July 16 in History

At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order o

1915 — At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law

July 16 spans 51 recorded events across recorded history, from 622 to 2019. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By · — Wikipedia

Historical Events 51 events 622 – 2019

More major events on July 16

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 1809 The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declares its independence from the Spanish Crown during the La Paz revolution and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo. Source
  2. 1861 American Civil War: At the order of President Abraham Lincoln, Union troops begin a 25-mile march into Virginia for what will become the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the war. Source
  3. 1232 The Spanish town of Arjona declares independence and names its native Muhammad ibn Yusuf as ruler. This marks the Muhammad's first rise to prominence; he later established the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state in Spain. Source

Did you know

In 1915, At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for 282 miles (454 km) along the borders of : New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before emptying into Delaware Bay. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

In 1915, At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 1915, At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

622 Hijrah
The Hijrah of Muhammad begins, marking the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
Journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina
The Hijrah, also Hegira, was the journey the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina.
Wikipedia source
997 Battle_of_Spercheios
Battle of Spercheios: Bulgarian forces of Tsar Samuel are defeated by a Byzantine army under general Nikephoros Ouranos at the Spercheios River in Greece.
997 battle of the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
The Battle of Spercheios took place in 997 AD, on the shores of the Spercheios river near the city of Lamia in central Greece.
Wikipedia source
1054 Papal_legate
Three Roman legates place - acting illegally on their own authority - a bull of excommunication against Michael I Cerularius, the patriarch of Constantinople, and his followers on the altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy.
Historians frequently describe the event as the formal start of the East–West Schism.
A papal legate or apostolic legate is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catholic Church, or to representatives of a state or monarchy.
Wikipedia source
1212 Battle_of_Las_Navas_de_Tolosa
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: After Pope Innocent III calls European knights to a crusade, the forces of kings Alfonso VIII of Castile, Sancho VII of Navarre, Peter II of Aragon and Afonso II of Portugal defeat those of the Berber Muslim leader Almohad, thus marking a significant turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain.
Part of the Reconquista in Spain (1212)
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab, took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the Reconquista and the history of medieval Spain.
Wikipedia source
1232 Arjona,_Spain
The Spanish town of Arjona declares independence and names its native Muhammad ibn Yusuf as ruler.
This marks the Muhammad's first rise to prominence; he later established the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state in Spain.
Arjona is a municipality in the province of Jaén, Andalusia, Spain. It is located 44 kilometres (27 mi) from the provincial capital, Jaén, and 77 kilometres (48 mi) from the city of Córdoba.
Wikipedia source
1251 Carmelites
Celebrated by the Carmelite Order–but doubted by modern historians–as the day when Saint Simon Stock had a vision of the Virgin Mary.
Catholic religious order
The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women.
Wikipedia source
1377 Richard_II_of_England
King Richard II of England is crowned.
King of England from 1377 to 1399
Richard II, also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent.
Wikipedia source
1536 Jacques_Cartier
Jacques Cartier, navigator and explorer, returns home to St.
Malo after claiming Stadacona (Quebec), Hochelaga (Montreal) and the River of Canada (St. Lawrence River) region for France.
Jacques Cartier was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "Canada"…
Wikipedia source
1661 Banknote
The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco.
Paper money issued by a bank
A banknote or bank note – also called a bill or simply a note – is a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand.
Wikipedia source
1683 Qing_dynasty
Manchu Qing dynasty naval forces under commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands.
Manchu-led dynasty of China (1644–1912)
The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, also known as the Qing Empire or Qing China, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia which existed from 1636/1644 to 1912.
Wikipedia source
1769 Junípero_Serra
Father Junípero Serra founds California's first mission, Mission San Diego de Alcalá.
Over the following decades, it evolves into the city of San Diego, California.
Junípero Serra Ferrer, popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order.
Wikipedia source
1779 American_Revolutionary_War
American Revolutionary War: Light infantry of the Continental Army seize a fortified British Army position in a midnight bayonet attack at the Battle of Stony Point.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American…
Wikipedia source
1790 Washington,_D.C.
The District of Columbia is established as the capital of the United States after signature of the Residence Act.
Federal capital district of the United States
Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States.
