This is a list of selected November 16 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
November 16: International Day for Tolerance
- 1384 – Jadwiga was crowned "King of Poland" despite being a ten-year-old girl.
- 1532 – Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro orchestrated a surprise attack in Cajamarca, Peru, capturing Sapa Inca Atahualpa.
- 1885 – After a five-day trial following the North-West Rebellion, Louis Riel, Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and "Father of Manitoba", was executed by hanging for high treason.
- 1938 – The psychedelic drug LSD (molecule pictured) was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.
- 1973 – U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline, an oil pipeline connecting the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska.
- 2002 – The first case of the respiratory disease Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was recorded in Guangdong, China.