1916: The Year in People

The Greatest Generation · Year of the Dragon 🐉 · Born in 1916 turn 110 in 2026

The year in numbers

US president

Woodrow Wilson

Top film

Intolerance

In the news: The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties

What happened in 1916

1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 1916th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 916th year of the 2nd millennium, the 16th year of the 20th century, and the 7th year of the 1910s decade. As of the start of 1916, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Born in 1916

86 people in our data · most viewed first

Gregory Peck

1916–2003 · April 5

American actor

Harold Wilson

1916–1995 · March 11

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1964–1970, 1974–1976)

Claude Shannon

1916–2001 · April 30

American mathematician

Glenn Ford

1916–2006 · May 1

American actor

Ken Curtis

1916–1991 · July 2

American actor and singer

Betty Grable

1916–1973 · December 18

American actress and pin-up girl

Richard Proenneke

1916–2003 · May 4

American naturalist

Aldo Moro

1916–1978 · September 23

Prime Minister of Italy (1963–1968; 1974–1976)

Eugene McCarthy

1916–2005 · March 29

American politician

Hans-Ulrich Rudel

1916–1982 · July 2

German military officer

C. Everett Koop

1916–2013 · October 14

American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator

Beverly Cleary

1916–2021 · April 12

American writer

Edward Platt

1916–1974 · February 14

American actor

David White (actor)

1916–1990 · April 4

American actor

Airey Neave

1916–1979 · January 23

British politician, military officer and lawyer

Bismillah Khan

1916–2006 · March 21

Indian musician

Daws Butler

1916–1988 · November 16

American voice actor

Jane Jacobs

1916–2006 · May 4

American–Canadian journalist, author, and activist

Ahmed Ben Bella

1916–2012 · December 25

President of Algeria from 1963 to 1965

Iva Toguri D'Aquino

1916–2006 · July 4

Japanese-American propagandist

Bill Lee (singer)

1916–1980 · August 21

American playback singer

Chinmayananda Saraswati

1916–1993 · May 8

Indian Hindu spiritual leader

C. Wright Mills

1916–1962 · August 28

American sociologist

Charlie Christian

1916–1942 · July 29

American swing and jazz guitarist

Died in 1916

Otto, King of Bavaria1848–1916 · King of Bavaria from 1886 to 1913
Charles de Foucauld1858–1916 · French explorer, geographer, linguist and Catholic saint
Henryk Sienkiewicz1846–1916 · Polish epic writer
John S. Mosby1833–1916 · Confederate Army officer, US Diplomat
Elisabeth of Wied1843–1916 · Princess/Queen of Romania from 1869 to 1914
Enrique Granados1867–1916 · Spanish pianist and composer
Clements Markham1830–1916 · British geographer
Albert Chmielowski1845–1916 · Polish noble and saint
Henry George Jr.1862–1916 · American politician
Cleveland Abbe1838–1916 · American meteorologist
Ephraim Shay1839–1916 · American railroad engineer and entrepreneur (1839 – 1916)
Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856)1856–1916 · Australian politician