TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: AUGUST 16
1513 Henry VIII of England and Emperor Maximilian defeat the French at Guinegatte, France, in the Battle of the Spurs.
1743 Earliest boxing code of rules formulated in England
1777 France declares a state of bankruptcy.
1812 American General William Hull surrenders Detroit without resistance to a smaller British force under General Issac Brock.
1842 In New York City, the U.S. government took over operations of the City Despatch Post. This was the first congressionally authorized local postage delivery
1858 U.S. President James Buchanan and Britain’s Queen Victoria exchange messages inaugurating the first transatlantic telegraph line.
1898 Patent for Loop-the-Loop Roller Coaster is Awarded
1923 Carnegie Steel Corporation put into place the eight-hour workday for its employees.
1934 US ends occupation of Haiti (been there since 1915)
1946 Direct Action Day: Widespread riots erupt in Calcutta between Muslims and Hindus over whether Pakistan should be a separate state, killing over 4,000 and leaving 100,000 homeless
1954 First Issue of Sports Illustrated Hits the Newsstands
1960 Cyprus Attains Freedom From the British
1965 The Watts riots end in south-central Los Angeles after six days
1986 Sudanese rebels shoot down a Sudanese Airways plane, killing 57 people.
1987 Astrological alignment of sun, moon and six planets marks what believers maintain is the dawning of a New Age.
1990 Iraq orders 2,500 Americans and 4,000 British nationals in Kuwait to Iraq, in the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of that country.
1995 Voters in Bermuda rejected independence from Great Britain.
2012 In South Africa police fire on striking mine workers, killing at least 34.
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
