May 16

May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 229 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Thursday or Friday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Sunday (56).

Events

• 218 – Julia Maesa, aunt of the assassinated Caracalla, is banished to her home in Syria by self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus; she declares her 14-year-old grandson Elagabalus to be emperor of Rome; Macrinus is later deposed.
• 1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
• 1527 – The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
• 1532 – Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
• 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
• 1584 – Santiago de Vera becomes sixth Governor-General of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.
• 1770 – A 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste who later becomes king of France.
• 1771 – The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The "Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
• 1811 – Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom, defeat the French at the Battle of Albuera.
• 1812 – Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. Bessarabia is annexed by Imperial Russia.
• 1822 – Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
• 1834 – The Battle of Asseiceira is fought, the last and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.
• 1843 – The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri.
• 1866 – The U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel.
• 1868 – United States President Andrew Johnson is acquitted in his impeachment trial by one vote in the United States Senate.
• 1874 – A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
• 1877 – May 1877 political crisis in France.
• 1888 – Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
• 1891 – The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opens in Frankfurt, Germany, and will feature the world's first long distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).
• 1914 – The first ever National Challenge Cup final is played. Brooklyn Field Club defeats Brooklyn Celtic 2–1.
• 1916 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
• 1918 – The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
• 1919 – A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
• 1920 – In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
• 1929 – In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards are awarded.
• 1943 – The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
• 1951 – The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
• 1960 – Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
• 1961 – Park Chung-hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
• 1966 – The Communist Party of China issues the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
• 1969 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
• 1974 – Josip Broz Tito is re-elected president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This time he is elected for life.
• 1975 – India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favor of merging with India.
• 1975 – Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
• 1983 – Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement rebels against the Sudanese government.
• 1986 – The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain.
• 1988 – A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
• 1991 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
• 1997 – Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
• 2003 – In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
• 2005 – Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
• 2011 – STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.
• 2014 – Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
• 2015 – A passenger train collides with a tractor and trailer on a level crossing at Ibbenbüren, Germany. Two people are killed and 40 are injured.

