✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 320th day of the year

November 16

A look at November 16 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Tiberius and William Bonner (newscaster), and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♏ZodiacScorpio ◈BirthstoneTopaz ❀Birth flowerChrysanthemum
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2002

    2002–2004 SARS outbreak

    The first cases of the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak are traced to Foshan, Guangdong Province, China.

    Epidemic of severe acute
  2. 1997

    China

    After nearly 18 years of incarceration, China releases Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons.

    Country in East Asia
  3. 1988

    Pakistan

    In the first open election in more than a decade, voters in Pakistan elect populist candidate Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister of Pakistan.

    Country in South Asia
  4. 1973

    Richard Nixon

    U.S. president Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.

    President of the United
  5. 1967

    Aeroflot Flight 2230

    Aeroflot Flight 2230 crashes near Koltsovo Airport, killing 107.

    1967 aviation accident in
  6. 1940

    World War II

    World War II: In response to the leveling of Coventry by the German Luftwaffe two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  7. 1940

    The Holocaust

    The Holocaust: In occupied Poland, the Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.

    Genocide of European Jews
  8. 1849

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    A Russian court sentences writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group; his sentence is later commuted to hard labor.

    Russian novelist (1821–1881)
  9. 1776

    American Revolutionary War

    American Revolutionary War: British and Hessian units capture Fort Washington from the Patriots.

    1775–1783 conflict in North
  10. 1632

    Gustavus Adolphus

    King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was killed at the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years' War.

    King of Sweden from
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Famous birthday twins

Born on November 16

Tiberius

b. -42

Roman emperor (died 37 AD)

William Bonner (newscaster)

b. 1963

Brazilian newscaster, publicist and journalist

Mika Aaltonen

b. 1965

Finnish footballer

José Saramago

b. 1922

Portuguese novelist and Nobel laureate in Literature

Paul Scholes

b. 1974

English footballer and sportscaster

Harvey Martin

b. 1950

American football player

Andrea Barrett

b. 1954

American novelist and short story writer

Zina Garrison

b. 1963

American tennis player

Deaths

  • 2006Milton Friedman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1974Walther Meissner, German physicist and engineer
  • 1922Max Abraham, Polish-German physicist and academic
  • 1264Emperor Lizong, of Song China
  • 1240Ibn Arabi, Andalusian Arab philosopher
  • 1005Ælfric of Abingdon, Archbishop of Canterbury

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Africus
  • —Christian feast day: Agnes of Assisi
  • —Christian feast day: Edmund of Abingdon
  • —Christian feast day: Elfric of Abingdon
  • —Christian feast day: Eucherius of Lyon
  • —Christian feast day: Gertrude the Great (Roman Catholic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Giuseppe Moscati
  • —Christian feast day: Gobrain

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