What happened in 2016
400 entries recorded for 2016, listed by date. That was 10 years ago.
2016 at a glance
- Years ago
- 10 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 21st century
- Decade
- 2010s
- Generation born
- Generation Alpha
- Entries here
- 400
- Breakdown
- 79 historical events · 318 deaths · 3 births
January
- January 2
Nimr al-Nimr
Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia, was executed by the Saudi government along with 46 other people.
- January 2
A. B. Bardhan
Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (born 1924)
- January 2
Nimr al-Nimr
Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (born 1959)
- January 2
Frances Cress Welsing
Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (born 1935)
- January 2
Gisela Mota Ocampo
Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (born 1982)
- January 3
Nimr al-Nimr
In response to the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
- January 3
Peter Naur
Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (born 1928)
- January 3
Bill Plager
Bill Plager, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1945)
- January 3
Paul Bley
Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (born 1932)
- January 3
Igor Sergun
Igor Sergun, Russian general and diplomat (born 1957)
- January 4
Stephen W. Bosworth
Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (born 1939)
- January 4
S. H. Kapadia
S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (born 1947)
- January 5
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1925)
- January 6
Silvana Pampanini
Silvana Pampanini, Italian model, actress, and director, Miss Italy 1946 (born 1925)
- January 6
Christy O'Connor Jnr
Christy O'Connor Jnr, Irish golfer and architect (born 1948)
- January 6
Florence King
Florence King, American journalist and author (born 1936)
- January 6
Pat Harrington Jr.
Pat Harrington, Jr., American actor and screenwriter (born 1929)
- January 7
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs (born 1936)
- January 7
Kitty Kallen
Kitty Kallen, American singer (born 1921)
- January 7
Bill Foster (basketball, born 1929)
Bill Foster, American basketball player and coach (born 1929)
- January 7
John Johnson (basketball, born 1947)
John Johnson, American basketball player (born 1947)
- January 7
Judith Kaye
Judith Kaye, American lawyer and jurist (born 1938)
- January 8
El Chapo
Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.
- January 8
West Air Sweden Flight 294
West Air Sweden Flight 294 crashes near the Swedish reservoir of Akkajaure; both pilots, the only people on board, are killed.
- January 8
Maria Teresa de Filippis
Maria Teresa de Filippis, Italian racing driver (born 1926)
- January 8
German Moreno
German Moreno, Filipino television host, actor, comedian and talent manager (born 1933)
- January 9
Angus Scrimm
Angus Scrimm, American actor and author (born 1926)
- January 9
John Harvard (politician)
John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (born 1938)
- January 10
George Jonas
George Jonas, Hungarian-Canadian journalist, author, and poet (born 1935)
- January 10
Bård Breivik
Bård Breivik, Norwegian sculptor and art instructor (born 1948)
- January 10
David Bowie
David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (born 1947)
- January 11
Monte Irvin
Monte Irvin, American baseball player (born 1919)
- January 11
David Margulies
David Margulies, American actor (born 1937)
- January 12
January 2016 Istanbul bombing
Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
- January 13
Brian Bedford
Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (born 1935)
- January 13
Lawrence Phillips
Lawrence Phillips, American football player (born 1975)
- January 13
Giorgio Gomelsky
Giorgio Gomelsky, Georgian-American director, producer, songwriter, and manager (born 1934)
- January 14
2016 Jakarta attacks
Multiple explosions reported near the Sarinah Building, Jakarta, followed by shootout between perpetrators and the police, killing seven people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility.
- January 14
René Angélil
René Angélil, Canadian music producer, talent manager, and singer (born 1942)
- January 14
Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman, English actor (born 1946)
- January 15
Kenya Defence Forces
The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
- January 15
Francisco X. Alarcón
Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (born 1954)
- January 15
Ken Judge
Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (born 1958)
- January 15
Manuel Velázquez
Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (born 1943)
- January 16
Ouagadougou
After gunmen took hostages the previous night at a restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, government commandos stormed the premises to bring the situation to an end.
- January 16
2016 Ouagadougou attacks
Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
- January 16
Ted Marchibroda
Ted Marchibroda, American football player and coach (born 1931)
- January 16
Joannis Avramidis
Joannis Avramidis, Greek sculptor (born 1922)
- January 17
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama announces the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.
