August 16 facts for kids

August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 137 days remain until the end of the year.

August 16th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history! From ancient empires to modern times, this date has seen important battles, scientific breakthroughs, and the births and deaths of famous people. Let's explore some of the key moments that happened on August 16th.

What Happened on This Day?

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 1 BC – Wang Mang became very powerful in China. He was named the marshal of the state after Emperor Ai of Han died without any children.
• 942 – A four-day battle began in Iraq. It was called the Battle of al-Mada'in. Two groups, the Hamdanids and the Baridis, fought for control of Baghdad, the capital city.
• 963 – Nikephoros II Phokas was crowned as the new emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
• 1328 – The House of Gonzaga family took control of the Duchy of Mantua in Italy. They ruled this area for many centuries.
• 1513 – The Battle of the Spurs took place. King Henry VIII of England and his allies from the Holy Roman Empire defeated the French army, forcing them to retreat.
• 1570 – The Principality of Transylvania was created. This happened after John II Zápolya gave up his claim to be the King of Hungary in the Treaty of Speyer.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1652 – The Battle of Plymouth was fought at sea during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The navies of Michiel de Ruyter and George Ayscue had a fight that didn't have a clear winner.
• 1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, American soldiers led by General John Stark defeated British and Brunswick troops at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.
• 1780 – Another battle in the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Camden, saw the British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.
• 1792 – Maximilien de Robespierre asked the French government to create a special court called a Revolutionary Tribunal. This was during the French Revolution.
• 1793 – The French Revolution continued. A new law called a levée en masse was passed. This meant that all men who could fight had to join the army.
• 1812 – In the War of 1812, American General William Hull gave up Fort Detroit to the British Army without a fight.
• 1819 – The Peterloo Massacre happened in Manchester, England. A large public meeting turned violent when cavalry charged into the crowd, causing many injuries and some deaths.
• 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler said "no" to a plan to bring back the Second Bank of the United States. This made members of the Whig Party very angry, and they protested outside the White House.
• 1844 – The Philippines changed its calendar to match other Asian countries. Governor-general Narciso Claveria ordered that Tuesday, December 31, 1844, be skipped. So, Monday, December 30, 1844, was followed by Wednesday, January 1, 1845.
• 1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom exchanged greetings using a new transatlantic telegraph cable. This was a big step for communication, but the cable stopped working a few weeks later.
• 1859 – The Grand Duchy of Tuscany officially removed the House of Lorraine from power.
• 1863 – The Dominican Restoration War began. Gregorio Luperón raised the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo to fight against Spain, which had taken control of the country again.
• 1869 – The Battle of Acosta Ñu took place during the Paraguayan War. A group of Paraguayan soldiers, many of them children, were tragically killed by the Brazilian Army.
• 1870 – In the Franco-Prussian War, the Battle of Mars-la-Tour was fought. The Prussian army won this battle.
• 1876 – Richard Wagner's opera Siegfried premiered. It was part of his famous Ring opera cycle.
• 1891 – The Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, was officially opened.
• 1896 – Gold was discovered in Canada by Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack, and Dawson Charlie. This discovery started the famous Klondike Gold Rush, where many people rushed to find gold.
• 1900 – The Battle of Elands River ended during the Second Boer War. British forces lifted a 13-day siege by the Boers.

