August 16th in History

Klondike Gold Rush prospectors ascend the Chilkoot Pass, Canada, 1898 (Photo: George G. Cantwell)

Today in History

  • US President John Tyler* vetoes the establishment of the Second Bank of the United States, triggering a Whig Party riot that becomes the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in US history (1841)
  • Gold is discovered in a tributary of the Klondike river in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush (1896)
  • Baseball player Ray Chapman is hit on the head by a fastball and dies the next day, becoming the second player to die of injuries from a Major League Baseball game (1920)
  • The Dole Air Race from California to Hawaii begins; six of the eight planes in the race crash or disappear (1927)
  • Ub Iwerks’ cartoon Fiddlesticks, the first color sound cartoon, premiers (1930)
  • The first issue of Sports Illustrated is published (1954)
  • The Beatles fire Pete Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr two days later (1962)

*John Tyler is my 5th generation great uncle.

Birthdays

  • Gabriel Lippmann, won the 1908 Nobel Prize for Physics (1845)
  • Amos Alonzo Stagg, football and basketball coach (1862)
  • Hugo Gernsback, founded the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories (1884)
  • Lawrence of Arabia, military officer, diplomat, and archaeologist (1888)
  • Hal Foster, cartoonist who created Prince Valiant (1892)
  • Otto Messmer, co-creator of Felix the Cat (1892)
  • Georgette Heyer, author of Regency romances (1902)
  • Mae Clarke, actress known for having James Cagney smash a grapefruit into her face (1910)
  • Menachem Begin, Israeli prime minister and Nobel laureate (1913)
  • Charles Bukowski, poet and novelist (1920)
  • Fess Parker, actor known for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone (1924)
  • Ann Blyth, actress (1928)
  • Eydie Gormé, singer (1928)
  • Robert Culp, actor (1930)
  • Frank Gifford, football player and sportscaster (1930)
  • Julie Newmar, actress and dancer (1933)
  • Diana Wynne Jones, fantasy author (1934)
  • Lesley Ann Warren, actress (1946)
  • Kathie Lee Gifford, talk show host (1953)
  • James Cameron, filmmaker (1954)
  • Madonna, singer-songwriter and actress (1958)
  • Angela Bassett, actress (1958)
  • Timothy Hutton, actor (1960)
  • Steve Carrell, actor (1962)

Deaths

  • Andrew Marvell, poet (1678)
  • Jacob Bernoulli, mathematician (1705)
  • John Pemberton, inventor of Coca-Cola (1888)
  • Robert Bunsen, chemist who invented the Bunsen burner (1899)
  • Robert Johnson, blues musician (1938)
  • Babe Ruth, baseball player (1848)
  • Margaret Mitchell, wrote Gone With the Wind (1949)
  • Bela Lugosi, actor (1956)
  • William Halsey, Jr., admiral (1959)
  • Elvis Presley, singer and actor (1977)
  • Amanda Blake, actress (1989)
  • Stewart Granger, actor (1993)
  • Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Qawwali singer (1997)
  • Abu Nidal, terrorist leader (2002)
  • Jeff Corey, actor (2002)
  • Idi Amin, Ugandan leader (2003)
  • William Windom, actor (2012)
  • John McLaughlin, television host (2016)

Holidays and Observances

  • Bennington Battle Day (Vermont)
  • Children’s Day (Paraguay)
  • Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto)
  • National Airborne Day (US)
  • Restoration Day (Dominican Republic)
  • Xicolatada (Palau-de-Cerdagne, France)

August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years). There are 137 days remaining until the end of the year.