Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on its final mission after 19 years of service
The shuttle carried the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. Endeavour had flown 25 missions, spending 299 days in space an...
May 16 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2011
2003
The last Oldsmobile rolled off the assembly line after 107 years of production
Oldsmobile was America's oldest surviving automotive brand and the first company to mass-produce cars. The final car, a burgundy Alero, was donated to...
1987
A man in Ohio was arrested for stealing a bank sign that said 'Drive-In Window'
The thief claimed he needed it for his rec room. Police found the 200-pound illuminated sign in his garage. He was charged with grand theft despite ar...
1975
Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest
The Japanese mountaineer achieved this feat just 12 days after being buried in an avalanche. She went on to become the first woman to climb the Seven...
1975
A Japanese woman climbed Mount Everest wearing traditional Japanese footwear called 'tabi'
The same day Junko Tabei became the first woman to summit Everest, she made history in her choice of footwear. While other climbers wore modern mounta...
1966
The Communist Party of China issued the 'May 16 Notification' launching the Cultural Revolution
MajorThis document marked the official beginning of a decade-long period of political persecution and social chaos. The Cultural Revolution would profoundl...
1960
Theodore Maiman operated the first functioning laser at Hughes Research Laboratories
MajorThe ruby laser produced a concentrated beam of light that would revolutionize science, medicine, and technology. Maiman's invention was initially dism...
1946
The Patent Office granted patent number 2,400,000 to H.G. Francis for a 'flying machine toy'
This milestone patent was for a simple rubber band-powered toy airplane. The Patent Office celebrated the occasion with a ceremony, though the inventi...
1929
The first Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
MajorOnly 270 people attended the first Oscars, which lasted just 15 minutes. Winners had been announced three months earlier, so there were no surprises....
1920
A horse-drawn wagon exploded on Wall Street, killing 38 people and injuring hundreds
The bombing was never solved and remains one of New York's greatest mysteries. Investigators believed it was an anarchist attack, but no one was ever...
1888
Nikola Tesla delivered his lecture 'A New System of Alternate Current Motors and Transformers' to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
This presentation revolutionized electrical engineering by demonstrating the superiority of alternating current over direct current. George Westinghou...
1868
The U.S. Senate acquitted President Andrew Johnson by one vote in his impeachment trial
MajorJohnson became the first U.S. president to be impeached. The Senate fell just one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to remove him from offi...
1770
Marie Antoinette married the future King Louis XVI of France at age 14
The Austrian princess had never met her groom before the wedding day. Their marriage was meant to cement an alliance between France and Austria, but b...
1763
James Boswell met Samuel Johnson for the first time in a London bookshop
This chance encounter led to one of history's most famous literary friendships. Boswell would go on to write 'The Life of Samuel Johnson,' considered...