Events on Dec 16
- 0882Marinus I begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding John VIII
- 1431King Henry VI of England crowned King of France
- 1538King Francois I orders renewed pursuit of Protestants
- 1631Mount Vesuvious, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages and kills 4,000
- 1653Oliver Cromwell sworn in as English Lord Protector
- 1659General Monck demands free parliamentary election in Scotland
- 1689English Parliament adopts Bill of Rights after Glorious Revolution
- 1740Prussian Libya falls to Silezie
- 1761Russian army occupies Kolberg
- 1767Van Ritter von Glucks opera "Alceste" premiers
- 1773Big tea party in Boston harbor-indians welcome (Boston Tea Party)
- 1809Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine by French Senate
- 18118.0 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri
- 1817Leaders of Molukkas uprising hanged in Ambon
- 1824Great North Holland Canal opens
- 1835Fire consumes over 600 buildings in New York City
- 1838Boers beat Zulu chieftain Dingaan in South Africa
- 1857Earthquake in Naples, Italy
- 1858Dutch government decides to vacate Schokland Island
- 1862Kingdom of Nepal accepts its constitution
- 1864Battle of Nashville ends after 4400 casualities
- 1880Republic of South-Africa forms
- 1886Rift at Dutch Reformed Church over "Doleantie"
- 1890Negro Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Jackson, Tennessee
- 18971st submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated
- 1900Boer army under General Kritzinger take Cape colony
- 1901Boer general Kritzinger captured
- 1903Majestic Theater, NYC, becomes 1st in US to employ women ushers
- 1905"Variety, " covering all phases of show business, 1st published
- 1907Eugene H Farrar is 1st to sing on radio (Brooklyn Navy Yard NY)
Born on Dec 16
- 1485Catherine of Aragon: Spanish Princess / 1st Wife of Henry VIII
- 1622Kurt S Adeler: Danish Admiral / ship builder
- 1652Giovanni Maria Casini: Composer
- 1734Georg Peter Weimar: Composer
- 1748Ferdinand-Philippe-Joseph Staes: Composer
- 1775Francois-Adrien Boieldieu: Composer
- 1775Jane Austin: England, United Kingdom -- Novelist (Pride & Prejudice)
- 1777Janos Fusz: Composer
- 1809Peter P van Bosse: Dutch attorney / liberal Minister of Finance
- 1812William Grose: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1900
- 1819Robert Selden Garnett: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1861
- 1822Charles Edward Horsley: Composer
- 1825Henry Heth: Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1899
- 1825Robert Prescott Stewart: Composer
- 1827John A C Oudemans: Dutch geographer / astronomer
- 1828John Beatty: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1914
- 1830John Frederick Hartranft: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1889
- 1847Augusta Mary Anne Holmes: Composer
- 1851Theodoor H de Meester: Dutch Premier (1905-08)
- 1863George Santayana: Spain -- Philosopher / poet / humanist (Last Puritan)
- 1863Ralph Adams Cram: United States -- Gothic architect (Cathedral of St Joan NYC)
- 1865Victor Rousseau: Belgian sculptor
- 1869Albert F Pollard: British historian (Dict of natural biography)
- 1879William Duncan: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Actor (Thunder Trail)
- 1882Walther Meissner: German physicist (Meissner effect)
- 1883Max Linder: Caverne, France -- Actor / comic / director (Max Prend un Bain)
- 1888Alphonse Juin: French marshal
- 1890Harlan Sanders: Founder / CEO (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
- 1893Vladimir Golschmann: Paris, France -- Conductor with Immortal Downbeat
- 1895Lidj Jasu: Emperor of Ethiopia
Died on Dec 16
- 0875Ado of Vienne: French Archbishop of Vienne, dies at about 75
- 0882John VIII: Italian Pope (872-82)
- 0999Adelheid the Saint: German empress of Otto I / saint, dies at about 68
- 1404Albrecht of Bavaria: Duke of Bavaria, dies at about 74
- 1670Dorothy: 1st English Marquis of Halifax
- 1672John II Casimir Vasa: Cardinal / King of Poland (1648-68), dies at 63
- 1719Adrian "Aart" van Wijck: Dutch Theologist (anti-jansenism), dies at 78
- 1774Francois Quesnay: French personal Physician of Louis XIV, dies at 80
