion X Fretensis and laid siege to Masada. On April 16, 73 AD Masada fell to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Great Jewish Revolt.
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| Aerial view of Masda. By Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia |
1061 The first documented gay marriage was between two men. The Catholic Church allowed its first same-sex marriage when Pedro Díaz and Muño Vandilaz wed in the Galician municipality of Rairiz de Veiga in Spain on April 16, 1061. They were married by a priest at a small chapel.
1210 In 1209 Francis of Assisi and his followers walked barefoot to Rome in 1209 to ask Pope Innocent III for official recognition as an order. The pope was dubious, but after a dream in which he saw the church was bursting apart and a poor man, whom he identified as Francis appearing to hold it together, he granted their wish. According to tradition, the official founding date of the Franciscan Order was April 16, 1210.
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| The Pope approving the statutes of the Order of the Franciscans, by Giotto, 1295–1300 |
1570 Guy Fawkes was from a mainly Protestant family (his mother was a secret Catholic). He was baptized on April 16, 1570 in St Michael-le-Belfry. (The baptismal Register still exists) He became a Roman Catholic at the age of 16 after the marriage of his widowed mother to a man of Catholic background and sympathies. (He may have been converted by his cousin, Father Richard Collinge of York). Fawkes was unusually devout with a passion for theology.
1689 Aphra Behn, the first woman in England to be a professional writer, died on April 16, 1689. Aphra Behn gained prominence during the Restoration period in England, a time marked by a flourishing of theatre, literature, and the arts. She became one of the most prolific playwrights of the era and was also known for her poetry and prose. Her best-known play is The Rover (1677), a comedy set in Naples during Carnival time, which explores themes of love, desire, and freedom.
1705 On April 16, 1705, Queen Anne knighted Isaac Newton during a royal visit to Trinity College, Cambridge. The award was not for his achievements in science and mathematics but as an election gambit by his patron and former pupil, Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax. Newton was the second scientist to be knighted, after Sir Francis Bacon.
1746 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. Stuart pressed as far south as Derby, but The English Catholics failed to rise and the Jacobite army retreated into Scotland. At The Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, the Scots lost within the first hour 1,500 men while the government troops had lost a mere 50. When Stuart realized the battle was lost he gave the order "Every man for himself".
1853 The first passenger train in India ran between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Thane on April 16, 1853. The 14-carriage train was hauled by three steam locomotives and ran for about 34 kilometers (21 miles) between these two cities carrying 400 people.
1867 Wilbur Wright was born near Millville, Indiana, on April 16, 1867. He was the older of the two flight pioneering Wright Brothers and had four other siblings. Wilbur first developed his interest in aviation during three years of reclusiveness after being badly injured in an ice hockey game, when another player's stick hit him in the face. He lost his two front teeth in the accident. The player who knocked his teeth out, Oliver Cook Haugh, grew up to become a notorious Midwest serial killer.
1879 Saint Bernadette was frail and asthmatic and after joining the Sisters of Nevers she was often bedridden. During a severe asthma attack, she asked for water from the Lourdes spring, and her symptoms dissipated. However, Bernadette did not seek healing in this way when she later contracted tuberculous of the bone in the right knee. On April 16, 1879 Bernadette was heard to mumble “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, poor sinner, poor sinner.” A few seconds later she passed away.
1889 Sir Charles "Charlie" Chaplin was born to Hannah Chaplin (née Hill) and Charles Chaplin, Sr on April 16, 1889. His parents were both music hall entertainers. Hannah Chaplin was a British music hall performer who used the stage name Lily Harley. Chaplin's mother's stage career abruptly ended in 1894 when she lost her singing voice in the middle of a performance. When the audience began to throw things at her, five-year-old Charlie rushed on stage and finished his mom’s song.
1912 In 1911, magazine writer Harriet Quimby earned the first US pilot's license issued to a woman. Less than a year later, Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She flew from Dover, England and landed at Hardelot, France, in a Blériot monoplane on April 16, 1912. Her accomplishment received little media attention, however, as the sinking of the RMS Titanic the day before consumed the interest of the public and filled newspapers.
1917 Following mass demonstrations and violent armed clashes with police and gendarmes, Nicholas II chose to abdicate in March 1917. Vladimir Lenin was in exile in Switzerland at the time. A passer-by informed him about the Russian Tsar's abdication, so Lenin and a group of his followers returned to Russia in a train provided by the Germans to take the reins of the Russian Revolution. They were greeted at St Petersburg station on April 16, 1917 by a great reception.
1921 Harry MacElhone and his bar man Fernand Petiot, of Harry's New York Bar in Paris, were the creators of the Bloody Mary cocktail on April 16, 1921. The addition of tomato juice to the vodka-based seasoned mixture gave the Bloody Mary its reddish, blood-like color. The blood-red concoction got its name because it reminded one of his staff of the Bucket of Blood Club in Chicago, and a girl there named Mary.
1940 Baseball star Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians threw the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball against the Chicago White Sox on April 16, 1940. Feller was assisted by Indians second baseman Ray Mack when he made a diving play to record the final out. The Indians beat the White Sox 1–0.
1943 Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann discovered LSD's psychedelic properties by chance on April 16, 1943 when he accidentally consumed it during medicinal research. Hoffman intentionally took the drug three days later and notoriously experienced its disorientating effect when riding his bicycle through the streets of Basel.
