# What happened on May 16 in history?

**Date:** May 16  
**Events recorded:** 56  
**Years spanned:** 946 – 2025  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/may/16/

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## Featured Event

**2025** — A catastrophic EF3 tornado kills five people and causes over $1 billion in damages in St. Louis, MO.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_St._Louis_tornado)

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## Events on this date

- **946** — Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Suzaku))
- **999** — Rebel Turkish warlord Mahmud of Ghazni defeats Samanid Emir Mansur II in battle at Merv. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AD_999))
- **1003** — Patrician John Crescentius, who has seized control of Rome, selects Pope John XVII as the new pope. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Crescentius))
- **1204** — Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_I%2C_Latin_Emperor))
- **1364** — Hundred Years' War: Bertrand du Guesclin and a French army defeat the Anglo-Navarrese army of Charles the Bad at Cocherel. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years'_War))
- **1426** — Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes King of Ava. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohnyin_Thado))
- **1527** — The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Medici))
- **1532** — Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More))
- **1568** — Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_Queen_of_Scots))
- **1584** — Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Vera))
- **1739** — The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vasai))
- **1770** — The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, Dauphin de France, who later becomes king of France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette))
- **1771** — The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The "Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alamance))
- **1777** — Continental Army officer Lachlan McIntosh fatally wounds Button Gwinnett, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, in a duel in Savannah, Georgia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Army))
- **1811** — Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom fight an inconclusive battle against the French at the Albuera. It is, in proportion to the numbers involved, the bloodiest battle of the war. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_War))
- **1812** — Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire))
- **1822** — Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence))
- **1832** — Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Godoy))
- **1834** — The Battle of Asseiceira is fought; it was the final and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Asseiceira))
- **1842** — The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon_train))
- **1863** — American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, the decisive Union victory by Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Champion Hill drives the Confederate army under John C. Pemberton back towards Vicksburg, Mississippi. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War))
- **1866** — The United States Congress establishes the nickel. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress))
- **1868** — The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate))
- **1874** — A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_River_(Northampton%2C_Massachusetts)))
- **1877** — The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16_May_1877_crisis))
- **1888** — Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla))
- **1891** — The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opens in Frankfurt, Germany, featuring the world's first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Electrotechnical_Exhibition))
- **1916** — The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland))
- **1918** — The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Act_of_1918))
- **1918** — The victory military parade by the Finnish White Guard is held in Helsinki celebrating their decisive victory in the Finnish Civil War. The day also begin to be celebrated on the Defence Forces Flag Day before it is moved in 1942 to the June 4th. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_White_victory_parade_in_Helsinki))
- **1919** — A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_NC-4))
- **1920** — In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XV))
- **1925** — The first modern performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria occurred in Paris. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Monteverdi))
- **1929** — In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles))
- **1943** — The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust))
- **1943** — Operation Chastise is undertaken by RAF Bomber Command with specially equipped Avro Lancasters to destroy the Mohne, Sorpe, and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise))
- **1945** — Beginning of the Levant Crisis between Britain and France in Syria. The latter try to quell nationalist protests but backs down after threat of military action by the British. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant_Crisis))
- **1951** — The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_flight))
- **1954** — Beginning of the Kengir uprising in the Gulag. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kengir_uprising))
- **1959** — The Tritons' Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritons'_Fountain))
- **1960** — Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Maiman))
- **1961** — Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung_Hee))
- **1966** — The Chinese Communist Party issues the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Party))
- **1969** — Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_program))
- **1972** — An Antonov An-24 crashes into a kindergarten building in Svetlogorsk, killing 35. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-24))
- **1974** — Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Broz_Tito))
- **1975** — Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junko_Tabei))
- **1988** — A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States))
- **1991** — Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II))
- **1997** — Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobutu_Sese_Seko))
- **2003** — In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco))
- **2005** — Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait))
- **2011** — STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-134))
- **2014** — Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gikomba_bombings))
- **2025** — A catastrophic EF3 tornado kills five people and causes over $1 billion in damages in St. Louis, MO. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_St._Louis_tornado))
- **2025** — A devastating EF4 tornado kills nineteen people in Southeast Kentucky, hitting the towns of Somerset and London. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Somerset%E2%80%93London_tornado))

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## Notable births on May 16

- **2002** — **Ryan Gravenberch** — Dutch footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Gravenberch))
- **2000** — **Luis Garcia** — Dominican-American baseball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Garc%C3%ADa_Jr.))
- **1996** — **Louisa Chirico** — American tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Chirico))
- **1995** — **Elizabeth Ralston** — Australian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ralston))
- **1994** — **Kathinka von Deichmann** — Liechtenstein tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathinka_von_Deichmann))
- **1993** — **Johannes Thingnes Bø** — Norwegian biathlete ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Thingnes_B%C3%B8))
- **1993** — **Karol Mets** — Estonian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol_Mets))
- **1993** — **IU** — Korean singer-songwriter and actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IU_(entertainer)))
- **1992** — **Jeff Skinner** — Canadian ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Skinner))
- **1992** — **Kirstin Maldonado** — American singer and songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirstin_Maldonado))

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## Notable deaths on May 16

- **2025** — **Domingos Maubere** — East Timorese Catholic priest and activist (born 1952) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domingos_Maubere))
- **2024** — **Dabney Coleman** — American actor (born 1932) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabney_Coleman))
- **2024** — **Eddie Gossage** — American public speaker and businessman (born 1958) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gossage))
- **2023** — **Norm Green** — American long-distance runner (born 1932) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Green_(runner)))
- **2021** — **Bruno Covas** — Brazilian lawyer, politician (born 1980) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Covas))
- **2019** — **Piet Blauw** — Dutch politician (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Blauw))
- **2019** — **Bob Hawke** — Australian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hawke))
- **2019** — **I. M. Pei** — Chinese-American architect (born 1917) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._M._Pei))
- **2015** — **Prashant Bhargava** — American director and producer (born 1973) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prashant_Bhargava))
- **2015** — **Moshe Levinger** — Israeli rabbi and author (born 1935) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshe_Levinger))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/may/16/](https://thisday.info/events/may/16/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.