Calendar date · December

What happened on December 16

On December 16, 533: The Digest, the great collection of all Roman jurists' law, is issued together with a new official law textbook for legal schools, The Institutes.

Events

45

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Sagittarius

Featured moment · 533

The Digest, the great collection of all Roman jurists' law, is issued together with a new official law textbook for legal schools, The Institutes.

The Digest, also known as the Pandects, was a compendium or digest of juristic writings on Roman law compiled by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in 530–533 AD. It comprises 50 books.

People

Born on December 16

Kai Cenat 2001– American internet personality and online streamer (born 2001)
Mira Antonitsch 1998– Austrian tennis player (born 1998)
Zhou Jieqiong 1998– Chinese singer and actress (born 1998)
Wilfred Ndidi 1996– Nigerian footballer (born 1996)
Sergio Reguilón 1996– Spanish footballer (born 1996)
Henry Thornton 1996– Australian cricketer
Nigel Hayes 1994– American basketball player (born 1994)
Nicola Murru 1994– Italian footballer (born 1994)
José Rodríguez 1994– Spanish footballer
Show 9 more — notable births on December 16
Jyoti Amge 1993– Smallest living woman (born 1993)
Stephan James 1993– Canadian actor
Anamul Haque 1992– Bangladeshi cricketer
Tom Rogic 1992– Australian footballer (born 1992)
Craig Goodwin 1991– Australian soccer player (born 1991)
David Johnson 1991– American football player (born 1991)
Mats Hummels 1988– German footballer (born 1988)
Anna Popplewell 1988– English actress (born 1988)
Alexey Shved 1988– Russian basketball player (born 1988)

People

Died on December 16

Lusanda Dumke South African rugby union player (1996–2025)
Dick Van Arsdale American basketball player (1943–2024)
Tulsi Gowda Indian environmentalist (1937 or 1938 – 2024)
Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Emir of Kuwait from 2020 to 2023
Keely Smith American jazz and popular music singer (1928–2017)
Peter Dickinson English author & poet (1927–2015)
Lizmark Mexican professional wrestler (1950 – 2015)
George Earl Ortman American painter, printmaker, constructionist and sculptor (1926-2015)
Martin Brasier British paleontologist (1947–2014)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on December 16
Tim Cochran American mathematician
Tahira Qazi Pakistani educationist (1951 – 2014)
James Flint English commander (born 1913)
Ray Price American singer (1926–2013)
Marta Russell American journalist
Elwood V. Jensen American biologist (1920–2012)
Jake Adam York American poet (1972–2012)
Robert Easton American actor (1930–2011)
Nicol Williamson British actor (1936–2011)

Timeline

Every December 16 on record

  1. 533 The Digest, the great collection of all Roman jurists' law, is issued together with a new official law textbook for legal schools, The Institutes.

    Roman law digest

    The Digest, also known as the Pandects, was a compendium or digest of juristic writings on Roman law compiled by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in 530–533 AD. It comprises 50 books.

  2. 714 Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom.

    Duke and Prince of the Franks (635–714)

    Pepin II, commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who was the de facto ruler of Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Franks upon his conquest of all the Frankish realms.

  3. 755 An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Yanjing, initiating the An Lushan Rebellion during the Tang dynasty of China.

    Rebel general in Tang China (703–757)

    An Lushan was a Chinese military general and rebel leader during the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan rebellion which devastated China and killed millions of Han Chinese. The rebellion caused the decline of the Tang dynasty and led to the sacking of Chang'an by the Tibetan Empire.

  4. 1431 Hundred Years' War: Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris.

    Medieval Anglo-French conflicts, 1337–1453

    The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides.

  5. 1497 Vasco da Gama passes the Great Fish River at the southern tip of Africa, where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.

    Portuguese explorer (c. 1460s – 1524)

    Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman. His discovery of the first direct maritime route between Europe and India via the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean from Malindi in Kenya to Kozhikode was to open up European exploration of, and commerce with, India, and is considered a landmark event and a turning point in world history.

  6. 1575 An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.5Mw  strikes Valdivia, Chile.
  7. 1598 Seven-Year War: Battle of Noryang: The final battle of the Seven-Year War is fought between the China and the Korean allied forces and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive allied forces victory.
  8. 1653 English Interregnum: The Protectorate: Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
  9. 1689 Convention Parliament: The Declaration of Right is embodied in the Bill of Rights.
  10. 1707 The most recent eruption of Mount Fuji.
  11. 1761 Seven Years' War: After a four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg.
  12. 1773 American Revolution: Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
  13. 1777 Virginia becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
  14. 1782 British East India Company: Muharram Rebellion: Hada and Mada Miah lead the first anti-British uprising in the subcontinent against Robert Lindsay and his contingents in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah.
  15. 1811 The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri.
Show 15 earlier entries from December 16
  1. 1826 Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican-controlled Nacogdoches, Texas, and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia.
  2. 1838 Great Trek: Battle of Blood River: Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers defeat Zulu impis, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
  3. 1850 The Charlotte Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand.
  4. 1863 American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints General Joseph E. Johnston to replace General Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee.
  5. 1864 American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville ends as the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas routs and destroys the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood, ending its effectiveness as a combat unit.
  6. 1880 Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire.
  7. 1882 Wales and England contest the first Home Nations (now Six Nations) rugby union match.
  8. 1883 Tonkin Campaign: French forces capture the Sơn Tây citadel.
  9. 1905 In rugby union, the "Match of the Century" is played between Wales and New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park.
  10. 1912 First Balkan War: The Royal Hellenic Navy defeats the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Elli.
  11. 1914 World War I: Admiral Franz von Hipper commands a raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.
  12. 1920 The Haiyuan earthquake of 8.5Mw  rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000.
  13. 1942 The Holocaust: Schutzstaffel chief Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination be deported to Auschwitz.
  14. 1944 World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.
  15. 1951 A Miami Airlines Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in Elizabeth, New Jersey, killing all 58 aboard including dancer Doris Ruby.

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