March 16 in Pop Culture History

March 16 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

March 16 History Highlights

  • 1802 – The Army Corps of Engineers was established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point.
  • 1926 – Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, MA.
  • 1968 – The My Lai Massacre involved the killing of 3000 noncombatant Vietnam citizens.
  • 1995 – Mississippi formally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery.
  • 2020 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2,997.10, the single largest point drop in history and the second-largest percentage drop ever, at 12.93%.
    The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.
  • If you were born on March 16th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… June 23rd (prior year)

Traditional March 16 Information

The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a criminal offense. The amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the required 27 of the then 36 states on December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

March 16 is…

Artichoke Hearts Day
Everything You Do is Right Day
Freedom of Information Day
Panda Day

March 16 Birthday Quotes

“I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to stop going to those places.”
– Henny Youngman

“You jump on a bike and start peddling. You fall down and you get up again. I’ve always been a ‘learn by doing’ kind of guy.”
– Judah Friedlander

“I have a loyalty that runs in my bloodstream, when I lock into someone or something, you can’t get me away from it because I commit that thoroughly. That’s in friendship, that’s a deal, that’s a commitment. Don’t give me paper – I can get the same lawyer who drew it up to break it. But if you shake my hand, that’s for life.”
– Jerry Lewis

“Respect other people regardless of the level they are at… or the level you are at. When you hand out respect, you get it back.”
– Erik Estrada

“As a child, I loved fantasy books, I loved Harry Potter and the idea that there is something ‘out there’ is inspiring to kids and inspiring to me. It’s exciting and I think people can relate to it. Even if things are difficult or bad for you, the idea that there is something special within you is positive and true.”
– Alexandra Daddario

March 16 Birthdays

1789 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (died in 1854)
1897 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (died in 1970)
1906 – Henny Youngman, English-American violinist and comedian (died in 1998)
1911 – Josef Mengele, evil German physician (died in 1979)
1916 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (died in 2004)
1926 – Jerry Lewis, American actor and comedian (died in 2017)
1941 – Chuck Woolery, American game show host and television personality
1949 – Erik Estrada, American actor
1954 – Nancy Wilson, American singer-songwriter, Heart
1958 – Kate Worley, American comic book author (died in 2004)
1959 – Flavor Flav, American rapper and personality
1961 – Todd McFarlane, Canadian comic book author and illustrator, founded McFarlane Toys
1967 – Tracy Bonham, American singer
1969 – Judah Friedlander, American comedic actor
1971 – Alan Tudyk, American actor
1976 – Blu Cantrell, American singer-songwriter
1986 – Alexandra Daddario, American actress

March 16 History

1850 – Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter was published.

1926 – American Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts. It reached a height of 41 feet.

1942 – The first V-2 rocket test launched. It exploded at lift-off.

1945 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only individual who witnessed and survived both atom bombs in Japan, Hiroshima on August 6th, and Nagasaki on August 9.

1957The Gumby Show Premiered on NBC.

1958 – The Ford Motor Company produced its 50 millionth Thunderbird automobile.

1961 – Goddard Space Flight Center was formally dedicated in Greenbelt, MD.

March 16, 1961 Birthday (fictional) Al Simmons, Spawn, Image Comics

1968 – General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, an Oldsmobile Toronado.

1968 – #1 Hit March 16, 1968 – April 12, 1968: Otis Redding(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay

1969 – Broadway Show – 1776 (Musical) March 16, 1969

1978 – The Amoco Cadiz wrecked off the coast of Portsall, France, spilling 68 million gallons of oil.

1984 – 1984 – William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Lebanon, is kidnapped by Hezbollah. (He later died in captivity)

1985 – Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson was taken hostage in Beirut. He was released on December 4, 1991.

1988 – Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter were indicted on conspiracy charges to defraud the United States.

2005 – Robert Blake, star of the 1970s television detective show Baretta, was acquitted of the murder of his 44-year-old wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.

#1 Hit March 16, 2019 – April 12, 2019: Jonas Brothers – Sucker

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

US President #5 James Monroe (1817-1825) Remembered for the Monroe Doctrine stating that Europe should stay out of America’s affairs and that the U.S. would remain neutral in European wars.

Biggest film of 1966: The Bible (Drama) earned ~ $34,900,000

The fear of the number 666 has a name: Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

The human brain can compute 38 thousand trillion operations per second, which is 413 times more than the world’s most powerful supercomputer.

The 45, the 8-track, the cassette, the lazer disc, the floppy disk, the VHS, the video store and the CD… all have died during my lifetime.

The sounds made by the Brachiosaurs in Jurassic Park were a mix of whale and donkey sounds.

There is a whole generation that doesn’t know that Pirates of the Caribbean was a (lame if you think about it) Disneyland ride decades before it was ever a movie.

The Capital of Uganda is Kampala

The FDA allows five rodent hairs in every 18oz jar of peanut butter, while frozen berries can contain up to four larvae or 10 whole insects per 500g. #regulations

Red Wine gives most people a worse hangover than white wine.

Sid Vicious – Real Name: John Ritchie

When we’re old, we will talk about old websites like how our parents talk about places that used to exist in their town. RIP jumptheshark.com

Mary Westmacott – Real Name: Agatha Christie

Grisel Torresola is the only member of the Secret Service who died protecting the US President (Truman). #RIP

More Pop Culture History Resources