December 16th, 1808

Born on December 16th, 1808

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 78,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 340 days, exactly on April 2nd, 2025, people who were born on December 16th, 1808 will be 79,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on December 16th?

December 16th, 2014

A hostage crisis in a Lindt chocolate café in Sydney, Australia, ended with police storming the building, killing the perpetrator and one of the hostages.

December 16th, 2012

A woman was gang-raped and fatally assaulted on a bus in Delhi, generating protests across India against inadequate security for women.

December 16th, 1997

Amid an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the British government banned the sale of beef on the bone for human consumption.

December 16th, 1971

The surrender of Pakistani forces in Dacca, East Pakistan, concluded the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War.

December 16th, 1942

World War II: Americans engaged Imperial Japanese forces at the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse in the hills near the Matanikau River area on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign.

December 16th, 1938

Adolf Hitler instituted the Cross of Honour of the German Mother as an order of merit for German mothers with at least four children.

December 16th, 1930

German-American gangster Herman Lamm killed himself during a botched robbery attempt in Clinton, Indiana, to avoid being captured by police.

December 16th, 1922

Gabriel Narutowicz, the first president of Poland, was assassinated only five days after having taken office.

December 16th, 1918

Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas declared the formation of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, a puppet state created by Soviet Russia to justify the Lithuanian–Soviet War.

December 16th, 1914

First World War: The Imperial German Navy attacked ports in northern England, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties.

December 16th, 1901

English writer Beatrix Potter privately published 250 copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit (illustration shown) after several publishers' rejections.

December 16th, 1893

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony (audio featured) premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

December 16th, 1850

Settlers of the Canterbury Association (poster pictured) aboard Randolph and Charlotte Jane arrived to establish a colony at Christchurch, New Zealand.

December 16th, 1811

The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes struck the Midwestern United States and made the Mississippi River appear to run backward.

December 16th, 1773

American Revolution: A group of colonists threw chests of tea into Boston Harbor (pictured) to protest British taxation without representation.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on December 16th

Born on December 16th, 1808

52

Kinsley S. Bingham

American politician (1808-1861)

*December 16th, 1808, Camillus †October 5th, 1861, Green Oak Township

Same Day
Who's birthday is on December 16th?

56

Ludwig van Beethoven

German composer (1770–1827)

*December 16th, 1770, Bonn †March 26th, 1827, Vienna

26

Zara Larsson

Swedish singer and songwriter

*December 16th, 1997, Solna Municipality

41

Jane Austen

English novelist (1775–1817)

*December 16th, 1775, Steventon †July 18th, 1817, Winchester

35

Mats Hummels

German association football player

*December 16th, 1988, Bergisch Gladbach

87

Egill Jacobsen

Danish painter (1910-1998)

*December 16th, 1910, Copenhagen †April 21st, 1998, Copenhagen

91

Karl Heinz Oppel

German actor and voice actor

*December 16th, 1924, Dresden †October 27th, 2016, Berlin

76

Margaret Mead

American anthropologist (1901—1978)

*December 16th, 1901, Philadelphia †November 15th, 1978, New York City

73

Noël Coward

English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer

*December 16th, 1899, Teddington †March 26th, 1973, Firefly Estate

86

Agnes Baden-Powell

British scouting pioneer

*December 16th, 1858, Paddington †June 2nd, 1945, England

77

Benny Andersson

Swedish musician and composer

*December 16th, 1946, Stockholm

65

Pierre Lachambeaudie

French chansonnier and poet (1806-1872)

*December 16th, 1806, Montignac-Lascaux †July 7th, 1872, Brunoy

83

Norbert Kunisch

German classical archaeologist

*December 16th, 1934, Dortmund †May 2nd, 2018, Oxford

55

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire

French zoologist (1805-1861)

*December 16th, 1805, Étampes †November 10th, 1861, Paris

90

Arthur C. Clarke

British science fiction writer, inventor, and futurist (1917-2008)

*December 16th, 1917, Minehead †March 19th, 2008, Colombo

66

Robert Leinert

German politician (1873-1940)

*December 16th, 1873, Striesen †February 10th, 1940, Hanover

75

Léon Walras

French mathematical economist (*1834 – †1910)

*December 16th, 1834, Évreux †January 5th, 1910, Clarens

54

Simon Grayson

English footballer and manager (born 1969)

*December 16th, 1969, Ripon

62

LaChanze

American actress, singer, and dancer

*December 16th, 1961, St. Augustine

40

Ted Wilde

American film director, screenwriter (1889-1929)

*December 16th, 1889, New York City †December 17th, 1929, Hollywood

88

George Santayana

Spanish-American philosopher

*December 16th, 1863, Madrid †September 26th, 1952, Rome

Same year
Born in 1808

66

Andrew Johnson

President of the United States from 1865 to 1869

*December 29th, 1808, Raleigh †July 31st, 1875, Elizabethton

64

Napoleon III

President and Emperor of the French (1808–1873)

*April 20th, 1808, Paris †January 9th, 1873, Chislehurst

62

Michael William Balfe

Irish composer

*May 15th, 1808, Dublin †October 20th, 1870, Hertfordshire

79

Alexander William Doniphan

American politician and soldier (1808-1887)

*July 9th, 1808, Mason County †August 8th, 1887

46

Gérard de Nerval

French writer, poet, essayist and translator (1808–1855)

*May 22nd, 1808, Paris †January 26th, 1855, Paris

37

Henrik Wergeland

Norwegian writer (1808–1845)

*June 17th, 1808, Kristiansand Municipality †July 12th, 1845, Christiania

81

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865

*June 3rd, 1808, Fairview †December 6th, 1889, New Orleans

74

Abdelkader El Djezairi

Algerian religious and military leader (1808–1883)

*September 6th, 1808, Guittena †May 26th, 1883, Damascus

68

Antoine Elwart

French composer (1808-1877)

*November 19th, 1808, Paris †October 14th, 1877, 18th arrondissement of Paris

85

Charles Merivale

English historian and churchman (1808-1893)

*March 8th, 1808, London †December 27th, 1893, Ely

57

Claude Paris

French composer

*September 19th, 1808, Lyon †July 25th, 1866, Paris

56

Hugh Falconer

Scottish scientist (1808–1865)

*February 29th, 1808, Forres †January 31st, 1865, London

85

Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Duke of Magenta

Third President of the French Republic (1808–1893)

*May 13th, 1808, Sully †October 16th, 1893, Montcresson

70

Honoré Daumier

French artist (1808–1879)

*February 26th, 1808, Marseille †February 10th, 1879, Valmondois

74

Philipp Christoph Zeller

German entomologist (1808–1883)

*April 8th, 1808, Steinheim an der Murr †March 27th, 1883, Szczecin

83

Thomas Cook

English founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son

*November 22nd, 1808, Derbyshire †July 18th, 1892, Leicester

65

Salmon P. Chase

American politician and lawyer (1808–1873)

*January 13th, 1808, Cornish †May 7th, 1873, New York City

34

José de Espronceda

Spanish poet (1808-1842)

*March 25th, 1808, Almendralejo †May 23rd, 1842, Madrid

63

Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso

Italian noblewoman, patriot, editor and philantropist

*June 28th, 1808, Milan †July 5th, 1871, Milan

28

Maria Malibran

Spanish opera singer (1808–1836)

*March 24th, 1808, Paris †September 23rd, 1836, Manchester

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on December 16th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day, The beginning of the nine-day celebration beginning December 16 and ending December 24, celebrating the trials which Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born) which are celebrated on December 16th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

Yes: 1808 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
December 1808