Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Today is the 197th day of 2026. There are 168 days left in this year.
Notable Events
1232
The Spanish town of Arjona declares independence and names its native Muhammad ibn Yusuf as ruler. This marks the Muhammad's first rise to prominence; he would later establish the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state in Spain.
1536
Jacques Cartier, navigator and explorer, returns home to St. Malo after claiming Stadacona (Quebec), Hochelaga (Montreal) and the River of Canada (St. Lawrence River) region for France.
1661
The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco.
1769
Father Junípero Serra founds California's first mission, Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Over the following decades, it evolves into the city of San Diego, California.
1779
Light infantry of the Continental Army seize a fortified British Army position in a midnight bayonet attack at the Battle of Stony Point during the American Revolutionary War.
1790
The District of Columbia is established as the capital of the United States after signature of the Residence Act.
1809
The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declares its independence from the Spanish Crown during the La Paz revolution and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo.
1858
The last apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.
1861
At the order of President Abraham Lincoln, Union troops begin a 25-mile march into Virginia for what will become the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the American Civil War.
1862
David Farragut is promoted to rear admiral, becoming the first officer in United States Navy to hold an admiral rank during the American Civil War.
1909
During the Persian Constitutional Revolution Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son Ahmad Shah Qajar.
1910
John Robertson Duigan makes the first flight of the Duigan pusher biplane, the first aircraft built in Australia.
1915
At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law.
1918
Russia's Czar Nicholas II, his empress and their five children were executed by the Bolsheviks.
1927
Augusto César Sandino leads a raid on U.S. Marines and Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional that had been sent to apprehend him in the village of Ocotal, but is repulsed by one of the first dive-bombing attacks in history.
1931
Emperor Haile Selassie signs the first constitution of Ethiopia.
1935
The world's first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1941
Joe DiMaggio hits safely for the 56th consecutive game, a streak that still stands as an MLB record.
1942
The government of Vichy France orders the mass arrest of 13,152 Jews who are held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver in Paris before deportation to Auschwitz.
1945
The United States conducted the Trinity Test and exploded its first experimental atomic bomb, in the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The results were found to have exceeded expectations about the impact of such bombs.
1945
The heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis leaves San Francisco with parts for the atomic bomb "Little Boy" bound for Tinian Island.
1948
The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, marks the first aircraft hijacking of a commercial plane.
1948
Following token resistance, the city of Nazareth, revered by Christians as the hometown of Jesus, capitulates to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
1950
The Chaplain-Medic massacre took place in the Korean War, on a mountain above the village of Tuman, South Korea. 30 unarmed, critically wounded United States Army soldiers and an unarmed chaplain were murdered by the Korean People's Army (KPA).
1951
J. D. Salinger publishes his popular yet controversial novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
1956
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; due to changing economics, all subsequent circus shows will be held in arenas.
1957
Marine Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record when he flew a jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds.
1957
KLM Flight 844 crashes off the Schouten Islands in present day Indonesia (then Netherlands New Guinea), killing 58 people.
1964
In accepting the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater said ''extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice'' and ''moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.''
1965
The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France and Italy opens.
1969
Apollo 11, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as Armstrong and Aldrin became the first people to set foot on the moon.
1973
During the Senate Watergate hearings, former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield publicly revealed the existence of President Nixon's secret taping system.
1979
Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.
1980
Ronald Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Detroit.
1990
An earthquake struck the main Philippine island of Luzon, killing over 1,500 people
1990
The Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR declares state sovereignty over the territory of the Ukrainian SSR.
1990
The Luzon earthquake strikes the Philippines with an intensity of 7.7, affecting Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac.
1994
The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is destroyed in a head-on collision with Jupiter.
2004
Millennium Park, considered Chicago's first and most ambitious early 21st-century architectural project, is opened to the public by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
2004
Celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in federal prison for lying about her involvement in an insider trading scandal.
2005
An Antonov An-24 crashes near Baney in Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea, killing 60 people.
2007
An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 and 6.6 aftershock occurs off the Niigata coast of Japan killing eight people, injuring at least 800 and damaging a nuclear power plant.
2009
The parliament of Iceland votes to pursue joining the European Union
2010
U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki is placed on the U.S. 'terror blacklist'
2011
The funeral for the final heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Otto von Habsburg, occurs in Vienna, attended by monarchs and members of the political elite
2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves of Truvada, the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection
2012
Jon Lord, an English composer and pianist and co-founder of the heavy rock group, Deep Purple, dies after suffering a pulmonary embolism
2013
As many as 27 children die and 25 others are hospitalized after eating lunch served at their school in eastern India.
2014
The U.S. adds new sanctions against Russia, prohibiting certain Russian international businesses from accessing U.S. capital markets; the move extends previous sanctions targeting individuals and companies
2015
Four U.S. Marines and one gunman die in a shooting spree targeting military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
2019
A 100-year-old building in Mumbai, India, collapses, killing at least 10 people and leaving many others trapped.
