Did you know about Mithun Chakraborty
In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 350 films, mostly in Hindi and Bengali languages, and a few in Bhojpuri, Telugu, Odia, Tamil, Kannada, and Punjabi.
Famous Birthdays on June 16
June 16 has 229 recorded notable births across history, from 1139 to 2003. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1950 — Mithun Chakraborty
Indian actor and politician
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Famous Birthdays
229 source records
1139 – 2003
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Today in history
Major events on June 16
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1981 US President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada's former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979–81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor. Source
- 2012 China successfully launches its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, including the first female Chinese astronaut Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module. Source
Did you know about Adam Smith
Seen by many as the "father of economics", or the "father of capitalism", he is primarily known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776).
Did you know about Gustaf V
Reigning from the death of his father Oscar II in 1907 to his own death nearly 43 years later, he holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden, dying at the age of 92.
Did you know about Giacomo Agostini
Giacomo Agostini competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championships from 1963 to 1977, most prominently as a member of the MV Agusta factory racing team.
Did you know about Barbara McClintock
Barbara McClintock was an American scientist and cytogeneticist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
More major people born on June 16
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1723
Adam Smith
Scottish philosopher and economist (died 1790)
Adam Smith was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by many as the "father of economics", or the "father of capitalism", he is primarily known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, often abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is regarded as his magnum opus, marking the inception of modern economic scholarship as a comprehensive system and an academic discipline. Smith refuses to explain the distribution of wealth and power in terms of divine will and instead appeals to natural, political, social, economic, legal, environmental and technological factors, as well as the interactions among them. The work is notable for its contribution to economic theory, particularly in its exposition of the concept of absolute advantage.
1858
Gustaf V
King of Sweden (died 1950)
Gustaf V was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Reigning from the death of his father Oscar II in 1907 to his own death nearly 43 years later, he holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden, dying at the age of 92. Gustaf also had the third-longest reign of a Swedish monarch after Magnus IV (1319–1364) and his own great-grandson, Carl XVI Gustaf (1973–present). He was also the last Swedish monarch to exercise his royal prerogatives, which largely died with him, although abolished only with the remaking of the Swedish constitution in 1974. He was the first Swedish king since the High Middle Ages not to have a coronation and so never wore the king's crown, a practice that has continued since.
1942
Giacomo Agostini
Italian motorcycle racer and manager
Giacomo Agostini is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and racing team manager. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championships from 1963 to 1977, most prominently as a member of the MV Agusta factory racing team. Agostini was the preeminent motorcycle racer of the late 1960s and early 1970s, amassing 122 Grand Prix victories and 15 World Championships, the most by any competitor in the history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. He won seven consecutive 500cc World Championships with MV Agusta between 1966 and 1972, with an eighth in 1975, plus seven consecutive 350cc world championships between 1968 and 1974. Agostini was also a ten-time winner of the Isle of Man TT.
1902
Barbara McClintock
American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1992)
Barbara McClintock was an American scientist and cytogeneticist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927. There, she started her career as the leader of the development of maize cytogenetics, the focus of her research for the rest of her life. From the late 1920s, McClintock studied chromosomes and how they change during reproduction in maize. She developed the technique for visualizing maize chromosomes and used microscopic analysis to demonstrate many fundamental genetic ideas. One of those ideas was the notion of genetic recombination by crossing-over during meiosis—a mechanism by which chromosomes exchange information. She demonstrated the role of the telomere and centromere, regions of the chromosome that are important in the conservation of genetic information. She was recognized as among the best in the field, awarded prestigious fellowships, and elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1944.
1980
Justin Tranter
American singer-songwriter and activist
Justin Drew Tranter is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. They co-founded the New York City-based rock band Semi Precious Weapons, of which they were the lead singer, in 2004. The band released three studio albums before disbanding in 2014. Since the breakup of Semi Precious Weapons, Tranter has focused on songwriting, establishing a close writing partnership with Julia Michaels and working primarily with pop singers. Tranter's highest-certified songs include tracks for Justin Bieber, DNCE, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5, Bebe Rexha, Gwen Stefani, and Hailee Steinfeld. As of October 2025, songs written by Tranter have garnered over 70 billion streams; their single sales were estimated at 50 million as of May 2021.