- January 17
Blowfly (musician)
Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1939)
- January 17
Melvin Day
Melvin Day, New Zealand painter and historian (born 1923)
- January 17
V. Rama Rao
V. Rama Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor of Sikkim (born 1935)
- January 17
Sudhindra Thirtha (Kashi Math)
Sudhindra Thirtha, Indian religious leader (born 1926)
- January 18
Michel Tournier
Michel Tournier, French journalist and author (born 1924)
- January 18
Glenn Frey
Glenn Frey, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1948)
- January 18
T. S. Sinnathuray
T. S. Sinnathuray, Judge of the High Court of Singapore (born 1930)
- January 18
Johnny Bach
Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (born 1924)
- January 19
Ettore Scola
Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1931)
- January 19
Sheila Sim
Sheila Sim (Lady Attenborough), English actress (born 1922)
- January 19
Richard Levins
Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (born 1930)
- January 20
Mykolas Burokevičius
Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (born 1927)
- January 20
Edmonde Charles-Roux
Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (born 1920)
- January 21
Bill Johnson (skier)
Bill Johnson, American skier (born 1960)
- January 21
Mrinalini Sarabhai
Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (born 1918)
- January 22
Kamer Genç
Kamer Genç, Turkish politician (born 1940)
- January 22
Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Parkinson, English politician (born 1931)
- January 22
Homayoun Behzadi
Homayoun Behzadi, Iranian footballer and coach (born 1942)
- January 22
Lois Ramsey
Lois Ramsey, Australian actress (born 1922)
- January 24
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (born 1927)
- January 24
Fredrik Barth
Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (born 1928)
- January 24
Henry Worsley (explorer)
Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (born 1960)
- January 26
Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda, American actor (born 1921)
- January 26
Sahabzada Yaqub Khan
Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, Pakistani military leader, foreign minister, and diplomat (born 1920)
- January 27
Carlos Loyzaga
Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (born 1930)
- January 28
Paul Kantner
Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)
- January 28
Bob Tizard
Bob Tizard, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (born 1924)
- January 28
Buddy Cianci
Buddy Cianci, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Providence (born 1941)
- January 28
Gene Bissell
Franklin Gene Bissell, American football player and coach (born 1926)
- January 28
Signe Toly Anderson
Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (born 1941)
- January 29
Jean-Marie Doré
Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (born 1938)
- January 29
Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette, French director, screenwriter, and critic (born 1928)
- January 30
Georgia Davis Powers
Georgia Davis Powers, American activist and politician (born 1923)
- January 30
Francisco Flores Pérez
Francisco Flores Pérez, Salvadorian politician, President of El Salvador (born 1959)
- January 30
Frank Finlay
Frank Finlay, English actor (born 1926)
- January 30
Gaston Mialaret
Gaston Mialaret, French pedagogist and professor (born 1918)
- January 31
Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan, Irish radio and television host (born 1938)
February
- February 1
Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores
Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, Guatemalan general and politician, 27th President of Guatemala (born 1930)
- February 2
Bob Elliott (comedian)
Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1923)
- February 3
Joe Alaskey
Joe Alaskey, American actor (born 1952)
- February 3
József Kasza
József Kasza, Serbian politician and economist (born 1945)
- February 3
Balram Jakhar
Balram Jakhar, Indian lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Madhya Pradesh (born 1923)
- February 4
Edgar Mitchell
Edgar Mitchell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (born 1930)
- February 5
Bangladesh Bank robbery
Cybercriminals initiate the Bangladesh Bank robbery, using the SWIFT network to fraudulently transfer $101 million from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account of Bangladesh Bank.
- February 5
Steven Joyce
New Zealand politician Steven Joyce is hit by a flung rubber dildo in a Waitangi Day protest.
- February 5
Ciriaco Cañete
Ciriaco Cañete, Filipino martial artist (born 1919)
- February 5
Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck
Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Bhutanese prince
- February 6
2016 southern Taiwan earthquake
An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 strikes southern Taiwan, killing 117 people.
- February 6
Dan Gerson
Dan Gerson, American screenwriter (born 1966)
- February 6
Dan Hicks (singer)
Dan Hicks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)
- February 7
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4
North Korea launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into outer space violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world.
