December 16

"16 December" redirects here. For the 2002 Hindi-language film, see 16 December (film).

December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 15 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 755 – An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Yanjing, initiating the An Lushan Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China.
• 1431 – Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris, France.
• 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.
• 1598 – Seven Year War: Battle of Noryang – The final battle of the Seven Year War is fought between the China and the Korean Allied Forces and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive Allied Forces victory.
• 1653 – English Interregnum: The Protectorate – Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• 1689 – Convention Parliament: The Declaration of Right is embodied in the Bill of Rights.
• 1707 – Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.
• 1761 – Seven Years' War: After a four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg.
• 1773 – American Revolution: Boston Tea Party – Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
• 1811 – The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri. These four so-called mega-quakes are believed to be an ongoing cataclysmic danger that could reprise the 1811-12 series of 2,000 quakes that affected the lands of what would be eight of today's heartland states of the United States.
• 1826 – Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia.
• 1838 – Battle of Blood River: Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers defeat Zulu impis, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
• 1850 – History of New Zealand: The Charlotte Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Joseph E. Johnston replaces Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Franklin–Nashville Campaign – Battle of Nashville – Major General George Thomas's Union forces defeat Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee.
• 1903 – Taj Mahal Palace & Tower first opened its doors to the guests.
• 1907 – The Great White Fleet begins its circumnavigation of the world
• 1912 – First Balkan War: The Battle of Elli takes place.
• 1914 – World War I: German battleships under Franz von Hipper bombard the English ports of Hartlepool and Scarborough.
• 1918 – Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas declares the formation of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.
• 1920 – The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000.
• 1922 – President of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw.
• 1930 – Bank robber Herman Lamm and members of his crew are killed by a posse of 200, following a botched bank robbery in Clinton, Indiana.
• 1937 – Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again.
• 1938 – Adolf Hitler institutes the Cross of Honor of the German Mother
• 1941 – World War II: Japanese forces occupy Miri, Sarawak
• 1942 – Holocaust: Porajmos – Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination be deported to Auschwitz.
• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.
• 1946 – Thailand joins the United Nations.
• 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.
• 1957 – Sir Feroz Khan Noon replaces Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• 1960 – 1960 New York air disaster: While approaching New York, New York's Idlewild Airport, a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation in a blinding snowstorm over Staten Island, killing 134.
• 1965 – Vietnam War: General William Westmoreland sends U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara a request for 243,000 more men by the end of 1966.
• 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: The surrender of the Pakistan Army brings an end to both conflicts.
• 1971 – "National Day" of the Kingdom of Bahrain is celebrated. Not to be confused with Bahrain Independence Day which took place on August 15, 1971.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: Henry Kissinger announces that North Vietnam has left private peace negotiations, in Paris, France.
• 1972 – Vijay Diwas: (Victory Day) is commemorated every 16 December in India as it marks its military victory over Pakistan in 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
• 1978 – Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks.
• 1979 – Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices, having an immediate dramatic effect on the United States.
• 1985 – Mafia: In New York, New York, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of the Gambino family.
• 1986 – Revolt in Kazakhstan against Communist Party of Kazakhstan, known as Jeltoqsan, which becomes the first sign of ethnic strife during Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's tenure
• 1989 – Protests break out in Timișoara, Romania in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés.
• 1989 – Walter LeRoy Moody begins his terrorist bombing streak when he sends Judge Robert Smith Vance a bomb in the mail, instantly killing him near his house in Birmingham, Alabama.
• 1991 – Independence of Kazakhstan.
• 1997 – An episode of Pokémon, "Dennō Senshi Porygon", aired in Japan induces seizures in 685 Japanese children.
• 1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Operation Desert Fox – The United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq.
• 2003 – President George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law. The law establishes the United States' first national standards for the sending of commercial e-mail and requires the Federal Trade Commission to enforce its provisions.
• 2012 – A gang rape in Delhi sparks widespread demonstrations across India.

