16 December is the 350th day of the year (351st in Leap Year s) in the Gregorian Calendar . There are 15 days remaining.
- - Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu .
- - Admiral Yi Sun Sin 's outnumbered Korea n navy ambushes and defeats Toyotomi Hideyoshi 's Japan ese fleet.
- - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth Of England , Scotland and Ireland .
- ''.
- take the Prussian fortress of Kolobrzeg .
- - Members of the Sons Of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act .
- 1811 - The first two in a series of severe Earthquakes occurs, in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri .
- led by Andries Pretorius combat Zulu Impi s, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela KaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal , South Africa .
- '' and the '' Randolph '' bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton .
- - Battle Of Nashville - Major General George H. Thomas 's Union forces defeat Lieutenant General John Bell Hood 's Confederate Army Of Tennessee .
- 1899 - Brooklyn Children's Museum opens.
- 1910 - During a ground test of his Coandă-1910 plane, Henri Coandă , caught unaware by the power of the engine, finds himself briefly airborne and loses control of the machine which crashes to the ground.
- 1922 - President Of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw .
- 1925 - A regular broadcasting service was instituted in Ceylon .
- , Sarawak
- - Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination should be deported to Auschwitz .
- - General Dwight D. Eisenhower 's allied forces and Field Marshall Gerd Von Rundstedt 's German army engage in the Belgian Ardennes .
- 1946 - Léon Blum becomes Prime Minister Of France .
- 1957 - Sir Feroz Khan Noon replaces Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar as Prime Minister Of Pakistan .
- , a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation in a blinding Snowstorm over Staten Island , killing 134.
- simultaneously brings an end to both conflicts.
- , Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti , who assumes leadership of the Gambino Family .
- 1989 - Protest breaks out in Timişoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor, László Tőkés .
- revokes UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 after Israel makes revocation of resolution 3379 a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference Of 1991 .
- 1997 - Typhoon Paka makes landfall on the island of Guam with 150 Mph winds.
- 1997 - The Pokémon episode '' Electric Soldier Porygon '' triggers attacks of Photosensitive Epilepsy in hundreds of Japan ese children.
- - The United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq .
- 2005 - The last scheduled edition of US radio program '' The Howard Stern Show '' is broadcast on terrestrial radio.
- 2005 - Appalachian State University wins NCAA Division I-AA National Football Championship over University Of Northern Iowa .
- 1485 - Catherine Of Aragon , Queen of England (d. 1536 )
- 1584 - John Selden , English jurist and oriental scholar (d. 1654 )
- 1614 - Eberhard III, Duke Of Württemberg (d. 1674 )
- 1714 - George Whitefield , British-born Methodist leader (d. 1770 )
- 1716 - Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc De Nivernais , French diplomat and writer (d. 1798 )
- 1717 - Elizabeth Carter , British writer (d. 1806 )
- 1742 - Gebhard Fürst Blücher Von Wahlstatt , German Field Marshal (d. 1819 )
- 1770 - Ludwig Van Beethoven , German composer (d. 1827 )
- 1775 - Jane Austen , British writer (d. 1817 )
- 1775 - François-Adrien Boieldieu , French composer (d. 1834 )
- 1776 - Johann Wilhelm Ritter , German physicist (d. 1810 )
- 1790 - King Léopold I Of Belgium (d. 1865 )
- 1834 - Léon Walras , French economist (d. 1910 )
- 1861 - Antonio De La Gandara , French painter (d. 1917 )
- 1863 - George Santayana , Spanish philosopher and writer (d. 1952 )
- 1865 - Olavo Bilac , Brazilian poet (d. 1918 )
- 1866 ( N.S. ) - Wassily Kandinsky , Russian-born French abstract painter (d. 1944 )
- 1869 - Hristo Tatarchev - Bulgarian revolutionary and leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace (d. 1952 )
- 1882 - Zoltán Kodály , Hungarian composer (d. 1967 )
- 1882 - Walther Meissner , German physicist (d. 1974 )
- 1882 - Sir Jack Hobbs , English test cricketer (d. 1963 )
- 1888 - King Alexander Of Yugoslavia (d. 1934 )
- 1899 - Sir Noel Coward , British playwright, actor and composer (d. 1973 )
- 1901 - Margaret Mead , American anthropologist (d. 1978 )
- 1905 - Piet Hein , Danish mathematician and inventor (d. 1996 )
- 1917 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke , British writer