- February 8
Violette Verdy
Violette Verdy, French ballerina (born 1933)
- February 8
Nida Fazli
Nida Fazli, Indian poet and songwriter (born 1938)
- February 8
Amelia Bence
Amelia Bence, Argentine actress (born 1914)
- February 8
Margaret Forster
Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (born 1938)
- February 9
Bad Aibling rail accident
Two commuter trains collided head-on at Bad Aibling in southeastern Germany, killing 12 people and injuring 85.
- February 9
Zdravko Tolimir
Zdravko Tolimir, Bosnian Serb military commander (born 1948)
- February 9
Sushil Koirala
Sushil Koirala, Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (born 1939)
- February 10
South Korea
South Korea decides to stop the operation of the Kaesong joint industrial complex with North Korea in response to the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4.
- February 10
Fatima Surayya Bajia
Fatima Surayya Bajia, Indian-Pakistani author and playwright (born 1930)
- February 11
2016 Ad Dair shooting
A man shoots seven people dead at an education center in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia.
- February 11
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman, American mixed martial artist and wrestler (born 1971)
- February 11
Zeng Xuelin
Zeng Xuelin, Thai-Chinese footballer and manager (born 1929)
- February 12
Catholic Church
In the first meeting between the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow signed the Havana Declaration at José Martí International Airport in Cuba.
- February 12
Pope Francis
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
- February 12
Dominique D'Onofrio
Dominique D'Onofrio, Italian-Belgian footballer and coach (born 1953)
- February 12
Giannis Kalaitzis
Yannis Kalaitzis, Greek cartoonist (born 1945)
- February 12
Yan Su
Yan Su, Chinese general and composer (born 1930)
- February 13
O. N. V. Kurup
O. N. V. Kurup, Indian poet and academic (born 1931)
- February 13
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (born 1936)
- February 14
Steven Stucky
Steven Stucky, American composer and academic (born 1949)
- February 14
Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury
Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (born 1928)
- February 15
George Gaynes
George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (born 1917)
- February 15
Vanity (singer)
Vanity, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (born 1959)
- February 16
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian politician and diplomat, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1922)
- February 17
February 2016 Ankara bombing
Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.
- February 17
Andy Ganteaume
Andy Ganteaume, Trinidadian cricketer (born 1921)
- February 17
Claude Jeancolas
Claude Jeancolas, French historian, author, and journalist (born 1949)
- February 17
Andrzej Żuławski
Andrzej Żuławski, Polish film director (born 1940)
- February 17
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (born 1923)
- February 17
Tony Phillips
Tony Phillips, American baseball player (born 1959)
- February 19
Chiaki Morosawa
Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (born 1959)
- February 19
Samuel Willenberg
Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (born 1923)
- February 19
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (born 1932)
- February 19
Harper Lee
Harper Lee, American author (born 1926)
- February 20
2016 Kalamazoo shootings
Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
- February 20
Fernando Cardenal
Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (born 1934)
- February 21
Eric Brown (pilot)
Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (born 1919)
- February 23
Jacqueline Mattson
Jacqueline Mattson, American baseball player (born 1928)
- February 23
Peter Lustig
Peter Lustig, German television host and author (born 1937)
- February 24
Tara Air Flight 193
Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashes, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.
- February 24
Peter Kenilorea
Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (born 1943)
- February 24
George C. Nichopoulos
George C. Nichopoulos, American soldier and physician (born 1927)
- February 24
Nabil Maleh
Nabil Maleh, Syrian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936)
- February 25
Hesston shootings
Three people are killed and fourteen others injured in a series of shootings in the small Kansas cities of Newton and Hesston.
- February 26
Don Getty
Don Getty, Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (born 1933)
- February 26
Andy Bathgate
Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1932)
- February 27
Lee Cheol-seung
Yi Cheol-seung, South Korean lawyer and politician (born 1922)
- February 27
James Z. Davis
James Z. Davis, American lawyer and judge (born 1943)
- February 28
George Kennedy
George Kennedy, American actor (born 1925)
- February 29
2016 Miqdadiyah bombing
In the Miqdadiyah bombing: at least 40 people are killed and 58 others wounded following a suicide bombing by ISIL at a Shi'ite funeral in the city of Miqdadiyah, Diyala, Iraq.