Births

• 1485 – Catherine of Aragon (d. 1536)
• 1584 – John Selden, English jurist and scholar (d. 1654)
• 1614 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1674)
• 1716 – Louis Jules Mancini Mazarini, French diplomat (d. 1798)
• 1717 – Elizabeth Carter, English poet (d. 1806)
• 1742 – Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, German field marshal (d. 1819)
• 1775 – Jane Austen, English author (d. 1817)
• 1775 – François-Adrien Boieldieu, French composer (d. 1834)
• 1776 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German physicist (d. 1810)
• 1778 – John Ordronaux, French-American privateer (d. 1841)
• 1787 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (d. 1855)
• 1790 – Leopold I of Belgium (d. 1865)
• 1804 – Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1889)
• 1834 – Léon Walras, French economist (d. 1910)
• 1836 – Ernst von Bergmann, Baltic German surgeon (d. 1907)
• 1861 – Antonio de La Gandara, French painter (d. 1917)
• 1863 – George Santayana, Spanish philosopher and author (d. 1952)
• 1865 – Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet (d. 1918)
• 1866 – Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-French painter (d. 1944)
• 1867 – Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary (d. 1951)
• 1869 – Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian author and activist (d. 1952)
• 1872 – Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (d. 1947)
• 1882 – Jack Hobbs, English cricketer (d. 1963)
• 1882 – Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer (d. 1967)
• 1882 – Walther Meissner, German physicist (d. 1974)
• 1883 – Károly Kós, Hungarian architect, ethnologist, and politician (d. 1977)
• 1883 – Max Linder, French actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1925)
• 1888 – Alexander I of Yugoslavia (d. 1934)
• 1888 – Alphonse Juin, French marshal (d. 1967)
• 1889 – Kim Chwa-chin, South Korean activist (d. 1930)
• 1899 – Noël Coward, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1973)
• 1900 – V. S. Pritchett, English author and critic (d. 1997)
• 1901 – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Rafael Alberti, Spanish poet (d. 1999)
• 1903 – Hardie Albright, American actor (d. 1975)
• 1905 – Piet Hein, Danish mathematician, author, and poet (d. 1996)
• 1907 – Barbara Kent, Canadian-American actress (d. 2011)
• 1913 – George Ignatieff, Russian-Canadian diplomat (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Salik Lucknawi, Indian journalist and poet (d. 2013)
• 1915 – Turk Murphy, American trombonist and singer (d. 1987)
• 1916 – Birgitta Valberg, Swedish actress
• 1917 – Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Pakistani author and scholar (d. 2011)
• 1917 – Arthur C. Clarke, English author (d. 2008)
• 1917 – Ruth Johnson Colvin, American educator, founded ProLiteracy Worldwide
• 1918 – Pierre Delanoë, French songwriter (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Frederick Rotimi Williams, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Cy Leslie, American record producer, founded Pickwick Records (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Menahem Pressler, German-American pianist (Beaux Arts Trio)
• 1926 – James McCracken, American tenor (d. 1988)
• 1927 – Randall Garrett, American author (d. 1987)
• 1928 – Terry Carter, American actor, director, and producer
• 1928 – Philip K. Dick, American author (d. 1982)
• 1929 – Nicholas Courtney, English actor (d. 2011)
• 1931 – Karl Denver, Scottish singer (d. 1998)
• 1932 – Rodion Shchedrin, Russian pianist and composer
• 1932 – Quentin Blake, English author and illustrator
• 1934 – Rodolfo Llinás, Colombian-American neuroscientist
• 1936 – Morris Dees, American activist, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center
• 1937 – Joyce Bulifant, American actress
• 1938 – Frank Deford, American journalist and author
• 1938 – Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress
• 1939 – Philip Langridge, English tenor (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Robert Kerman, American actor
• 1941 – Lesley Stahl, American journalist
• 1942 – Donald Carcieri, American politician, 73rd Governor of Rhode Island
• 1942 – Eugene Robert Glazer, American actor
• 1943 – Steven Bochco, American screenwriter and producer
• 1944 – Jeff Kanew, American director and screenwriter
• 1944 – Don Meyer, American basketball coach
• 1945 – Patti Deutsch, American actress
• 1945 – Bobby George, English darts player
• 1945 – Yukio Hattori, Japanese television host
• 1945 – Tony Hicks, English singer and guitarist (The Hollies)
• 1946 – Benny Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (ABBA and Hep Stars)
• 1946 – Charles Dennis, Canadian actor
• 1946 – Christopher Ellison, English actor
• 1946 – Terence Knox, American actor
• 1946 – Trevor Pinnock, English conductor and harpsichordist
• 1946 – Tom Stern, American cinematographer
• 1947 – Ben Cross, English actor
• 1947 – Vincent Matthews, American sprinter
• 1948 – Christopher Biggins, English actor
