What are the important events that happened on August 16? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 16: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 16 is the 228^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 137 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 3, 2025 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,755,302,400 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaicosaoctagon’ day.

Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 185 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,621 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 16 Historical Events

• 1513 –
  Battle of Guinegate (Battle of the Spurs) – King Henry VIII of England defeats French Forces who are then forced to retreat.
• 1780 –
  American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden – The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.
• 1792 –
  Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.
• 1812 –
  War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.
• 1863 –
  The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country.
• 1914 –
  World War I: Battle of Cer begins.
• 1920 –
  The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.
• 1927 –
  The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.
• 1945 –
  An assassination attempt is made on Japan’s prime minister, Kantaro Suzuki.
• 1966 –
  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.

Who were born on August 16?

• 1596 –
  Frederick V, Elector Palatine (d. 1632)
• 1845 –
  Gabriel Lippmann, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1921)
• 1876 –
  Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator (d. 1942)
• 1935 –
  Cliff Fletcher, Canadian National Hockey League executive
• 1939 –
  Seán Brady, Cardinal-Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
• 1950 –
  Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer
• 1980 –
  Emerson, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 –
  Joleon Lescott, English footballer
• 1986 –
  Yu Darvish, Japanese baseball player
• 1987 –
  Carey Price, Canadian Hockey Player

Who died on August 16?

• 1297 –
  John II of Trebizond (b. 1262)
• 1733 –
  Matthew Tindal, English deist (b. 1657)
• 1888 –
  John Pemberton, American druggist and inventor of Coca-Cola (b. 1831)
• 1952 –
  Lydia Field Emmet, American painter (b. 1866)
• 1959 –
  Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (b. 1879)
• 1991 –
  Luigi Zampa, Italian film director (b. 1905)
• 1992 –
  Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
• 1997 –
  Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright and actor (b. 1915)
• 2002 –
  Abu Nidal, Palestinian political leader (b. 1937)
• 2005 –
  Frère Roger, Swiss monk and mystic (b. 1915)