The 1900s and Beyond

• 1906 – A powerful earthquake, the 1906 Valparaíso earthquake, hit central Chile. It caused a lot of damage and killed many people.
• 1913 – Tohoku University in Japan became the first university in the country to allow female students to enroll.
• 1913 – The Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary was completed.
• 1916 – The Migratory Bird Treaty was signed between Canada and the United States. This agreement helps protect birds that fly between the two countries.
• 1918 – The Battle of Lake Baikal was fought between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Red Army.
• 1920 – Baseball player Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was hit by a pitch. He sadly died the next day, becoming one of the few players to die from injuries in a Major League Baseball game.
• 1920 – The Communist Party of Bukhara held a meeting and called for a revolution.
• 1920 – In the Polish–Soviet War, the Battle of Radzymin ended. The Soviet Red Army was forced to turn away from Warsaw.
• 1923 – The United Kingdom named a part of its claimed Antarctic land "Ross Dependency". The Governor-General of New Zealand became its administrator.
• 1927 – The Dole Air Race began, with planes flying from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. Sadly, many planes crashed or disappeared during the race.
• 1929 – The 1929 Palestine riots started in Mandatory Palestine. There was conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Jews, leading to many deaths on both sides.
• 1930 – The first color sound cartoon, Fiddlesticks, was released by Ub Iwerks.
• 1930 – The first British Empire Games were opened in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
• 1933 – The Christie Pits riot occurred in Toronto, Ontario.
• 1942 – During World War II, a US Navy blimp, L-8, crashed in Daly City, California. Its two-man crew was never found.
• 1944 – The Junkers Ju 287 had its first flight. This was an important moment as it was a jet with special forward-swept wings.
• 1945 – The National Representatives' Congress met in Sơn Dương. This meeting was a step towards forming the current National Assembly of Vietnam.
• 1946 – Large-scale riots began in Kolkata, India, known as Direct Action Day. More than 4,000 people were killed in just 72 hours.
• 1946 – The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress was started in Secunderabad.
• 1954 – The very first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine was published.
• 1960 – Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1960 – Joseph Kittinger set new records by parachuting from a balloon over New Mexico, United States, from a height of 102,800 feet (31,333 meters). He held records for high-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft until 2012.
• 1964 – In the Vietnam War, General Nguyễn Khánh became President of South Vietnam after a coup d'état (a sudden takeover of government). A new constitution was also created.
• 1966 – The House Un-American Activities Committee began investigating Americans who supported the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Anti-war protesters disrupted the meeting, and many were arrested.
• 1972 – There was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government in Morocco. The Royal Moroccan Air Force fired at Hassan II of Morocco's plane as he returned to Rabat.
• 1975 – Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam gave land back to the Gurindji people. This was a big moment for Indigenous land rights in Australia, following the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off.
• 1987 – Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 plane, crashed after taking off in Detroit, Michigan. Most people on board died, along with two people on the ground.
• 1989 – A solar particle event (a burst of energy from the sun) affected computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, causing trading to stop.
• 1991 – Indian Airlines Flight 257, a Boeing 737-200, crashed while trying to land at Imphal Airport. All 69 people on board were killed.
• 2005 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, another McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed in Machiques, Venezuela. All 160 people on board died.
• 2008 – The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago was completed. At 1,389 feet (423 meters), it became the world's highest residence above ground level at that time.
• 2012 – In South Africa, police shot and killed 34 miners and injured 78 others during a workers' strike at Marikana.
• 2020 – The August Complex fire in California burned over one million acres of land, making it one of the largest wildfires in the state's history.

Famous Birthdays

Born Before 1600

• 1355 – Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster
• 1378 – Hongxi Emperor of China
• 1401 – Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut
• 1557 – Agostino Carracci, Italian painter
• 1565 – Christina, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
• 1573 – Anne of Austria, Queen of Poland

Born 1601–1900

• 1637 – Countess Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen
• 1645 – Jean de La Bruyère, French philosopher
• 1650 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian mapmaker
• 1682 – Louis, Duke of Burgundy
• 1744 – Pierre Méchain, French astronomer
• 1761 – Yevstigney Fomin, Russian composer
• 1815 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator
• 1816 – Octavia Taylor, daughter of Zachary Taylor
• 1820 – Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian politician
• 1821 – Arthur Cayley, English mathematician
• 1831 – John Jones Ross, Canadian politician
• 1832 – Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist
• 1842 – Jakob Rosanes, Ukrainian-German mathematician and chess player
• 1845 – Gabriel Lippmann, Luxembourger-French physicist and Nobel Prize winner
• 1848 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general
• 1855 – James McGowen, Australian politician
• 1856 – Aparicio Saravia, Uruguayan general
• 1858 – Arthur Achleitner, German author
• 1860 – Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, English-Scottish cricketer
• 1860 – Jules Laforgue, Uruguayan-French poet
• 1862 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American baseball coach
• 1864 – Elsie Inglis, Scottish surgeon and suffragette
• 1865 – Mary Gilmore, Australian poet and journalist
• 1868 – Bernarr Macfadden, American bodybuilder and publisher
• 1876 – Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator
• 1877 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest and engineer
• 1882 – Désiré Mérchez, French swimmer
• 1884 – Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourger-American author and publisher
• 1888 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel and writer
• 1888 – Armand J. Piron, American musician
• 1892 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator
• 1892 – Otto Messmer, American cartoonist, co-creator of Felix the Cat
• 1894 – George Meany, American labor leader
• 1895 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss author
• 1895 – Liane Haid, Austrian-Swiss actress
• 1895 – Arthur Rose Eldred, First Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America
• 1900 – Ida Browne, Australian geologist

