August 16 in History

Significant events that happened on this day.

Today

Historical Events

2008

Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal at a single Olympics, breaking Mark Spitz's record

Major

The American swimmer completed his unprecedented feat in Beijing by winning the 4x100 medley relay. His margin of victory in the 100m butterfly was ju...

2005

A Japanese man married a pillow featuring an anime character printed on it

The man held a formal ceremony with a pillow depicting his favorite character from a dating simulation game. He declared his love was real despite the...

2003

A massive power blackout left 50 million people without electricity across northeastern North America

The largest blackout in North American history started with overgrown trees touching power lines in Ohio. New York City was plunged into darkness duri...

1989

A solar flare caused a massive geomagnetic storm that made the Northern Lights visible as far south as Texas

The powerful solar eruption disrupted radio communications and caused voltage alarms at power stations across North America. Startled Texans called po...

1987

A harmonic convergence event convinced thousands to gather at sacred sites expecting cosmic transformation

New Age believers worldwide assembled at locations like Machu Picchu and Stonehenge, claiming planetary alignment would trigger spiritual awakening. A...

1977

A "Wow! signal" was detected by SETI researchers, the strongest candidate for extraterrestrial communication

Ohio State's Big Ear radio telescope picked up a 72-second signal from the constellation Sagittarius so remarkable that astronomer Jerry Ehman wrote "...

1960

Joseph Kittinger jumped from a helium balloon at 102,800 feet, free-falling for over four minutes

The Air Force captain stepped out of a gondola at the edge of space, reaching speeds of 614 mph during his descent. His right glove malfunctioned, cau...

1954

Sports Illustrated published its first issue, featuring baseball player Eddie Mathews on the cover

The iconic sports magazine launched with a cover price of 25 cents and included an article predicting television would never replace radio for sports....

1896

Gold was discovered in Rabbit Creek, sparking the Klondike Gold Rush

George Carmack and his indigenous companions Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie found gold in Canada's Yukon Territory. The discovery triggered one of his...

1858

President Buchanan and Queen Victoria exchanged the first transatlantic telegraph messages

Major

After multiple failed attempts to lay a cable across the Atlantic Ocean, the first successful telegraph message was sent between world leaders. The ca...

1780

The Battle of Camden became one of the worst American defeats in the Revolutionary War

British forces routed Continental Army troops in South Carolina, with American general Horatio Gates fleeing 60 miles in a single night. Nearly 1,000...

1513

The Battle of the Spurs saw English forces defeat the French in a battle named after fleeing soldiers

King Henry VIII's army routed French cavalry near Guinegate in such a lopsided victory that the battle was mockingly named after the spurs French knig...

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