Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

December 16

1431		Henry VI of England is crowned King of France.
1653		Oliver Cromwell takes on dictatorial powers with the title of "Lord Protector."
1773		To protest the tax on tea from England, a group of young Americans, disguised as Indians, throw chests of tea from British ships in Boston Harbor.
1835		A fire in New York City destroys property estimated to be worth $20,000,000. It lasts two days, ravages 17 blocks, and destroys 674 buildings including the Stock Exchange, Merchants’ Exchange, Post Office, and the South Dutch Church.
1863		Confederate General Joseph Johnston takes command of the Army of Tennessee.
1864		Union forces under General George H. Thomas win the battle at Nashville, smashing an entire Confederate army.
1930		In Spain, a general strike is called in support of the revolution.
1939		The National Women’s Party urges immediate congressional action on equal rights.
1940		British troops carry out an air raid on Italian Somalia.
1944		Germany mounts a major offensive in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. As the center of the Allied line falls back, it creates a bulge, leading to the name–the Battle of the Bulge.
1949		Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung is received at the Kremlin in Moscow.
1950		President Harry Truman declares a state of National Emergency as Chinese communists invade deeper into South Korea.
1976		President Jimmy Carter appoints Andrew Young as Ambassador to the United Nations.
1978		Cleveland becomes the first U.S. city to default since the depression.
1998		The United States launches a missile attack on Iraq for failing to comply with United Nations weapons inspectors.
2003		President George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which establishes the United States’ first national standards regarding email and gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce the act.
Born on December 16
1485		Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, who bore him six children; only one, Mary I, survived to adulthood.
1770		Ludwig Van Beethoven, German composer best known for his 9th Symphony.
1775		Jane Austen, novelist (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice).
1917		Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction writer (2001: A Space Odyssey)
1932		Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, illustrator and children’s writer; received the Hans Christian Andersen Award (2002) and was Britain’s first Children’s Laureate (1999–2001).
1936		Morris Dees, activist; co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
1938		Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress and director; won Golden Globe for Best Actress–Motion Picture Drama for The Emigrants (1971).
1943		Steven Bochco, TV producer and writer (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law).
1949		Billy Gibbons, sinner, songwriter, musician with ZZ Top and Moving Sidewalks bands.
1955		Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este.
1962		William Perry, pro football defensive lineman nicknamed The Refrigerator because of his size.
1963		Benjamin Bratt, actor best known for his role of Rey Curtis on the Law & Order TV series.
1969		Adam Riess, astrophysicist; shared 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy and 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for providing evidence the expansion of the universe is accelerating.