Born 1901–Present

• 1902 – Georgette Heyer, English author
• 1902 – Wallace Thurman, American author
• 1904 – Minoru Genda, Japanese general
• 1904 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
• 1908 – Orlando Cole, American cellist
• 1908 – William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., American writer
• 1909 – Paul Callaway, American organist
• 1910 – Gloria Blondell, American actress
• 1910 – Mae Clarke, American actress
• 1911 – E. F. Schumacher, German economist
• 1912 – Ted Drake, English footballer
• 1913 – Menachem Begin, Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner
• 1915 – Al Hibbler, American singer
• 1916 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver
• 1917 – Matt Christopher, American author
• 1917 – Roque Cordero, Panamanian composer
• 1919 – Karl-Heinz Euling, German captain
• 1920 – Charles Bukowski, German-American poet and novelist
• 1922 – James Casey, English comedian
• 1922 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist
• 1923 – Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian journalist
• 1924 – Fess Parker, American actor
• 1924 – Inez Voyce, American baseball player
• 1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball player
• 1925 – Mal Waldron, American pianist
• 1927 – Lois Nettleton, American actress
• 1928 – Ann Blyth, American actress
• 1928 – Eydie Gormé, American singer
• 1928 – Ara Güler, Turkish photographer
• 1928 – Eddie Kirkland, American singer-songwriter
• 1928 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American pastor and activist
• 1929 – Bill Evans, American pianist
• 1929 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer
• 1929 – Fritz Von Erich, American wrestler
• 1930 – Robert Culp, American actor
• 1930 – Frank Gifford, American football player and sportscaster
• 1930 – Leslie Manigat, Haitian President
• 1930 – Flor Silvestre, Mexican singer and actress
• 1933 – Reiner Kunze, German poet
• 1933 – Tom Maschler, English publisher
• 1933 – Julie Newmar, American actress
• 1933 – Stuart Roosa, American astronaut
• 1934 – Angela Buxton, British tennis player
• 1934 – Diana Wynne Jones, English author
• 1934 – Douglas Kirkland, Canadian-American photographer
• 1934 – Ketty Lester, American singer
• 1934 – Pierre Richard, French actor
• 1934 – John Standing, English actor
• 1934 – Sam Trimble, Australian cricketer
• 1935 – Cliff Fletcher, Canadian businessman
• 1935 – Andreas Stamatiadis, Greek footballer
• 1936 – Anita Gillette, American actress
• 1936 – Alan Hodgkinson, English footballer
• 1937 – David Anderson, Canadian politician
• 1937 – David Behrman, American composer
• 1937 – Ian Deans, Canadian politician
• 1937 – Boris Rõtov, Estonian chess player
• 1939 – Seán Brady, Irish cardinal
• 1939 – Trevor McDonald, Trinidadian-English journalist
• 1939 – Billy Joe Shaver, American singer-songwriter
• 1939 – Eric Weissberg, American musician
• 1940 – Bruce Beresford, Australian director
• 1942 – Lesley Turner Bowrey, Australian tennis player
• 1942 – Barbara George, American R&B singer-songwriter
• 1942 – Robert Squirrel Lester, American soul singer
• 1943 – Woody Peoples, American football player
• 1944 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Bob Balaban, American actor
• 1945 – Russell Brookes, English race car driver
• 1945 – Suzanne Farrell, American ballerina
• 1945 – Gary Loizzo, American musician and engineer
• 1945 – Nigel Terry, British actor
• 1946 – Masoud Barzani, Iranian-Kurdish politician
• 1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress
• 1947 – Carol Moseley Braun, American politician and ambassador
• 1947 – Katharine Hamnett, English fashion designer
• 1948 – Earl Blumenauer, American politician
• 1948 – Barry Hay, Indian-born Dutch rock musician
• 1948 – Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player
• 1948 – Pierre Reid, Canadian educator and politician
• 1948 – Joey Spampinato, American singer-songwriter
• 1949 – Scott Asheton, American drummer
• 1949 – Paul Pasqualoni, American football coach
• 1949 – Bill Spooner, American guitarist