1960
Peter Sterling
Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
Peter Maxwell John Sterling, nicknamed Sterlo, is an Australian former rugby league commentator, television personality and player. He was one of the all-time great halfbacks and a major contributor to Parramatta Eels' dominance of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in the 1980s. Sterling played eighteen Tests for the Australian national team between 1982 and 1988. He also played in thirteen State of Origins for New South Wales, winning man of the match on four occasions. Sterling played in four premiership-winning sides with Parramatta in 1981–1983 and 1986 and has been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame. His time spent playing for English club Hull F.C. also earned him membership in their hall of fame.
1902
George Gaylord Simpson
American paleontologist and author (died 1984)
George Gaylord Simpson was an American paleontologist. Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century, and a major participant in the modern synthesis, contributing Tempo and Mode in Evolution (1944), The Meaning of Evolution (1949) and The Major Features of Evolution (1953). He was an expert on extinct mammals and their intercontinental migrations. Simpson was extraordinarily knowledgeable about Mesozoic fossil mammals and fossil mammals of North and South America. He anticipated such concepts as punctuated equilibrium and dispelled the myth that the evolution of the horse was a linear process culminating in the modern Equus caballus. He coined the word hypodigm in 1940, and published extensively on the taxonomy of fossil and extant mammals. Simpson was influentially, and incorrectly, opposed to Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift, but accepted the theory of plate tectonics when the evidence became conclusive.
1514
John Cheke
English academic and politician, English Secretary of State (died 1557)
Sir John Cheke was an English classical scholar and statesman. One of the foremost teachers of his age, and the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, he played a great part in the revival of Greek learning in England. He was tutor to Prince Edward, the future King Edward VI, and also sometimes to Princess Elizabeth. Of strongly Reformist sympathy in religious affairs, his public career as provost of King's College, Cambridge, Member of Parliament and briefly as Secretary of State during King Edward's reign was brought to a close by the accession of Queen Mary in 1553. He went into voluntary exile abroad, at first under royal licence. He was captured and imprisoned in 1556, and recanted his faith to avoid death by burning. He died not long afterward, reportedly regretting his decision.
1927
Tom Graveney
English cricketer and sportscaster (died 2015)
Thomas William Graveney was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to score one hundred first-class centuries; he was the first batsman beginning his career after the Second World War to reach this milestone. He played for Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, and helped Worcestershire win the county championship for the first time in their history. His achievements for England after being recalled in 1966 have been described as "the stuff of legend." Graveney was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1953, captained England on one occasion and was awarded the OBE while still playing.
1958
Ulrike Tauber
German swimmer
Ulrike Tauber is a retired medley and butterfly swimmer from East Germany, who won the gold medal in the women's 400 m individual medley at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There she also captured the silver medal in the women's 200 m butterfly. In the 1970s Tauber set numerous world records in the 200 m and 200 m individual medley. In 1974 and 1977, Swimming World magazine awarded Tauber the titles of Swimmer of the Year and European Swimmer of the Year. In 1988 Tauber was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. It was later revealed that she had used doping during competitions, like many other athletes from the GDR. In 2013, Swimming World stripped her of all titles.
1927
Ariano Suassuna
Brazilian author and playwright (died 2014)
Ariano Vilar Suassuna was a Brazilian playwright and author. He was the driving force behind the creation of the Movimento Armorial. He founded the Student Theater at Federal University of Pernambuco. Four of his plays have been filmed, and he was considered one of Brazil's greatest living playwrights of his time. He was also an important regional writer, doing various novels set in the Northeast of Brazil. He received an honorary doctorate at a ceremony performed at a circus. He was the author of, among other works, the Auto da Compadecida and A Pedra do Reino. He was a staunch defender of the culture of the Northeast, and his works dealt with the popular culture of the Northeast.
