August 16th is Tell A Joke Day as well as Rollercoaster Day.
We’d like to welcome you to the 228th day of the year, with only 137 days left of this year.
For those of you who were born on August 16, your zodiac sign is Leo.
This day in history was a particularly important one, not only that, but a fascinating one too! Here you’ll find historical events that made August 16 such an interesting day in history.
Did you know that on this day in 1930, the world’s first colored cartoon with synchronized sound was released? It was six minutes long and featured a character called Flip the Frog.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about August 16th in history!
What Happened On August 16 In History?
2019
More than 1,200 tin homes were destroyed after a fire broke out in the Chalantika slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
10,000 people were left homeless and the blaze took firefighters over 6 hours to extinguish.
Source
BBC
2018
Over 566 wildfires swept through British Columbia in Canada which lead to a State of Emergency and 3,000 people had to be evacuated.
Source
The Guardian
2016
Georgian heavyweight-lifting champion, Lasha Talakhadze smashed a world record by lifting an incredible 473 kg.
This was 22 kg more than the first runner up Gor Minasyan.
Source
Wikipedia
2012
Julian Assange who founded WikiLeaks was given political asylum by Ecuador.
Assange had been hiding out at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Knightsbridge, London.
Source
The Guardian
2008
Michael Phelps won the 100 meter butterfly swim in a record 50:58 at the Beijing Olympic finals.
Source
Wikipedia
1989
A solar flare from the sun created a geomagnetic storm, which caused Toronto’s stock market to halt on this day.
Source
EDN.com
1984
NASA launched its Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers mission (AMPTE) from the Cape Canaveral launch pad.
Source
NASA
1954
The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine is published.
Sports Illustrated is an American sports magazine owned by Authentic Brands Group.
Source
Wikipedia
1930
The world’s first colored cartoon with synchronized sound was released.
"Flip the Frog - Fiddlesticks" was created by animator Ubbe Eert Iwerks, Mickey Mouse's co-creator. Although the cartoon was made in the USA, it was first shown in cinemas in England.
Source
India Today
1858
Queen Victoria of Britain sent the first-ever transatlantic telegraph to US President James Buchanan.
The cable was laid between Ireland and Newfoundland and allowed the two countries to communicate by telegraph, which was innovative at the time. The Queen's message expressed her joy for the two countries being connected and the hopes for continued friendship.
Source
Library of Congress
Did you know that on this day, August 16th 1930, the world's first colored cartoon with synchronized sound was released?