Tuesday 16th of July 1557

Fourth wife of Henry VIII Anna von Kleve dies of cancer at the age of 42 in Chelsea Manor, London, Chelsea, Greater London, United Kingdom.

von Kleve was the last of Henry's six wives to die.

Tuesday 16th of July 1872

Explorer Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen is born in Borge, Østlandet, Norway.

Tuesday 16th of July 1907

Kidnapper and child murderer Leonardo Gebbia is executed by hanging at the age of 21 in Hahnville, Louisiana, United States.

Sunday 16th of July 1911

Dancer, singer and actress Ginger Rogers is born as Virginia Katherine McMath in 100 Moore Street, Independence, Missouri, United States.

Friday 16th of July 1920

Actor Edwin Cooper aka Bozo the Clown is born in Arlington, Texas, United States.

Tuesday 16th of July 1929

Serial killer Charles Ray Hatcher aka Evil Incarnate is born in Mound City, Missouri, United States.

Sunday 16th of July 1933

Black James Sanders is lynched by repeated shots for writing obscene letters to a white girl at the age of 25 in Bolton, Mississippi, United States.

Thursday 16th of July 1936

Murderess Mary Frances Creighton aka The Long Island Borgia is executed by Old Sparky at the age of 37 in Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, New York, United States.

Creighton had passed out prior to the execution and was executed in an unconscious state.

Thursday 16th of July 1936

Murderer Everett C. Applegate is executed by Old Sparky at the age of 37 in Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, New York, United States.

Wednesday 16th of July 1941

Musician Desmond Dekker is born as Desmond Adolphus Dacres in Saint Andrew Parish, Surrey, Jamaica.

Thursday 16th of July 1942

Kurt Kneller is murdered by doctor and serial killer Marcel Petiot aka The Triangular Chamber of Death Murderer in 21 Rue Le Sueur, Paris, XVIe, Île-de-France, France.

Monday 16th of July 1951

The novel 'The Catcher in the Rye' by 32-year-old Writer J. D. Jerome David Salinger known for his novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is first published by Little, Brown and Company in New York City, New York, United States.

The Catcher in the Rye was a popular success; within two months of its publication it had been reprinted eight times.

Wednesday 16th of July 1952

14-year-old Serial killer Ian Brady aka The Moors Murderers (with Myra Hindley) is charged with housebreaking in Govan Juvenile Court, Glasgow, Govan, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Brady got off with a minimal sentence on probation.

Friday 16th of July 1954

Cop killer Merle Martin is executed by hanging at the age of 45 in United States Penitentiary, Metropolitan Avenue, Leavenworth, Kansas, United States.

Friday 16th of July 1954

Member of the Rote Armee Fraktion Eva Sybille Haule-Frimpong is born in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Saturday 16th of July 1966

25-year-old Mass murderer Richard Benjamin Speck aka Born to Raise Hell tries to commit suicide by slashing his wrists in Starr Hotel, 617 W. Madison, Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Speck was taken to Cook County Hospital at 12:30 a.m. the next day. At the hospital Speck was recognized by 25-year-old surgical Dr. LeRoy Smith, who had read about the murderer's 'Born To Raise Hell' tattoo in a newspaper story.

Thursday 16th of July 1981

52-year-old Serial killer Charles Ray Hatcher aka Evil Incarnate is arrested as Richard Clark while abducting 11-year-old Todd Peers in Bettendorf, Iowa, United States.

Friday 16th of July 1982

Actor Patrick Dewaere commits suicide by a shot in his mouth at the age of 35 in 25 Impasse du Moulin-Vert, Paris, XIVe, Île-de-France, France.

Dewaere used a 22 Long Rifle given to him by Coluche.

Tuesday 16th of July 1985

Writer Heinrich Theodor Böll dies of angiopathy at the age of 68 in Langenbroich, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Sunday 16th of July 1989

Conductor Herbert Ritter von Karajan dies of a heart attack at the age of 81 in Anif, Salzburg, Austria.

Wednesday 16th of July 2003

Interesting shopwindows in the Indian shopping district in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia.

Friday 16th of July 2004

94 die in school fire in Krishna English Medium School, Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India.

Friday 16th of July 2010

A High Court decides that 64-year-old Serial killer Peter William Sutcliffe aka The Yorkshire Ripper will never be released during his lifetime in Broadmoor Hospital, Crowthorne, Berkshire, United Kingdom.

Sutcliffe was given 20 life terms in 1981 for thirteen murders and seven other attacks. In prison he changed his name to Peter Coonan.

Wednesday 16th of July 2014

Musician Johnny John Dawson Winter dies of unknown causes at the age of 70 in Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Thursday 16th of July 2015

The ruins of an abandoned abbey, destroyed by an earthquake in 1783 in Gioiosa Vecchio, Sicilia, Italy.

Saturday 16th of July 2016

Musician Alan Vega known from Proto Punk band Suicide dies of natural causes at the age of 78 in New York City, New York, United States.

Sunday 16th of July 2017

Film director George Andrew Romero aka The Grandfather of the Zombie known for Night of the Living Dead dies of lung cancer at the age of 77 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Thursday 16th of July 2020

Kidnapper and murderer Wesley Ira Purkey is executed by lethal injection at the age of 67 in United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.

Sunday 16th of July 2023

Actress and singer Jane Mallory Birkin dies of unknown causes at the age of 77 in Paris, Île-de-France, France.

Tuesday 16th of July 2024

Six people are found dead, poisoned by cyanide, in room 502 believed to be a case of murder-suicide in Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, 494 Ratchadamri Rd, Bangkok, Lumphini, Central Thailand, Thailand.

Four of the victims were Vietnamese nationals; 46-year-old Thi Nguyen Phuong, her 49-year-old husband Hong Pham Thanh, 47-year-old Thi Nguyen Phuong Lan and 37-year-old Dinh Tran Phu. The other two were American citizens of Vietnamese origin; 56-year-old Sherine Chong, and 55-year-old Dang Hung Van.