Births

• 1611 – Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689)
• 1641 – Dudley North, English economist and politician (d. 1691)
• 1710 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1782)
• 1718 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1799)
• 1763 – Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist and chemist (d. 1829)
• 1788 – Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (d. 1866)
• 1801 – William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (d. 1872)
• 1819 – Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (d. 1890)
• 1821 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and statistician (d. 1894)
• 1824 – Levi P. Morton, American banker and politician, 22nd United States Vice President (d. 1920)
• 1824 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (d. 1893)
• 1827 – Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect, designed the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Rijksmuseum (d. 1921)
• 1831 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (d. 1900)
• 1845 – Élie Metchnikoff, Ukrainian-French biologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
• 1879 – Pierre Gilliard, Swiss author and academic (d. 1962)
• 1882 – Simeon Price, American golfer (d. 1945)
• 1883 – Celâl Bayar, Turkish politician, 3rd President of Turkey (d. 1986)
• 1888 – Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (d. 1971)
• 1897 – Zvi Sliternik, Israeli entomologist and academic (d. 1994)
• 1898 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (d. 1980)
• 1898 – Desanka Maksimović, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1993)
• 1898 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 1956)
• 1905 – Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982)
• 1906 – Ernie McCormick, Australian cricketer (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and educator (d. 1988)
• 1906 – Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
• 1906 – Margret Rey, German author and illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1907 – Bob Tisdall, Sri Lankan-Irish hurdler (d. 2004)
• 1909 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress and singer (d. 1960)
• 1909 – Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (d. 1997)
• 1910 – Olga Bergholz, Russian poet and author (d. 1975)
• 1910 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (d. 2014)
• 1910 – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1972)
• 1912 – Studs Terkel, American historian and author (d. 2008)
• 1913 – Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (d. 1987)
• 1914 – Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
• 1915 – Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
• 1916 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (d. 2009)
• 1917 – George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor and singer (d. 2016)
• 1917 – Ben Kuroki, American sergeant and pilot (d. 2015)
• 1917 – James C. Murray, American lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author and photographer (d. 1986)
• 1918 – Wilf Mannion, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
• 1919 – Liberace, American pianist and entertainer (d. 1987)
• 1919 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and biologist (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967)
• 1921 – Harry Carey, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Eddie Bert, American trombonist (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Victoria Fromkin, American linguist and academic (d. 2000)
• 1923 – Merton Miller, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
• 1923 – Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (d. 2014)
• 1925 – Nancy Roman, American astronomer
• 1925 – Ola Vincent, Nigerian banker and economist (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989)
• 1929 – Betty Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
• 1929 – John Conyers, American lawyer and politician
• 1929 – Claude Morin, Canadian academic and politician
• 1929 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 2000)
• 1931 – Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
• 1931 – K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
• 1931 – Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., American soldier and politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut
• 1934 – Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian and author
• 1934 – Antony Walker, English general
• 1935 – Floyd Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1936 – Karl Lehmann, German cardinal
• 1938 – Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Denis Hart, Australian archbishop
• 1942 – David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge
• 1943 – Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician
• 1943 – Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany
• 1943 – Marko Kravos, Italian-Slovenian poet and translator
• 1944 – Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader
• 1944 – Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer
• 1944 – Danny Trejo, American actor and producer
• 1945 – Nicky Chinn, English songwriter and producer
• 1945 – Massimo Moratti, Italian businessman
• 1945 – Marta Beatriz Roque, Cuban economist and activist
• 1946 – Roger Earl, English drummer and songwriter
• 1946 – Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1946 – John Law, English sociologist and academic
• 1947 – Barbara Lee, American singer (d. 1992)
• 1947 – Bill Smitrovich, American actor
• 1947 – Roch Thériault, Canadian religious leader (d. 2011)
• 1948 – Jesper Christensen, Danish actor, director, and producer
• 1948 – Judy Finnigan, English talk show host and author
• 1948 – Enrico Fumia, Italian automobile and product designer
• 1948 – Emma Georgina Rothschild, English historian and academic
• 1948 – Staf Van Roosbroeck, Belgian cyclist
• 1949 – Rick Reuschel, American baseball player
• 1950 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1950 – Ray Condo, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
• 1950 – Bruce Coville, American author
• 1951 – Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
• 1951 – Jonathan Richman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1951 – Janet Soskice, Canadian philosopher and theologian
• 1952 – James Herndon, American psychologist and academic
• 1953 – Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer
