Historical Events on May 16
- 1843: Heading out from Elm Grove in Missouri, the first major wagon train going to the Pacific Northwest starts out on the Oregon Trail with 1,000 pioneers.
- 1866: The nickle is created by the U.S Congress.
- 1868: During his impeachment trial, U.S President Andrew Johnson is acquitted by just one vote in the U.S Senate.
- 1888: In a lecture, Nikola Tesla talks about the equipment that will be used to allow the efficient creation and use of alternating currents to transport electricity over longer distances.
- 1891: The first long distance transatlantic of 3-phase high power electrical current is featured at the International Electrotechnical Exhibition in the city of Frankfurt in Germany.
- 1918: The United States Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1918. This act makes criticism of the government during war a punishable offense. In under two years, it will be repealed.
- 1929: The first Academy Awards takes place in Hollywood, California.
- 1943: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising comes to a conclusion during World War II.
Famous Birthdays on May 16
- American educator and founder of the 1stS Kindergarten, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody is born in 1804.
- American banker and 22ndS Vice President, Levi P. Morton is born in 1824.
- Ukrainian-French biologist, zoologist and Nobel Prize laureate, Élie Metchnikoff is born in 1845.
- American inventor Charles F. Brannock is born in 1903.
- American actor Henry Fonda is born in 1905.
- American pianist and entertainer, Liberace is born in 1919.
- American economist and Nobel Prize laureate, Merton Miller is born in 1923.
- Irish-American actor, Pierce Brosnan is born in 1953.
- American singer-songwriter Richard Page is born in 1953.
- American actress Debra Winger is born in 1955.
- American singer-songwriter, dancer and actress, Janet Jackson is born in 1966.