Notable Births
1749
Cyrus Griffin, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 16th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1810)
1821
Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader and author, founded Christian Science (d. 1910)
1887
Joseph Jefferson Jackson, nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American outfielder who played Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 1900s. He is often remembered for his association with the Black Sox Scandal. (d. 1951)
1896
Trygve Lie, Norwegian trade union leader and politician, 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1968)
1898
Lady Eve Balfour, British farmer, educator, and founding figure in the organic movement (d. 1990)
1907
Orville Redenbacher, American farmer and businessman, founded Orville Redenbacher's (d. 1995)
1907
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic screen presence and versatility. (d. 1990)
1911
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She performed during the 1930s in RKO's musical films with Fred Astaire. (d. 1995)
1919
Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan was a Nazi Austrian SS Helferin and female camp guard at Ravensbrück and Majdanek concentration camps, and the first Nazi war criminal to be extradited from the United States to face trial in West Germany. (d. 1999)
1924
Bess Myerson was an American politician, model, and television actress who in 1945 became the first Miss America who was also Jewish. (d. 2014)
1926
Irwin Rose was an American biologist. Along with Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. (d. 2015)
1929
Charles Ray Hatcher was an American serial killer. He was convicted in Missouri of one murder, has been linked to four others in Illinois and California, and confessed to having murdered a total of 16 people between 1969 and 1982. (d. 1984)
1932
Richard Lewis Thornburgh was an American lawyer, author, and Republican politician who served as the 41st governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the United States attorney general from 1988 to 1991.
1932
John Chilton was a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s, he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts. He won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1983. (d. 2016)
1932
Dick Thornburgh, American lawyer and politician, 41st governor of Pennsylvania and 76th United States Attorney General (d. 2020)
1936
Buddy Merrill, was an American guitar player and steel guitar player, best known as a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show. (d. 2021)
1939
Ali Khamenei, Iranian cleric and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of Iran.
1941
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces, he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). (d. 2006)
1942
Margaret Court, Australian tennis player and Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 women's singles major titles and total of 64 major titles are the most in tennis history.
1952
Stewart Copeland is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008.
1964
Miguel Indurain, Spanish bicyclist, Tour de France winner 1991-95
1967
Will Ferrell is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Ferrell is known for his leading man roles, as a SNL cast member, comedy films, and for his work as a television producer.
1968
Barry Sanders, NFL running back, Detroit Lions, 1988 Heisman Trophy
1968
Lawrence Mark Sanger is an American Internet project developer and philosopher who was the editor-in-chief of Nupedia, an online encyclopedia, and co-founded its successor Wikipedia along with Jimmy Wales. He coined Wikipedia's name.
1970
Fabio Casartelli, born in Como, Italy, raced with Ariostea team in 1993, won Olympic gold medal in 1992 Summer Olympics road race
1971
Ed Kowalczyk is an American singer, songwriter, musician and a founding member of the band "Live".
1971
Corey Feldman, American actor and musician. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s in films such as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985), and Stand by Me (1986).
1977
Bryan Budd, was a British Army soldier and a Northern Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. (d. 2006)
1990
Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement.
1996
Luke Hemmings is an Australian singer and musician, best known for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and a founding member of the pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer. Since 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer.
Notable Deaths
1849
Sarah Allen, African-American missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church (b. 1764)
1882
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln served as the first lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. (b. 1818)
1981
Harry Chapin was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. Known for the song "Taxi" and "Cat's In The Cradle.", he died in car crash at 38. (b. 1942)
1982
Charles Robberts Swart, South African lawyer and politician, 1st State President of South Africa (b. 1894)
1991
Frank Rizzo was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. (b. 1920)
1999
John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when the single-engine plane Kennedy was piloting plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
2001
Morris, was a Belgian comics artist, illustrator and the creator of Lucky Luke, a bestselling comic series about a gunslinger in the American Wild West. (b. 1923)
2002
John Cocke was an American computer scientist recognized for his large contribution to computer architecture and optimizing compiler design. He is considered by many to be "the father of RISC architecture." (b. 1925)
2008
Jo Stafford was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. (b. 1917)
2012
Kitty Wells, born Ellen Muriel Deason, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier for women in country music with her 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". (b. 1919)
2012
Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator, author, businessman, and speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. (b. 1932)
2012
William Asher was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series. (b. 1921)
2014
Johnny Winter was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances and slide guitar playing from the late 1960s into the early 2000s. (b. 1944)
2014
Heinz Zemanek was an Austrian computer pioneer who led the development, from 1954 to 1958, of one of the first complete transistorized computers on the European continent. (b. 1920)
2014
Johnny Winter was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1960s into the early 2000s. (b. 1944)
2014
Karl Albrecht was a German entrepreneur who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Theo. (b. 1920)
2017
George Andrew Romero Jr. was an American-Canadian film director, writer, editor and actor. His Night of the Living Dead series of films about a zombie apocalypse is considered a major contributor to the image of the zombie in modern culture. (b. 1940)
2023
Kevin Mitnick was an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. He is best known for his high-profile 1995 arrest and five years in prison for various computer and communications-related crimes. (b. 1963)
2025
Born Concetta Rose Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey, Connie Francis was a top-selling American singer and actress who rose to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Francis was a pioneer in recording music in multiple languages. (b. 1937)