What Happened on May 16
Important Events
- 1920 Joan of Arc (Jeanne D'arc) canonized a saint
- 1943 Operation Chastise: No. 617 Squadron RAF begins the famous dambusters Raid, bombing the Möhne and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley with bouncing bombs
May 16 in Film & TV
- 1929 1st Academy Awards: "Wings", Emil Jannings & Janet Gaynor win
- 1946 "Annie Get Your Gun" musical by Irving Berlin, Dorothy and Herbert Fields opens at Imperial Theater NYC, starring Ethel Merman and featuring "There's no Business Like Show Business"
May 16 in Music
May 16 in Sport
- 1948 First chess world championship since WWII; Russian player Mikhail Botvinnik wins a 5-player tournament to begin 20-year Russian domination
Did You Know?
Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California
On May 16, 1960
Famous Birthdays
H. H. Holmes
(1861 - 1896)- Henry Fonda
(1905 - 1982) - Liberace
(1919 - 1987) - Pierce Brosnan
66 Years Old - Janet Jackson
53 Years Old - Megan Fox
33 Years Old
H. H. Holmes
Henry Fonda
Liberace
Pierce Brosnan
Janet Jackson
Megan FoxFamous Weddings
- 1770 Marie Antoinette (14) marries future King Louis XVI (15) of France
- 1836 American writer Edgar Allan Poe (26) marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm
- 1981 Pretenders' Martin Chambers weds Tracy Atkinson
Famous Divorces
- 2008 "24" actor Kiefer Sutherland (37) divorces former model Elizabeth Kelly Winn (42) due to irreconcilable differences after nearly 8 years of marriage
Charles Perrault
Django Reinhardt
Margaret Hamilton
Jim Henson
Bob Hawke
I. M. PeiMay in History
How Australia Was Born
Captain Arthur Phillip commanded a fleet of British ships carrying convicts to New South Wales on this day, effectively founding the British colony of Australia.
May 13, 1787Pope 'Turned Vatican Into Whorehouse'
Pope John XII who died – some say he was murdered – on this day lived a life of sin, corruption and murder. But is his reputation as the worst pope deserved?
May 14, 964 ADTaxman Delivers Cruel Blow to Miss Whiplash
If I agreed to your demand for cash payment it means that you would be living off immoral earnings, celebrated Madam tells the tax authority.
May 15, 1990My Fair Lady's Special Day
This was a day to remember for Eliza Doolittle, the 'My Fair Lady' of the stage and film musical that won and broke hearts.
May 20, 1956
