Discover what happened on December 16 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 16

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

What Happened on December 16 | HISTORY

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1773

2009

1893

After a Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, launching World War I. Other nations began to choose sides in the conflict, but the U.S. remained initially neutral. In Central America, the Panama Canal opened after 11 years of construction and the loss of more than 25,000 workers’ lives. On Christmas Eve 1914, British and German soldiers paused their fighting for unofficial Christmas Truce, sharing carols and even a soccer game.

1914

1973

1998

1872

The “shot heard round the world”—the opening salvo of the American Revolution, fired at the Battles of Lexington and Concord—got 1775 off with a bang. Before the year was out, the Second Continental Congress had appointed George Washington to command the troops and Benjamin Franklin to run the post office. Meanwhile in France, King Louis XVI was crowned, likely unaware that he’d one day face his own revolution—and the guillotine.

1775

Cold War tensions spiked after the Soviets shot down an American spy plane and captured its pilot. John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon in a tight presidential race, and in Greensboro, N.C., four Black college students refused to leave a “whites-only” lunch counter. The median U.S. home price hovered at $11,900, while median income was $5,600. And on the pop culture front, Chubby Checker’s “Twist” became a worldwide dance craze, and Alfred Hitchcock’s "Psycho" made showers a whole lot scarier.

1960

The final year of the 1980s saw the Berlin Wall toppled, heralding the Cold War’s imminent demise, while in Czechoslovakia, the Velvet Revolution brought a nonviolent end to Communist rule. The Chinese military brutally squashed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, and the U.S. invaded Panama to depose dictator Manuel Noriega. Nintendo released the Game Boy handheld game console, selling 40,000 units the first day. And in a harbinger of things to come, a British scientist invented the world wide web.

1989

The first year of the 1950s marked the start of the Korean War. In America, Joseph McCarthy ignited Red Scare witch hunts, spreading fear and suspicion about almost anyone’s possible communist ties. In India, Mother Theresa founded her Missionaries of Charity order. President Harry Truman survived an assassination attempt and authorized the development of the hydrogen bomb. Diners Club introduced the first major charge card, Silly Putty bounced into toy stores and Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” cartoon strip made its debut.

1950

1938

Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944, the largest amphibious invasion in history. Weeks later, the Allies liberated Paris from its Nazi occupiers. Meanwhile, Soviet forces battered the Nazis on WWII’s eastern front. In the U.S., Franklin Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth presidential term and Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starred in their first film together, “To Have and Have Not,” introducing the immortal line, “You know how to whistle, don’t you?” 

1944

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."

1960s

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.

Crime

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.

Sports

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

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History.com Editors

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.

Art, Literature and Film History

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.

World War II

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

This Day In History: December 16

The Boston Tea Party

Also on This Day in History December | 16

Blockbuster sci‑fi film “Avatar” has its U.S. premiere

This Day in History Video: What Happened on December 16

Antonin Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” receives its world premiere in New York City

Germans bombard English ports of Hartlepool and Scarborough

OJ Simpson rushes record 2,000 yards in a season

U.S. House of Representatives recommends impeaching Clinton

President Clinton orders air attack on Iraq

Buffalo Bill Cody makes his first stage appearance

Jane Austen is born

Two airplanes collide over New York City

A terrorist bomber begins his deadly rampage

President Truman declares state of emergency over Korean War

Hitler establishes Mother’s Cross to encourage German women to procreate

Battle of the Bulge begins

Also on This Day in History December | 16

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