On This Day: 16 December

16 December in Indian history

• 2012A woman was gang-raped and fatally assaulted on a bus in Delhi, generating protests across India against inadequate security for women.India
• 1971The surrender of Pakistani forces in Dacca, East Pakistan, concluded the Bangladesh Liberation War and the India-Pakistan War.India
• 1782British East India Company: Muharram Rebellion: Hada and Mada Miah lead the first anti-British uprising in the subcontinent against Robert Lindsay and his contingents in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah.India

16 December in world history

• 2014Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants attack an Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 150 people, 132 of them schoolchildren.
• 1989Romanian Revolution: Protests break out in Timișoara, Romania, in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés.
• 1986The Jeltoqsan riots erupt in Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, in response to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's dismissal of ethnic Kazakh Dinmukhamed Kunaev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and his replacement with Gennady Kolbin, an ethnic Russ
• 1942The Holocaust: Schutzstaffel chief Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination be deported to Auschwitz.
• 1905In rugby union, the "Match of the Century" is played between Wales and New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park.
• 1899Thousand Days' War: Columbian Liberal rebels repelled a Conservative government attack at the Battle of Peralonso.
• 1883Tonkin Campaign: French forces capture the Sơn Tây citadel.
• 1864American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville ends as the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas routs and destroys the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood, ending its effectiveness as a combat unit.
• 1863American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints General Joseph E. Johnston to replace General Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee.
• 1838Great Trek: Battle of Blood River: Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers defeat Zulu impis, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
• 1773American Revolution: A group of colonists threw chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest British taxation without representation.
• 1761Seven Years' War: After a four-month siege, Russian forces captured Kolberg, the last major Prussian port on the Baltic Sea.
• 1740Prussian forces, led by Frederick the Great, moved into the Habsburg region of Silesia, starting the First Silesian War.
• 1707The last recorded eruption of Japan's Mount Fuji released some 800 million m3 (28 billion cu ft) of volcanic ash.
• 1689The Parliament of England enacted the Bill of Rights, setting out basic civil rights and later influencing other documents such as the U.S. Bill of Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Born on 16 December

• 1993Jyoti Amge, Indian actressIndia
• 1973Scott Storch, American songwriter and producer, founded Storch Music Company
• 1959H. D. Kumaraswamy, Indian social worker and politician, 18th Chief Minister of KarnatakaIndia
• 1955Xander Berkeley, American actor and producer
• 1926A. N. R. Robinson, Tobagonian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago (died 2014)
• 1889Kim Chwa-chin, South Korean guerrilla leader (died 1930)

Died on 16 December

• 2024Tulsi Gowda, Indian environmentalist (born 1937/1938)India
• 1515Afonso de Albuquerque, Portuguese admiral and politician, 3rd Viceroy of Portuguese India (born 1453)India
• 1474Ali Qushji, Uzbek astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (born 1403)
• 1263Haakon IV, king of Norway (born 1204)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 16 December in history?

2014: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants attack an Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 150 people, 132 of them schoolchildren. 2012: A woman was gang-raped and fatally assaulted on a bus in Delhi, generating protests across India against inadequate security for women. 1989: Romanian Revolution: Protests break out in Timișoara, Romania, in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés. 1986: The Jeltoqsan riots erupt in Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, in response to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's dismissal of ethnic Kazakh Dinmukhamed Kunaev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and his replacement with Gennady Kolbin, an ethnic Russ.

What happened on 16 December in Indian history?

2012: A woman was gang-raped and fatally assaulted on a bus in Delhi, generating protests across India against inadequate security for women. 1971: The surrender of Pakistani forces in Dacca, East Pakistan, concluded the Bangladesh Liberation War and the India-Pakistan War. 1782: British East India Company: Muharram Rebellion: Hada and Mada Miah lead the first anti-British uprising in the subcontinent against Robert Lindsay and his contingents in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah.

Which famous people were born on 16 December?

Jyoti Amge, Indian actress (1993); Scott Storch, American songwriter and producer, founded Storch Music Company (1973); H. D. Kumaraswamy, Indian social worker and politician, 18th Chief Minister of Karnataka (1959); Xander Berkeley, American actor and producer (1955).

Which day is observed on 16 December?

Vijay Diwas; Day of Reconciliation, formerly celebrated as Day of the Vow by the Afrikaners (South Africa); Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union in 1991.; National Day, celebrates the withdrawal of United Kingdom from Bahrain, making Bahrain an independent emirate in 1971.; International Day of the Belt and Road Initiative.