- February 29
Gil Hill
Gil Hill, American police officer, actor and politician (born 1931)
- February 29
Wenn V. Deramas
Wenn V. Deramas, Filipino director and screenwriter (born 1966)
- February 29
Mumtaz Qadri
Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistani assassin, executed (born 1985)
- February 29
Josefin Nilsson
Josefin Nilsson, Swedish singer (born 1969)
- February 29
Louise Rennison
Louise Rennison, English author (born 1951)
March
- March 1
Carole Achache
Carole Achache, French writer, photographer and actress (born 1952)
- March 2
Aubrey McClendon
Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (born 1959)
- March 2
Benoît Lacroix
Benoît Lacroix, Canadian priest, historian, and philosopher (born 1915)
- March 2
Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne
Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne
- March 3
Sarah Tait
Sarah Tait, Australian Olympic rower (born 1983)
- March 3
Thanat Khoman
Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (born 1914)
- March 3
Martin Crowe
Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (born 1962)
- March 3
Bertha Cáceres
Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (born 1973)
- March 3
Hayabusa (wrestler)
Hayabusa, Japanese wrestler (born 1968)
- March 4
P. A. Sangma
P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (born 1947)
- March 4
Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy, American author (born 1945)
- March 4
Zhou Xiaoyan
Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (born 1917)
- March 4
Bud Collins
Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (born 1929)
- March 5
Al Wistert
Al Wistert, American football player and coach (born 1920)
- March 5
Hassan al-Turabi
Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (born 1932)
- March 5
Ray Tomlinson
Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (born 1941)
- March 6
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan, American actress, 42nd First Lady of the United States (born 1921)
- March 6
Sheila Varian
Sheila Varian, American horse trainer and breeder (born 1937)
- March 7
Adrian Hardiman
Adrian Hardiman, Irish lawyer and judge (born 1951)
- March 7
Leonard Berney
Leonard Berney, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp liberator (born 1920)
- March 8
George Martin
George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (born 1926)
- March 9
Robert Horton (actor)
Robert Horton, American actor (born 1924)
- March 9
Clyde Lovellette
Clyde Lovellette, American basketball player and coach (born 1929)
- March 10
Ken Adam
Ken Adam, German-English production designer and art director (born 1921)
- March 10
Anita Brookner
Anita Brookner, English novelist and art historian (born 1928)
- March 10
Roberto Perfumo
Roberto Perfumo, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster (born 1942)
- March 10
Jovito Salonga
Jovito Salonga, Filipino lawyer and politician, 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines (born 1920)
- March 11
Iolanda Balaș
Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper (born 1936)
- March 11
Doreen Massey (geographer)
Doreen Massey, English geographer and political activist (born 1944)
- March 12
Lloyd Shapley
Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1923)
- March 12
Felix Ibru
Felix Ibru, Nigerian architect and politician, Governor of Delta State (born 1935)
- March 12
Rafiq Azad
Rafiq Azad, Bangladeshi poet and author (born 1942)
- March 13
Grand-Bassam shootings
Three gunmen attack two hotels in the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam, killing at least 19 people.
- March 13
March 2016 Ankara bombing
The Ankara bombing kills at least 37 people.
- March 13
Hilary Putnam
Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist (born 1926)
- March 14
Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies, English composer and conductor (born 1934)
- March 14
Suranimala Rajapaksha
Suranimala Rajapaksha, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (born 1949)
- March 14
John W. Cahn
John W. Cahn, German-American metallurgist and academic (born 1928)
- March 15
Seru Rabeni
Seru Rabeni, Fijian rugby player (born 1978)
- March 15
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress and television and film producer (born 1927)
- March 15
Asa Briggs
Asa Briggs, English historian and academic (born 1921)
- March 16
March 2016 Maiduguri bombings
Two suicide bombers detonate their explosives at a mosque during morning prayer on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing 24 and injuring 18.
- March 16
2016 Peshawar bus bombing
A bomb detonates in a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring at least 30.
- March 16
Frank Sinatra Jr.
Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer and actor (born 1944)
- March 16
Alexander Esenin-Volpin
Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (born 1924)
- March 17
Rojava Revolution
Rojava conflict: At a conference in Rmelan, the Movement for a Democratic Society declares the establishment of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.
