What are the important events that happened on August 16? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 16: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 16 is the 228th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 137 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 3, 2025 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 487,584 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaicosaoctagon’ day.
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Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 185 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,621 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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August 16 Historical Events
- 1328 –The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708.
- 1777 –American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1906 –An estimated 8.2 MW earthquake hits Valparaíso, Chile, killing 3,886 people.
- 1913 –Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.
- 1927 –The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.
- 1960 –Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1960 –Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102800 ft, setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump, free-fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.
- 1966 –Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
Who were born on August 16?
- 1832 –Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (d. 1920)
- 1945 –Suzanne Farrell, American ballet dancer
- 1949 –Barbara Goodson, American voice actress
- 1964 –Jimmy Arias, American tennis player
- 1970 –Manisha Koirala, Nepalese Bollywood actress
- 1975 –George Stults, American actor
- 1976 –Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer
- 1980 –Vanessa Carlton, American singer/songwriter
- 1986 –Chris Reynolds, Welsh DJ
- 1989 –Charlotte Gurr, English footballer
Who died on August 16?
- 1297 –John II of Trebizond (b. 1262)
- 1886 –Sri Ramakrishna, Bengali saint, guru of Swami Vivekananda (b. 1836)
- 1948 –Babe Ruth, American baseball player (b. 1895)
- 1959 –William Halsey Jr., American Navy Admiral (b. 1882)
- 1961 –Maulvi Abdul Haq, Indian educator and linguist, Father of Modern Urdu (b. 1870)
- 1971 –Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive, chairman of the Twentieth Century Fox (b. 1893)
- 1983 –Earl Averill, American baseball player (b. 1902)
- 1993 –Stewart Granger, British film actor (b. 1913)
- 2002 –Jeff Corey, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2008 –Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese sustainable farmer and author (b. 1913)
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