• 1949 – Billy Gibbons, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (ZZ Top and Moving Sidewalks)
• 1950 – Claudia Cohen, American journalist (d. 2007)
• 1950 – Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (d. 2006)
• 1951 – Mike Flanagan, American baseball player (d. 2011)
• 1951 – Robben Ford, American guitarist and songwriter (L.A. Express and Yellowjackets)
• 1951 – Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1992)
• 1952 – Joel Garner, Barbadian cricketer
• 1952 – Francesco Graziani, Italian footballer
• 1953 – Rebecca Forstadt, American voice actress and scriptwriter
• 1955 – Xander Berkeley, American actor
• 1955 – Carol Browner, American lawyer and environmentalist
• 1955 – Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
• 1957 – Antonio Vega, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nacha Pop) (d. 2009)
• 1958 – Katie Leigh, American voice actress
• 1958 – Bart Oates, American football player
• 1959 – Alison LaPlaca, American actress
• 1959 – Steve Mattsson, American writer and illustrator
• 1959 – Larry Poindexter, American actor and singer
• 1960 – Canuto Kallan, Danish painter
• 1960 – Pat Van Den Hauwe, Belgian footballer
• 1961 – LaChanze, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1961 – André Andersen, Russian-Danish keyboard player, composer, and producer (Royal Hunt)
• 1961 – Shane Black, American actor, screenwriter, and director
• 1961 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (d. 1994)
• 1961 – Gretchen Palmer, American actress
• 1961 – Sam Robards, American actor
• 1961 – Jon Tenney, American actor
• 1962 – Maruschka Detmers, Dutch actress
• 1962 – William Perry, American football player
• 1962 – Melanie Smith, American actress
• 1963 – Benjamin Bratt, American actor
• 1963 – Jeff Carson, American singer
• 1963 – James Mangold, American director and screenwriter
• 1964 – Heike Drechsler, German sprinter
• 1964 – Gail Harris, English actress
• 1964 – Georgie Parker, Australian actress
• 1964 – Billy Ripken, American baseball player
• 1964 – Paul Vogt, American actor and comedian
• 1964 – Todd Glass, American comedian
• 1965 – Chris Jones, American baseball player
• 1965 – Melanie Sloan, American lawyer
• 1965 – Nancy Valen, American actress
• 1966 – Clifford Robinson, American basketball player
• 1966 – Dennis Wise, English footballer
• 1967 – Donovan Bailey, Jamaican-Canadian sprinter
• 1967 – Miranda Otto, Australian actress
• 1968 – Peter Dante, American actor
• 1968 – Lalah Hathaway, American singer
• 1968 – Mark Dean Schwab, American rapist and murderer (d. 2008)
• 1969 – Shane, American porn actress
• 1969 – Florencia Lozano, American actress
• 1969 – Adam Riess, American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize Laureate
• 1969 – Dmitri Tymoczko, American composer and theorist
• 1970 – Valerie Chow, Hong Kong actress
• 1970 – Daniel Cosgrove, American actor
• 1971 – Michael McCary, American singer-songwriter (Boyz II Men)
• 1971 – Seyhan Kurt, French-Turkish poet and sociologist
• 1971 – Paul van Dyk, German DJ and producer
• 1972 – Angela Bloomfield, New Zealand actress
• 1972 – Charles Gipson, American baseball player
• 1972 – Željko Kalac, Australian footballer
• 1972 – Paul Leyden, Australian actor
• 1972 – Travis Morrison, American musician (The Dismemberment Plan)
• 1973 – Sarah Kozer, American model and actress
• 1973 – Themba Mnguni, South African footballer
• 1973 – Jason Molina, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1973 – Luisa Ranieri, Italian actress
• 1973 – Scott Storch, American songwriter and producer, founded Storch Music Company
• 1974 – Frida Hallgren, Swedish actress
• 1974 – Earl C. Poitier, American actor
• 1975 – Valentin Bădoi, Romanian footballer
• 1975 – Nao Kawakita, Japanese drummer (Maximum the Hormone)
• 1975 – Benjamin Kowalewicz, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Billy Talent)
• 1975 – Jonathan Scarfe, Canadian actor
• 1977 – Éric Bélanger, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Sylvain Distin, French footballer
• 1978 – Joe Absolom, English actor
• 1978 – John Morris, Canadian curler
• 1978 – Gunter Van Handenhoven, Belgian footballer
• 1979 – Trevor Immelman, South African golfer
• 1979 – Flo Rida, American rapper
• 1979 – Mihai Trăistariu, Romanian singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Jessie Ward, American wrestler
• 1981 – Krysten Ritter, American actress
• 1981 – Anna Sedokova, Ukrainian-American singer and actress
• 1981 – Gareth Williams, Scottish footballer
• 1982 – Garnon Davies, Welsh actor
• 1982 – Justin Mentell, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1982 – Antrel Rolle, American football player
• 1982 – Stanislav Šesták, Slovakian footballer
• 1983 – Kelenna Azubuike, American basketball player
• 1983 – Frankie Ballard, American singer
• 1983 – Danielle Lloyd, English model
• 1984 – Theo James, American actor
• 1985 – Amanda Setton, American actress
• 1985 – Keita Tachibana, Japanese singer (w-inds.)