- March 17
Meir Dagan
Meir Dagan, Israeli general (born 1945)
- March 17
Zoltán Kamondi
Zoltán Kamondi, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1960)
- March 18
Barry Hines
Barry Hines, English author and screenwriter (born 1939)
- March 18
Tray Walker
Tray Walker, American football player (born 1992)
- March 18
Jan Němec
Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (born 1936)
- March 18
Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (born 1961)
- March 19
March 2016 Istanbul bombing
An explosion occurs in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, killing five people and injuring 36.
- March 19
Flydubai Flight 981
Flydubai Flight 981 crashed during an aborted landing at Rostov-on-Don Airport, Russia, resulting in the deaths of all 62 passengers and crew on board.
- March 19
Jack Mansell
Jack Mansell, English footballer and manager (born 1927)
- March 19
Roger Agnelli
Roger Agnelli, Brazilian banker and businessman (born 1959)
- March 20
Anker Jørgensen
Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (born 1922)
- March 22
2016 Brussels bombings
Three suicide bombers kill 32 people and injure 316 in the 2016 Brussels bombings at the airport and at the Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station.
- March 22
Rob Ford
Rob Ford, Canadian businessman and politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (born 1969)
- March 22
Rita Gam
Rita Gam, American actress (born 1927)
- March 23
Joe Garagiola
Joe Garagiola, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1926)
- March 23
Ken Howard
Ken Howard, American actor (born 1944)
- March 24
Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer (born 1947)
- March 24
Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1949)
- March 25
Shannon Bolin
Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (born 1917)
- March 26
Jim Harrison
Jim Harrison, American novelist, essayist, and poet (born 1937)
- March 27
2016 Lahore suicide bombing
A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter.
- March 27
Mother Angelica
Mother Angelica, American Roman Catholic religious leader and media personality (born 1923)
- March 28
James Noble (actor)
James Noble, American actor (born 1922)
- March 29
Patty Duke
Patty Duke, American actress (born 1946)
- March 31
NASA
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko return to Earth after a yearlong mission at the International Space Station.
- March 31
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician (born 1927)
- March 31
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (born 1950)
- March 31
Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett, Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (born 1930)
- March 31
Imre Kertész
Imre Kertész, Hungarian author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1929)
- March 31
Denise Robertson
Denise Robertson, British writer and television broadcaster (born 1932)
April
- April 1
2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict begins along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact.
- April 2
Gallieno Ferri
Gallieno Ferri, Italian comic book artist and illustrator (born 1929)
- April 2
Robert Abajyan
Robert Abajyan, Armenian sergeant (born 1996)
- April 3
Panama Papers
The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
- April 3
Kōji Wada
Koji Wada, Japanese singer and songwriter (born 1974)
- April 3
Joe Medicine Crow
Joe Medicine Crow, American anthropologist, historian, and author (born 1913)
- April 3
Cesare Maldini
Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (born 1932)
- April 4
Chus Lampreave
Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (born 1930)
- April 5
Koço Kasapoğlu
Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (born 1936)
- April 6
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1937)
- April 9
Will Smith (defensive end)
Will Smith, American football player (born 1981)
- April 9
Duane Clarridge
Duane Clarridge, American spy (born 1932)
- April 10
Puttingal temple fire
The Paravur temple accident, in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for the seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.
- April 10
2016 Afghanistan earthquake
An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, impacting India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.
- April 10
Howard Marks
Howard Marks, Welsh cannabis smuggler, writer, and legalisation campaigner (born 1945)
- April 12
Mohammad Al Gaz
Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (born 1930)
- April 12
Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson, American actress (born 1925)
- April 14
2016 Kumamoto earthquakes
The foreshock of a major earthquake occurs in Kumamoto, Japan.
- April 16
2016 Ecuador earthquake
Ecuador's worst earthquake in nearly 40 years kills 676 and injures more than 230,000.
- April 17
Chyna
Chyna, American wrestler (born 1969)
- April 17
Doris Roberts
Doris Roberts, American actress (born 1925)
- April 19
The Rizzler
The Rizzler, American internet personality
- April 19
Patricio Aylwin
Patricio Aylwin, Chilean politician (born 1918)
- April 20
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood, British comedian, actress and writer (born 1953)
- April 21
Prince (musician)
Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (born 1958)
- April 22
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, opened for signature and was signed by 175 parties.
