December 16 in History

Significant events that happened on this day.

Today

Historical Events

2014

A man in Pakistan legally changed his name to 'iPhone 7' to win a free iPhone 7 in a radio contest

A Pakistani electronics store held a promotion promising a free iPhone 7 to anyone who changed their name to the phone's name. Muhammad Kamran took th...

2009

James Cameron's Avatar was released and became the highest-grossing film of all time

The 3D science fiction epic cost $237 million to make and took 15 years to develop while Cameron waited for technology to catch up with his vision. It...

1997

More than 700 Japanese children suffered seizures while watching a Pokémon episode with flashing red and blue lights

The episode 'Electric Soldier Porygon' featured an explosion scene with rapidly alternating red and blue flashes that triggered photosensitive epilept...

1993

Physicist Erwin Schrödinger's famous thought experiment about a simultaneously alive-and-dead cat became a Microsoft Office Easter egg

Microsoft Word 6.0 released a version where typing specific commands would display an animation of Schrödinger's cat. The feature let users 'observe'...

1965

The U.S. government secretly bought a Soviet code machine from the wrong people and got completely scammed

In a CIA operation called Project EASY, American agents paid $128,000 to obtain a Soviet cipher machine through intermediaries. After celebration and...

1960

A United Airlines DC-8 and TWA Super Constellation collided over New York City, killing 134 people

The two planes crashed in mid-air over Staten Island during a heavy snowstorm, raining debris over Brooklyn and killing everyone aboard both aircraft....

1947

William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain demonstrated the first working transistor at Bell Labs

The point-contact transistor marked the beginning of the electronics revolution and would eventually replace vacuum tubes in virtually all application...

1944

The Battle of the Bulge began as Germany launched its last major offensive on the Western Front

Major

Adolf Hitler ordered a massive surprise attack through the Ardennes forest, catching Allied forces off guard and creating a 'bulge' in the front lines...

1916

Grigori Rasputin survived being poisoned, shot four times, and beaten before finally drowning in a frozen river

Russian nobles fed the mystic cakes laced with enough cyanide to kill five men, but he kept eating and drinking wine. They then shot him multiple time...

1811

The first of three massive earthquakes struck New Madrid, Missouri, ringing church bells in Boston 1,000 miles away

Major

The New Madrid earthquake was so powerful it temporarily reversed the flow of the Mississippi River and created new lakes. The shaking was felt over 1...

1773

American colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest British taxation

Major

The Boston Tea Party saw members of the Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Mohawk Indians, board three ships and destroy an entire shipment of tea sen...

1770

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, and would go on to compose masterpieces while completely deaf

Major

One of the greatest composers in history, Beethoven began losing his hearing in his late 20s but continued composing, conducting, and performing. He c...

1485

Catherine of Aragon, who would become the first of Henry VIII's six wives, was born

The Spanish princess married Henry VIII in 1509 and remained Queen of England for 24 years before Henry's obsession with producing a male heir led to...

Fun Facts from December 16