16 August: On this day in history
What events happened on 16 August in history? We round up the events, births and deaths…
16 August 1812
Unaware that he outnumbered his enemies, American commander William Hull surrendered Fort Detroit to a small British force under Major General Isaac Brock and his Shawnee allies under Tecumseh.
16 August 1819
In what became known as the Peterloo Massacre, around 18 people were killed when cavalry dispersed a radical meeting being held in St Peter’s Field in Manchester.
16 August 1858
Queen Victoria sends President James Buchanan the first trans-Atlantic telegraph, providing “an additional link between the nations whose friendship is founded on their common interest and reciprocal esteem”.
16 August 1896
While prospecting in the Yukon territory of Canada, miner George Carmack and his brother-in-law Skookum Jim Mason strike gold, launching the Klondike gold rush.
16 August 1911
Radical economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher was born in Bonn, germany. His 1973 book Small Is Beautiful was listed by the TLS as one of the 100 most influential books published since the Second World War.
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16 August 1960
Cyprus gained independence from British rule with Archbishop Makarios III as its first president. The UK retained the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
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