DECEMBER 16 ~ ON THiS DAY in History

1431 – Henry VI of England was crowned King of France on the 16th December 1431, at Notre Dame in ParisFrance.

1485 – Catherine of Aragon was born on the 16th December 1485 (died 1536).

1497 – Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope on the 16th December 1497, the point where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.

1707 – Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan on the 16th December 1707.

1770 – Ludwig van Beethoven the German composer was born on the 16th December 1770 (died 1827).

1775 – Jane Austen the English author was born on the 16th December 1775 (died 1817).

1861 – Antonio de La Gandara the French painter was born on the 16th December 1861 (died 1917).

1866 – Wassily Kandinsky the Russian-French painter was born on the 16th December 1866 (died 1944).

1872 – Anton Ivanovich Denikin the Russian general was born on the 16th December 1872 (died 1947).

1884Seibo Kitamura the Japanese sculptor was born on the 16th December 1884 (died 1987).

1903 – Taj Mahal Palace & Tower first opened its doors to guests on the 16th December 1903.

1917 – Arthur C. Clarke the English author was born on the 16th December 1917 (died 2008).

1920 – The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocked the Gansu province in China on the 16th December 1920, killing about 200,000 people.

1945 – Tony Hicks the English singer and guitarist from The Hollies was born on the 16th December 1945.

1946 – Thailand joined the United Nations on the 16th December 1946.

1946 – Benny Andersson the Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist from ABBA was born on the 16th December 1946.

1947 – William ShockleyJohn Bardeen and Walter Brattain built the first practical point-contact transistor on the 16th December 1947.

1949 – Billy Gibbons the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from ZZ Top was born on the 16th December 1949.

1957 – Antonio Vega the Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist from Nacha Pop was born on the 16th December 1957 (died 2009).

1960 – Canuto Kallan the Danish painter was born on the 16th December 1960.

1961 – Bill Hicks the American comedian was born on the 16th December 1961 (died 1994).

1967 – Miranda Otto the Australian actress was born on the 16th December 1967.

1971 – Michael McCary the American singer-songwriter from Boyz II Men was born on the 16th December 1971.

1971 – Paul van Dyk the German DJ and producer was born on the 16th December 1971.

1975 – Benjamin Kowalewicz the Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Billy Talent was born on the 16th December 1975.

1982Jared Graves the Australian cyclist was born in Toowoomba, Queensland on the 16th December 1982. Jared Graves has represented Australia in BMXFour-Cross and Downhill mountain biking. Jared Graves Facebook: www.facebook.com/JaredGravesMTB | Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JaredGraves

1985 – Mafia: In New York CIty, New York, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti were shot dead on the 16th December 1985, on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of the Gambino family.

1991 – Kazakhstan gained its independence from the Soviet Union on the 16th December 1991.

1997 – An episode of Pokémon, “Dennō Senshi Porygon“, aired in Japan induced seizures in 685 Japanese children on the 16th December 1997.

2003 – President George W. Bush signed the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law on the 16th December 2003. The law established the United States’ first national standards for the sending of commercial e-mail and required the Federal Trade Commission to enforce its provisions.

2009 – Avatar (2009 film) was released internationally on the 16th December 2009. It would later be the first film to gross $2 billion and the highest grossing movie of all time.

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