Wikipedia source
1809 La_Paz
The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declares its independence from the Spanish Crown during the La Paz revolution and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo.
Seat of government of Bolivia
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the seat of government of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, it is the third-most populous city in Bolivia.
Wikipedia source
1849 Anthony_Mary_Claret
Antonio María Claret y Clará founds the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, popularly known as the Claretians in Vic, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Spanish archbishop (1807–1870)
Anthony Mary Claret, was a Spanish Catholic prelate and missionary who served as Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and was the confessor of Queen Isabella II.
Wikipedia source
1858 Lourdes_apparitions
The last apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.
1858 reported supernatural activity in Lourdes, France
The Lourdes apparitions are several Marian apparitions reported in 1858 by Bernadette Soubirous, the 14-year-old daughter of a miller, in the town of Lourdes in Southern France.
Wikipedia source
1861 American_Civil_War
American Civil War: At the order of President Abraham Lincoln, Union troops begin a 25-mile march into Virginia for what will become the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the war.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States.
Wikipedia source
1862 David_Farragut
American Civil War: David Farragut is promoted to rear admiral, becoming the first officer in United States Navy to hold an admiral rank.
United States Navy admiral (1801–1870)
David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered in U.S.
Wikipedia source
1877 Imperial_Russian_Army
The Imperial Russian army under Grand Duke Nicholas defeats the Ottoman army and takes the city of Nikopol (modern Bulgaria).
Army of the Russian Empire (1721–1917)
The Imperial Russian Army was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia.
Wikipedia source
1909 Persian_Constitutional_Revolution
Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son Ahmad Shah Qajar.
1905–1911 Iranian uprising against absolute monarchy
The Persian Constitutional Revolution, also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar era.
Wikipedia source
1910 John_Robertson_Duigan
John Robertson Duigan makes the first flight of the Duigan pusher biplane, the first aircraft built in Australia.
20th-century Australian aviation pioneer and inventor
John Robertson Duigan MC was an Australian pioneer aviator who built and flew the first Australian-made aircraft.
Wikipedia source
1915 Henry_James
Henry James becomes a British citizen to highlight his commitment to Britain during the first World War.
American British writer (1843–1916)
Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English…
Wikipedia source
1916 Max_Reger
Max Reger's Hebbel Requiem is first performed in a memorial concert for the composer, conducted by Philipp Wolfrum.
German composer, musician, conductor, and teacher (1873–1916)
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher.
Wikipedia source
1927 Augusto_César_Sandino
Augusto César Sandino leads a raid on U.S.
Marines and Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional that had been sent to apprehend him in the village of Ocotal, but is repulsed by one of the first dive-bombing attacks in history.
Augusto César Sandino was a Nicaraguan revolutionary, founder of the militant group EDSN, and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the United States occupation of Nicaragua.
Wikipedia source
1931 Emperor_of_Ethiopia
Emperor Haile Selassie signs the first constitution of Ethiopia.
Title of the ruling monarch of Ethiopia from 1270 to 1974/1975
The emperor of Ethiopia, also known as the Atse, was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975.
Wikipedia source
1935 Parking_meter
The world's first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Device for collecting money to use a given parking space
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time.
Wikipedia source
1942 The_Holocaust
Holocaust: Vel' d'Hiv Roundup (Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv): The government of Vichy France orders the mass arrest of 13,152 Jews who are held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver in Paris before deportation to Auschwitz.
Genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II.
Wikipedia source
1945 Manhattan_Project
Manhattan Project: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
World War II Allied nuclear weapons program
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada.
Wikipedia source
1948 Nazareth
Following token resistance, the city of Nazareth, revered by Christians as the hometown of Jesus, capitulates to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Largest city in the Northern District of Israel
Nazareth is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. In 2024 its population was 75,704.
Wikipedia source
1948 Miss_Macao
The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, marks the first aircraft hijacking of a commercial plane.
Hong Kong commercial seaplane; hijacked by pirates in 1948
Miss Macao (Chinese: 澳門小姐; Sidney Lau: O3 Moon4 Siu2 Je2) was a Catalina seaplane owned by Cathay Pacific and operated by subsidiary Macau Air Transport Company.
Wikipedia source
1950 Chaplain–Medic_massacre
Chaplain–Medic massacre: American POWs are massacred by North Korean Army.
1950 war crime during the Korean War
The Chaplain–Medic massacre took place in the Korean War on July 16, 1950, on a mountain above the village of Tuman.
Wikipedia source
1950
Uruguay beats hosts Brazil 2–1 to win the World Cup in a match dubbed as the Maracanazo.
Men's association football team