- 1781Georg Simon Lohlein: Composer, dies at 56
- 1783Johann Adolf Hasse: Dutch operatic Composer (Sesostrate), dies at 84
- 1790Ludwig August Lebrun: Composer, dies at 38
- 1816Vincenzo Galeotti [Tomazelli]: Ital dancer / choreographer, dies at 73
- 1833Friedrich August Kanne: Composer, dies at 55
- 1852Andries H Potgieter: South African / Transvaal explorer, dies at 59
- 1852Henri-Jean Rigel: Composer, dies at 80
- 1859Wilhelm Grimm: Writer, dies at 73
- 1861Karol Joseph Lipinski: Composer, dies at 71
- 1870Stanislaw Duniecki: Composer, dies at 31
- 1871Willibald Alexis: German writer (Schloss Avalon), dies at 73
- 1874Abraham Capadose: Physician / missionary, dies at 79
- 1897Alphonse Daudet: Writer, dies at 57
- 1897L-M Alphonse Daudet: Frans writer (Tartarin sur les Alpes), dies at 57
- 1914Ivan Zajc: Composer, dies at 82
- 1916Grigori Rasputin: A powerful Russian monk, murdered
- 1920Ma [the Benovelent]: Chinese muslim rebel (holy war)
- 1921Charles Camille Saint-Saens: French composer, dies at 86
- 1922Gabriel Narutowicz: 1st President of Poland (Dec 7-16, 1922), assassinated
- 1923Pongrac Kacsoh: Composer, dies at 50
- 1927Hugh Archibald Clarke: Composer, dies at 88
- 1931Gustave J Waffelaert: Flemish Theologist / Bishop of Bruges, dies at 82
Historical events on December 17
- 0283St. Gaius begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1526Ferdinand of Austria chosen as King of Bohemia
- 1526Pope Clemens VII publishes degree Cum ad zero - forms Inquisition
- 1572Spanish army begins fires in Haarlem Netherlands
- 1587Earl Leicesters army leaves Netherlands
- 1638French / Swedish troops occupy Breisach on the Rhine
- 1718England declares war on Spain
- 1745Bonnie Prince Charles army retreats to Scotland
- 1777France recognizes independence of English colonies in America
- 1777George Washingtons army returns to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
- 1791New York City traffic regulation creates 1st 1-way street
- 17981st impeachment trial against a US senator (Wm Blount, TN) begins
- 1821Kentucky abolishes debtors prisons
- 1832HMS Beagle / Charles Darwin sails in Strait Le Maire
- 18521st Hawaiian cavalry organized
- 1860Anaheim Township created in Los Angeles County
- 1862Gen US Grant issues order #11, expelling Jews from Tennessee
- 1864Battle of Franklin, Tennessee
- 1885France declares Madagascar a protectorate
- 1893Russia ratifies Duple Alliance with France
- 1895Anti-Saloon League of America formed, Washington, DC
- 1895George Brownell patents a machine to make paper twine (Mass)
- 19001st prize of 100, 00 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy
- 1900New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million
- 1903At 10:35 AM, 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight (Orville Wright)
- 1907Ugyen Wangchuck became 1st hereditary King of Bhutan
- 1909Leopold II, King of Belgium, buried in Brussels
- 1914Austrian troops beat Russians in Limanova Poland
- 1914Great Britain declares Egypt a protectorate
- 1914Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv by Turkish authorities
Born on December 17
- 1493Philippus A Paracelsus: Switzerland -- Physician / Alchemist (Liber paramixum)
- 1554Ernst of Bayern: Prince / Bishop of Liege / Archbishop of Cologne
- 1619Ruprecht: Prince of Palts / Admiral / chemist / engraver / mathematician
- 1638Johann Ulrich Sultzberger: Composer
- 1734William Floyd: US soldier / signer (Declaration of Independence)
- 1749Domenico Cimarosa: Italian composer (Il Matrimonio Segreto)
- 1770Johann Friedrich Schubert: Composer
- 1778Hunphry Davy: English chemist (discovered some elements)
- 1797Joseph Henry: United States -- Scientist / inventor / pioneer of electromagnetism
- 1800Gergely Czuczor: Hung / Czech poet / translator (Great Hung dictionary)
- 1801Johan NMJ: King of Saxon (1854-73) (translated Divina Commedia)
- 1807John Greenleaf Whittier: United States -- Poet (Snow-bound)
- 1819Samuel Jones: Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1887
- 1820Frederick Tracy Dent: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
