May 16 in history
Events on May 16
Notable events that happened on May 16 in past years.
- 2025
A catastrophic EF3 tornado kills five people and causes over $1 billion in damages in St. Louis, MO.
Wikipedia article: 2025 St. Louis tornado - 2005
Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
Wikipedia article: Kuwait - 1988
A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
Wikipedia article: Surgeon General of the United States - 1969
Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
Wikipedia article: Venera program - 1959
The Tritons' Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.
Wikipedia article: Tritons' Fountain - 1943
The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
Wikipedia article: The Holocaust - 1920
In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
Wikipedia article: Pope Benedict XV - 1916
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
Wikipedia article: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - 1877
The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.
Wikipedia article: 16 May 1877 crisis - 1863
American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, the decisive Union victory by Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Champion Hill drives the Confederate army under John C. Pemberton back towards Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Wikipedia article: American Civil War - 1822
Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
Wikipedia article: Greek War of Independence - 1771
The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The "Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
Wikipedia article: Battle of Alamance - 1568
Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
Wikipedia article: Mary, Queen of Scots - 1364
Hundred Years' War: Bertrand du Guesclin and a French army defeat the Anglo-Navarrese army of Charles the Bad at Cocherel.
- 946
Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
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