On This Day
What Happened on December 16 in History
9 events that happened on December 16, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
Colonial America and the Revolution
1773
Colonists dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor in the Boston Tea Party.
Members of the Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded three ships to protest the Tea Act. Parliament answered with harsh measures that pushed the colonies closer to revolution.
Source: history.com; history.com
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1811
The first of the great New Madrid earthquakes shook the central Mississippi Valley.
The magnitude 7.5 shock struck northeast Arkansas at about 2:15 a.m. Two more major quakes followed in January and February 1812.
Source: usgs.gov
1893
Antonin Dvorak's "New World" Symphony had its world premiere at Carnegie Hall.
The Philharmonic Society of New York performed the Czech composer's Symphony No. 9. Dvorak suggested a distinctly American music could grow from African American musical traditions.
Source: history.com
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1914
German battle cruisers shelled the English towns of Scarborough and Hartlepool.
The surprise bombardment killed more than 130 civilians and wounded hundreds more. The British press condemned the raid as an example of German brutality.
Source: history.com
1944
Germany launched a surprise offensive in the Ardennes, starting the Battle of the Bulge.
About 250,000 German troops struck a thinly held stretch of the American line in the Ardennes forest. It was the largest battle fought on the Western Front and Hitler's last major offensive of the war.
Source: history.com
The Cold War
1950
President Harry Truman declared a national emergency after China entered the Korean War.
Massive Chinese attacks had driven back U.S. forces in Korea. The proclamation expanded presidential powers and brought wage and price controls as the country prepared for a wider war.
Source: history.com; millercenter.org
1960
Two airliners collided over New York City, killing 134 people in the air and on the ground.
A United DC-8 bound for Idlewild Airport struck a TWA Super Constellation heading to LaGuardia on a snowy morning. Wreckage fell on Staten Island and in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood.
Source: history.com
The Modern Era
1998
President Bill Clinton ordered air strikes on Iraq after it blocked UN weapons inspectors.
The bombing campaign lasted three days. Some members of Congress accused Clinton of trying to distract attention from the impeachment proceedings against him.
Source: history.com; millercenter.org
2009
James Cameron's "Avatar" had its U.S. premiere.
One of the most expensive films ever made, the science fiction epic became the highest-grossing film of all time and held that record for nearly a decade.
Source: history.com