- April 23
Inge King
Inge King, German-born Australian sculptor (born 1915)
- April 23
Banharn Silpa-archa
Banharn Silpa-archa, Thai politician, Prime Minister from 1995 to 1996 (born 1932)
- April 24
Tommy Kono
Tommy Kono, American weightlifter and coach (born 1930)
- April 25
Tom Lewis (Australian politician)
Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (born 1922)
- April 26
Harry Wu
Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (born 1937)
- April 28
Jenny Diski
Jenny Diski, English author and screenwriter (born 1947)
- April 29
Dmytro Hnatyuk
Dmytro Hnatyuk, Ukrainian singer (born 1925)
- April 29
Renato Corona
Renato Corona, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (born 1948)
- April 30
Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan, American priest and activist (born 1921)
- April 30
Harry Kroto
Harry Kroto, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1939)
May
- May 1
2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
The evacuation of nearly 88,000 people began when a wildfire swept through Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and burned for another 14 months, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history.
- May 2
Afeni Shakur
Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (born 1947)
- May 3
Fort McMurray
Eighty-eight thousand people are evacuated from their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada as a wildfire rips through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings.
- May 3
Ian Deans
Ian Deans, Canadian politician (born 1937)
- May 3
Jadranka Stojaković
Jadranka Stojaković, Yugoslav singer-songwriter (born 1950)
- May 4
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, Burundian politician (born 1946)
- May 6
Patrick Ekeng
Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (born 1990)
- May 6
Reg Grundy
Reg Grundy, Australian businessman (born 1923)
- May 8
William Schallert
William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (born 1922)
- May 11
11 May 2016 Baghdad bombings
One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.
- May 12
Mike Agostini
Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (born 1935)
- May 13
Murray A. Straus
Murray A. Straus, American sociologist and academic (born 1926)
- May 14
Darwyn Cooke
Darwyn Cooke, American comic book writer and artist (born 1962)
- May 15
Jack the Anarchist
Jelesko Grancharoff, Bulgarian-Australian resistance fighter and anarchist (born 1925)
- May 19
EgyptAir Flight 804
EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.
- May 19
Morley Safer
Morley Safer, Canadian-born American journalist (born 1931)
- May 19
Alan Young
Alan Young, English-born Canadian-American actor (born 1919)
- May 20
Singapore
The government of Singapore authorises the controversial execution of convicted murderer Kho Jabing for the murder of a Chinese construction worker despite international pleas for clemency, notably from Amnesty International and the United Nations.
- May 20
Kho Jabing
Kho Jabing, Malaysian convicted murderer who was executed by hanging in Singapore (born 1984)
- May 21
Nick Menza
Nick Menza, American drummer and songwriter (born 1964)
- May 22
Bata Živojinović
Velimir "Bata" Živojinović, Serbian actor and politician (born 1933)
- May 23
Islamic State
Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, kill at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
- May 26
Hedy Epstein
Hedy Epstein, German-born American human rights activist and Holocaust survivor (born 1924)
- May 27
Barack Obama
Barack Obama is the first president of the United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
- May 28
Harambe
Harambe was shot and killed after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, drawing widespread criticism and inspiring internet memes.
- May 28
Harambe
Harambe, Cincinnati Zoo western lowland gorilla (born 1999)
- May 30
Tom Lysiak
Tom Lysiak, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player (born 1953)
- May 30
Rick MacLeish
Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1950)
- May 31
Syrian civil war
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
- May 31
Carla Lane
Carla Lane, English television writer (born 1928)
- May 31
Rupert Neudeck
Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (born 1939)
- May 31
Mohamed Abdelaziz (Sahrawi politician)
Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (1976–2016) (born 1947)
- May 31
Jan Crouch
Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (born 1938)
June
- June 3
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali, American boxer (born 1942)
- June 4
Carmen Pereira
Carmen Pereira, Bissau-Guinean politician (born 1937)
- June 5
2016 Aktobe shootings
Two shootings in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, kill six people.
- June 5
Jerome Bruner
Jerome Bruner, American psychologist (born 1915)
- June 6
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess grandmaster; arguably the best player never to become World Chess Champion (born 1931)
- June 6
Peter Shaffer
Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter; works included Equus and Amadeus (born 1926)
- June 10
Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1928)
- June 10
Christina Grimmie
Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (born 1994)
- June 11
Rudi Altig
Rudi Altig, German track and road racing cyclist (born 1937)
- June 12
Pulse nightclub shooting
An Islamic terrorist killed 49 people in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida.
