Important Events From This day in History August 16th

 

1977 Elvis Presley Dies

1977 : Elvis Presley dies at the age of 42, leaving rock and roll fans worldwide mourning his loss. Elvis was found dead at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. The cause of death is pronounced as cardiac arrhythmia which is a form of heart attack. Since his divorce from Priscilla Presley four years ago he has had problems with ill health which forced him to cancel a number of concerts due to exhaustion.

1900 South Africa Boer War

1900 : In preparation for war with Great Britain, the Boers had started importing vast quantities of food as early as 1898. Also, munitions were hoarded by those in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. It appeared that some food was sent to other locations only to be secretly rerouted to the Boers.

1920 Ireland Fighting

1920 : Crowds around Dublin Castle tried to shoot their way in at nine o’clock at night. The source of the trouble began when the restive crowd spotted soldiers from the Lancaster fusiliers who they believed were guilty of murdering a boy. The military fired shots over the mob’s heads and a few shots were fired in return. Some soldiers came in trucks and a few were dragged off of the vehicles by the rioters. However, in the end the mob broke up and the crisis was over.

1931 India Gandhi

1931 : After the doldrums of world war, Mahatma Gandhi in India offered hope and inspiration to his own people and those around the world. He was empathetic and loyal to those living in poverty and would not participate in the caste system. Even so, wealthy Indians vied to entertain him. Gandhi sold all his possessions and gave them to the poor. His people called him “mahatma” meaning “great soul.”

1945 Germany Carved Up By Allies

1945 : A defeated German Reich was carved up into 7 areas so that the allies – France, Britain, the U.S., and Russia could put troops to occupy it. One section of Germany was France’s responsibility and two sections each would go to the rest of the allies.

1951 Nationalist China Party

1951 : In a speech at Chautauqua in the U.S., T.F. Tsiang leader of the Nationalist China party appealed to Americans for financial and technical aid to overthrow the communist regime in China. He warned that 450,000,000 Chinese would be subjugated and pose a threat to its neighbors unless the U.S. intervened.

1952 England Lynmouth, Devon Flooding

1952 : The holiday village of Lynmouth in North Devon has been devastated by flooding caused by the local rivers East and West Lyn overflowing due to the torrential rain in the previous 24 hours. Rows of local cottages including the occupants were smashed as the river which had burst it's banks came flooding down the local high street. The village has lost all power, phones and gas. There are believed to be 30 people missing presumed dead.

1960 Costa Rica Communist Infiltration

1960 : In San Jose, Costa Rica foreign officials of the American republics met to discuss problems such as the Soviet Union’s infiltration of Cuba and Venezuela. Communism was illegal in Costa Rica, but there were 300 card carrying communists in the country. During the conference police dispersed 100 communists demonstrating outside of the ministers’ hotel.

1977 Israel Control West Bank

1977 : In Jerusalem Prime Minister Menachem Begin declared that his government had an equal treatment policy for both Arabs and Jews alike. However, one official expressed fears that Begin was taking a long term control over the West Bank and Gaza.

1978 U.S.A. Xerox Fined

1978 : Xerox was forced to pay a $25.6 million fine for blocking Smith Corona and other companies from entering the photocopier market by the Federal Trade Commission for not allowing other companies to compete in the market.

1987 U.S.A. Plane Crash

1987 : Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan kills 156 people.

1989 U.S.A. Julian Lennon

1989 : Julian Lennon, son of the celebrate John Lennon the Beatle is now 26 and is on his third music album. Although his second album “The Secret Value of Daydreaming” was a big disaster, his first album, “Valotte” won him a Grammy nomination. Julian claims that his voice is similar to his father’s.

1991 John Paul II and Catholic Woodstock

1991 : In Czestochowa, Poland the Polish-born pontiff, John Paul II, rejoiced about the demise of communism in Eastern Europe. At the Roman Catholic World Day of Youth an excess of one million young people attended. It was dubbed the “Catholic Woodstock”. As the pope spoke to the crowd there were 60,000 individuals from Russia and 10,000 from Lithuania and the Ukraine who heard his message.

2002 Germany Dresden Flooding

2002 : After some of the worst flooding since records began in Europe officials are hoping that the River Elbe in the historic city of Dresden has peaked at record levels cresting 31 feet, but other rivers in Germany are still continuing to rise. The Danube in Hungary is now threatening the city of Budapest. The flooding this summer in the European countries of Germany, Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic have forced nearly one million people to evacuate their homes.

2003 Libya Accepts Responsibility for Lockerbie Bombing

August 16, 2003 : Libya Accepts Responsibility for Lockerbie Bombing in 1988 in a letter to a United Nations Security Council meeting formally taking responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. This follows pressure from UN sanctions applied to Libya which will now be lifted following the Libya statement accepting responsibility. Libya has now agreed to provide compensation to the victims of the tragedy totaling $2.7bn for the 270 victims families.

2003 Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana

2003 : Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana has been shot dead by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison when his camera is mistaken for a rocket propelled grenade launcher.

2004 England Flash Flooding

2004 : Flash floods in the village of Boscastle, Cornwall have left the area in ruins sending dozens of cars off the coast road straight into the sea. A number of buildings have also collapsed. Reports indicate there are no serious casualties but for the small holiday village it will be some time before they will be able to rebuild for the many thousands of visitors.

2006 California More Trees Needed

August 16, 2006 : In California, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Climate Action Team endorsed growing trees to combat climate change brought on by carbon emissions. In particular, it was found that young trees absorb the most carbon. The quicker the leaves develop the more pollution is absorbed. The Action Team recommended better forest management and the growing of trees in cities. They said that more trees might buy society some time until the pollution problem is solved.

2011 Syrian Troops Continue Attack on Latakia

2011 : Syrian troops fired on the city of Latakia for a fourth day. The crackdown began after citizens gathered in mass protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime in the city. The protests in Latakia are a continuation of protests that had occurred across the country since March of 2011.

2012 Afghanistan Helicopter Crash Kills Eleven

2012 : Eleven people died after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Kandahar province in Afghanistan. Seven of them were US soldiers and four were Afghans. The Taliban claimed to have carried out the attack but it was not verified.

2013 Austria Giant Panda Gives Birth

2013 : The natural birth of a giant panda cub happened at the Schoenbrunn zoo in Vienna, Austria to resident pandas Yang Yang and Long Hui. This was only the third natural panda birth in Europe, and all three took place in Vienna.

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