On This Day

16th August

1819 – Seventeen people die and over 600 were injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England, which was held to demand the reform of parliamentary representation. This became known as The Peterloo Massacre.

1902 – Georgette Heyer, English author was born.

1906 – An estimated 8.2 MW earthquake hit Valparaíso, Chile, killing 3,886 people.

1913 – Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.

1946 – Mass riots in Kolkata began, in which more than 4,000 people were murdered over the next 72 hours.

1960 – Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom.

1974 – Punk Rock pioneers The Ramones played their first show in a local New York club called CBGB.

1977 - Elvis Presley died.

2012 – South African police fatally shot 34 miners and wounded 78 more during an industrial dispute near Rustenburg.