1958
Warren Rodwell
Australian soldier, educator and musician
Abu Sayyaf (ASG), officially as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is based in and around Jolo and Basilan islands in the southwestern part of the Philippines, where Moro groups had been engaged in an insurgency seeking to create a Moro nation state. The group was responsible for the Philippines' deadliest terrorist attack, the bombing of the MV Superferry 14 which killed 116 people in 2004. The name of the group is derived from Arabic abu, and sayyaf. As of April 2023, the group was estimated to have about 20 members, down from 1,250 in 2000.
1934
Bill Cobbs
American actor (died 2024)
Wilbert Francisco Cobbs was an American actor, known for such film roles as Louisiana Slim in The Hitter (1979), Walter in The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Reginald in Night at the Museum (2006) and Master Tinker on Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). He also played Lewis Coleman on I'll Fly Away (1991–1993), Jack on The Michael Richards Show (2000), and had guest appearances on Walker, Texas Ranger and The Sopranos. In 2012, he had a reoccurring role as George in the sitcom, Go On. In 2020, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for the series Dino Dana.
1939
Billy "Crash" Craddock
American singer-songwriter
Billy Wayne "Crash" Craddock is an American country and rockabilly singer. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number-one hits "Boom Boom Baby" and "One Last Kiss" in 1960 and 1961, respectively. Switching to country music, he gained popularity in the United States in the 1970s with a string of top-10 country hits, several of which were number ones, including "Rub It In", "Broken Down in Tiny Pieces", and "Ruby Baby". Craddock is known to his fans as "the King of Country Rock Music" and "Mr. Country Rock" for his up-tempo, rockabilly-influenced style of country music.
1951
Roberto Durán
Panamanian boxer
Roberto Carlos Durán Samaniego is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight. Duran also reigned as the undisputed lightweight champion. He is also the second boxer to have competed over a span of five decades, the first being Jack Johnson. Durán was known as a versatile, technical brawler and pressure fighter, which earned him the nickname "Manos de Piedra" for his formidable punching power and excellent defense. Durán is regarded by many as one of the greatest boxers of all time, and the greatest Latino boxer of all time.
1946
Rick Adelman
American basketball player and coach (died 2026)
Richard Leonard Adelman was an American professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), serving as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the class of 2021. As a coach he won 1,042 games, which at the time of his death was the tenth-highest in league history. Adelman never won a title, but led many of his teams to deep runs in the playoffs including two trips to the NBA Finals with Portland.
1987
Diana DeGarmo
American singer-songwriter and actress
Diana Nicole DeGarmo is an American singer. She rose to fame in 2004 as the runner-up of the third season of American Idol, releasing her debut studio album, Blue Skies, later that year. The following year, DeGarmo ventured into a career in musical theatre. She has starred in two Broadway, one off-Broadway and three national tours. She made her television acting debut in a six-month arc as Angelina Veneziano on The Young and the Restless. DeGarmo has since released two extended plays, Unplugged in Nashville (2009) and Live to Love (2012). She is married to fifth season American Idol finalist Ace Young.
1991
Joe McElderry
English singer-songwriter
Joseph McElderry is an English singer and songwriter. He won the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Charts. He was also the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar in 2011 and the first series of The Jump in 2014. In 2015, McElderry played the lead role of Joseph in the touring production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In 2022, McElderry performed his Freedom Tour, a tribute to George Michael.
1977
Kerry Wood
American baseball player
Kerry Lee Wood is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rookie, when he recorded 20 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout against the Houston Astros, which some have argued may be the greatest single-game pitching performance in MLB history. The game also made Wood the co-holder of the MLB record for strikeouts in a single game (20) and earned Wood the nickname "Kid K". He was later named the 1998 National League Rookie of the Year.