Famous people born on December 16 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is December 16, you share it with Jane Austen, Margaret Mead, Arthur C. Clarke — and you were born under Sagittarius, the sign of the adventurous, optimistic, and always planning the next trip.
Birthday basics for December 16
Sagittarius ♐
Zodiac sign
Turquoise
Birthstone
Narcissus
Birth flower
350th
Day of the year
December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years), with 15 days still to come.
Famous people born on December 16
Jane Austen — English novelist who wrote Pride and Prejudice (born 1775).
Margaret Mead — American cultural anthropologist and author (born 1901).
Arthur C. Clarke — English science fiction writer of 2001: A Space Odyssey (born 1917).
Also sharing the day:
Ludwig van Beethoven (b. 1770) — German composer whose symphonies transformed classical music.
Wassily Kandinsky (b. 1866) — Russian painter regarded as a pioneer of abstract art.
Philip K. Dick (b. 1928) — science fiction writer whose stories inspired Blade Runner and Minority Report.
December 16 in history
1773 — American colonists dumped chests of British tea into Boston Harbor in the Boston Tea Party.
1893 — Dvořák's New World Symphony premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York.
1907 — The U.S. Navy's Great White Fleet set sail from Virginia on a 14-month voyage around the world.
1653 — Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
1901 — Beatrix Potter privately printed the first 250 copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
1971 — Bangladesh won its independence, celebrated ever since as Victory Day.
December 16 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is December 16?
Anyone born on December 16 is a Sagittarius — adventurous, optimistic, and always planning the next trip.
What is the birthstone for December 16?
The birthstone for a December 16 birthday is Turquoise, and the birth flower is the Narcissus.
Who is the most famous person born on December 16?
Jane Austen is among the best known — English novelist who wrote Pride and Prejudice (born 1775).
What happened on December 16?
In 1773, American colonists dumped chests of British tea into Boston Harbor in the Boston Tea Party.
What day of the year is December 16?
December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years), with 15 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on December 16? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.