On This Day - What Happened On October 16 | Britannica

🤑 Explore Britannica's Newest Newsletter: Money Matters Learn More Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos A Britannica Newsletter Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP ADD TO YOUR INBOX Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! By clicking "Add To Your Inbox"tapping "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Home On This Day TODAY IN HISTORY October 16 What Happened On Your Bday? Go to Today's Date

Featured Event

1793 Marie-Antoinette guillotined After the French Revolution began, Marie-Antoinette, queen consort of Louis XVI, was targeted by agitators who, enraged by her extravagance and attempts to save the monarchy, ultimately guillotined her on this day in 1793. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (Austin and Irene Young Trust by exchange AC1996.127.1), www.lacma.org

Featured Biography

Günter Grass German writer bornOctober 16, 1927Gdańsk, PolanddiedApril 13, 2015 (aged 87)Lübeck, GermanyZuma Press/Alamy 1977 John Mayer American singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1936 Andrei Chikatilo Soviet serial killer 1925 Angela Lansbury American actress 1908 Enver Hoxha prime minister of Albania 1890 Michael Collins Irish statesman See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2024 Liam Payne, a member of British boy band One Direction, died in a tragic fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2003 László Papp—who was the first three-time Olympic boxing champion, winning gold medals for Hungary in 1948, 1952, and 1956—died at age 77. How much do you know about boxing?AFP/Getty Images 1995 Nearly 1.1 million men marched in Washington, D.C., to promote African American unity in a political demonstration known as the Million Man March.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-DIG-ppmsca-38892) 1978 Karol Józef Wojtyła of Poland was elected pope; he assumed the name John Paul II and was the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years. Test your knowledge of the papacyClaudio Luffoli—AP/REX/Shutterstock.com 1968 During the awards ceremony for the 200-metre race at the Mexico City Olympics, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave a Black-power salute, for which they were later ordered to leave the Games. Take our quiz about Olympic historyAP—REX/Shutterstock.com 1964 China, eager to join the nuclear race, successfully detonated its first atomic bomb. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about ChinaEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1961 Country music star Patsy Cline released her signature single, “Crazy.”Everett Collection Historical/Alamy 1946 Ten of the 12 defendants sentenced to death at the Nürnberg trials, including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, were executed. Take our quiz about infamous NazisEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1916 Margaret Sanger, an activist for women's reproductive rights, opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, in Brooklyn, New York.Bain News Service/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ggbain-16122) 1888 American dramatist Eugene O'Neill, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936, was born. Test your knowledge of Nobel laureates in literatureHulton Archive/Getty Images 1869 The Cardiff Giant was “discovered” in New York state; originally thought to be a petrified prehistoric man, it was later revealed to be a hoax. 1859 John Brown, a militant abolitionist, made his legendary raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry. How much do you know about American history?© Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com 1847 English novelist Charlotte Brontë (under the pseudonym Currer Bell) published Jane Eyre, which became a classic noted for giving new truthfulness to the Victorian novel. Take our quiz about English authors© Photos.com/Thinkstock 1846 William Thomas Green Morton first demonstrated the use of ether as a general anesthetic before a gathering of physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Take our quiz about medical conditions and discoveriesScience History Images/Alamy 1813 Napoleon led his troops against an allied force of Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Swedish troops during the Battle of Leipzig. Test your knowledge of the history of warfare© Photos.com/Jupiterimages 1758 Lexicographer Noah Webster, who was instrumental in giving American English a dignity and vitality of its own, was born in West Hartford, Connecticut.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. cph 3b47136) SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.