October 16 in Pop Culture History

October 16th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

October 16th History Highlights

  • 1793 – Queen Marie Antoinette was executed for ‘high treason’ during the French Revolution.
  • 1859 – John Brown’s abolitionist raid took place at Harper’s Ferry, WV.
  • October 16, 1997 (fiction) The Robinson family departed from Earth aboard the Jupiter II spacecraft and becomes Lost In Space, TV
  • If you were born on October 16th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… January 23rd (same year)

Boss’s Day

On October 16, 1958, Patricia Bay Haroski, an employee of State Farm Insurance Company, registered Boss’s Day with the US Chamber of Commerce. Haroski chose the date because it was the date of her boss’s birthday. Her boss was also her father.

October 16th is…

Boss’s Day
Dictionary Day
Feral Cat Day
Oatmeal Day
World Bread Day
World Food Day
World Spine Day

October 16th Birthday Quotes

“A pure democracy is generally a very bad government, It is often the most tyrannical government on earth; for a multitude is often rash, and will not hear reason.”
– Noah Webster

“Everyone may not be good, but there’s always something good in everyone. Never judge anyone shortly because every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
– Oscar Wilde

“Notice what no one else notices and you’ll know what no one else knows.”
– Tim Robbins

“Better to be busy than to be busy worrying.”
– Angela Lansbury

“I have a habit of leaving places at the wrong time, just when something big may have happened for me.”
– Nico

October 16th Birthdays

1758 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (died in 1843)
1854 – Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, novelist, and poet (died in 1900)
1903 – Big Joe Williams, American Delta blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (died in 1982)
1923 – Linda Darnell, American actress (died in 1965)
1923 – Bert Kaempfert, German conductor and composer (died in 1980)
1925 – Angela Lansbury, English-American actress
1938 – Nico, German singer-songwriter, model, and actress (died in 1988)
1940 – Barry Corbin, American actor
1941 – Tim McCarver, American baseball player, and sportscaster
1946 – Suzanne Somers, American actress
1958 – Tim Robbins, American actor, and director
1975 – Kellie Martin, American actress

October 16th History

1701 – Yale University was founded.

1793 – Marie Antoinette, the widow of Louis XVI, was guillotined at the height of the French Revolution. The phrase “Let them eat cake” is often attributed to Marie but there is no evidence she ever said it.

1814 – The Great Beer Flood. More than 323,000 gallons of beer burst out of the Meux and Company Brewery and poured into the streets of St. Giles, London, England.

1869 – The Cardiff Giant was “discovered” in Cardiff, New York.

1875 – Brigham Young University was founded in Provo, Utah.

1916 – In Brooklyn, New York, Margaret Sanger opened the first family planning clinic in the United States.

1921 – Frank Coughlin, the head coach of the Rock Island Independents, was fired in the middle of a game against the Chicago Cardinals. The Independents were leading the game 14-7 at the time. Coughlin is the only coach in NFL history to be fired in the middle of a game.

1944 – Wally Walrus debuted in The Beach Nut, a Walter Lantz cartoon.

1968 – Tommie Smith and John Carlos were both kicked off the US team for participating in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.

1976 – #1 Hit October 16, 1976 – October 22, 1976: Rick Dees and His Cast of IdiotsDisco Duck (part 1)

1978 – Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pontiff since 1523.

October 16, 1980 Birthday (fictional) Tara Maclay, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, TV

1984 – Desmond Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1995 – The Million Man March took place in Washington, DC. Between 400,000 and 850,000 people marched.

October 16, 1997 (fiction) The Robinson family departed from Earth aboard the Jupiter II spacecraft and becomes Lost In Space, TV

#1 Hit October 16, 2021 – October 22, 2021: StayThe Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

In movies, why are spies still taking black and white pictures?

Besides being President of the United States and a prolific actor, Ronald Reagan is also credited with saving 77 lives from drowning during his time as a lifeguard.

The Capital of Jordan is Amman

A group of Peacocks is called a Muster or Ostentation or Pride.

In Back to the Future, Chuck Berry completely rips off  Johnny B. Goode,  note-for-note from Marty McFly, and uses it to become a famous musician.

The director of ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ had to prove in court that the actors were still alive and didn’t get killed during the movie.

“Shane. Shane. Come back!” – Joey Starrett (Brandon De Wilde) in Shane, 1953

Thailand has more 7-Elevens than the United States.

Delaware is the least dependent of all states on the federal government (in terms of contracts and assistance).

MySpace Tom is probably the most unfriended person ever. #lonelyguytom

Sir Mix-A-Lot wrote Baby Got Back as a reaction to the 80s’ Spuds MacKenzie girls, the Spudettes

A group of Barracudas is called a Battery.

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