Summary of the Day ✨ 16 July (16/07)
A day of tragedy unfolded as a century-old building collapsed in Mumbai killing at least 10 people, while 27 children died in eastern India after consuming contaminated school lunch, and four U.S. Marines and a sailor were fatally shot in a Chattanooga military installation attack. Simultaneously, the Syrian civil war intensified as the Battle of Ras al-Ayn resumed between Kurdish forces and Islamists, and Malaysia was rocked by the suspicious death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock whose body was found on an anti-corruption commission building rooftop.
Historical Events 📜
- 2019: A 100-year-old building in Mumbai, India, collapses, killing at least 10 people and leaving many others trapped.
- 2015: Four U.S. Marines and a United States Navy Sailor are killed in the a shooting spree targeting military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2005: An Antonov An-24 crashes near Baney in Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea, killing 60 people.
- 2004: Millennium Park, considered Chicago’s first and most ambitious early 21st-century architectural project, is opened to the public by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
- 1999: John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, die when the aircraft he is piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
- 1994: The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is destroyed in a head-on collision with Jupiter.
- 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.
- 1983: Sikorsky S-61 disaster: A helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.
- 1979: Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.
- 1969: The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission is launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Amiah Miller, American actress and model
- 2001: Island Boys, American social media personalities
- 1999: Jarred Kelenic, American baseball player
- 1996: Kevin Abstract, American rapper and singer-songwriter
- 1996: Luke Hemmings, Australian singer and musician
- 1994: Shericka Jackson, Jamaican sprinter
- 1992: Safiya Nygaard, American YouTuber
- 1991: Dylan Grimes, Australian Rules footballer
- 1991: Nate Schmidt, American ice hockey player
- 1991: Andros Townsend, English footballer
- 1990: James Maslow, American actor, singer and dancer
- 1990: Wizkid, Nigerian singer and songwriter
- 1990: Johann Zarco, French motorcycle racer
- 1989: Gareth Bale, Welsh footballer
- 1988: Sergio Busquets, Spanish footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Connie Francis, American singer and actress (born 1937)
- 2024: Joe Bryant, American basketball player (born 1954)
- 2024: Norm Hewitt, New Zealand rugby union player (born 1968)
- 2024: David Morrow, Australian radio host and sportscaster (born 1953)
- 2023: Kevin Mitnick, American hacker (born 1963)
- 2021: Biz Markie, American rapper (born 1964)
- 2020: Tony Taylor, Cuban baseball player (born 1935)
- 2019: John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (born 1920)
- 2017: George A. Romero, American filmmaker (born 1940)
- 2015: Denis Avey, English soldier, engineer, and author (born 1919)
- 2015: Evelyn Ebsworth, English chemist and academic (born 1933)
- 2015: Alcides Ghiggia, Uruguayan footballer and manager (born 1926)
- 2015: Jack Goody, English anthropologist, author, and academic (born 1919)
- 2014: Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (born 1920)
- 2014: Mary Ellen Otremba, American educator and politician (born 1950)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Gondulphus of Tongeren - Christian feast day:
Helier - Christian feast day:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Fiesta de La Tirana (Tarapacá Region, Chile) - Christian feast day:
Reineldis - Christian feast day:
July 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Engineer’s Day (Honduras)
- Holocaust Memorial Day (France)