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  • Cesena, Italy
    Wednesday Aug 16, 1454
    Libraries

    Malatestiana Library

    Cesena, Italy
    Wednesday Aug 16, 1454

    From the 15th century in central and northern Italy, libraries of humanists and their enlightened patrons provided a nucleus around which an "academy" of scholars congregated in each Italian city of consequence. Malatesta Novello, lord of Cesena, founded the Malatestiana Library.




  • Smolensk, Russian Empire
    Sunday Aug 16, 1812
    Napoleon

    Battle of Smolensk (1812)

    Smolensk, Russian Empire
    Sunday Aug 16, 1812

    The Russians avoided Napoleon's objective of a decisive engagement and instead retreated deeper into Russia. A brief attempt at resistance was made at Smolensk in August; the Russians were defeated in a series of battles, and Napoleon resumed his advance.




  • Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Aug 16, 1845
    Frederick Douglass

    Douglass sailed for Liverpool "Feelings"

    Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Aug 16, 1845

    Douglass's friends and mentors feared that the publicity would draw the attention of his ex-owner, Hugh Auld, who might try to get his "property" back. They encouraged Douglass to tour Ireland, as many former slaves had done. Douglass set sail on the Cambria for Liverpool, England on August 16, 1845. He traveled in Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine was beginning. The feeling of freedom from American racial discrimination amazed Douglass: Eleven days and a half gone and I have crossed three thousand miles of the perilous deep. Instead of a democratic government, I am under a monarchical government. Instead of the bright, blue sky of America, I am covered with the soft, grey fog of the Emerald Isle [Ireland]. I breathe, and lo! the chattel [slave] becomes a man. I gaze around in vain for one who will question my equal humanity, claim me as his slave, or offer me an insult. I employ a cab—I am seated beside white people—I reach the hotel—I enter the same door—I am shown into the same parlour—I dine at the same table—and no one is offended ... I find myself regarded and treated at every turn with the kindness and deference paid to white people. When I go to church, I am met by no upturned nose and scornful lip to tell me, 'We don't allow niggers in here!' He also met and befriended the Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell, who was to be a great inspiration.




  • England, United Kingdom
    Friday Aug 16, 1850
    David Copperfield

    Dora Annie Dickens

    England, United Kingdom
    Friday Aug 16, 1850

    His third daughter was born on 16 August 1850, called Dora Annie Dickens, the same name as his character's first wife. The baby died nine months later after the last serial was issued and the book was published.




  • Paris, France
    Saturday Aug 16, 1924
    Gustav Stresemann

    Dawes Plan

    Paris, France
    Saturday Aug 16, 1924

    His first notable achievement was the Dawes Plan of 1924, which successfully resolved the issue of World War I reparations that Germany had to pay. It ended a crisis in European diplomacy following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, it reduced Germany's overall reparations commitment and reorganized the Reichsbank.




  • Białystok, Poland
    Monday Aug 16, 1943
    The Holocaust

    Białystok Ghetto

    Białystok, Poland
    Monday Aug 16, 1943

    In the Białystok Ghetto on 16 August, Jewish insurgents fought for five days when the Germans announced mass deportations.




  • Southern France
    Wednesday Aug 16, 1944
    World War II

    Operation Dragoon

    Southern France
    Wednesday Aug 16, 1944

    Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15 August 1944 and ended on 14 September.


  • Naval Air Station Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
    Wednesday Aug 16, 1950
    Neil Armstrong

    Armstrong became a Fully qualified Naval Aviator

    Naval Air Station Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
    Wednesday Aug 16, 1950

    On August 16, 1950, Armstrong was informed by letter that he was a fully qualified naval aviator.


  • England
    Thursday Aug 16, 1962
    The Beatles

    Best's dismissal

    England
    Thursday Aug 16, 1962

    Already contemplating Best's dismissal, the Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr, who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them.


  • Granger, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
    Saturday Aug 16, 1975
    Ted Bundy

    Bundy was arrested

    Granger, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
    Saturday Aug 16, 1975

    On August 16, 1975, Bundy was arrested by Utah Highway Patrol officer Bob Hayward in Granger (another Salt Lake City suburb). The police did not have sufficient evidence to detain Bundy, and he was released on his own recognizance. Bundy later said that searchers missed a hidden collection of Polaroid photographs of his victims, which he destroyed after he was released.


  • U.S.
    Tuesday Aug 16, 1994
    Mobile Phones

    The World's First Smartphone

    U.S.
    Tuesday Aug 16, 1994

    In 1994, IBM Simon was introduced. This was possibly the world's first smartphone. It was a mobile phone, pager, fax machine, and PDA all rolled into one. It included a calendar, address book, clock, calculator, notepad, email, and a touchscreen with a QWERTY keyboard. The IBM Simon had a stylus, used to tap the touch screen. It featured predictive typing that would guess the next characters as you tapped. It had applications, or at least a way to deliver more features by plugging a PCMCIA 1.8 MB memory card into the phone.


  • Baltic Sea
    Monday Aug 16, 1999
    Martin Bormann

    Bormann's Remains were Cremated

    Baltic Sea
    Monday Aug 16, 1999

    Bormann's remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Baltic Sea on 16 August 1999.


  • U.S.
    Tuesday Aug 16, 2005
    Bart Millard

    Hymned No. 1

    U.S.
    Tuesday Aug 16, 2005

    Millard made a promise to his grandmother to record a hymns album before she died, which he did with Hymned No. 1, and he subsequently shared the story of how he was inspired by his grandmother's faith.


  • Vatican City
    Saturday Aug 16, 2014
    Pope Francis

    The pope has also continued the practice of having beatifications

    Vatican City
    Saturday Aug 16, 2014

    The pope has also continued the practice of having beatifications celebrated in the place of the individual's origin though has presided over beatifications himself on three occasions for Paul Yun Ji-Chung and 123 companions on 16 August 2014, his predecessor Pope Paul VI on 19 October 2014 and two Colombian martyrs on 8 September 2017.


  • India
    Saturday Aug 16, 2014
    Narendra Damodardas Modi

    Abolished the Planning Commission

    India
    Saturday Aug 16, 2014

    Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog.


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