• 1950 – Hasely Crawford, Trinidadian runner
• 1950 – Marshall Manesh, Iranian-American actor
• 1950 – Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer
• 1951 – Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian President
• 1952 – Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
• 1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford, American talk show host
• 1953 – James "J.T." Taylor, American R&B singer-songwriter
• 1954 – James Cameron, Canadian director and producer
• 1954 – George Galloway, Scottish-English politician
• 1955 – Jeff Perry, American actor
• 1955 – James Reilly, Irish politician
• 1956 – Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian politician
• 1957 – Laura Innes, American actress and director
• 1957 – R. R. Patil, Indian politician
• 1958 – Madonna, American singer and actress
• 1958 – Angela Bassett, American actress
• 1958 – Anne L'Huillier, French physicist
• 1958 – José Luis Clerc, Argentinian tennis player
• 1959 – Marc Sergeant, Belgian cyclist
• 1960 – Rosita Baltazar, Belizean choreographer
• 1960 – Timothy Hutton, American actor
• 1960 – Franz Welser-Möst, Austrian-American conductor
• 1961 – Christian Okoye, American football player
• 1962 – Steve Carell, American actor and comedian
• 1963 – Aloísio Pires Alves, Brazilian footballer
• 1963 – Christine Cavanaugh, American voice artist
• 1964 – Jimmy Arias, American tennis player
• 1966 – Eddie Olczyk, American ice hockey player
• 1967 – Mark Coyne, Australian rugby league player
• 1967 – Ulrika Jonsson, Swedish journalist
• 1968 – Arvind Kejriwal, Indian politician
• 1968 – Andy Milder, American actor
• 1968 – Mateja Svet, Slovenian skier
• 1968 – Wolfgang Tillmans, German photographer
• 1970 – Bonnie Bernstein, American journalist
• 1970 – Manisha Koirala, Nepalese actress
• 1970 – Seth Peterson, American actor
• 1971 – Stefan Klos, German footballer
• 1972 – Stan Lazaridis, Australian footballer
• 1972 – Emily Strayer, American singer and musician
• 1974 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer
• 1974 – Didier Cuche, Swiss skier
• 1974 – Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian swimmer
• 1974 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1974 – Ryan Longwell, American football player
• 1975 – Didier Agathe, French footballer
• 1975 – Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer
• 1975 – George Stults, American actor
• 1975 – Taika Waititi, New Zealand director and actor
• 1979 – Paul Gallacher, Scottish footballer
• 1979 – Ian Moran, Australian cricketer
• 1980 – Vanessa Carlton, American singer-songwriter
• 1980 – Bob Hardy, English bass player
• 1980 – Emerson Ramos Borges, Brazilian footballer
• 1980 – Piet Rooijakkers, Dutch cyclist
• 1981 – Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer
• 1982 – Cam Gigandet, American actor
• 1982 – Joleon Lescott, English footballer
• 1983 – Nikolaos Zisis, Greek basketball player
• 1984 – Matteo Anesi, Italian speed skater
• 1984 – Candice Dupree, American basketball player
• 1984 – Konstantin Vassiljev, Estonian footballer
• 1985 – Cristin Milioti, American actress
• 1986 – Yu Darvish, Japanese baseball player
• 1986 – Martín Maldonado, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1986 – Shawn Pyfrom, American actor
• 1987 – Carey Price, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Eri Kitamura, Japanese voice actress
• 1988 – Ismaïl Aissati, Moroccan footballer
• 1988 – Ryan Kerrigan, American football player
• 1988 – Rumer Willis, American actress
• 1989 – Cedric Alexander, American wrestler
• 1989 – Wang Hao, Chinese race walker
• 1989 – Moussa Sissoko, French footballer
• 1990 – Godfrey Oboabona, Nigerian footballer
• 1991 – José Eduardo de Araújo, Brazilian footballer
• 1991 – Evanna Lynch, Irish actress
• 1991 – Jeffery Lamar Williams, American rapper
• 1992 – Diego Schwartzman, Argentinian tennis player
• 1993 – Cameron Monaghan, American actor
• 1996 – Caeleb Dressel, American swimmer
• 1997 – Greyson Chance, American musician
• 1999 – Karen Chen, American figure skater

