Anniversaries 16 December

Birth

Catherine of Aragon6

first wife of Henry VIII of England (1485–1536) 1485–1536

John Selden28

English jurist and scholar of England's ancient laws and co… 1584–1654

George Whitefield4

English minister and preacher 1714–1770

Ludwig Van Beethoven43

German Romantic composer 1770–1827

Jane Austen477

English novelist 1775–1817

Leopold I of Belgium7

German prince who became the first King of the Belgians 1790–1865

Léon Walras2

French mathematical economist 1834–1910

Francis Thompson19

British poet 1859–1907

George Santayana109

20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with P… 1863–1952

Amy Carmichael2

Missionary in India 1867–1951

Ivan Konev4

Soviet military commander 1897–1973

Noel Coward49

English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer 1899–1973

V.S. Pritchett23

British writer and critic 1900–1997

Margaret Mead133

American anthropologist 1901–1978

Piet Hein37

Danish puzzle designer, mathematician, author, poet 1905–1996

Murray Kempton5

American journalist 1917–1997

Arthur C. Clarke207

British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, u… 1917–2008

Philip K. Dick278

American author 1928–1982

Bernard Crick25

British political theorist and democratic socialist 1929–2008

Chiang Pin-kung1

Taiwanese politician 1932–2018

Quentin Blake1

English cartoonist, illustrator and children's writer 1932

Grace Alele-Williams6

mathematician 1932–2022

John Zachman23

American computer scientist 1934

Morris Dees1

American activist 1936

Edward Ruscha4

American artist and photographer 1937

Frank Deford3

American sportswriter 1938–2017

Jim Gibbons4

American attorney, aviator, geologist, hydrologist and poli… 1944

Benny Andersson2

Swedish musician 1946

Mark Heard37

American musician and record producer 1951–1992

Connie Brockway4

American writer 1954

Bill Hicks100

American comedian 1961–1994

Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar3

Pakistani writer 1961

Shane Black2

American actor, screenwriter and film director 1961

Benjamin Bratt2

American actor 1963

Sylvia Brownrigg1

American writer 1964

Julia Klöckner1

German politician 1972

Mindaugas Murza2

Lithuanian politician 1973

Ben Kowalewicz11

musician 1975

Danish Kaneria2

Pakistani cricketer 1980

Gaby Moreno1

singer 1981

Krysten Ritter2

American actress 1981

Jacy Reese8

American social scientist 1992

Death

François Quesnay4

French economist 1694–1774

Camille Saint-Saëns1

French composer, organist, conductor, and pianist of the Ro… 1835–1921

Alphonse Daudet15

French novelist 1840–1897

Robert W. Chambers2

American artist, novelist, short story writer 1865–1933

W. Somerset Maugham158

British playwright, novelist, short story writer 1874–1965

Elinor Wylie9

American poet 1885–1928

Philip Guedalla2

British historical writer 1889–1944

Harland Sanders2

American entrepreneur and businessman 1890–1980

Minnie Evans7

American artist 1892–1987

Bertrand Collins1

1893–1964

Joseph Murphy10

American writer 1898–1981

Laurens van der Post1

South African writer 1906–1996

Agnes Martin48

American artist 1912–2004

Wilson Rawls6

American children's writer 1913–1984

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma22

Maharaja of Travancore 1922–2013

William Gaddis8

Novelist 1922–1998

Roy E. Disney3

longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company 1930–2009

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang1

South African politician 1940–2009

Dan Fogelberg13

singer-songwriter, musician 1951–2007