On This Day in History – October 16

Major Events

• 1793 – Queen Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine in Paris.
• 1846 – The first successful use of ether anesthesia was performed in Boston.
• 1905 – The Partition of Bengal was implemented by British India.
• 1916 – Margaret Sanger opened the first U.S. birth control clinic in Brooklyn.
• 1964 – China detonated its first nuclear bomb.
• 1968 – U.S. athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised fists in protest at the Mexico Olympics.
• 1978 – Karol Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II.

Famous Birthdays

• Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953) – American playwright.
• Angela Lansbury (1925–2022) – Actress and singer.
• Günter Grass (1927–2015) – German writer, Nobel laureate.
• Suzanne Somers (1946–2023) – American actress.
• Tim Robbins (born 1958) – American actor and filmmaker.
• John Mayer (born 1977) – American singer-songwriter.

Notable Deaths

• Marie Antoinette (1755–1793) – Queen of France.
• Deborah Kerr (1921–2007) – Scottish actress.
• Loius Althusser (1918–1990) – French philosopher.
• Barbara Bel Geddes (1922–2005) – American actress.

Holidays

• World Food Day (United Nations)
• Boss’s Day (United States)

Fun Facts

• The Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics remains one of the most iconic sports protests.
• Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in over 450 years.
• John Mayer and Angela Lansbury share this birthday decades apart.