• 1953 – Richard Page (musician), American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1953 – Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (d. 2015)
• 1953 – David Maclean, Scottish politician
• 1953 – Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman, Scottish judge and academic
• 1954 – Dafydd Williams, Canadian physician and astronaut
• 1955 – Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
• 1955 – Jack Morris, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1955 – Hazel O'Connor, English-born Irish singer-songwriter and actress
• 1955 – Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
• 1955 – Debra Winger, American actress and producer
• 1957 – Joan Benoit, American runner
• 1957 – Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, English politician
• 1957 – Yuri Shevchuk, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1957 – Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso, English lawyer and businessman
• 1957 – Bob Suter, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1958 – Gitane Demone, American singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Glenn Gregory, English singer-songwriter
• 1959 – Mitch Webster, American baseball player
• 1959 – Mare Winningham, American actress and singer-songwriter
• 1960 – Landon Deireragea, Nauruan politician, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament
• 1960 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998)
• 1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter
• 1961 – Charles Wright, American wrestler
• 1962 – Jimmy Hood, Scottish engineer and politician
• 1962 – Helga Radtke, German long jumper
• 1962 – Lisa Yuskavage, American painter
• 1963 – Jon Coffelt, American painter and sculptor
• 1963 – Mercedes Echerer, Austrian actress and politician
• 1963 – Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist
• 1963 – Serge Teyssot-Gay, French guitarist
• 1963 – David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic
• 1964 – John Salley, American basketball player and actor
• 1964 – Boyd Tinsley, American singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1964 – Edit Bérces, Hungarian runner
• 1964 – Milton Jones, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Tanel Tammet, Estonian computer scientist, engineer, and academic
• 1966 – Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress
• 1966 – Scott Reeves, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1966 – Thurman Thomas, American football player
• 1967 – Doug Brocail, American baseball player and coach
• 1967 – Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford, British politician
• 1968 – Ralph Tresvant, American singer, actor, and producer (New Edition and Heads of State)
• 1969 – David Boreanaz, American actor
• 1969 – Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
• 1969 – Steve Lewis, American sprinter
• 1970 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
• 1971 – Phil Clarke, English rugby league player and sportscaster
• 1971 – Rachel Goswell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – Christian Califano, French rugby player
• 1973 – Tori Spelling, American actress, reallty television personality, and author
• 1974 – Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1974 – Sonny Sandoval, American singer-songwriter
• 1975 – B.Slade, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1975 – Tony Kakko, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1976 – Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer
• 1977 – Dolcenera, Italian singer-songwriter and actress
• 1977 – Claudia Albertario, Argentinian model and actress
• 1977 – Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Asami Imai, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1977 – Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
• 1977 – Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer-songwriter
• 1978 – Scott Nicholls, English motorcycle racer
• 1978 – Lionel Scaloni, Argentinian footballer
• 1978 – Jim Sturgess, English singer-songwriter and actor
• 1979 – Barbara Nedeljáková, Slovak actress
• 1980 – Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
• 1981 – Ricardo Costa, Portuguese footballer
• 1981 – Joseph Morgan, English actor and producer
• 1981 – Taavi Rähn, Estonian footballer
• 1982 – Billy Crawford, Filipino-American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1982 – Ju Ji-hoon, South Korean actor
• 1982 – Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
• 1982 – Hanna Mariën, Belgian sprinter
• 1983 – Nancy Ajram, Lebanese singer
• 1983 – Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer
• 1983 – Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Darío Cvitanich, Argentinian footballer
• 1984 – Tomáš Fleischmann, Czech ice hockey player
• 1984 – Mickie Knuckles, American wrestler
• 1984 – Jensen Lewis, American baseball player
• 1984 – Pania Rose, Australian model
• 1984 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
• 1985 – Anja Mittag, German footballer
• 1985 – Tadayoshi Okura, Japanese singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
• 1985 – Rodrigo Peters Marques, Brazilian footballer
• 1985 – Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Emanuel Saldaño, Argentinian cyclist (d. 2014)
• 1985 – Kazuhito Tanaka, Japanese gymnast
• 1986 – Megan Fox, American actress
• 1986 – Andy Keogh, Irish footballer
• 1986 – Shamcey Supsup, Filipino model and architect
• 1987 – Tom Onslow-Cole, English race car driver
• 1988 – Jesús Castillo, Mexican footballer
• 1988 – Martynas Gecevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1988 – Jaak Põldma, Estonian tennis player
• 1989 – Behati Prinsloo, Namibian model
• 1990 – Amanda Carreras, Gibraltarian tennis player
• 1990 – Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English Actor
• 1990 – Darko Šarović, Serbian sprinter
• 1990 – Omar Strong, American basketball player
• 1991 – Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgarian tennis player
• 1991 – Ashley Wagner, American figure skater
• 1991 – Diletta Leotta, Italian television presenter
• 1992 – Jeff Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1993 – IU, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress
• 1993 – Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete
• 1993 – Karol Mets, Estonian footballer
• 1994 – Miles Heizer, American actor
• 1994 – Aaron Moores, English swimmer
• 1994 – Kathinka von Deichmann, Liechtensteinerin tennis player
• 1995 – Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
• 1996 – Louisa Chirico, American tennis player

