<p>Discover what happened on April 16 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.</p>


April 16

Discover what happened on April 16 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on April 16 | HISTORY

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2007

1963

The final year of the Roaring Twenties, 1929 is etched in history as the year of the great stock market crash that launched a worldwide Great Depression, wiping out jobs, savings and housing security for millions. But 1929 was eventful in other respects, too: The Graf Zeppelin made the first nonstop flight around the world, Hollywood celebrated its own with the first-ever Academy Awards and the first car radio was introduced, bringing a whole new dimension to road tripping.

1929

2018

1943

1972

World War II ended in 1945, after Germany surrendered in May and Japan capitulated in August, days after powerful new atomic bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two months later, 29 nations ratified a charter to form the United Nations. Writer George Orwell coined the term “cold war,” predicting icy relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., while popular songs like “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and “Sentimental Journey” reflected the stateside mood as some 4 million G.I.s returned home.

1945

U.S. President James A. Garfield took the oath of office in March, only to die from an assassin’s bullet six months later. Out West, Indian leader Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S. Army, while lawmen and cattle rustlers had a 30-second gunfight at the O.K. Corral. In Russia, the assassination of Czar Alexander II led to violent attacks—or “pogroms”—on Russian Jews. Black educator Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute, and nurse-humanitarian Clara Barton established the American Red Cross.

1881

The nearly 1,000-foot Eiffel Tower opened for business in Paris in 1889, reigning as the tallest structure in the world until 1930. That same year, fire in Seattle destroyed much of the city, while the Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania swept more than 2,200 to their deaths after a dam collapse. In Japan, the videogame company now known as Nintendo started in business as a maker of playing cards.

1889

In 1947, both India and Pakistan won independence from Great Britain. America launched the Marshall Plan to help war-torn Europe rebuild, and the U.N. partitioned Palestine, creating the state of Israel. In the U.S., Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the X-1 rocket plane. And in Roswell, New Mexico, a mysterious object crashed in the desert, driving speculation about extraterrestrial life.

1947

1946

Across the globe, 1917 brought upheaval. Russians overthrew Czar Nicholas II, then staged a second revolution, putting Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks in power and sparking a civil war. The U.S. and China both declared war on Germany, entering World War I in its fourth year. Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship. And as America’s first-ever female congresswoman took office, the push for women’s suffrage intensified, with increased picketing and the arrest of many activists, followed by jailhouse hunger strikes, force feedings and mistreatment.

1917

<p>Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.</p>


Crime

<p>Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.</p>


Sports

Videos

<p><a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including <a href="https://www.history.com/author/amanda-onion">Amanda Onion</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/missy-sullivan">Missy Sullivan</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/matt-mullen">Matt Mullen</a> and Christian Zapata.</p>


History.com Editors

<p>Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.</p>


Art, Literature and Film History

<p>World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.</p>


World War II

<p>Space exploration, one of the greatest technological achievements in human history, includes the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger, and people like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.</p>


Space Exploration

<p>Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.</p>


Inventions & Science

<p>The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.</p>


Cold War

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
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Black History

<p>Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.</p>


European History

<p>Natural disasters and changes in the environment, such as global warming, the San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Galveston Hurricane, the Krakatoa eruption and others, have profoundly shaped human history. Explore both the sudden and long-term impacts of natural and human-made disasters.</p>


This Day In History: April 16

Virginia Tech shooting leaves 32 dead

Also on This Day in History April | 16

Martin Luther King Jr. writes “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

Cleveland becomes first MLB team to play with numbers on back of jerseys

Kendrick Lamar becomes the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize

This Day in History Video: What Happened on April 16

Apollo 16 departs for moon

Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered

Hitler calls for last stand on the Eastern front

Western gunslinger, Bat Masterson, fights in last shootout

Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin born

Fertilizer explosion kills more than 500 in Texas

Bernard Baruch popularizes the term “Cold War”

Arthur Chevrolet dies by suicide

Lenin returns to Russia from exile

Also on This Day in History April | 16

Wake Up to This Day in History