- June 14
Ann Morgan Guilbert
Ann Morgan Guilbert, American actress and singer (born 1928)
- June 14
Gilles Lamontagne
Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian politician, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (born 1919)
- June 16
Jo Cox
Jo Cox, a British Member of Parliament, was murdered in her constituency.
- June 16
Shanghai Disneyland
Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in mainland China, opens to the public.
- June 16
Jo Cox
Jo Cox, English political activist and MP (born 1974)
- June 18
Jeppiaar
Jeppiaar, Indian educationist, founder and chancellor of Sathyabama University (born 1931)
- June 19
Anton Yelchin
Anton Yelchin, American actor (born 1989)
- June 21
Pierre Lalonde
Pierre Lalonde, Canadian television host and singer (born 1941)
- June 23
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
Citizens of the United Kingdom voted in favour of leaving the European Union.
- June 23
Brexit
Brexit: The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, by 52% to 48%.
- June 23
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley, American singer and banjo player (born 1927)
- June 25
Adam Small
Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (born 1936)
- June 27
Bud Spencer
Bud Spencer, Italian swimmer, actor, and screenwriter (born 1929)
- June 28
2016 Atatürk Airport attack
Gunmen attacked Istanbul's Atatürk Airport, killing 45 people and injuring more than 230 others.
- June 28
Buddy Ryan
Buddy Ryan, American football coach (born 1931)
- June 28
Pat Summitt
Pat Summitt, American women's college basketball head coach (born 1952)
- June 28
Scotty Moore
Scotty Moore, American guitarist (born 1931)
- June 29
Jan Hettema
Jan Hettema, Springbok cyclist and five times South African National Rally Champion (born 1933)
July
- July 1
Robin Hardy (film director)
Robin Hardy, English author and film director (born 1929)
- July 2
Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, activist, and author (born 1928)
- July 2
Patrick Manning
Patrick Manning, 4th & 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (born 1946)
- July 2
Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1939)
- July 2
Caroline Aherne
Caroline Aherne, English actress and comedian (born 1963)
- July 4
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (born 1940)
- July 5
Juno (spacecraft)
The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
- July 7
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
Ex-US Army soldier Micah Xavier Johnson shoots fourteen policemen, killing five of them, in downtown Dallas, Texas at the end of a protest of recent police killings of Black men. He is subsequently killed by a robot-delivered bomb.
- July 7
United States Army Reserve
A U.S. Army Reserve veteran ambushed and shot at police officers (memorial service pictured) in Dallas, killing five of them and injuring nine others, before being killed by a bomb attached to a police robot.
- July 8
Abdul Sattar Edhi
Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistani philanthropist (born 1928)
- July 10
Portugal national football team
Portugal defeats France in the UEFA Euro 2016 Final to win their first European title.
- July 10
Katharina Focke
Katharina Focke, German politician (born 1922)
- July 12
Goran Hadžić
Goran Hadžić, Serbian politician (born 1958)
- July 13
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns, and is succeeded by Theresa May.
- July 14
2016 Nice truck attack
A man deliberately drove a truck into crowds in Nice, France, resulting in 86 deaths.
- July 15
Peace at Home Council
The Peace at Home Council, a faction of the Turkish Armed Forces, staged a coup d'état attempt against the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
- July 15
Turkish Armed Forces
Factions of the Turkish Armed Forces attempt a coup.
- July 19
Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall, American actor, director, and producer (born 1934)
- July 20
Radu Beligan
Radu Beligan, Romanian actor, director, and essayist (born 1918)
- July 21
Dennis Green
Dennis Green, American football player and coach (born 1949)
- July 24
Marni Nixon
Marni Nixon, American actress and singer (born 1930)
- July 25
Tim LaHaye
Tim LaHaye, American Christian minister and author (born 1926)
- July 25
Tom Peterson
Tom Peterson, American television personality (born 1930)
- July 26
Sagamihara stabbings
The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Nineteen people are killed.
- July 26
Solar Impulse
Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.
- July 26
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton (pictured) became the first female nominee for president of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
- July 26
Solomon Feferman
Solomon Feferman, American philosopher and mathematician (born 1928)
- July 27
Aston Martin DB9
The last nine Aston Martin DB9 (example pictured) units rolled off the production line, marking the end of a twelve-year manufacturing period.
