A Day in the Past

On this day: 16 March

132 things happened on 16 March, from 597 BC to 2014. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 7

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 23

1621 405 years ago

Samoset, a member of the Abenaki tribe, walked into Plymouth Colony and greeted the Pilgrims in English (depicted).

Find out more: Samoset (Wikipedia)
1978 48 years ago

Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the largest oil spill in history at that time.

Find out more: Amoco Cadiz (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “American Revolutionary War: Spain captured the island of Roatán from England”?

    1. 1815
    2. 1689
    3. 1782
    Show the answer

    C: 1782. 1782 — that’s 244 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “The Long Parliament, originally called by King Charles I of England in 1640”?

    1. 1997
    2. 1660
    3. 1322
    Show the answer

    B: 1660. 1660 — that’s 366 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. In the inaugural final of the FA Cup Wanderers defeated Royal Engineers 1–0 in
    2. American Revolutionary War: Spain captured the island of Roatán from England
    3. The Long Parliament, originally called by King Charles I of England in 1640
    Show the answer

    C: The Long Parliament, originally called by King Charles I of England in 1640. 1872: In the inaugural final of the FA Cup Wanderers defeated Royal Engineers 1–0 in · 1782: American Revolutionary War: Spain captured the island of Roatán from England · 1660: The Long Parliament, originally called by King Charles I of England in 1640 Find it on the page

  4. “In the inaugural final of the FA Cup Wanderers defeated Royal Engineers 1–0 in” happened in 1872. How many years ago was that?

    1. 164 years
    2. 154 years
    3. 144 years
    Show the answer

    B: 154 years. 2026 − 1872 = 154. Find it on the page

Born on this day 39

Famous people whose birthday is 16 March.

Remembering 18

Well-known people who died on 16 March.

Special days 8

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 16 March somewhere in the world.

For older readers 37 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “March 16” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.