Historical Events on September 16
- 1814: Francis Scott Key finally completes his poem The Star-Spangled Banner. It would go on to become the official national anthem of the U.S.A on the 3rd of March in 1931.
- 1880: The oldest continuously-independent college daily is the U.S is printed in Ithaca, New York. It’s the Cornell Daily Sun.
- 1908: American automaker General Motors Corporation is founded on this day.
- 1920: A bomb hidden in a horse wagon explodes on Wall Street in front of the J.P Morgan building in New York. Latter dubbed the Wall Street Bombing, this attack kills almost 40 people and injures
- another 400.
- 1940: Sidi Barrani, Egypt is captured by Italian troops during World War II.
- 1943: The German 10th Army makes a report that it is no longer possible for it to contain the Allied bridgehead around Salerno during World War II.
- 1945: Japanese troops in Hong Kong surrender to the Royal Navy during WWII.
- 1955: A military coup to unseat President Juan Perón of Argentina begins on this day at midnight.
- 1955: The Soviet become the first to launch a ballistic missile from a Zulu-class submarine.
- 1959: The Xerox 914 is introduced on live TV. It’s the first successful photocopier.
- 1980: Vincent and the Grenadines join the U.N.
- 1982: During the Lebanon War, the Shatila and Sabra massacre in takes place in Lebanon.
Famous Birthdays on September 16
- American businessman and founder of J.C. Penny is born in 1875.
- American-Canadian inventor, businessman and founder of Schick Razors Jacob Schick is born in 1877.
- English poet, author and playwright Alfred Noyes is born in 1880.
- English race car driver, enginer and founder of Bentley Motors W.O. Bentley is born in 1888.
- Finnish author and Nobel Prize laureate Frans Eemil Sillanpää is born in 1888.
- Austrian-German spy Stephanie von Hohenlohe is born in 1891.
- American actress Lauren Bacall is born in 1924.
- American guitarist and singer-songwriter B.B. King is born in 1925.
- American novelist John Knowles is born in 1926.
- American actor Peter Falk is born in 1927.
- American actor Ed Begley Jr. is born in 1949.
- American magician David Copperfield is born in 1956.
- American comedian and actress Amy Poehler is born in 1971.