# What happened on October 16 in history?

**Date:** October 16  
**Events recorded:** 63  
**Years spanned:** 456 – 2017  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/october/16/

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## Featured Event

**2017** — Storm Ophelia strikes the U.K. and Ireland causing major damage and power loss.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ophelia_(2017))

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## Events on this date

- **456** — Ricimer defeats Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricimer))
- **690** — Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zetian))
- **912** — Abd ar-Rahman III becomes the eighth Emir of Córdoba. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_III))
- **955** — King Otto I defeats a Slavic revolt in what is now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_on_the_Raxa))
- **1311** — The Council of Vienne convenes for the first time. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Vienne))
- **1384** — Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, although she is a woman. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadwiga_of_Poland))
- **1590** — Prince Gesualdo of Venosa murders his wife and her lover. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Gesualdo))
- **1736** — Mathematician William Whiston's predicted comet fails to strike the Earth. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Whiston))
- **1780** — American Revolutionary War: The British-led Royalton raid is the last Native American raid on New England. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royalton_raid))
- **1780** — The Great Hurricane of 1780 finishes after its sixth day, killing between 20,000 and 24,000 residents of the Lesser Antilles. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hurricane_of_1780))
- **1793** — French Revolution: Queen Marie Antoinette is executed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette))
- **1793** — War of the First Coalition: French victory at the Battle of Wattignies forces Austria to raise the siege of Maubeuge. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wattignies))
- **1805** — War of the Third Coalition: Napoleon surrounds the Austrian army at Ulm. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ulm))
- **1813** — The Sixth Coalition attacks Napoleon in the four-day Battle of Leipzig. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leipzig))
- **1817** — Italian explorer and archaeologist Giovanni Belzoni, uncovered the Tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Belzoni))
- **1817** — Simón Bolívar sentences Manuel Piar to death for challenging the racial-caste in Venezuela. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Piar))
- **1834** — Much of the ancient structure of the Palace of Westminster in London burns to the ground. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Parliament))
- **1836** — Great Trek: Afrikaner voortrekkers repulse a Matabele attack, but lose their livestock. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vegkop))
- **1841** — Queen's University is founded in the Province of Canada. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen's_University_at_Kingston))
- **1843** — William Rowan Hamilton invents quaternions, a three-dimensional system of complex numbers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowan_Hamilton))
- **1846** — William T. G. Morton administers ether anesthesia during a surgical operation. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_T._G._Morton))
- **1859** — Origins of the American Civil War: Abolitionist John Brown and his supporters launch a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_the_American_Civil_War))
- **1869** — The Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous American hoaxes, is "discovered". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Giant))
- **1869** — Girton College, Cambridge is founded, becoming England's first residential college for women. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girton_College%2C_Cambridge))
- **1875** — Brigham Young University is founded in Provo, Utah. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University))
- **1882** — The Nickel Plate Railroad opens for business. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_Plate_Road))
- **1891** — A diplomatic incident between the United States and Chile occurred after U.S. sailors were attacked in Valparaíso, nearly leading to war. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_crisis))
- **1905** — The Partition of Bengal in India takes place. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Bengal_(1905)))
- **1909** — William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz hold the first summit between a U.S. and a Mexican president. They narrowly escape assassination. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft))
- **1916** — Margaret Sanger opens the first family planning clinic in the United States. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger))
- **1919** — Adolf Hitler delivers his first public address at a meeting of the German Workers' Party. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Workers'_Party))
- **1923** — Walt Disney and his brother, Roy, found the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, today known as The Walt Disney Company. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney))
- **1934** — Chinese Communists begin the Long March to escape Nationalist encirclement. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March))
- **1939** — World War II: No. 603 Squadron RAF intercepts the first Luftwaffe raid on Britain. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1940** — Holocaust in Poland: The Warsaw Ghetto is established. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto))
- **1943** — Holocaust in Italy: Raid on the Roman Ghetto. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_the_Roman_Ghetto))
- **1946** — Nuremberg trials: Ten defendants found guilty by the International Military Tribunal are executed by hanging. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials))
- **1947** — The Philippines takes over the administration of the Turtle Islands and the Mangsee Islands from the United Kingdom. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_Islands%2C_Tawi-Tawi))
- **1949** — The Greek Communist Party announces a "temporary cease-fire", thus ending the Greek Civil War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Civil_War))
- **1951** — The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated in Rawalpindi. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaquat_Ali_Khan))
- **1953** — Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro delivers his "History Will Absolve Me" speech, and is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by the Fulgencio Batista government for leading an attack on the Moncada Barracks. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba))
- **1962** — Cuban Missile Crisis begins: U.S. President John F. Kennedy is informed of photos taken on October 14 by a U-2 showing nuclear missiles (the crisis will last for 13 days starting from this point). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis))
- **1964** — China detonates its first nuclear weapon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_596))
- **1964** — Leonid Brezhnev becomes leader of the Soviet Communist Party, while Alexei Kosygin becomes the head of government. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev))
- **1968** — Tommie Smith and John Carlos are ejected from the US Olympic team for participating in the Olympics Black Power salute. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute))
- **1968** — Kingston, Jamaica is rocked by the Rodney riots, inspired by the barring of Walter Rodney from the country. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_riots))
- **1968** — Yasunari Kawabata becomes the first Japanese person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasunari_Kawabata))
- **1970** — Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act during the October Crisis. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Measures_Act))
- **1973** — Henry Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kissinger))
- **1975** — Indonesian troops kill the Balibo Five, a group of Australian journalists, in Portuguese Timor. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five))
- **1975** — Three-year-old Rahima Banu, from Bangladesh, is the last known case of naturally occurring smallpox. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahima_Banu))
- **1975** — The Australian Coalition sparks a constitutional crisis when they vote to defer funding for the government's annual budget. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Australian_constitutional_crisis))
- **1978** — Cardinal Karol Wojtyła is elected to the papacy as Pope John Paul II, he becomes the first non-Italian pontiff since 1523. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1978_conclave))
- **1984** — Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu))
- **1991** — George Hennard runs amok in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 and wounding 20. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luby's_shooting))
- **1995** — The Million Man March takes place in Washington, D.C. About 837,000 attend. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March))
- **1995** — The Skye Bridge in Scotland is opened. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skye_Bridge))
- **1996** — Eighty-four football fans die and 180 are injured in a massive crush at a match in Guatemala City. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Doroteo_Guamuch_Flores_disaster))
- **1998** — Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London on a murder extradition warrant. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_Pinochet))
- **1999** — The magnitude 7.1 Hector Mine earthquake strikes Southern California ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Hector_Mine_earthquake))
- **2002** — The Bibliotheca Alexandrina opens in Egypt, commemorating the ancient library of Alexandria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliotheca_Alexandrina))
- **2013** — Lao Airlines Flight 301 crashes on approach to Pakse International Airport in Laos, killing 49 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_Airlines_Flight_301))
- **2017** — Storm Ophelia strikes the U.K. and Ireland causing major damage and power loss. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ophelia_(2017)))