• 1986 – Candice Crawford, American model and journalist
• 1986 – Alcides Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1987 – Mame Biram Diouf, Senegalese footballer
• 1987 – Beau Dowler, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Hallee Hirsh, American actress
• 1988 – Mats Hummels, German footballer
• 1988 – Anna Popplewell, English actress
• 1990 – Julito McCullum, American actor
• 1992 – Ulrikke Eikeri, Norwegian tennis player
• 1993 – Lola Créton, French actress
• 1999 – Bryce Robinson, American actor

Deaths

• 401 – Pope Anastasius I
• 705 – Wu Zetian, Chinese wife Emperor Gaozong of Tang (b. 625)
• 714 – Pepin of Herstal, Frankish military leader and politician (b. 635)
• 867 – Eberhard of Friuli (b. 815)
• 999 – Adelaide of Italy (b. 931)
• 1263 – Haakon IV of Norway (b. 1204)
• 1325 – Charles, Count of Valois (b. 1270)
• 1378 – Secondotto, Marquess of Montferrat (b. 1360)
• 1379 – John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel, English marshal (b. 1348)
• 1470 – John II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1425)
• 1515 – Afonso de Albuquerque Portuguese admiral (b. 1453)
• 1598 – Yi Sun-sin, Korean admiral (b. 1545)
• 1669 – Nathaniel Fiennes, English politician (b. 1608)
• 1687 – William Petty, English scientist and philosopher (b. 1623)
• 1751 – Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (b. 1700)
• 1765 – Peter Frederick Haldimand, Swiss military officer and surveyor (b. 1741)
• 1774 – François Quesnay, French economist (b. 1694)
• 1783 – Johann A. Hasse, German composer (b. 1699)
• 1783 – Sir William James, 1st Baronet, Welsh navy officer (b. 1720)
• 1809 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (b. 1755)
• 1859 – Wilhelm Grimm, German author (b. 1786)
• 1892 – Henry Yesler, American businessman and politician, 7th Mayor of Seattle (b. 1810)
• 1897 – Alphonse Daudet, French author (b. 1840)
• 1898 – Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and art collector (b. 1832)
• 1914 – Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer (b. 1832)
• 1916 – Ognjeslav Kostović Stepanović, Serbian engineer (b. 1851)
• 1917 – Frank Gotch, American wrestler (b. 1878)
• 1921 – Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (b. 1835)
• 1922 – Gabriel Narutowicz, Polish politician, 1st President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1865)
• 1925 – Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (b. 1854)
• 1928 – Elinor Wylie, American poet and author (b. 1885)
• 1930 – Herman Lamm, German-American bank robber (b. 1890)
• 1935 – Thelma Todd, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1940 – Billy Hamilton, American baseball player (b. 1866)
• 1944 – Betsie ten Boom, Dutch holocaust victim (b. 1885)
• 1945 – Giovanni Agnelli, Italian businessman, founded the Fiat Automobile Company (b. 1866)
• 1945 – Fumimaro Konoe, Japanese politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1891)
• 1948 – Denham Fouts, American prostitute (b. 1914)
• 1949 – Sidney Olcott, Canadian director (b. 1873)
• 1952 – Robert Henry Best, American broadcaster (b. 1896)
• 1956 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh painter and author (b. 1890)
• 1963 – Nam Phuong, Vietnamese wife of Bao Dai (b. 1914)
• 1965 – W. Somerset Maugham, French author and playwright (b. 1874)
• 1968 – Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (b. 1912)
• 1968 – Muhammad Suheimat, Jordanian general and politician (b. 1916)
• 1976 – Réal Caouette, Canadian politician (b. 1917)
• 1977 – Risto Jarva, Finnish director (b. 1934)
• 1980 – Colonel Sanders, American businessman, founded KFC (b. 1890)
• 1980 – Hellmuth Walter, German engineer (b. 1900)
• 1982 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (b. 1928)
• 1983 – Debs Garms, American baseball player (b. 1907)
• 1985 – Thomas Bilotti, American mobster (b. 1940)
• 1985 – Paul Castellano, American mobster (b. 1915)
• 1988 – Sylvester, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
• 1989 – Óscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentine race car driver (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (b. 1930)
