Today in History – May 16 in History

What happened on this day in history – May 16 in History around the world

1770		Marie Antoinette marries future King Louis XVI of France.
1863		At the Battle of Champion’s Hill, Union General Ulysess S. Grant repulses the Confederates, driving them into Vicksburg.
1868		President Andrew Johnson is acquitted during Senate impeachment, by one vote, cast by Edmund G. Ross.
1879		The Treaty of Gandamak between Russia and England sets up the Afghan state.
1920		Joan of Arc is canonized in Rome.
1928		The first Academy Awards are held in Hollywood.
1943		A specially trained and equipped Royal Air Force squadron destroys two river dams in Germany.
1951		Chinese Communist Forces launch second step, fifth-phase offensive and gain up to 20 miles of territory.
1960		A Big Four summit in Paris collapses because of the American U-2 spy plane affair.
1963		After 22 Earth orbits, Gordon Cooper returns to Earth, ending the last mission of Project Mercury.
Born on May 16
1801		William Henry Seward, U.S. Secretary of State (1861-1869).
1804		Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, founder of the first U.S. kindergarten.
1824		Edmund Kirby-Smith, Confederate general during the American Civil War.
1850		Johannes von Mikulica-Radecki, Polish surgical pioneer.
1886		Douglas Southall Freeman, journalist, historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer.
1905		Henry Fonda, American actor (Grapes of Wrath, On Golden Pond).
1912		Studs Terkel, author and historian.
1913		Woody Herman, jazz bandleader.
1929		Betty Carter, jazz singer.
1929		Adrienne Rich, poet (Diving into the Wreck).
1955		Olga Korbut, Olympic gymnast.

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