Historical Events on December 16
- 1773: Members of an organization known as the Sons of Liberty, dress up like Mohawk Indians and dump hundreds of crates of tea into the Boston Harbor. This event would become known as the Boston Tea Party.
- 1811: Two severe earthquakes strike New Madrid, Missouri – where a geologic fault lies. These two earthquakes would be followed by two more.
- 1863: Braxton Bragg is replaced by Joseph E. Johnston as the commander of the Army of Tennessee.
- 1930: After a failed robbery attempt at a bank in Clinton, Indiana, Herman Lamm and his crew are killed by a posse of two hundred men.
- 1937: Ralph Roe and Theodore Cole escape from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. It’s unsure whether their escape was successful or if they drowned in the bay because neither one was ever seen again.
- 1941: Japanese force hold Miri, Sarawak during WWII.
- 1944: Three German armies begin a surprise offense through the Ardennes Forest. This is the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge.
- 1947: The first practical point-contact transistor is built by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley.
Famous Birthdays on December 16
- German composer Ludwig van Beethoven is born in 1770.
- English novelist Jane Austen is born in 1775.
- American anthropologist and author, Margaret Mead is born in 1901.
- American actor Hardie Albright is born in 1903.
- American film actress Barbara Kent is born in 1907.
- American R&B singer Michael McCary is born in 1971.
- American singer-songwriter Travis Morrison is born in 1972.
- American wrestler Luke Harper is born in 1979.
- American actress Hallee Hirsh is born in 1987.
- English actress Anna Popplewell is born in 1988.
- Australian footballer Tom Rogic is born in 1992.
- English footballer Elliot Lee is born in 1994.
- Austrian tennis player Mira Antonitsch is born in 1998.