Did you know
In 1936, Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" members.
Notable Deaths on August 16
1948 — Babe Ruth
American baseball player and coach (born 1895)
August 16 has 111 recorded notable deaths across history, from 79 to 2023. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
111 source records
79 – 2023
Today in history
Major events on August 16
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1964 Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy. Source
- 1841 U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history. Source
- 1858 U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks. Source
- 1954 The first issue of Sports Illustrated is published. Source
Did you know
Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid "João" de Havelange was a Brazilian lawyer, businessman, and athlete who was the seventh president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998.
Did you know
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first non-Congress prime minister to serve a full term in the office.
Did you know
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ranks as one of the most influential South Asian singers of all time.
Did you know
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American novelist and journalist.
More major people who died on August 16
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2016
João Havelange
Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (born 1916)
Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid "João" de Havelange was a Brazilian lawyer, businessman, and athlete who was the seventh president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998.
2018
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Indian poet and 12th Prime Minister of India (born 1924)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian writer, poet and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, from 1998 to 2004, and previously for two weeks in 1996.
1997
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Pakistani musician and Qawwali singer (born 1948)
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, also known as NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music director, primarily associated with qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music from Pakistan and…
1949
Margaret Mitchell
American journalist and author (born 1900)
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American novelist and journalist.
1963
Joan Eardley
British artist (born 1921)
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley was a British artist noted for her portraiture of street children in Glasgow and for her landscapes of the fishing village of Catterline and surroundings on the North-East coast of…
1920
Henry Daglish
Australian politician, Premier of Western Australia (born 1866)
Henry Daglish was an Australian politician who was the sixth premier of Western Australia and the first from the Labor Party, serving from 10 August 1904 to 25 August 1905.
2004
Ivan Hlinka
Czech ice hockey player and coach (born 1950)
Ivan Hlinka was a Czech professional ice hockey player and coach. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in Czech ice hockey history.
1297
John II of Trebizond (born 1262)
John II Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from June 1280 to his death in 1297. He was the youngest son of Emperor Manuel I and his third wife, Irene Syrikaina, a Trapezuntine noblewoman.
1258
Theodore II Laskaris
Byzantine-Greek emperor (born 1222)
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Empress Irene Laskarina.
2008
Dorival Caymmi
Brazilian singer-songwriter and actor (born 1914)
Dorival Caymmi was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, actor, and painter active for more than 70 years, beginning in 1933.
2023
Howard S. Becker
American sociologist (born 1928)
Howard Saul Becker was an American sociologist who taught at Northwestern University. Becker made contributions to the sociology of deviance, sociology of art, and sociology of music.
1678
Andrew Marvell
English poet and author (born 1621)
Andrew Marvell was an English poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend of John Milton.
1705
Jacob Bernoulli
Swiss mathematician and theorist (born 1654)
Jacob Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician. He sided with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz during the Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy and was an early proponent of Leibnizian calculus, to which he made numerous…
1878
Richard Upjohn
English-American architect (born 1802)
Richard Upjohn was a British-American architect who immigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches.
1225
Hōjō Masako
Japanese regent and onna-bugeisha (born 1156)
Hōjō Masako was a Japanese female samurai (onna-musha) and politician who exercised significant power in the early years of the Kamakura period, which was reflected by her contemporary sobriquet of the "nun shogun".
1861
Ranavalona I
Queen consort of Kingdom of Madagascar and then sovereign (born 1778)
Ranavalona I, also known as Ramavo or Ranavalo-Manjaka I or Ranavalona reniny, was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861.
1986
Ronnie Aird
English cricketer and administrator (born 1902)
Ronald Aird was an English first-class cricketer, cricket administrator and British Army officer.
1886
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Indian mystic and philosopher (born 1836)
Ramakrishna, also called Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Ramakrishna Chattopadhyay, was an Indian Hindu mystic.
1938
Robert Johnson
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1911)
Robert Leroy Johnson was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians.