Editing August 16 (section)

==Events==
===Pre-1600===
*[[1 BC]] &ndash; [[Wang Mang]] consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. [[Emperor Ai of Han]], who died the previous day, had no heirs.
* [[942]] &ndash; Start of the four-day [[Battle of al-Mada'in]], between the [[Hamdanids]] of [[Mosul]] and the Baridis of [[Basra]] over control of the [[Abbasid]] capital, [[Baghdad]].<ref>{{cite book | editor1-last = Amedroz | editor1-first = Henry F. |  editor1-link = Henry Frederick Amedroz | editor2-last = Margoliouth | editor2-first = David S. | title = The Eclipse of the 'Abbasid Caliphate. Original Chronicles of the Fourth Islamic Century, Vol. V: The concluding portion of The Experiences of Nations by Miskawaihi, Vol. II: Reigns of Muttaqi, Mustakfi, Muzi and Ta'i | publisher = Basil Blackwell | location = Oxford | year = 1921 | url = https://archive.org/details/eclipseofabbasid05ameduoft | pages=30–32}}</ref>
* [[963]] &ndash; [[Nikephoros II Phokas]] is crowned emperor of the [[Byzantine Empire]].
*[[1328]] &ndash; The [[House of Gonzaga]] seizes power in the [[Duchy of Mantua]], and will rule until 1708.
*[[1513]] &ndash; [[Battle of the Spurs]] (Battle of Guinegate): King [[Henry VIII of England]] and his [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial allies]] defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.<ref>{{cite book |last=Oman |first=Sir Charles W. C. |year=1998 |title=History of the Art of War in the 16th Century |edition=reprint |publisher=Greenhill Books |isbn=0-947898-69-7|page=293}}</ref>
*[[1570]] &ndash; The [[Principality of Transylvania (1570-1711)|Principality of Transylvania]] is established after [[John II Zápolya]] renounces his claim as [[King of Hungary]] in the [[Treaty of Speyer (1570)|Treaty of Speyer]].<ref name="MacCulloch">Diarmaid MacCulloch, [https://books.google.com/books?id=rE7uAAAAMAAJ The Reformation], Viking, 2004, p. 443</ref>
===1601–1900===
*[[1652]] &ndash; [[Battle of Plymouth]]: Inconclusive naval action between the fleets of [[Michiel de Ruyter]] and [[George Ayscue]] in the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]].
*[[1777]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: The Americans led by General [[John Stark]] rout British and [[Duchy of Brunswick|Brunswick]] troops under [[Friedrich Baum]] at the [[Battle of Bennington]] in [[Walloomsac, New York]].
*[[1780]] &ndash; American Revolutionary War: [[Battle of Camden]]: The British defeat the Americans near [[Camden, South Carolina]].
*[[1792]] &ndash; [[Maximilien de Robespierre]] presents the petition of the [[Paris Commune (French Revolution)|Commune of Paris]] to the [[Legislative Assembly (France)|Legislative Assembly]], which demanded the formation of a [[Revolutionary Tribunal|revolutionary tribunal]].
*[[1793]] &ndash; [[French Revolution]]: A [[levée en masse]] is decreed by the [[National Convention]].
*[[1812]] &ndash; [[War of 1812]]: American General [[William Hull]] surrenders [[Fort Shelby (Michigan)|Fort Detroit]] [[Siege of Detroit|without a fight]] to the British Army.
*[[1819]] &ndash; [[Peterloo Massacre]]: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in [[cavalry]] charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, [[Manchester]], England.
*[[1841]] &ndash; [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[John Tyler]] vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the [[Second Bank of the United States]]. Enraged [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] members riot outside the [[White House]] in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
*[[1844]] &ndash; Governor-general of the Philippines [[Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa|Narciso Claveria]], signs a decree to reform the country's calendar by skipping Tuesday, [[December 31]], as a solution to anomalies that had existed since [[Ferdinand Magellan]]'s arrival in [[1521]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thephilippinestoday.com/claverias-reform/|title=Claveria's Reform|publisher=The Philippines Today|author=Berto|date=July 28, 2022|access-date=March 18, 2023}}</ref>
*[[1858]] &ndash; U.S. President [[James Buchanan]] inaugurates the new [[transatlantic telegraph cable]] by exchanging greetings with [[Queen Victoria]] of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
*[[1859]] &ndash; The [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] formally deposes the exiled [[House of Lorraine]].
*[[1863]] &ndash; The [[Dominican Restoration War]] begins when [[Gregorio Luperón]] raises the [[Flag of the Dominican Republic|Dominican flag]] in [[Santo Domingo]] after Spain had recolonized the country.
*[[1869]] &ndash; [[Battle of Acosta Ñu]]: A [[Paraguay]]an battalion largely made up of children is massacred by the [[Brazilian Army]] during the [[Paraguayan War]].<ref>Hooker, T.D., 2008, The Paraguayan War, Nottingham: Foundry Books, {{ISBN|1901543153}} p. 104</ref>
*[[1870]] &ndash; [[Franco-Prussian War]]: The [[Battle of Mars-la-Tour]] is fought, resulting in a [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] victory.
*[[1876]] &ndash; [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'', the penultimate opera in his ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring]]'' cycle, is premiered at the [[Bayreuth Festspielhaus]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2008 |title=Richard Wagner |url=http://opera.stanford.edu/Wagner/main.html |access-date=17 August 2022 |website=OperaGlass}}</ref>
*[[1891]] &ndash; The [[Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila]], the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.
*[[1896]] &ndash; [[Keish|Skookum Jim Mason]], [[George Carmack]] and [[Dawson Charlie]] discover gold in a tributary of the [[Klondike River]] in Canada, setting off the [[Klondike Gold Rush]].
*[[1900]] &ndash; The [[Battle of Elands River (1900)|Battle of Elands River]] during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.

===1901–present===
*[[1906]] &ndash; The 8.2 {{M|w|link=y}} [[1906 Valparaíso earthquake|Valparaíso earthquake]] hits central Chile, killing 3,882 people.
*[[1913]] &ndash; Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day [[Tohoku University]]) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.
*  1913   &ndash; Completion of the [[Royal Navy]] [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Queen Mary}}.
*[[1916]] &ndash; The [[Migratory Bird Treaty]] between Canada and the United States is signed.
*[[1918]] &ndash; The [[Battle of Lake Baikal]] was fought between the [[Czechoslovak Legion]] and the [[Red Army]].
*[[1920]] &ndash; [[Ray Chapman]] of the [[Cleveland Indians]] is hit on the head by a [[fastball]] thrown by [[Carl Mays]] of the [[New York Yankees]]. Next day, Chapman will become the second player to die from injuries sustained in a [[Major League Baseball]] game.
*  1920   &ndash; The congress of the [[Communist Party of Bukhara]] opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.
*  1920   &ndash; [[Polish–Soviet War]]: The [[Battle of Radzymin (1920)|Battle of Radzymin]] concludes; the Soviet [[Red Army]] is forced to turn away from [[Warsaw]].
*[[1923]] &ndash; The United Kingdom gives the name "[[Ross Dependency]]" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the [[Governor-General of New Zealand|Governor-General]] of the [[Dominion of New Zealand]] its administrator.
*[[1927]] &ndash; The [[Dole Air Race]] begins from [[Oakland, California]], to [[Honolulu|Honolulu, Hawaii]], during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.
*[[1929]] &ndash; The [[1929 Palestine riots]] break out in [[Mandatory Palestine]] between [[Palestinians|Palestinian Arabs]] and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.
*[[1930]] &ndash; The first color sound [[cartoon]], ''[[Fiddlesticks (1930 film)|Fiddlesticks]]'', is released by [[Ub Iwerks]].
*  1930   &ndash; The first [[Commonwealth Games|British Empire Games]] are opened in [[Hamilton, Ontario]], by the [[Governor General of Canada]], the [[Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon|Viscount Willingdon]].
*[[1933]] &ndash; [[Christie Pits riot]] takes place in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]].<ref>Cyril H. Levitt and William Shaffir, ''The Riot at Christie Pits'', Toronto: Lester & Orpen Denys, 1987</ref> 
*[[1942]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: [[United States Navy|US Navy]] [[L-class blimp]] [[L-8]] drifts in from the Pacific and eventually crashes in [[Daly City, California]]. The two-man crew cannot be found.
*[[1943]] &ndash; World War II: 317 Greek civilians are [[Massacre of Kommeno|murdered]] by soldiers of the German [[1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)|1st Mountain Division]] in the village of [[Kommeno]], Greece.<ref name="Mazower">{{cite book|last=Mazower|first=Mark|chapter=Anatomy of a Massacre: 16 August 1943|title=Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941–44|year=1995|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0-300-08923-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/insidehitlersgre00mark}}</ref>
*[[1944]] &ndash; First flight of a jet with [[forward-swept wing]]s, the [[Junkers Ju 287]].
*[[1945]] &ndash; The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current [[National Assembly of Vietnam]], convenes in [[Sơn Dương]].
*[[1946]] &ndash; [[Direct Action Day|Mass riots]] in [[Kolkata]] begin; more than 4,000 people would be killed in 72 hours.
*  1946   &ndash; The [[All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress]] is founded in [[Secunderabad]].
*[[1954]] &ndash; The first issue of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' is published. 
*[[1960]] &ndash; [[Cyprus]] gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
*  1960   &ndash; [[Joseph Kittinger]] parachutes from a balloon over [[New Mexico]], United States, at {{convert|102800|ft|m}}, setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, [[free fall]], and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.