Notable People Who Passed Away

Died Before 1600

• AD 79 – Empress Ma, Chinese empress
• 856 – Theutbald I, bishop
• 963 – Marianos Argyros, Byzantine general
• 1027 – George I of Georgia
• 1153 – Bernard de Tremelay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
• 1225 – Hōjō Masako, Japanese regent
• 1258 – Theodore II Laskaris, Byzantine-Greek emperor
• 1285 – Philip I, Count of Savoy
• 1297 – John II of Trebizond
• 1327 – Roch, French saint
• 1339 – Azzone Visconti, founder of Milan state
• 1358 – Albert II, Duke of Austria
• 1419 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia
• 1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shōgun
• 1492 – Beatrice of Silva, Dominican nun
• 1518 – Loyset Compère, French composer
• 1532 – John, Elector of Saxony

Died 1601–1900

• 1661 – Thomas Fuller, English historian
• 1678 – Andrew Marvell, English poet
• 1705 – Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician
• 1733 – Matthew Tindal, English philosopher
• 1791 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier
• 1836 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician
• 1855 – Henry Colburn, English publisher
• 1861 – Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar
• 1878 – Richard Upjohn, English-American architect
• 1886 – Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic
• 1887 – Webster Paulson, English civil engineer
• 1888 – John Pemberton, American pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola
• 1893 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist
• 1899 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist
• 1900 – José Maria de Eça de Queirós, Portuguese author

Died 1901–Present

• 1904 – Prentiss Ingraham, American author
• 1911 – Patrick Francis Moran, Irish-Australian cardinal
• 1914 – Carl Theodor Schulz, German-Norwegian gardener
• 1916 – George Scott, English footballer
• 1920 – Henry Daglish, Australian politician
• 1921 – Peter I of Serbia
• 1938 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak priest and politician
• 1938 – Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral
• 1948 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player
• 1949 – Margaret Mitchell, American author of Gone with the Wind
• 1952 – Lydia Field Emmet, American painter
• 1956 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-American actor
• 1957 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and Nobel Prize winner
• 1958 – Jacob M. Lomakin, Soviet diplomat
• 1959 – William Halsey, Jr., American admiral
• 1959 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player
• 1961 – Abdul Haq, Pakistani linguist
• 1963 – Joan Eardley, British artist
• 1971 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-American businessman
• 1972 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor
• 1973 – Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-American biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
• 1977 – Elvis Presley, American singer and actor
• 1978 – Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch Governor-General
• 1979 – John Diefenbaker, Canadian Prime Minister
• 1983 – Earl Averill, American baseball player
• 1984 – Duško Radović, Serbian children's writer
• 1986 – Ronnie Aird, English cricketer
• 1986 – Jaime Sáenz, Bolivian author
• 1989 – Amanda Blake, American actress
• 1990 – Pat O'Connor, New Zealand wrestler
• 1991 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director
• 1992 – Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter
• 1993 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor
• 1997 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani Qawwali singer
• 1997 – Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar
• 1998 – Phil Leeds, American actor
• 1998 – Dorothy West, American author
• 2002 – Abu Nidal, Palestinian leader
• 2002 – Jeff Corey, American actor
• 2002 – John Roseboro, American baseball player
• 2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan President
• 2004 – Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player and coach
• 2004 – Balanadarajah Iyer, Sri Lankan journalist
• 2004 – Carl Mydans, American photographer
• 2004 – Robert Quiroga, American boxer
• 2005 – Vassar Clements, American fiddler
• 2005 – Tonino Delli Colli, Italian cinematographer
• 2005 – William Corlett, English novelist
• 2005 – Frère Roger, Swiss monk
• 2006 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan dictator
• 2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian politician
• 2008 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter
• 2008 – Ronnie Drew, Irish musician
• 2008 – Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese farmer and author
• 2010 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek general
• 2011 – Mihri Belli, Turkish activist
• 2012 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco
• 2012 – Martine Franck, Belgian photographer
• 2012 – Abune Paulos, Ethiopian patriarch
• 2012 – William Windom, American actor
• 2013 – David Rees, Welsh mathematician
• 2014 – Patrick Aziza, Nigerian general
• 2014 – Vsevolod Nestayko, Ukrainian author
• 2014 – Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, Italian-South African politician
• 2014 – Peter Scholl-Latour, German journalist
• 2015 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-American physicist
• 2015 – Anna Kashfi, British actress
• 2015 – Shuja Khanzada, Pakistani politician
• 2015 – Mile Mrkšić, Serb general
• 2016 – João Havelange, Brazilian sports official
• 2016 – John McLaughlin, American television personality
• 2018 – Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter
• 2018 – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indian prime minister
• 2018 – Wakako Yamauchi, American-Japanese writer
• 2019 – Peter Fonda, American actor and director
• 2019 – Richard Williams, Canadian-British animator
• 2021 – Sean Lock, English comedian
• 2023 – Howard S. Becker, American sociologist

Holidays and Observances

• Bennington Battle Day (Vermont, United States)
• Children's Day (Paraguay)
• Christian feast day:

* Ana Petra Pérez Florido * Armel (Armagillus) * Diomedes of Tarsus * Roch * Stephen I of Hungary * Translation of the Acheiropoietos icon from Edessa to Constantinople. (Eastern Orthodox Church) * August 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto, Japan)
• National Airborne Day (United States)
• Restoration Day (Dominican Republic)
• The first day of the Independence Days, celebrating the independence of Gabon from France in 1960.
• Xicolatada (Palau-de-Cerdagne, France)

See also

In Spanish: 16 de agosto para niños