This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened on 16th March!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 16th March”.
1527: Mughal Emperor Babur defeats Rajput forces in the Battle of Khanwa
Among the many great victories of Babur, which helped establish the Mughal Empire, the Battle of Khanwa was the one which consolidated the Mughal dynasty in India. Babur fought the Rajput forces led by Rana Sanga of Mewar, near the village of Khanwa, in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
1802: US Military Academy is established
Congress founded the United States’ Military Academy to educate and train young men in the theory and practice of military science. It was the first military school in America, and is often referred to as West Point. In 1870, the first African-American cadet was admitted into the U.S. Military Academy, and in 1976, the first female cadets. With more than 4,000 students, it’s under the general direction and supervision of the US Army.
1830: New York Stock Exchange experiences its slowest day ever
New York Stock Exchange experienced its slowest office day in history today, with only 31 shares traded. This happened nearly four decades after the Buttonwood agreement established the first organized stock market in New York, and 13 years after the exchange was officially chartered. In contrast, NYSE would go on to have its most active days in October 2008 when the average daily volume would be more than 4.2 billion shares.
1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The Scarlet Letter’ is published
On this day in Boston, Ticknor, Reed and Fields published Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel ‘The Scarlet Letter.’ It’s one of the most mass-produced books in America and critics continue to call it a masterpiece. Novelist D. H. Lawrence described it as a ‘perfect work of the American imagination.’ It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and then struggles to create a new life. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.
1926: Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
Robert H. Goddard became the first man to encourage dreams of space travel when he launched the first liquid-fueled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts. NASA named the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in his honour. The rocket travelled for 2.5 seconds at a speed of about 60 mph. It reached an altitude of 41 feet and landed 184 feet away. The rocket was 10 feet tall, constructed out of thin pipes, and was fueled by liquid oxygen and gasoline.
2012: Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first cricketer to score 100 international centuries
Sachin Tendulkar became the first and only cricketer to score 100 international centuries when he made 114 against Bangladesh today. After his dismissal, he said: “I was not thinking about the milestone. It hasn’t sunk in.” He also added the following. “A year ago when I got my 99th hundred no-one spoke about it during the World Cup, then I guess it was the media who began talking about it.” He made his Test debut in 1989 and achieved his first century against England at Old Trafford, Manchester in 1990.
