Date·Lore

On This Day · The 289th day of the year

October 16

October 16 carries an unusually long memory — its events reach back as far as 690. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♎ZodiacLibra ◈BirthstoneOpal ❀Birth flowerMarigold

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

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on October 16?

October 16 is the 289th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 690 and 2013. Famous people born on October 16 include Günter Grass, Inna and Oscar Wilde.

Released on October 16

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Fellowship
  • Game Duet Night Abyss
  • Game Pokémon Legends: Z-A
  • Game Pax Dei
  • Game Escape from Duckov
  • Game Starbites

2021

  • Movie The Unknown Man

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 690

    Wu Zetian

  2. 1384

    Jadwiga of Poland

  3. 1875

    Brigham Young University

  4. 1916

    Margaret Sanger

  5. 1923

    Walt Disney

  6. 1939

    World War II

  7. 1953

    Cuba

  8. 1964

    Project 596

  9. 1998

    Augusto Pinochet

  10. 2013

    Lao Airlines Flight 301

Famous birthday twins

Born on October 16

Günter Grass

b. 1927

Inna

b. 1986

Oscar Wilde

b. 1854

Hema Malini

b. 1948

David Ben-Gurion

b. 1886

Andrei Chikatilo

b. 1936

Nico

b. 1938

Enver Hoxha

b. 1908

Deaths

  • 2023Martti Ahtisaari
  • 2017Daphne Caruana Galizia
  • 2013Ed Lauter
  • 1946Alfred Jodl
  • 1793Marie Antoinette
  • 1523Luca Signorelli

Holidays & observances

  • —Air Force Day (Bulgaria)
  • —Boss's Day (United States)
  • —Christian feast day: Balderic (Baudry) of Monfaucon
  • —Christian feast day: Bercharius
  • —Christian feast day: Bertrand of Comminges
  • —Christian feast day: Colmán of Kilroot (Colman mac Cathbaid)
  • —Christian feast day: Eliphius
  • —Christian feast day: Fortunatus of Casei

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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