- 1821Frederick West Lander: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
- 1824John Kerr: System physicist (electro-visually Kerr-effect)
- 1824Manning Ferguson Force: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1899
- 1824Thomas Starr King: New York, United States -- Unitarian clergyman (Christianity & Humanity)
- 1830Jules de Goncourt: France -- Novelist (Germinie)
- 1833James Thadeus Holtzclaw: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1893
- 1835Alexander E Agassiz: United States -- Businessman / biologist / geology
- 1838Berthold Tours: Composer
- 1840Christian Frederik Emil Horneman: Composer
- 1842Marius Sophus Lie: Norwegian mathematician (continous groups)
- 1848Frederick Grant Gleason: Composer
- 1853Herbert Beerbohm Tree: England, United Kingdom -- Actor / theater manager (Trilby)
- 1861Fritz Volbach: German musicologist / conductor / composer
- 1863Ion Vidu: Composer
- 1864John Felix August Korling: Composer
- 1869Nikolay Ivanovich Kazanli: Composer
Died on December 17
- 1187Gregory VIII [Alberto de Morra]: Italian Pope (1187)
- 1195Boudouin V: Count of Hainault / Flanders (Boudouin VIII)
- 1213Jean de Matha: French saint, dies at 53
- 1471Isabella of Portugal: Duchess of Burgundy
- 1562Adrian Willaert: Flemish singer / bandmaster / composer, dies at about 82
- 1651Wolfgang Schonsleder: Composer, dies at 81
- 1679Don Juan: Ruler of Spain
- 1711Arnold Moonen: Vicar / literature (Defeated German Spraekkunst)
- 1811John Antes: Composer, dies at 71
- 1811Louis-Abet Deffroy de Reigny: Composer, dies at 54
- 1829Bernard Jumentier: Composer, dies at 80
- 1833Kaspar Hauser: German Son of grand Duke Karel of Bathe, murdered at 21
- 1870Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante: Composer, dies at 75
- 1881Lewis H Morgan: US ethnologist (Iroquois-indians), dies at 62
- 1891Msiri: King of Garanganja (Katanga), dies in battle
- 1891Omer Bodson: Belgian captain, dies in battle
- 1893Levinus T Keuchenius: Dutch Minister of Colonies (1888-90), dies at 71
- 1899Frederick "Freddy" Roberts: Son of British field marshal, dies in battle
- 1907Kelvin of Largs [William Thomson]: Br physicist (Kelvin), dies at 83
- 1913Stefano Gobatti: Composer, dies at 61
- 1916Grigori Efimovich Rasputin: Russian monk, assassinated
- 1930Peter Warlock: Composer, dies at 36
- 1933Hans Vaihinger: German philosopher (Side-Studies), dies at 81
- 1937Gerard Vissering: Banker / President of Dutch Bank, dies at 72
- 1944Pieter A Roodenburgh: Student / resistance fighter, dies at 26
- 1944Vassily V Kandinsky: Russian / German / French painter
- 1946Constance [Clara] Garnett: Russian-English translator, dies at 84
- 1948Edgar Istel: Composer, dies at 68
- 1949David Stanley Smith: Composer, dies at 72
- 1956Eddie Acuff: Actor (Guns of Pecos), dies at 48
Events on Dec 18
- 1352Etienne Aubert elected as Pope Innocentius VI
- 1603Admiral Steven van der Haghens fleet departs to East-Indies
- 1621English parliament accept unanimously, Protestation
- 1774Empress Maria Theresa expels Jews from Prague, Bohemia and Moravia
- 1783English King George III fires government of Portland
- 1787New Jersey becomes 3rd state to ratify constitution
- 17961st US newspaper to appear on Sunday (Baltimore Monitor)
- 1813British take Ft Niagara in War of 1812
- 1832Charles Darwins visits Vurland
- 18391st celestial photograph (of Moon) made in US, John Draper, New York City
- 1849William Bond obtains 1st photograph of Moon through a telescope
- 1858Passy, at Paris: 1st "Samedi soir" i / d villa of lovers Rossini
- 1859South Carolina declared an "independent commonwealth"
- 186513th Amendment ratified, slavery abolished
- 18651st US cattle importation law passed
- 1878French SS Byzantin sinks after collision in Dardanellen, 210 killed
- 1890Lugards expedition to Mengo / Kampala, Uganda
- 1898Automobile speed record set-63 km/h (39 mph)
- 1899Field Marshal Lord Roberts appointed British Supreme Commander in South Africa
- 1905H V Hordern takes 8-81 in 2nd innings of F-C debut (New South Wales vs. Queensland)
- 1915President Wilson, widowed the year before, marries Edith Bolling Galt
- 1917Soviet regiment (Stalin / Lenin) declares Finland Independent