• 1989 – Aileen Pringle, American actress (b. 1895)
• 1989 – Lee Van Cleef, American actor (b. 1925)
• 1990 – Douglas Campbell, American pilot (b. 1896)
• 1991 – Tamási Eszter, Hungarian actress (b. 1938)
• 1993 – Charizma, American rapper (b. 1973)
• 1993 – Moses Gunn, American actor (b. 1929)
• 1993 – Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Johnny Moss, American poker player (b. 1907)
• 1995 – Mariele Ventre, Italian singer and director (b. 1939)
• 1996 – Quentin Bell, English historian and author (b. 1910)
• 1997 – Lillian Disney, American illustrator (b. 1899)
• 1997 – Nicolette Larson, American singer (b. 1952)
• 1998 – William Gaddis, American author (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Stuart Adamson, English-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Skids, Big Country, and The Raphaels) (b. 1958)
• 2001 – Stefan Heym, German author (b. 1913)
• 2003 – Robert Stanfield, Canadian politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
• 2004 – Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Deyda Hydara, Gambian journalist (b. 1946)
• 2005 – Kenneth Bulmer, English author (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Ed Hansen, American director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
• 2005 – John Spencer, American actor (b. 1946)
• 2006 – Don Jardine, Canadian wrestler (b. 1940)
• 2006 – Taliep Petersen, South African singer, composer, and director (b. 1950)
• 2006 – Pnina Salzman, Israeli pianist (b. 1922)
• 2007 – Dan Fogelberg, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
• 2009 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1956)
• 2009 – Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South African physician and politician (b. 1940)
• 2010 – Melvin E. Biddle, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Dan Frazer, American actor (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Axel Anderson, German-Puerto Rican actor (b. 1929)
• 2012 – John Chen Shi-zhong, Chinese bishop (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Peter Clarke, English cartoonist (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Doyle Conner, American politician (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Febo Conti, Italian actor (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Robert Derleth, American football player (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Elwood V. Jensen, American academic and medical researcher (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Iñaki Lejarreta, Spanish cyclist (b. 1983)
• 2012 – Sheila McKinley, Scottish singer (The McKinleys) (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Adam Ndlovu, Zimbabwean footballer (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Enrique Oltuski, Cuban politician (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Jim Patterson, Scottish footballer (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Josh Weston, American porn actor (b. 1973)
• 2012 – Jake Adam York, American poet (b. 1972)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Adelaide of Italy
  • December 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• O Sapientia (Anglicanism)
• Day of Reconciliation, formerly celebrated as Day of the Vow by the Afrikaners (South Africa)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union in 1991.
• National Day, celebrates the withdrawal of United Kingdom from Bahrain, making Bahrain an independent emirate in 1971. However December 16 is only the date on which the state celebrates the event, while the actual day on which the independence of Bahrain was declared was August 15, 1971 (see Bahrain Independence Day)
• National Sports Day (Thailand)
• Nine-day celebration of Mary and Joseph's search for a place to stay where Jesus could be born begins (Hispanidad):
  • The first day of Las Posadas (Mexico, Latin America)
  • The first day of the Simbang Gabi novena of masses (Philippines)
• Victory Day (Bangladesh)
• Victory Day (India)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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