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. | |