Summary of the Day ✨ 16 April (16/04)
Multiple disasters unfolded worldwide as Copenhagen’s historic stock exchange burned, deadly earthquakes struck Ecuador and Iran, and a South Korean ferry capsized killing hundreds, while journalists earned a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Historical Events 📜
- 2024: The historic Børsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, is severely damaged by a fire.
- 2018: The New York Times and The New Yorker win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for breaking news of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal.
- 2016: Ecuador’s worst earthquake in nearly 40 years kills 676 and injures more than 230,000.
- 2014: The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks near Jindo Island, killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to widespread criticism of the South Korean government, media, and shipping authorities.
- 2013: A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Sistan and Balochistan province, Iran, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others.
- 2013: The 2013 Baga massacre is started when Boko Haram militants engage government soldiers in Baga.
- 2012: The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway.
- 2012: The Pulitzer Prize winners are announced. It was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.
- 2008: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Baze v. Rees decision that execution by lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
- 2007: Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho murders 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.
- 2003: The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.
- 2001: India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
- 1972: Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1963: U.S. civil rights campaigner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes his open letter from Birmingham Jail, sometimes known as “The Negro Is Your Brother”, while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama, for protesting against segregation.
- 1961: In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Sadie Sink, American actress
- 1996: Anya Taylor-Joy, Argentine-British actress
- 1996: Taylor Townsend, American tennis player
- 1993: Chance the Rapper, American rapper
- 1993: Mirai Nagasu, Japanese-American figure skater
- 1992: Brian Poe Llamanzares, Filipino journalist and politician
- 1991: Nolan Arenado, American baseball player
- 1991: Kim Kyung-jung, South Korean footballer
- 1990: Reggie Jackson, American basketball player
- 1990: Vangelis Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
- 1990: Tony McQuay, American sprinter
- 1988: Kyle Okposo, American ice hockey player
- 1987: Cenk Akyol, Turkish basketball player
- 1987: Aaron Lennon, English international footballer
- 1986: Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Justin Fairfax, American lawyer and politician, 41st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (born 1979)
- 2026: Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer (born 1977)
- 2025: Nora Aunor, Filipino actress and recording artist (born 1953)
- 2024: Carl Erskine, American baseball player (born 1926)
- 2024: Bob Graham, American lawyer, author, and politician, 38th governor of Florida (born 1936)
- 2021: Andrew Peacock, Australian politician (born 1939)
- 2021: Helen McCrory, British actress (born 1968)
- 2021: Liam Scarlett, British choreographer (born 1986)
- 2021: John Dawes, Welsh rugby union player (born 1940)
- 2018: Harry Anderson, American actor and magician (born 1952)
- 2015: Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (born 1948)
- 2015: Stanislav Gross, Czech lawyer and politician, fifth Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (born 1969)
- 2014: Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (born 1949)
- 2014: Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (born 1929)
- 2014: Ernst Florian Winter, Austrian-American historian and political scientist (born 1923)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Benedict Joseph Labre - Christian feast day:
Bernadette Soubirous - Christian feast day:
Drogo - Christian feast day:
Engratia - Christian feast day:
Fructuosus of Braga - Christian feast day:
Isabella Gilmore (Church of England) - Christian feast day:
Martyrs of Zaragoza - Christian feast day:
Molly Brant (Konwatsijayenni) (Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church) - Christian feast day:
Turibius of Astorga - Christian feast day:
April 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Birthday of José de Diego (Puerto Rico, United States)
- Birthday of Queen Margrethe II (Denmark)
- Flag Day (Jordan)
- Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C., United States)
- Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Hungary)