History Events on August 16

Wang Mang consolidates his power and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who had died the previous day, had no heirs.

#Wang_Mang

Polish-Soviet War: The Battle of Radzymin concludes; the Soviet Red Army is forced to turn away from Warsaw.

#Polish-Soviet_War

The Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.

#Battle_of_Elands_River_(1900)

Trigana Air Flight 267, an ATR 42, crashes in Oksibl, Pegunungan Bintang, killing all 54 people on board.

#Trigana_Air_Flight_267

Mass riots in Kolkata begin; more than 4,000 people would be killed in 72 hours.

#Direct_Action_Day

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.

#House_Un-American_Activities_Committee

Eight years after the remaining French India territories were handed to India, the ratifications of the treaty are exchanged to make the transfer official.

#French_India

Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.

#Royal_Navy

The United Kingdom gives the name "Ross Dependency" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator.

#Ross_Dependency

War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.

#War_of_1812

The first issue of Sports Illustrated is published.

#Sports_Illustrated

The first color sound cartoon, Fiddlesticks, is released by Ub Iwerks.

#Cartoon

West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes in Machiques, Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board.

#West_Caribbean_Airways_Flight_708

The Migratory Bird Treaty between Canada and the United States is signed.

#Migratory_Bird_Treaty

Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War.

#Battle_of_Acosta_Ñu

Nikephoros II Phokas is crowned emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

#Nikephoros_II_Phokas

The first British Empire Games were opened in Hamilton, Ontario by the Governor General of Canada, the Viscount Willingdon.

#Commonwealth_Games

American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden: The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.

#Battle_of_Camden

Pete Best is discharged from The Beatles, to be replaced two days later by Ringo Starr.

#Pete_Best

The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.

#1929_Palestine_riots

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.

#James_Buchanan

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.

#American_Revolutionary_War

The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at 1,389 feet (423 m), at the time becoming the world's highest residence above ground-level.

#Trump_International_Hotel_and_Tower_(Chicago)

Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

#Cyprus

Battle of the Spurs (Battle of Guinegate): King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.

#Battle_of_the_Spurs

Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

#Keish

Christie Pits riot takes place in Toronto, Ontario.

#Christie_Pits_riot

Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces D??ng V?n Minh with General Nguy?n Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.

#Vietnam_War

Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.

#Ray_Chapman

Indian Airlines Flight 257, a Boeing 737-200, crashes during approach to Imphal Airport, killing all 69 people on board.

#Indian_Airlines_Flight_257

A solar particle event affects computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, forcing a halt to trading.

#Solar_particle_event

Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.

#Franco-Prussian_War

French Revolution: A levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention.

#French_Revolution

South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute at Marikana near Rustenburg.

#South_African_Police_Service

Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes after take off in Detroit, Michigan, killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus two people on the ground.

#Northwest_Airlines_Flight_255

In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.

#Coup_d'état

Peterloo Massacre: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.

#Peterloo_Massacre

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.

#President_of_the_United_States

The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708.

#House_of_Gonzaga

Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.

#Joseph_Kittinger

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany formally deposes the exiled House of Lorraine.

#Grand_Duchy_of_Tuscany

The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.

#Dole_Air_Race

First flight of a jet with forward-swept wings, the Junkers Ju 287.

#Forward-swept_wing

World War II: A naval L-class blimp drifts in from the Pacific and eventually crashes in Daly City, California. The two-man crew cannot be found.

#World_War_II

The Minamata Convention on Mercury enters in force.

More than 96 people are killed and hundreds injured following a series of air-raids by the Syrian Arab Air Force on the rebel-held market town of Douma.

The ferry St. Thomas Aquinas collides with a cargo ship and sinks at Cebu, Philippines, killing 61 people with 59 others missing.

The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress is founded in Secunderabad.

The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam, convenes in S?n D??ng.

The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.

The Battle of Lake Baikal was fought between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Red Army.

T?hoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.

The 8.2 Mw Valparaíso earthquake hits central Chile, killing 3,882 people.

The Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.

The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country.

Maximilien de Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.

Battle of Plymouth: Inconclusive naval action between the fleets of Michiel de Ruyter and George Ayscue in the First Anglo-Dutch War.