- 19201st US postage stamps printed without the words United States or US
- 1923International zone of Tangier set up in Morocco
- 1930Bradman scores 258 NSW vs. South Australia, 289 mins, 37 fours
- 1932Chicago Bears beat Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 in 1st NFL playoff game
- 1935Edward Benes becomes President of Czechoslovakia
- 19361st giant panda imported into US
- 1936Su-Lin, 1st giant panda to come to US from China, arrives in San Francisco
- 1941German submarine U-434 sinks
Born on Dec 18
- 1562Philipp Dulichius: Composer
- 1569Jakob Hassler: Composer
- 1610Charles Du Fresne Du Cange: French Scholar / philologist
- 1633Adriaen Melar: Flemish engraver, baptised
- 1633Willem van de Velde the Young: Dutch seascape painter, baptised
- 1635Antonius Matthaeus: Dutch lawyer / historian
- 1667Wenzel Ludwig von Radolt: Composer
- 1707Charles Wesley: Co-founder (Methodist movement)
- 1709Elizabeth: Empress of Russia (to Peter the Great and Catherine I)
- 1734Jean-Baptiste Rey: Composer
- 1760Knud L Rahbek: Danish literary (Om sku skuespillerkunsten)
- 1779Joseph Grimaldi: England, United Kingdom -- Pantomimist ("greatest clown in history")
- 1786Carl Maria von Weber: Germany -- Romantic composer (Der Freischutz)
- 1788Camille Pleyel: Austria -- Piano builder / composer
- 1803William Allen: (Rep / Gov-Ohio)
- 1811Alexander Sandor Asboth: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1868
- 1812Wiktor Kazynski: Composer
- 1816Alfred Elzey Jones: Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1871
- 1819Jakov P Polonski: Russian poet (Stichotvorenija)
- 1825Charles Griffin: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1867
- 1826Mercer Brooke John: (Confederate Navy), died in 1906
- 1835George Dashiell Bayard: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
- 1837A Adolf Daens: Belgian priest / Dutch party founder (CVP)
- 1844Lujo [Ludwig J von] Brentano: German economist
- 1848Karl Schroder: Composer
- 1852Gaetano Coronaro: Composer
- 1856Joseph John Thomson: England, United Kingdom -- Physicist discovered electron (Nobel 1906)
- 1860Edward Alexander MacDowell: United States -- Composer (Indian Suite)
- 1861Lionel Monckton: Composer
- 1863French Ferdinand: Archduke of Austria (Sarajevo / WWI)
Died on Dec 18
- 0468Huna Mari bar Mar Zutra: Rabbi, executed in Pumpedita
- 1505John IX van Horne: Prince-bishop of Lieges, executed
- 1597Barbara Blomberg: German mistress of Emperor Karel, dies at 67
- 1633Theodoor Galle: Flemish engraver, buried at 62
- 1651Francisco the Melo: Portuguese / Spanish Earl of Assumar, dies at 54
- 1710Peter Codde: Apostile vicar (1688-1704), dies at 62
- 1732Johann Valentin Eckelt: Composer, dies at 59
- 1737Antonio Stradivari: Renowned violin-maker, dies in Cremona Italy at 93
- 1779Jan Punt: Engraver / illustrator / actor (Gideonschool), dies at 68
- 1803Johann G von Herder: German philosopher / Theologist / poet, dies at 59
- 1829Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck: French nature investigator, dies at about 85
- 1831Willem Bilderdijk: Dutch Poet / literary (My Relief), dies at 75
- 1835Johann Georg Anton Mederitsch-Gallus: Composer, dies at 82
- 1839Charles-Henri Plantade: Composer, dies at 75
- 1841Felice Blangini: Composer, dies at 60
- 1858Joseph-Henri-Ignace Mees: Composer, dies at 81
- 1862Johnson Kelly Duncan: Architect / Confederate Brigadier General, dies at 35
- 1865Francisco Manuel da Silva: Composer, dies at 70
- 1869Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Composer, dies at 40
- 1892Richard Owen: English zoologist (Dinosaurus), dies at 88
- 1897Carlo A Alfieri: Italian Member of parliament, dies at 70
- 1899John William Glover: Composer, dies at 84
- 1911Alberto Randegger: Composer, dies at 79
- 1918Henryk Jarecki: Composer, dies at 72
- 1919Horatio William Parker: Composer, dies at 56
- 1919John Alcock: Pilot (1st non-stop over Atlantic), dies in crash at 27
- 1928Lucien Capet: Composer, dies at 55
- 1931John T "Legs" Diamond: US gangster, murdered at 35
- 1932Eduard "Ede" Bernstein: German marxist / revisionist, dies at 82
- 1939Matthew Brown: Journalist, dies at 51