Date·Lore

On This Day · The 136th day of the year

May 16

This year marks the 600th anniversary of Mohnyin Thado — May 16 carries the weight of round numbers. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

Taurus is the sign for May 16 — read more on the Taurus page, or see May's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on May 16?

May 16 is the 136th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1426 and 2014. Famous people born on May 16 include Henry Fonda, IU (entertainer) and Amanda Carreras.

Released on May 16

Movies, games, albums & shows

2024

  • Game Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1426

    Mohnyin Thado

  2. 1811

    Peninsular War

  3. 1832

    Juan Godoy

  4. 1918

    Sedition Act of 1918

  5. 1925

    Claudio Monteverdi

  6. 1959

    Tritons' Fountain

  7. 1960

    Theodore Maiman

  8. 1961

    Park Chung Hee

  9. 1975

    Junko Tabei

  10. 2014

    Gikomba bombings

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 16

Henry Fonda

b. 1905

IU (entertainer)

b. 1993

Amanda Carreras

b. 1990

Karl Lehmann

b. 1936

Yuri Shevchuk

b. 1957

Mario Monicelli

b. 1915

Kenji Mizoguchi

b. 1898

Friedrich Rückert

b. 1788

Deaths

  • 2019I. M. Pei
  • 1954Clemens Krauss
  • 1953Django Reinhardt
  • 1943Alfred Hoche
  • 1830Joseph Fourier
  • 290Emperor Wu of Jin

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Aaron (Coptic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Abda and Abdjesus, and companions: Abdas of Susa
  • —Christian feast day: Andrew Bobola
  • —Christian feast day: Brendan the Navigator (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Caroline Chisholm (Church of England)
  • —Christian feast day: Gemma Galgani (Passionists Calendar)
  • —Christian feast day: Germerius
  • —Christian feast day: Honoratus of Amiens

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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