1746 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. Stuart pressed as far south as Derby, but The English Catholics failed to rise and the Jacobite army retreated into Scotland. At The Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, the Scots lost within the first hour 1,500 men while the government troops had lost a mere 50. When Stuart realized the battle was lost he gave the order "Every man for himself".
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| The Battle of Culloden, oil on canvas, David Morier, 1746. |
1853 The first passenger train in India ran between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Thane on April 16, 1853. The 14-carriage train was hauled by three steam locomotives and ran for about 34 kilometers (21 miles) between these two cities carrying 400 people.
1867 Wilbur Wright was born near Millville, Indiana, on April 16, 1867. He was the older of the two flight pioneering Wright Brothers and had four other siblings. Wilbur first developed his interest in aviation during three years of reclusiveness after being badly injured in an ice hockey game, when another player's stick hit him in the face. He lost his two front teeth in the accident. The player who knocked his teeth out, Oliver Cook Haugh, grew up to become a notorious Midwest serial killer.
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| Incorrupt body of Saint Bernadette |
1889 Sir Charles "Charlie" Chaplin was born to Hannah Chaplin (née Hill) and Charles Chaplin, Sr on April 16, 1889. His parents were both music hall entertainers. Hannah Chaplin was a British music hall performer who used the stage name Lily Harley. Chaplin's mother's stage career abruptly ended in 1894 when she lost her singing voice in the middle of a performance. When the audience began to throw things at her, five-year-old Charlie rushed on stage and finished his mom’s song.
1912 In 1911, magazine writer Harriet Quimby earned the first US pilot's license issued to a woman. Less than a year later, Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She flew from Dover, England and landed at Hardelot, France, in a Blériot monoplane on April 16, 1912. Her accomplishment received little media attention, however, as the sinking of the RMS Titanic the day before consumed the interest of the public and filled newspapers.
1917 Following mass demonstrations and violent armed clashes with police and gendarmes, Nicholas II chose to abdicate in March 1917. Vladimir Lenin was in exile in Switzerland at the time. A passer-by informed him about the Russian Tsar's abdication, so Lenin and a group of his followers returned to Russia in a train provided by the Germans to take the reins of the Russian Revolution. They were greeted at St Petersburg station on April 16, 1917 by a great reception.
1921 Harry MacElhone and his bar man Fernand Petiot, of Harry's New York Bar in Paris, were the creators of the Bloody Mary cocktail on April 16, 1921. The addition of tomato juice to the vodka-based seasoned mixture gave the Bloody Mary its reddish, blood-like color. The blood-red concoction got its name because it reminded one of his staff of the Bucket of Blood Club in Chicago, and a girl there named Mary.
1940 Baseball star Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians threw the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball against the Chicago White Sox on April 16, 1940. Feller was assisted by Indians second baseman Ray Mack when he made a diving play to record the final out. The Indians beat the White Sox 1–0.
1943 Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann discovered LSD's psychedelic properties by chance on April 16, 1943 when he accidentally consumed it during medicinal research. Hoffman intentionally took the drug three days later and notoriously experienced its disorientating effect when riding his bicycle through the streets of Basel.
1945 The Battle of Berlin began on April 16, 1945, during World War II. This battle marked the final major offensive of the European Theatre of the war and was fought between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The battle ultimately led to the capture of Berlin by Soviet forces and the eventual surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945.
1990 The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, participated in his first assisted suicide on April 16, 1990. His patient was Janet Adkins, a 54-year-old woman diagnosed in 1989 with Alzheimer's disease. Kevorkian assisted in the deaths of 130 terminally ill people between 1990 and 1998. In 1999, Kevorkian was arrested and tried for his direct role in a case of voluntary euthanasia. He was convicted of second-degree murder and served eight years of a 10-to-25-year prison sentence.
2007 Astronaut Sunita Williams was the first person to run a marathon in space. On April 16, 2007 she ran it in four hours and 24 minutes on a treadmill aboard the International Space Station. Her "race" coincided with the 2007 Boston Marathon.
2018 A giant Oreo cookie weighing 73.4 kg (161 lb 13 oz) was produced on April 16, 2018. Baked in Manama, Bahrain, the supersize snack was made with the real dough and cream used in regular-sized Oreos. With a normal Oreo weighing 11.3 g, this it was 6,495 times bigger than what you find in a standard packet it blitzed the world record for the largest Oreo cookie.
1990 The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, participated in his first assisted suicide on April 16, 1990. His patient was Janet Adkins, a 54-year-old woman diagnosed in 1989 with Alzheimer's disease. Kevorkian assisted in the deaths of 130 terminally ill people between 1990 and 1998. In 1999, Kevorkian was arrested and tried for his direct role in a case of voluntary euthanasia. He was convicted of second-degree murder and served eight years of a 10-to-25-year prison sentence.
2007 Astronaut Sunita Williams was the first person to run a marathon in space. On April 16, 2007 she ran it in four hours and 24 minutes on a treadmill aboard the International Space Station. Her "race" coincided with the 2007 Boston Marathon.
2018 A giant Oreo cookie weighing 73.4 kg (161 lb 13 oz) was produced on April 16, 2018. Baked in Manama, Bahrain, the supersize snack was made with the real dough and cream used in regular-sized Oreos. With a normal Oreo weighing 11.3 g, this it was 6,495 times bigger than what you find in a standard packet it blitzed the world record for the largest Oreo cookie.
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