November 16 facts for kids

November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 45 days remain until the end of the year.

November 16th is a day filled with many interesting historical events, from ancient battles to modern space missions. It's also a day when many famous people were born and passed away, and when special holidays are celebrated around the world. Let's explore some of the important things that happened on this day.

Important Events in History

Early History (Before 1600)

• 951 – A large army from the Southern Tang kingdom, led by Bian Hao, took over the Chu kingdom in China. The ruling family was moved to the Southern Tang capital, ending the Chu Kingdom.
• 1272 – While on a journey called the Ninth Crusade, Prince Edward became King of England after his father, Henry III of England, died. He would return to England almost two years later to officially take the throne.
• 1491 – In Ávila, a special court case known as the Holy Child of La Guardia ended. Several Jewish people and those who had converted to Christianity were found guilty and punished.
• 1532 – Francisco Pizarro and his soldiers captured the Inca Emperor Atahualpa during the Battle of Cajamarca in South America.

Events from 1601 to 1900

• 1632 – King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was killed during the Battle of Lützen. This battle was part of the Thirty Years' War, a major conflict in Europe.
• 1776 – During the American Revolutionary War, British and German soldiers captured Fort Washington from the American Patriots.
• 1797 – Frederick William III became the new King of Prussia.
• 1805 – In the Napoleonic Wars, Russian forces under Pyotr Bagration managed to slow down the French army at the Battle of Schöngrabern.
• 1822 – American trader William Becknell arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He traveled a route that later became famous as the Santa Fe Trail, an important path in the American Old West.
• 1828 – The London Protocol was signed during the Greek War of Independence. This agreement led to the creation of an independent Greek state, though it was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
• 1849 – Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky was arrested for being part of a group that opposed the government. He was sentenced to a harsh punishment, but it was later changed to hard labor.
• 1855 – David Livingstone became the first European to see the amazing Victoria Falls in Africa, located between what is now Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• 1857 – During the Siege of Lucknow in India, many acts of bravery happened. Twenty-four Victoria Crosses, a very high military award, were given out on this single day.
• 1863 – In the American Civil War, Confederate troops tried to attack Union forces at the Battle of Campbell's Station but were unsuccessful. This allowed General Ambrose Burnside to protect Knoxville, Tennessee.
• 1871 – The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) was officially started in New York State.
• 1885 – Louis Riel, a Canadian leader of the Métis people and known as the "Father of Manitoba", was executed.

Modern Events (1901–Present)

• 1904 – English engineer John Ambrose Fleming received a patent for his invention, the thermionic valve, which was important for early electronics.
• 1907 – Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory joined together to form Oklahoma, which became the 46th U.S. state.
• 1914 – The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, which manages the country's money, officially opened.
• 1920 – Qantas, Australia's national airline, was founded.
• 1933 – The United States and the Soviet Union officially started diplomatic relations.
• 1940 – World War II: After the German air force heavily bombed Coventry, England, the Royal Air Force bombed Hamburg, Germany, in response.
• 1940 – The Holocaust: In occupied Poland, the Nazis sealed off the Warsaw Ghetto, trapping many Jewish people inside.
• 1940 – New York City's "Mad Bomber" George Metesky placed his first bomb in a building used by Consolidated Edison.
• 1944 – World War II: The town of Düren in Germany was destroyed by Allied aircraft to support the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
• 1945 – UNESCO, an organization that promotes peace and security through education, science, and culture, was founded.
• 1965 – Venera program: The Soviet Union launched the Venera 3 space probe towards Venus. It would become the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet.
• 1967 – Aeroflot Flight 2230 crashed near Koltsovo Airport, sadly killing 107 people.
• 1973 – Skylab program: NASA launched Skylab 4 with three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida. They went on an 84-day mission in space.
• 1973 – U.S. President Richard Nixon signed a law allowing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
• 1974 – The Arecibo message, a radio message meant for extraterrestrial intelligence, was broadcast from Puerto Rico.
• 1979 – The first line of the Bucharest Metro subway system opened in Bucharest, Romania.
• 1981 – Aeroflot Flight 3603 crashed while landing at Norilsk Airport, killing 99 people.
• 1988 – The government of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic declared that Estonia was "sovereign," meaning it had the right to govern itself, though it didn't fully declare independence yet.
• 1988 – In Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in the first open election in over a decade.
• 1990 – The pop group Milli Vanilli had their Grammy Award taken away because it was revealed they did not sing on their album. Other musicians had provided all the vocals.
• 1992 – The Hoxne treasure, a large collection of Roman gold and silver, was discovered by a metal detectorist in England.
• 1997 – After being in jail for nearly 18 years, China released Wei Jingsheng, a person who spoke out for democracy, for health reasons.
• 2002 – The first cases of the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak, a serious illness, were found in Foshan, China.
• 2004 – The video game Half-Life 2 was released. It won many awards and is considered one of the best games ever made.
• 2005 – After waiting 31 years, the Australian national football team beat Uruguay in a penalty shootout to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
• 2009 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on mission STS-129 to the International Space Station.
• 2022 – Artemis Program: NASA launched Artemis 1 on the first flight of the Space Launch System. This was the start of future missions to the Moon.

