July 16

Events Pre-1600 622 – The Hijrah of Muhammad begins, marking the beginning of the Islamic calendar. 997 – Battle of Spercheios: Bulgarian forces of Tsar Samuel are defeated by a Byzantine army under general Nikephoros Ouranos at the Spercheios River in Greece. 1054 – Three Roman legates place - acting illegally on their own authority - a bull of excommunication against Michael I Cerularius, the patriarch of Constantinople, and his followers on the altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy. Historians frequently describe the event as the formal start of the East–West Schism. 1212 – Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: After Pope Innocent III calls European knights to a crusade, the forces of kings Alfonso VIII of Castile, Sancho VII of Navarre, Peter II of Aragon and Afonso II of Portugal defeat those of the Berber Muslim leader Almohad, thus marking a significant turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain. 1232 – The Spanish town of Arjona declares independence and names its native Muhammad ibn Yusuf as ruler. This marks the Muhammad's first rise to prominence; he later established the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state in Spain. 1251 – Celebrated by the Carmelite Order–but doubted by modern historians–as the day when Saint Simon Stock had a vision of the Virgin Mary.Carmel, Its History, Spirit, and Saints. New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1927. pp 218–226. The Brown Scapular – Book excerpt found at the web link contains extensive quotes from the 17th century forged letter purportedly written in the 13th century by Saint Simon Stock's secretary "Peter Swanington". Many older sources surprisingly accepted the Swanington letter without question.Herbert Thurston, S.J., "The Origin of the Scapular – A Criticism." The Irish Ecclesiastical Record Vol XVI July–December 1904. pp. 59–75. Dublin: Browne & Nolan, Limited. – well researched 1904 journal article demonstrates the falsity of the Swanington letter as well as the forged papal bull that was the basis of the "Sabbatine privilege", discusses Carmelite history and the facts about the evolution of the scapular devotion etc. 1377 – King Richard II of England is crowned. 1536 – Jacques Cartier, navigator and explorer, returns home to St. Malo after claiming Stadacona (Quebec), Hochelaga (Montreal) and the River of Canada (St. Lawrence River) region for France.

1601–1900 1661 – The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco. 1683 – Manchu Qing dynasty naval forces under commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands. 1769 – Father Junípero Serra founds California's first mission, Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Over the following decades, it evolves into the city of San Diego, California. 1779 – American Revolutionary War: Light infantry of the Continental Army seize a fortified British Army position in a midnight bayonet attack at the Battle of Stony Point. 1790 – The District of Columbia is established as the capital of the United States after signature of the Residence Act. 1809 – The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declares its independence from the Spanish Crown during the La Paz revolution and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo. 1849 – Antonio María Claret y Clará founds the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, popularly known as the Claretians in Vic, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. 1858 – The last apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. 1861 – American Civil War: At the order of President Abraham Lincoln, Union troops begin a 25-mile march into Virginia for what will become the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the war. 1862 – American Civil War: David Farragut is promoted to rear admiral, becoming the first officer in United States Navy to hold an admiral rank. 1877 – The Imperial Russian army under Grand Duke Nicholas defeats the Ottoman army and takes the city of Nikopol (modern Bulgaria).

