What are the important events that happened on May 16? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
May 16: Facts & Myths About This Day
May 16 is the 137th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 229 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 3, 2024 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,596,960 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 ‘hectatriacontaheptagon’ day.
Taurus is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 258 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 4,164 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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May 16 Historical Events
- 218 –Julia Maesa, aunt of the assassinated Caracalla, is banished to her home in Syria by the self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus and declares her 14-year old grandson Elagabalus, emperor of Rome.
- 1822 –Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
- 1877 –May 16, 1877 political crisis in France.
- 1914 –The first ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final is played. Brooklyn Field Club defeats Brooklyn Celtic 2-1.
- 1953 –American journalist William N. Oatis is released after serving 22 months of a ten-year prison sentence for espionage in Czechslovakia.
- 1960 –Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
- 1966 –The Communist Party of China issues the “May 16 Notice”, marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1969 –Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus.
- 1975 –India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favor of merging with India.
- 1986 –The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain.
Who were born on May 16?
- 1906 –Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (d. 2001)
- 1914 –Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
- 1917 –Juan Rulfo, Mexican novelist (d. 1986)
- 1948 –Jesper Christensen, Danish actor
- 1948 –Katia Dandoulaki, Greek actress
- 1969 –David Boreanaz, American actor
- 1974 –Laura Pausini, Italian pop singer
- 1979 –McKenzie Lee, English pornographic actress
- 1981 –Taavi Rähn, Estonian footballer
- 1986 –Andy Keogh, Irish footballer
Who died on May 16?
- 1920 –Levi P. Morton, 22nd United States Vice President (b. 1824)
- 1944 –George Ade, American author (b. 1866)
- 1969 –Robert R., American AIDS victim (b. 1954)
- 1984 –Andy Kaufman, American comedian (b. 1949)
- 1988 –George Pyrounakis, Greek religious figure (b. 1910)
- 1990 –Sammy Davis, Jr., American entertainer (b. 1925)
- 2002 –Big Dick Dudley, American professional wrestler (b. 1968)
- 2008 –Robert Mondavi, American winemaker (b. 1913)
- 2010 –Ronnie James Dio, American heavy metal vocalist (b. 1942)
- 2011 –Bill Skiles, American comic (b. 1931)
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