What are the important events that happened on December 16? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

December 16: Facts & Myths About This Day

December 16 is the 350^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 15 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 3, 2025 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 29,430,720 minutes 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 ‘trihectapentacontagon’ day.

Sagittarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 63 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 4,743 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

December 16 Historical Events

• 755 –
  An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China.
• 1497 –
  Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope, the point where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.
• 1575 –
  The 1575 Valdivia earthquake takes place.
• 1761 –
  Seven Years’ War: After a four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kolobrzeg.
• 1826 –
  Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia.
• 1920 –
  The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000.
• 1938 –
  Adolf Hitler institutes the Cross of Honor of the German Mother
• 1947 –
  William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor.
• 1950 –
  U.S. President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency, after Chinese troops enter the fight with communist North Korea in the Korean War.
• 1989 –
  Protests break out in Timişoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés.

Who were born on December 16?

• 1775 –
  Jane Austen, English writer (d. 1817)
• 1941 –
  Robert Kerman, American actor
• 1943 –
  Tony Hicks, English guitarist (The Hollies)
• 1951 –
  Mike Flanagan, American baseball pitcher (d. 2011)
• 1960 –
  Canuto Kallan, Danish visual artist
• 1962 –
  Melanie Smith, American actress
• 1965 –
  Nancy Valen, American actress
• 1973 –
  Themba Mnguni, South African footballer
• 1975 –
  Nawo Kawakita, Japanese drummer (Maximum the Hormone)
• 1990 –
  Julito McCullum, American actor

Who died on December 16?

• 705 –
  Empress Wu of Zhou (b. 625)
• 867 –
  Eberhard of Friuli
• 999 –
  Saint Adelaide of Italy (b. 931)
• 1669 –
  Nathaniel Fiennes, English politician (b. c. 1608)
• 1751 –
  Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (b. 1700)
• 1898 –
  Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and art collector (b. 1832)
• 1922 –
  Gabriel Narutowicz, Polish politician (b. 1865)
• 1985 –
  Paul Castellano, American organized crime figure (b. 1915)
• 2001 –
  Stuart Adamson, English-born Scottish musician (The Skids, Big Country) (b. 1958)
• 2009 –
  Yegor Gaidar, Russian politician (b. 1956)