Deaths

• 1182 – John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general (b. 1132)
• 1265 – Simon Stock, English-French saint (b. 1165)
• 1569 – Dirk Willems, Dutch Anabaptist martyr
• 1620 – William Adams, English sailor and navigator (b. 1564)
• 1657 – Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (b. 1591)
• 1667 – Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1607)
• 1669 – Pietro da Cortona, Italian painter and architect, designed the Santi Luca e Martina (b. 1596)
• 1691 – Jacob Leisler, German-American politician, 8th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1640)
• 1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (b. 1628)
• 1778 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1718)
• 1790 – Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire (b. 1720)
• 1818 – Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (b. 1775)
• 1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1768)
• 1862 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (b. 1796)
• 1882 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (b. 1799)
• 1890 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet, linguist and theologist (b. 1843)
• 1891 – Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1821)
• 1913 – Louis Perrier, Swiss architect and politician (b. 1849)
• 1920 – Levi P. Morton, American politician, 22nd United States Vice President (b. 1824)
• 1926 – Mehmed VI, Ottoman sultan (b. 1861)
• 1936 – Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (b. 1860)
• 1943 – Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)
• 1944 – George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866)
• 1946 – Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890)
• 1946 – Karl Weinbacher, German manager (b. 1898)
• 1947 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
• 1947 – Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903)
• 1953 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (b. 1910)
• 1954 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1893)
• 1955 – James Agee, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic(b. 1909)
• 1955 – Manny Ayulo, American racing driver (b. 1921)
• 1956 – H. B. Reese, American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (b. 1876)
• 1957 – Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903)
• 1959 – Elisha Scott, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1894)
• 1961 – George A. Malcolm, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1881)
• 1973 – Jacques Lipchitz, Lithuanian-American sculptor (b. 1891)
• 1977 – Modibo Keïta, Malian politician, 1st President of Mali (b. 1915)
• 1979 – A. Philip Randolph, American union leader and activist (b. 1889)
• 1981 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1922)
• 1981 – Willy Hartner, German physician and academic (b. 1905)
• 1984 – Andy Kaufman, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
• 1984 – Irwin Shaw, American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1913)
• 1985 – Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902)
• 1989 – Leila Kasra, Iranian poet and songwriter (b. 1939)
• 1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, and actor (b. 1925)
• 1990 – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter, created The Muppets (b. 1936)
• 1992 – Chalino Sánchez, Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1960)
• 1993 – Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1938)
• 1994 – Alain Cuny, French actor (b. 1908)
• 1996 – Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (b. 1939)
• 1997 – Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903)
• 2002 – Alec Campbell, Australian soldier (b. 1899)
• 2003 – Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (b. 1930)
• 2005 – Andrew Goodpaster, American general (b. 1915)
• 2008 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (b. 1913)
• 2010 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)
• 2010 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Ralph Barker, English author (b. 1917)
• 2011 – Bob Davis, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1928)
• 2011 – Edward Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1932)
• 2011 – Kiyoshi Kodama, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Patricia Aakhus, American author and academic (b. 1952)
• 2012 – James Abdnor, American soldier and politician, 30th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Ernie Chan, Filipino-American illustrator (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Kevin Hickey, American baseball player (b. 1956)
• 2013 – Angelo Errichetti, American politician (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Bryan Illerbrun, Canadian football player (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Dick Trickle, American race car driver (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Chris Duckworth, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Vito Favero, Italian cyclist (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Russi Mody, Indian businessman (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Clyde Snow, American anthropologist and author (b. 1928)
• 2015 – Prashant Bhargava, American director and producer (b. 1973)
• 2015 – Moshe Levinger, Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Aaron (Coptic Church)
  • Abda and Abdjesus, and companions:
    • Abdas of Susa
  • Andrew Bobola
  • Brendan the Navigator (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Caroline Chisholm (Church of England)
  • Germerius
  • Honoratus of Amiens
  • John of Nepomuk
  • Margaret of Cortona
  • Peregrine of Auxerre
  • Simon Stock
  • Ubald (see Saint Ubaldo Day)
• Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))
• Mass Graves Day (Iraq)
• National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)
• Teachers' Day (Malaysia)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to May 16.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day