*[[1964]] &ndash; [[Vietnam War]]: A ''[[coup d'état]]'' replaces [[Dương Văn Minh]] with General [[Nguyễn Khánh]] as President of [[South Vietnam]]. A new [[constitution]] is established with aid from the [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|U.S. Embassy]].
*[[1966]] &ndash; Vietnam War: The [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] begins investigations of Americans who have aided the [[Viet Cong]]. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
*[[1972]] &ndash; In an unsuccessful [[coup d'état]] [[1972 Moroccan coup attempt|attempt]], the [[Royal Moroccan Air Force]] fires upon [[Hassan II of Morocco]]'s plane while he is traveling back to [[Rabat]].
*[[1975]] &ndash; Australian Prime Minister [[Gough Whitlam]] symbolically hands over land to the [[Gurindji people]] after the eight-year [[Wave Hill walk-off]], a landmark event in the history of [[Indigenous land rights in Australia]], commemorated in a 1991 song by [[Paul Kelly (Australian musician)|Paul Kelly]] and an annual celebration.<ref name=timeline>{{cite web | last1=Lawford | first1=Elliana | last2=Zillman | first2=Stephanie | title=Timeline: From Wave Hill protest to land handbacks | website=ABC News | date=18 August 2016 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-18/timeline-of-wave-hill-land-rights/7760300 | access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref>
*[[1987]] &ndash; [[Northwest Airlines Flight 255]], a [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80#MD-82|McDonnell Douglas MD-82]], crashes after takeoff in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus two people on the ground.
*[[1989]] &ndash; A [[solar particle event]] affects computers at the [[Toronto Stock Exchange]], forcing a halt to trading.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com//article/mg12316812.400-solar-storms-halt-stock-market-as-computers-crash|title=Solar storms halt stock market as computers crash|last=Dayton|first=Leigh|date=1989-09-09|website=New Scientist|access-date=1 August 2018}}</ref>
*[[1991]] &ndash; [[Indian Airlines Flight 257]], a [[Boeing 737|Boeing 737-200]], crashes during approach to [[Imphal Airport]], killing all 69 people on board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19910816-1|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-2A8 Advanced VT-EFL Imphal Municipal Airport (IMF)|last=Ranter|first=Harro|website=aviation-safety.net|access-date=2019-06-30}}</ref>
*[[2005]] &ndash; [[West Caribbean Airways Flight 708]], a [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80#MD-82|McDonnell Douglas MD-82]], crashes in [[Machiques]], [[Venezuela]], killing all 160 people on board.
*[[2008]] &ndash; The [[Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)|Trump International Hotel and Tower]] in Chicago is topped off at {{convert|1389|ft|m}}, at the time becoming the world's highest [[Dwelling|residence]] above ground-level.
*[[2010]] &ndash; [[AIRES Flight 8250]] crashes at [[Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport]] in [[San Andrés, San Andrés y Providencia]], Colombia, killing two people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-73V (WL) HK-4682 San Andres Island-Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Airport (ADZ) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20100816-0 |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*[[2012]] &ndash; [[South African Police Service|South African police]] fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an [[Marikana miners' strike|industrial dispute]] at Marikana near [[Rustenburg]].
*[[2013]] &ndash; The ferry [[MV St. Thomas Aquinas|''St. Thomas Aquinas'']] collides with a cargo ship and sinks at [[Cebu]], [[Philippines]], killing 61 people with 59 others missing.
*[[2015]] &ndash; More than 96 people are killed and hundreds injured following a [[2015 Douma market massacre|series of air-raids]] by the [[Syrian Arab Air Force]] on the [[Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad|rebel]]-held market town of [[Douma, Syria|Douma]].
*  2015   &ndash; [[Trigana Air Flight 267]], an [[ATR 42]], crashes in [[Oksibil|Oksibl]], [[Bintang Mountains Regency]], killing all 54 people on board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20150816-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident ATR 42-300 PK-YRN Oksibil Airport (OKL)|last=Ranter|first=Harro|website=aviation-safety.net|access-date=2019-07-21}}</ref>
*[[2020]] &ndash; The [[August Complex fire]] in California burns more than one million acres of land.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://krcrtv.com/north-coast-news/eureka-local-news/tuesday-update-on-the-august-complex-fire-in-mendocino-county|title=Tuesday update on the August Complex in Mendocino County|date=August 18, 2020|access-date=December 18, 2020|website=abc7 KRCR}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/12/18/more-acres-burned-on-usfs-lands-this-year-since-1910-says-agency-chief/|title=More acres burned on USFS lands this year since 1910, says agency Chief|website=Wildfire Today|date=18 December 2020 |access-date=December 19, 2020}}</ref>