- July 27
Jerry Doyle
Jerry Doyle, American actor and talk show host (born 1956)
- July 27
James Alan McPherson
James Alan McPherson, American short story writer and essayist (born 1943)
- July 27
Piet de Jong
Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Minister of Defence, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (born 1915)
- July 27
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (born 1928)
- July 28
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi, Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (born 1926)
- July 28
Émile Derlin Zinsou
Émile Derlin Zinsou, Beninese politician (born 1918)
- July 30
Gloria DeHaven
Gloria DeHaven, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1925)
- July 31
Chiyonofuji Mitsugu
Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (born 1955)
- July 31
Seymour Papert
Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (born 1928)
August
- August 1
Anne of Romania
Queen Anne of Romania (born 1923)
- August 2
Ahmed Zewail
Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1946)
- August 2
Terence Bayler
Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (born 1930)
- August 2
Franciszek Macharski
Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (born 1927)
- August 2
David Huddleston
David Huddleston, American actor (born 1930)
- August 7
Bryan Clauson
Bryan Clauson, American racing driver (born 1989)
- August 8
August 2016 Quetta attacks
Terrorists attack a government hospital in Quetta, Pakistan with a suicide blast and shooting, killing between 70 and 94 people, and injuring around 130 others.
- August 9
Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster
Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, third-richest British citizen (born 1951)
- August 12
Taedonggang Brewing Company
The state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company inaugurated the first beer festival in North Korea.
- August 12
Syrian civil war
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
- August 12
Juan Pedro de Miguel
Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (born 1958)
- August 13
Pramukh Swami Maharaj
Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian Hindu leader (born 1921)
- August 13
Kenny Baker (English actor)
Kenny Baker, English actor and musician (born 1934)
- August 14
Fyvush Finkel
Fyvush Finkel, American actor (born 1922)
- August 16
John McLaughlin (host)
John McLaughlin, American television personality (born 1927)
- August 16
João Havelange
João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (born 1916)
- August 17
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, Canadian actor, director, and producer (born 1923)
- August 18
Ernst Nolte
Ernst Nolte, German historian (born 1923)
- August 20
August 2016 Gaziantep bombing
Fifty-four people are killed when a suicide bomber detonates himself at a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, Turkey.
- August 22
S. R. Nathan
S. R. Nathan, 6th President of Singapore (born 1924)
- August 22
Toots Thielemans
Toots Thielemans, Belgian and American jazz musician (born 1922)
- August 24
August 2016 Central Italy earthquake
An earthquake strikes Central Italy with a magnitude of 6.2, with aftershocks felt as far as Rome and Florence. Around 300 people are killed.
- August 24
Proxima Centauri b
Proxima Centauri b, the closest exoplanet to Earth, is discovered by the European Southern Observatory.
- August 24
Walter Scheel
Walter Scheel, German politician, 4th President of Germany (born 1919)
- August 25
Marvin Kaplan
Marvin Kaplan, American actor (born 1927)
- August 27
Cookie (cockatoo)
Cookie, Australian Major Mitchell's cockatoo, oldest recorded parrot (born 1933)
- August 28
ISRO
The first experimental mission of ISRO's Scramjet Engine towards the realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System is successfully conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
- August 28
Mr. Fuji
Mr. Fuji, American professional wrestler and manager (born 1934)
- August 28
Juan Gabriel
Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter (born 1950)
- August 29
Chen Quanguo
Chen Quanguo became the Chinese Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang, and in that role later oversaw the creation of the Xinjiang internment camps.
- August 29
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder, American stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter, film director, and author (born 1933)
- August 31
Dilma Rousseff
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office.
September
- September 2
Jerry Heller
Jerry Heller, American music manager (born 1940)
- September 2
Islam Karimov
Islam Karimov, Uzbek politician, 1st President of Uzbekistan (born 1938)
- September 3
China
The U.S. and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally ratify the Paris global climate agreement.
Questions about 2016
What happened in 2016?
This site records 400 entries for 2016, including Nimr al-Nimr on January 2. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 2016?
10 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 2016 turns 10 this year.
Which century is 2016 in?
2016 falls in the 21st century, in the 2010s.
Which generation was born in 2016?
Generation Alpha (2013–2024). Born entirely in the 21st century.
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