16 August 1755

At the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Usain Bolt ran the 100 metres in 9.58 seconds, breaking his own record set a year earlier.

Typhoon Wayne formed over the South China Sea, going on to become one of the longest-lived tropical cyclones in the north-western Pacific, lasting 21 days.

American singer and actor Elvis Presley (pictured) was found dead in his home in Memphis, Tennessee.

The English rock band the Beatles fired their drummer Pete Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr (pictured).

Widespread riots between Hindus and Muslims took place in Calcutta following the All-India Muslim League's call for an independent Pakistan.

The Stanley Internment Camp in Hong Kong was liberated following the announcement of the surrender of Japan in World War II.

The Holocaust: During the deportation of Jews from Slovakia, President Jozef Tiso gave a speech describing Jews as "parasites" and "the eternal enemy".

A long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into a week-long period of violent riots throughout Palestine.

The Battle of Radzymin, one of the bloodiest and most intense battles of the Polish–Soviet War, concluded with a Polish victory.

Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was hit by a pitch and died the following day, becoming the only Major League Baseball player to die directly as a result of injuries sustained during a game.

The British parliament's Blind Persons Act received royal assent.

An earthquake registering approximately 8.2 Mw struck Valparaíso, Chile, killing 3,882 people.

Second Boer War: A 10,000-strong column of soldiers led by Lord Kitchener broke a 13-day siege of a small garrison.

A group including George Carmack and Skookum Jim Mason (pictured) discovered gold near Dawson City, Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

San Sebastian Church (pictured), an all-iron church in Manila, was officially consecrated.

Daaga and two other African soldiers in the British Army's 1st West India Regiment were executed for their role in the St. Joseph Mutiny in Trinidad.

Around 15 people were killed and 400 to 700 others injured when cavalry charged into a crowd demanding the reform of parliamentary representation in Manchester, England.

American Revolutionary War: American forces routed British and German troops at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.

War of the League of Cambrai: English and Imperial forces defeated French cavalry, forcing them to retreat.

The August Complex fire in California burns more than one million acres of land.

Trigana Air Flight 267, an ATR 42, crashes in Oksibil, Bintang Mountains Regency, killing all 54 people on board.

The ferry St. Thomas Aquinas collides with a cargo ship and sinks at Cebu, Philippines, killing 61 people with 59 others missing.

South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute at Marikana near Rustenburg.

AIRES Flight 8250 crashes at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport in San Andrés, San Andrés y Providencia, Colombia, killing two people.