16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.”
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 1987 U.S.A. Plane Crash
1987 : Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan kills 156 people.
16 Aug, 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.
16 Aug, 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.
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