August 16th
Today in America's Present Past
1691 | Yorktown, Virginia, was founded.
1777 | War of Independence: Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Bennington, Vermont.
1780 | War of Independence: Battle of Camden, South Carolina.
1812 | War of 1812: Tecumseh and British forces capture Fort Detroit, Michigan.
1854 | Entrepreneur Duncan Phyfe died.
1858 | Democratic President Buchanan received the first transatlantic telegram sent from Queen Victoria.
1861 | POTUS: Republican President Lincoln bars Union states from commercial trade with Confederate states.
1888 | Chemist and entrepreneur John Pemberton died.
1892 | Cartoonist Otto Messmer was born.
1894| Indian Wars: Chiefs from the Sioux and Onondaga tribes met to urge their people to renounce Christianity and Western ways.
1904 | Biochemist Wendell Stanley was born.
1908 | Novelist William Maxwell was born.
1922 | Journalist Louis Lomax was born.
1925 | Actor Fess Parker was born.
1929 | Cleric and activist Wyatt Tee Walker was born.
1931 | Entrepreneur Forrest E. Mars Jr. was born.
1938 | Musician Robert Johnson died.
1948 | Baseball Pro Babe Ruth died.
1949 | Author Margaret Mitchell died.
1952 | Painter Lydia Field Emmet died.
1953 | Media personality Kathie Lee Gifford was born.
1954 | The magazine “Sports Illustrated” is first published.
1957 | Actress Laura Innes was born in Pontiac, Michigan.
1958 | Entertainer Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan.
1959 | Admiral William Halsey Jr. died.
1960 | Actor Timothy Hutton was born.
1962 | Actor Steve Carell was born.
1977 | Entertainer Elvis Presley died.
1987 | Northwest Airlines Flight 255 plane crashes in Detroit, Michigan.
1995 | Radio personality J. P. McCarthy died.
1998 | Author Dorothy West died.
2016 | Journalist John McLaughlin died.
2018 | Entertainer Aretha Franklin died.