Year 1713
Chhatrapati Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath, a very remarkable man in Maratha history, as 'Peshwa'.
NOVEMBER 16
Daily Historical Chronicle
UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix
16 November: What Happened On This Day in History
Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 16 November.
Observances & Special Days
International day for tolerance
Year 1849
World famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death for being a member of an underground organization.
Year 1860
First group of Indian worker's reached Natal, South Africa.
Year 1868
Scientists Lacier and Nansen discovered helium by studying a total solar eclipse. It is named after the Greek sun-god Helios.
Year 1877
Ardaseer Cursetjee Wadia, professor, pioneer and innovator, died. He was the first Indian who was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, London. He introduced lighting by gas and was the first to build "INDUS", a steam-ship in India in 1833. He also introduced sewing machine, photography and electro-plating.
Year 1883
Pandit Baburao Vishnu Paradkar, eminent Hindi editor and journalist, was born at Varanasi. His journey in journalism moved from Hindi Bangwasi-1907, Hitwarta (1910), Bharatmitra (1916). He was arrested being accused of revolution and assassination and was imprisoned for three and a half years. After his release from Jail in 1920, he went back to Varanasi. In 1920, he was editor of Hindi daily Aj and through his editorials, his thoughtful critic, superb writer and the pioneer of ideological revolution, struggle for India’s freedom and establishment of Rashtrabhasha Hindi. National Press Day is also celebrated on his birthday.
Year 1893
Dr. Annie Besant arriveed in India.
Year 1907
Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory join to form Oklahoma, which is admitted as the 46th U.S. state.
Year 1914
US Federal Reserve opened.
Year 1915
Vishnu Ganesh Pingale, accused in the Lahore conspiracy, and seven others, including Bagi Kartar Singh, were hanged.
Year 1921
Nearly 700 Mopalh rebels were killed by the Gurkhas as they attacked the Pandikkad post at Delhi.
Year 1938
Albert Hofmann’s invention of the lysergic acid diethylamide drug came into existence.
Year 1945
UNESCO was established.
Year 1958
India and U.S.S.R. sign trade agreement to exchange Soviet industrial and agricultural equipment for farm commodities at Moscow.
Year 1962
Chinese troops launch a major offensive in the frontier war.
Year 1988
India gives full recognition to the state of Palestine.
Year 1988
Benazir Bhutto became Pakistan’s prime minister.
Year 1992
Reservation, Supreme Court rejects economic criteria.
Year 1995
Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), India's first elevated suburban railway, becomes operational in Madras.
Year 1995
The Pension scheme ordinance for 18 million Provident Fund subscribers takes effect with an initial corpus of Rs. 85.00 billion.
Year 1997
Sandalwood smuggler Veerappan offers to surrender.
Year 1997
Swaraj Paul, a non-resident Indian entrepreneur, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Bradford University, UK.
Year 1999
Suraj Bhan, Bihar Governor, dismisses the Horticulture and Weights and Measurements Minister Samrat Chaudhary in the Rabri Devi cabinet for being 'underaged'.
Year 2000
The Government to reduce equity holding in nationalised banks from 51 per cent to 33 per cent.
Year 2013
After a long career of 24 years, the great cricketer Sachin Tendulkar retired from cricket and within a few hours, he was declared the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. He got this honor at the youngest age (40).
Born On This Day
42 BC: Tiberius, the second Roman emperor.
Born 1846
Akbar Allahabadi, an Indian Urdu.
Born 1883
Pandit Baburao Vishnu Paradkar, eminent Hindi editor and journalist, was born at Varanasi. His journey in journalism moved from Hindi Bangwasi-1907, Hitwarta (1910), Bharatmitra (1916). He was arrested being accused of revolution and assassination and was imprisoned for three and a half years. After his release from Jail in 1920, he went back to Varanasi. In 1920, he was editor of Hindi daily Aj and through his editorials, his thoughtful critic, superb writer and the pioneer of ideological revolution, struggle for India’s freedom and establishment of Rashtrabhasha Hindi. National Press Day is also celebrated on his birthday.
Born 1887
Padmacharan Patnaik, famous Orria poet, was born.
Born 1896
Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, a British politician.
Born 1897
Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistani nationalist.
Born 1897
Choudhry Rahmat Ali, Indian-Pakistani academic (d. 1951)
Born 1904
Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s first president.
Born 1908
Bommi Narsingh Reddy, famous film story writer, was born.
Born 1909
Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Indian-Pakistani religious leader (d. 1982)
Born 1909
Hāfiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the third caliph, head of the Ahmadiyya Community.
Born 1913
Agnihotri Ambadas Shankar, journalist and litterateur, was born.
Born 1927
Shriram Lagoo, an Indian film, and theatre actor.
Born 1930
Mihir Sen, an Indian long-distance swimmer, and businessman.
Born 1936
Ramoji Rao, an Indian film producer, and media entrepreneur.
Born 1942
Sam Pitroda, an Indian telecom engineer, inventor and entrepreneur.
Born 1946
Terence McKenna, an American ethnobotanist.
Born 1963
Meenakshi Seshadri, an Indian actress, model, and dancer.
Born 1968
Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (d. 2014)
Born 1973
Pullela Gopichand, a former Indian badminton player.
Born 1985
Aditya Roy Kapur, Indian film actor
Died 1240
Ibn Arabi, an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher.
Died 1797
Frederick William II, King of Prussia.
Died 1877
Ardaseer Cursetjee Wadia, professor, pioneer and innovator, died. He was the first Indian who was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, London. He introduced lighting by gas and was the first to build "INDUS", a steam-ship in India in 1833. He also introduced sewing machine, photography and electro-plating.
Died 1915
Vishnu Ganesh Pingale, accused in the Lahore conspiracy, and seven others, including Bagi Kartar Singh, were hanged.
Died 1947
Giuseppe Volpi, Italian businessman, and politician. He was the founder of the Venice Film Festival.
Died 1947
Kamta Prasad "Guru" died at Jabalpur. He was renowned for his contribution in the field of Hindi Grammer. He was the editor of a monthly 'Saraswati' and 'Balasakha', children magazine.
Died 1950
Dr. Bob Smith, an American physician, and one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Died 1960
Clark Gable, American actor.
Died 1967
Roshanlal Nagrath alias Roshan, Indian musician.
Died 1973
Alan Wilson Watts, a British writer, and speaker.
Died 1991
Madhukar Karekar, famous journalist, died.
Died 2006
Milton Friedman, an American economist. He received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Died 2013
Tanvir Ahmad Khan, Indian-Pakistani diplomat, 19th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan (b. 1932)