December 16
1653
Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
1773
The Boston Tea Party took place.
1916
Grigori Rasputin assassinated by a group of noble Russian conspirators.
1920
One of the deadliest earthquakes in history hit the Gansu province in China. The 8.6 quake killed 200,000 people.
1944
The Battle of the Bulge during World War II began in Belgium.
1990
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president of Haiti in the country’s first democratic elections.
2000
Colin Powell was selected to become the first African-American secretary of state.
Birthdays
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770–1827, German Composer.
Jane Austen
novelist (1775)
George Santayana
philosopher and poet (1863)
Zoltán Kodály
composer (1882)
Noel Coward
playwright, composer (1899)
Margaret Mead
anthropologist (1901)
Arthur C. Clarke
science fiction writer (1917)
Philip K. Dick
writer (1928)
Benjamin Bratt
actor (1963)