- 1926 - James McCracken , American tenor (d. 1988 )
- 1927 - Randall Garrett , American writer
- 1928 - Philip K. Dick , American writer (d. 1982 )
- 1929 - Nicholas Courtney , British actor
- 1932 - Rodion Shchedrin , Soviet-born Russian composer
- 1934 - Elgin Baylor , American basketball player
- 1938 - Liv Ullmann , Norwegian actress
- 1941 - Lesley Stahl , American journalist
- 1943 - Steven Bochco , American television producer and writer
- 1945 - Yukio Hattori , Japanese Iron Chef commentator
- 1946 - Benny Andersson , Swedish musician, singer and songwriter ( ABBA )
- 1946 - Trevor Pinnock , British conductor and harpsichordist
- 1947 - Vincent Matthews , American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist
- 1949 - Billy Gibbons , American guitarist ( ZZ Top )
- 1951 - Robben Ford , American guitarist
- 1952 - Joel Garner , West Indian test cricketer
- 1955 - Xander Berkeley , American actor
- 1961 - Bill Hicks , American comedian (d. 1994 )
- 1962 - William Perry , American Football player
- 1963 - Benjamin Bratt , American actor
- 1964 - Heike Drechsler , East German-born German athlete, IAAF World Champion and Olympic gold medalist
- 1967 - Donovan Bailey , Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter, IAAF World Champion and Olympic gold medalist
- 1970 - Nancy Valen , American actress
- 1975 - Benjamin Kowalewicz , Canadian singer ( Billy Talent )
- 1977 - Sylvain Distin , French footballer
- 1978 - Gunter Van Handenhoven , Belgian footballer
- 1981 - Anna Sedokova , Ukrainian singer
- 1983 - Kelenna Azubuike , Basketball player
- 1985 - Keita Tachibana , Japanese singer
- 1987 - Hallee Hirsh , American actress
- 1988 - Anna Popplewell , British actress
- 1989 - Chen Yaoye , professional Go player
- 705 - Empress Wu Of Zhou (China; b. 625)
- 714 - Pippin Of Herstal , Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia
- 999 - Saint Adelaide Of Italy (b. 931 )
- 1325 - Charles Of Valois , son of Philip III Of France (b. 1270 )
- 1379 - John Fitzalan , Marshal of England (drowned)
- 1470 - John II, Duke Of Lorraine (b. 1425 )
- 1515 - Afonso De Albuquerque Portuguese naval general (b. 1453 )
- 1669 - Nathaniel Fiennes , English politician
- 1687 - William Petty , English scientist and philosopher (b. 1623 )
- 1751 - Leopold II Of Anhalt-Dessau , Prussian general (b. 1700 )
- 1774 - François Quesnay , French economist (b. 1694 )
- 1783 - Johann A. Hasse , German composer (b. 1699 )
- 1783 - Sir William James British naval commander (b. 1720 )
- 1809 - Antoine François, Comte De Fourcroy , French chemist (b. 1755 )
- 1859 - Wilhelm Grimm , German writer and folklorist (b. 1786 )
- 1898 - Pavel Tretyakov , Russian businessman and art collector (b. 1832 )
- 1914 - Ivan Zajc , Austro-Hungarian composer (b. 1832 )
- 1916 - Grigori Rasputin , Russian monk (b. 1869 )
- 1921 - Camille Saint-Saëns , French composer (b. 1835 )
- 1922 - Gabriel Narutowicz , first President Of Poland (b. 1865 )
- 1928 - Elinor Wylie , American poet and writer (b. 1885 )
- 1945 - Giovanni Agnelli , Italian automobile manufacturer (b. 1866 )
- 1945 - Fumimaro Konoye , Prime Minister Of Japan (b. 1891 )
- 1949 - Sidney Olcott , Canadian film director (b. 1873 )
- 1956 - Nina Hamnett , British artist (b. 1890 )
- 1965 - W. Somerset Maugham , British writer (b. 1874 )
- 1977 - Risto Jarva , Finnish filmmaker (b. 1934 )
- 1980 - Colonel Harland Sanders , American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1890 )
- 1980 - Hellmuth Walter , German engineer and inventor (b. 1900 )
- 1982 - Colin Chapman , British engineer and automobile manufacturer, founder of Lotus Cars (b. 1928 )
- 1985 - Paul Castellano , American mafioso (b. 1915 )
- 1985 - Thomas Bilotti , American mafioso (b. 1940 )
- 1989 - Lee Van Cleef , American actor (b. 1925 )
- 1989 - Aileen Pringle , American actress (b. 1895 )
- 1990 - Douglas Campbell , American pilot (b. 1896 )
- 1993 - Moses Gunn , American actor (b. 1929 )
- 1993 - Tanaka Kakuei , Prime Minister Of Japan (b. 1918 )
- 1995 - Mariele Ventre , Italian choir director (b. 1939 )
- 1996 - Quentin Bell , British art historian (b. 1910 )
- 2001 - Stuart Adamson , British musician (suicide) (b. 1958 )
- 2003 - Robert Stanfield , Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914 )
- 2003 - Gary Stewart , American musician, singer and songwriter (suicide) (b. 1945 )
- 2004 - Ted Abernathy , American baseball player (b. 1933 )
- 2005 - Kenneth Bulmer , British author (b. 1921 )
- 2005 - John Spencer , American actor (b. 1946 )
- 2005 - Alex Wang , American actor (b. 1985 )
December 15 - December 17 - November 16 - January 16 -- Listing Of All Days
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