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.
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 Events 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.
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.
2016 Georgian heavyweight-lifting champion, Lasha Talakhadze smashed a world record by lifting an incredible 473 kg.
2012 Julian Assange who founded WikiLeaks was given political asylum by Ecuador.
2008 Michael Phelps won the 100 meter butterfly swim in a record 50:58 at the Beijing Olympic finals.
1989 A solar flare from the sun created a geomagnetic storm, which caused Toronto’s stock market to halt on this day.
1984 NASA launched its Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers mission (AMPTE) from the Cape Canaveral launch pad.
1960 Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
1954 The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine is published.
1930 The world’s first colored cartoon with synchronized sound was released.
1898 Edwin Prescott was awarded a patent for the vertical loop Roller Coaster.
1858 Queen Victoria of Britain sent the first-ever transatlantic telegraph to US President James Buchanan.
963 AD Nikephoros II Phokas was crowned emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Famous People Born On August 16
Are you celebrating your birthday today? If so, did you know that you share the same birthday as Madonna? See what other famous people were born on this day.
1958 Madonna
American Singer
- Age:
- 63 years old
- Born In:
- Michigan, USA
1962 Steve Carell
American Actor
- Age:
- 59 years old
- Born In:
- Massachusetts, USA
1991 Evanna Lynch
Irish Actress
- Age:
- 30 years old
- Born In:
- Termonfeckin, Ireland
1958 Angela Bassett
American Actress
- Age:
- 63 years old
- Born In:
- New York, USA
Special Holidays On August 16
If you can spare some time today, here are some unique holidays you could get involved with.
National Tell A Joke Day
National Rollercoaster Day
August 16 Birthday Facts, Zodiac & Birthstone
For those of you who were born on August 16, your zodiac sign is Leo.
Leos tend to be energetic and lead a busy life. They’re ambitious, creative, and optimistic and can use their minds to solve complex problems.
For those of you born in August, you have the Peridot birthstone. In 2018, the Kīlauea volcano on Hawaii’s biggest island saw increased activity, which led to a rare geological event, where Olivine (also known as peridot when at gem quality) was found on the ground around the volcano. In Hawaiian culture, peridots are thought to be the tears of the volcano goddess Pele.
If your birthday falls on this day, you would’ve likely been conceived around November 23rd in the previous year.