1901–present 1909 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son Ahmad Shah Qajar. 1910 – John Robertson Duigan makes the first flight of the Duigan pusher biplane, the first aircraft built in Australia. 1915 – Henry James becomes a British citizen to highlight his commitment to Britain during the first World War. 1915 – At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law. 1916 – Max Reger's Hebbel Requiem is first performed in a memorial concert for the composer, conducted by Philipp Wolfrum. 1927 – Augusto César Sandino leads a raid on U.S. Marines and Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional that had been sent to apprehend him in the village of Ocotal, but is repulsed by one of the first dive-bombing attacks in history. 1931 – Emperor Haile Selassie signs the first constitution of Ethiopia. 1935 – The world's first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 1942 – Holocaust: Vel' d'Hiv Roundup (Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv): The government of Vichy France orders the mass arrest of 13,152 Jews who are held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver in Paris before deportation to Auschwitz. 1945 – Manhattan Project: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico. 1948 – Following token resistance, the city of Nazareth, revered by Christians as the hometown of Jesus, capitulates to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. 1948 – The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, marks the first aircraft hijacking of a commercial plane. 1950 – Chaplain–Medic massacre: American POWs are massacred by North Korean Army. 1950 – Uruguay beats hosts Brazil 2–1 to win the World Cup in a match dubbed as the Maracanazo. 1951 – King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin of Belgium. 1951 – J. D. Salinger publishes his popular yet controversial novel, The Catcher in the Rye. 1957 – KLM Flight 844 crashes off the Schouten Islands in present day Indonesia (then Netherlands New Guinea), killing 58 people. 1965 – The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France and Italy opens. 1965 – South Vietnamese Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, a formerly undetected communist spy and double agent, is hunted down and killed by unknown individuals after being sentenced to death in absentia for a February 1965 coup attempt against Nguyễn Khánh. 1969 – The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission is launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA. 1979 – Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein. 1983 – Sikorsky S-61 disaster: A helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities. 1990 – The Luzon earthquake strikes the Philippines with an intensity of 7.7, affecting Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac. 1990 – The Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR declares state sovereignty over the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. 1994 – The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is destroyed in a head-on collision with Jupiter. 2005 – An Antonov An-24 crashes near Baney in Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea, killing 60 people. 2007 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 and 6.6 aftershock occurs off the Niigata coast of Japan killing eight people, injuring at least 800 and damaging a nuclear power plant. 2009 – Teoh Beng Hock, an aide to a politician in Malaysia is found dead on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the offices of the Anti-Corruption Commission, sparking an inquest that gains nationwide attention. 2013 – As many as 27 children die and 25 others are hospitalized after eating lunch served at their school in eastern India. 2013 – Syrian civil war: The Battle of Ras al-Ayn resumes between the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist forces, beginning the Rojava–Islamist conflict. 2015 – Four U.S. Marines and a United States Navy Sailor are killed in the a shooting spree targeting military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 2019 – A 100-year-old building in Mumbai, India, collapses, killing at least 10 people and leaving many others trapped.

Births Pre-1600 1194 – Clare of Assisi, Italian nun and saint (died 1253) 1486 – Andrea del Sarto, Italian painter (died 1530) 1517 – Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, English duchess (died 1559)

1601–1900 1611 – Cecilia Renata of Austria (died 1644) 1661 – Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, Canadian captain, explorer, and politician (died 1706) 1714 – Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French engineer and author (died 1800) 1722 – Joseph Wilton, English sculptor and academic (died 1803) 1723 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter and academic (died 1792) 1731 – Samuel Huntington, American jurist and politician, 18th governor of Connecticut (died 1796) 1748 – Cyrus Griffin, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 16th President of the Continental Congress (died 1810) 1796 – Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French painter and etcher (died 1875) 1821 – Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader and author, founded Christian Science (died 1910) 1841 – Nikolai von Glehn, Estonian-German architect and activist (died 1923) 1858 – Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1931) 1862 – Ida B. Wells, American journalist and activist (died 1931) 1863 – Anderson Dawson, Australian politician, 14th Premier of Queensland (died 1910) 1870 – Lambert McKenna, Irish priest, lexicographer, and scholar (died 1956) 1870 – Ellen Oliver (suffragette), British suffragette (died 1921) 1871 – John Maxwell, American golfer (died 1906) 1872 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (died 1928) 1872 – Frank Cooper, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Queensland (died 1949) 1880 – Kathleen Norris, American journalist and author (died 1966) 1882 – Violette Neatley Anderson, American judge (died 1937) 1883 – Charles Sheeler, American photographer and painter (died 1965) 1884 – Anna Vyrubova, Russian author (died 1964) 1887 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player and manager (died 1951) 1888 – Percy Kilbride, American actor (died 1964) 1888 – Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1966) 1895 – Wilfrid Hamel, Canadian businessman and politician, 35th Mayor of Quebec City (died 1968) 1896 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German biologist and eugenicist (died 1969) 1896 – Trygve Lie, Norwegian trade union leader and politician, 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (died 1968) 1898 – Lady Eve Balfour, British farmer, educator, and founding figure in the organic movement (died 1990)

1901–present 1902 – Alexander Luria, Russian psychologist and physician (died 1977) 1902 – Mary Philbin, American actress (died 1993) 1903 – Fritz Bauer, German lawyer and judge (died 1968) 1903 – Carmen Lombardo, Canadian singer-songwriter (died 1971) 1903 – Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, German mathematician and engineer (died 1974) 1904 – Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (died 2003) 1906 – Vincent Sherman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2006) 1907 – Frances Horwich, American educator and television host (died 2001) 1907 – Orville Redenbacher, American farmer and businessman, founded Orville Redenbacher's (died 1995) 1907 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (died 1990) 1910 – Stan McCabe, Australian cricketer (died 1968) 1911 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 1995) 1911 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (died 1970) 1912 – Amy Patterson, Argentine composer, singer, poet, and teacher (died 2019) 1915 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (died 2006)