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## Notable births on October 16

- **2003** — **Scott Ogden** — British motorcycle racer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Ogden))
- **2001** — **Willian Pacho** — Ecuadorian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willian_Pacho))
- **1999** — **Aaron Nesmith** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Nesmith))
- **1999** — **Nicolò Bulega** — Italian motorcycle racer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%B2_Bulega))
- **1997** — **Aliou Dieng** — Malian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliou_Dieng))
- **1997** — **Charles Leclerc** — Monégasque racing driver ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Leclerc))
- **1997** — **Naomi Osaka** — Japanese tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Osaka))
- **1996** — **Toprak Razgatlıoğlu** — Turkish motorcycle racer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toprak_Razgatl%C4%B1o%C4%9Flu))
- **1996** — **Andrea Locatelli** — Italian motorcycle racer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Locatelli_(motorcyclist)))
- **1994** — **Adam Elliott** — Australian rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Elliott))

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## Notable deaths on October 16

- **2024** — **Ollie Olsen** — Australian musician, composer and sound designer (born 1958) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ollie_Olsen))
- **2024** — **Liam Payne** — English singer-songwriter from One Direction (born 1993) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liam_Payne))
- **2024** — **Yahya Sinwar** — leader of Hamas (born 1962) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahya_Sinwar))
- **2023** — **Martti Ahtisaari** — former President of Finland and Nobel Prize laureate (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martti_Ahtisaari))
- **2017** — **Daphne Caruana Galizia** — Maltese journalist and blogger (born 1964) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_Caruana_Galizia))
- **2017** — **Roy Dotrice** — British actor (born 1923) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Dotrice))
- **2017** — **John Dunsworth** — Canadian actor (born 1946) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dunsworth))
- **2017** — **Sean Hughes** — British-born Irish stand-up comedian (born 1965) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Hughes_(comedian)))
- **2016** — **Calvin Carl "Kelly" Gotlieb** — Canadian professor and computer scientist (born 1921) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Gotlieb))
- **2015** — **Richard J. Cardamone** — American lawyer and judge (born 1925) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Cardamone))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/october/16/](https://thisday.info/events/october/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.