The Uruguay national football team, nicknamed la Celeste and los Charrúas, have represented Uruguay in international men's football since their first international match in 1902 and is administered by the Asociación…
Wikipedia source
1951 Leopold_III_of_Belgium
King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin of Belgium.
King of the Belgians from 1934 to 1951
Leopold III was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951.
Wikipedia source
1957 KLM_Flight_844
KLM Flight 844 crashes off the Schouten Islands in present day Indonesia (then Netherlands New Guinea), killing 58 people.
1957 aviation accident
KLM Flight 844 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Biak-Mokmer Airport, Dutch New Guinea to Manila International Airport, Manila, Philippines on 16 July 1957, which crashed into Cenderawasih Bay 1.2…
Wikipedia source
1965 Mont_Blanc_Tunnel
The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France and Italy opens.
Highway tunnel underneath the Alps connecting France and Italy
The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under Mont Blanc in the Alps.
Wikipedia source
1965 Army_of_the_Republic_of_Vietnam
South Vietnamese Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, a formerly undetected communist spy and double agent, is hunted down and killed by unknown individuals after being sentenced to death in absentia for a February 1965 coup attempt against Nguyễn Khánh.
Defunct South Vietnamese ground forces
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.
Wikipedia source
1969 Apollo_11
The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission is launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA.
First crewed Moon landing (1969)
Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon, and the fifth crewed mission of NASA's Apollo program.
Wikipedia source
1979 President_of_Iraq
Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.
Head of state
The president of the Republic of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq.
Wikipedia source
1983 British_Airways_Helicopters_Flight_5918
Sikorsky S-61 disaster: A helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.
Accident in the southern Celtic Sea
On 16 July 1983, British Airways Helicopters Flight 5918, a British Airways Helicopters commercial Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, Oscar November (G-BEON), crashed in the southern Celtic Sea, in the Atlantic Ocean, while en…
Wikipedia source
1990 1990_Luzon_earthquake
The Luzon earthquake strikes the Philippines with an intensity of 7.7, affecting Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac.
Earthquake in the Philippines
The 1990 Luzon earthquake occurred on July 16 at 4:26 p.m. (PHDT) on the densely populated island of Luzon in the Philippines.
Wikipedia source
1990 Verkhovna_Rada
The Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR declares state sovereignty over the territory of the Ukrainian SSR.
Unicameral legislature of Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.
Wikipedia source
1994
The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is destroyed in a head-on collision with Jupiter.
Comet that collided with Jupiter
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 was a comet that broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects.
Wikipedia source
2005 Antonov_An-24
An Antonov An-24 crashes near Baney in Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea, killing 60 people.
Soviet turboprop airplane
The Antonov An-24 is a 50-seat twin turboprop regional airliner designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau. Later variants saw other uses, such as military transport and aerial cartography.
Wikipedia source
2007 2007_Chūetsu_offshore_earthquake
An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 and 6.6 aftershock occurs off the Niigata coast of Japan killing eight people, injuring at least 800 and damaging a nuclear power plant.
Earthquake in Japan
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurred 10:13 local time on July 16, 2007, at a previously unknown offshore fault in the northwest Niigata Prefecture of Japan.
Wikipedia source
2009 Teoh_Beng_Hock
Teoh Beng Hock, an aide to a politician in Malaysia is found dead on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the offices of the Anti-Corruption Commission, sparking an inquest that gains nationwide attention.
Malaysian journalist and activist (1979–2009)
Teoh Beng Hock was a Chinese Malaysian journalist and political aide to Ean Yong Hian Wah, a member of the Selangor state legislative assembly and state executive council.
Wikipedia source
2013 Bihar_school_meal_poisoning_incident
As many as 27 children die and 25 others are hospitalized after eating lunch served at their school in eastern India.
2013 fatal insecticide poisoning in India
On 16 July 2013, 23–27 students died, and dozens more fell ill at a primary school in the village of Gandaman in the Saran district of the Indian state of Bihar after eating a Midday Meal contaminated with pesticide.
Wikipedia source
2013 Syrian_civil_war
Syrian civil war: The Battle of Ras al-Ayn resumes between the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist forces, beginning the Rojava–Islamist conflict.
2011–2024 armed conflict in Syria
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy…
Wikipedia source
2015 United_States_Marine_Corps
Four U.S.
Marines and a United States Navy Sailor are killed in the a shooting spree targeting military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the naval infantry service branch of the United States Armed Forces.
Wikipedia source
2019 Mumbai
A 100-year-old building in Mumbai, India, collapses, killing at least 10 people and leaving many others trapped.
Capital of Maharashtra, India
Mumbai, also known as Bombay, is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India, with an estimated population of 12.5 million (1.25 crore).
Wikipedia source

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