August 16

Tuesday 16, 2005:

West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes near Machiques, Venezuela, killing the 160 aboard.

Friday 16, 1996:

Sigma Beta Rho is founded at the University of Pennsylvania.

Monday 16, 1993:

The Debian GNU/Linux distribution is founded by Ian Murdock.

Sunday 16, 1987:

A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashes on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport killing 155 people onboard, with the sole survivor four-year old Cecelia Cichan).

Thursday 16, 1984:

Carmaker John De Lorean is acquitted of all eight counts of possessing and distributing cocaine.

Friday 16, 1974:

The Ramones play their first ever show at the CBGB's.

Wednesday 16, 1972:

The Royal Moroccan Air Force mistakenly fires upon, but fails to bring down, Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.

Tuesday 16, 1966:

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.

Sunday 16, 1964:

Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.

Thursday 16, 1962:

The Beatles fire drummer Pete Best and replace him with Ringo Starr.

Tuesday 16, 1960:

Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,330 m). He sets unbeaten (as of 2003) world records for: high-altitude jump; free-fall by falling 16 miles (25.7 km) before opening his parachute; and fastest speed by a human without an aircraft, 614 mi/h (982 km/h).

Monday 16, 1954:

Sports Illustrated magazine is first published.

Friday 16, 1946:

The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, is established, and Ichir? Ishikawa is appointed its representative.

Sunday 16, 1942:

The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappear without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crashlands in Daly City, California.

Saturday 16, 1930:

The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks

Thursday 16, 1928:

Murderer Carl Panzram is arrested in Washington, DC after killing 20 people.

Monday 16, 1920:

Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit in the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the only player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game.

Monday 16, 1915:

World War I: Should victory be achieved over the Central Powers, the Triple Entente promises the Kingdom of Serbia: the Austro-Hungarian territories of Baranja, Srem, Slavonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the eastern 2/3 of Dalmatia (from the river of Krka to the city of Bar).

Saturday 16, 1913:

T?hoku Imperial University (modern day T?hoku University) admits its first female students.

Sunday 16, 1896:

Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in the Klondike in Canada.

Monday 16, 1858:

U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal will force a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.

Monday 16, 1841:

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.

Monday 16, 1819:

Eleven people die and 400 are injured by cavalry charges at the Peterloo Massacre at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.

Sunday 16, 1812:

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

Wednesday 16, 1780:

The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.

Saturday 16, 1777:

British forces are defeated by American troops.

More on August, 16

• People Born on August, 16
• They left us on August, 16