16 August
What happened today in history?
- 1513 – Battle of the Spurs (Battle of Guinegate). King Henry VIII and his allies defeat French forces.
- 1819 – Peretloo Massacre -17 people are killed and hundreds injured when cavalry charge at a public meeting at St Peter’s Field in Manchester, England.
- 1960 – Cyprus gains its independence form the United Kingdom.
Who was born today?
- 1769 – T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) – Welsh colonel.
- 1934 – Diana Wynne Jones – English author (Howl’s Moving Castle)
- 1954 – James Cameron – Canadian director (Titanic, Aliens, The Terminator, Avatar)
- 1958 – Madonna – American singer-songwriter.
Who died today?
- 1888 – John Pemberton – .American inventor of Coca-Cola.
- 1938 – Robert Johnson – American singer-songwriter.
- 1948 – Babe Ruth – American baseball player.
- 1949 – Margaret Mitchell – American author (Gone with the Wind)
- 1977 – Elvis Presley – American singer and actor.