Notable Births

Born Before 1600

• 42 BC – Tiberius, a Roman emperor.
• 1436 – Leonardo Loredan, an Italian ruler.
• 1457 – Beatrice of Naples, a Hungarian queen.
• 1528 – Jeanne d'Albret, the Queen of Navarre.
• 1540 – Princess Cecilia of Sweden.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

• 1643 – Jean Chardin, a French-English jeweler and explorer.
• 1717 – Jean le Rond d'Alembert, a French mathematician and philosopher.
• 1753 – James McHenry, an Irish-American surgeon and politician.
• 1807 – Jónas Hallgrímsson, an Icelandic poet and naturalist.
• 1836 – Kalākaua, a Hawaiian monarch.
• 1873 – W. C. Handy, an American trumpet player and composer, known as the "Father of the Blues".
• 1890 – Elpidio Quirino, the 6th President of the Philippines.
• 1892 – Tazio Nuvolari, a famous Italian race car and motorcycle driver.
• 1895 – Paul Hindemith, a German composer.
• 1896 – Oswald Mosley, an English political figure.

Born After 1901

• 1904 – Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria.
• 1907 – Burgess Meredith, an American actor.
• 1916 – Daws Butler, an American voice actor who voiced many cartoon characters.
• 1922 – José Saramago, a Portuguese novelist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1930 – Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist and poet.
• 1935 – Magdi Yacoub, an Egyptian-English surgeon.
• 1946 – Jo Jo White, an American basketball player.
• 1952 – Shigeru Miyamoto, a Japanese video game designer, creator of Mario and Zelda.
• 1955 – Guillermo Lasso, the 47th President of Ecuador.
• 1958 – Marg Helgenberger, an American actress.
• 1961 – Frank Bruno, an English boxer.
• 1964 – Diana Krall, a Canadian singer and pianist.
• 1966 – Christian Lorenz, a German keyboard player for the band Rammstein.
• 1967 – Lisa Bonet, an American actress.
• 1971 – Alexander Popov, a Russian swimmer.
• 1971 – Waqar Younis, a Pakistani cricketer.
• 1974 – Paul Scholes, an English footballer.
• 1977 – Oksana Baiul, a Ukrainian-American figure skater.
• 1977 – Maggie Gyllenhaal, an American actress.
• 1982 – Amar'e Stoudemire, an American-Israeli basketball player.
• 1985 – Sanna Marin, a Finnish politician and former Prime Minister of Finland.
• 1993 – Pete Davidson, an American comedian and actor.
• 1999 – Bol Bol, a South Sudanese-American basketball player.

Notable Deaths

Died Before 1600

• 1093 – Saint Margaret of Scotland, a Scottish queen.
• 1240 – Edmund Rich, an English archbishop and saint.
• 1272 – Henry III of England, a King of England.

Died Between 1601 and 1900

• 1625 – Sofonisba Anguissola, an Italian painter.
• 1724 – Jack Sheppard, a well-known English figure.
• 1797 – Frederick William II of Prussia, a King of Prussia.
• 1806 – Moses Cleaveland, an American general and politician who founded Cleveland, Ohio.
• 1885 – Louis Riel, a Canadian lawyer and politician.

Died After 1901

• 1950 – Bob Smith, an American physician who helped found Alcoholics Anonymous.
• 1960 – Clark Gable, a famous American actor.
• 1961 – Sam Rayburn, an American politician who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
• 1973 – Alan Watts, an English-American philosopher.
• 1999 – Daniel Nathans, an American microbiologist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 2005 – Milton Friedman, an American economist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 2015 – David Canary, an American actor.
• 2016 – Melvin Laird, an American politician and writer.
• 2018 – William Goldman, an American novelist and screenwriter.
• 2022 – Robert Clary, a French-American actor and author.

Holidays and Special Days

• International Day for Tolerance (United Nations)
• Day of Declaration of Sovereignty (Estonia)
• Icelandic Language Day or Dagur íslenskrar tungu (Iceland)
• Statia Day in Sint Eustatius (Caribbean Netherlands)
• Intergenerational Fairness Day (An international day for the rights of younger and future generations)
• Christian feast day:
  • Africus
  • Agnes of Assisi
  • Edmund of Abingdon
  • Elfric of Abingdon
  • Eucherius of Lyon
  • Gertrude the Great (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Giuseppe Moscati
  • Gobrain
  • Hugh of Lincoln
  • Margaret of Scotland
  • Matthew the Evangelist (Eastern Christianity)
  • Othmar
  • Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn
  • Roch Gonzalez, Juan de Castillo, and Alonso Rodriguez, SJ
  • November 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day for Day of Repentance and Prayer (a Protestant observance in Germany), which is 11 days before Advent Sunday. Its related observance is:
  • Volkstrauertag (Germany)

See also

In Spanish: 16 de noviembre para niños