WORLD HISTORY · 2016 日本語
Events of 2016Heisei 28 (Japan) · Year of the Monkey
What happened in 2016?
In March 2016, the Hokkaido Shinkansen opened, and in April the Kumamoto earthquakes registered the maximum intensity of 7 on Japan's seismic scale. In May, Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, and in August Emperor Akihito publicly expressed his personal thoughts.
- Bank of Japan adopts negative interest ratesAsia
- Hokkaido Shinkansen opensAsia
- Kumamoto foreshock reaches intensity 7Asia
- President Obama visits HiroshimaAsia
- Coup attempt in TurkeyMiddle East
- Rio de Janeiro Olympics openLatin America
- Emperor Akihito expresses his personal thoughtsAsia
- Colombia peace deal ends civil warLatin America
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
2016 at a glance
| Japanese era | Heisei 28 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Monkey |
| Age of people born in 2016 | Turn 10 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 2015 (Heisei 27) ／ 2017 (Heisei 29) |
| Events | 106 |
| AP World History | Unit 9 (Globalization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 9 |
Famous people born in 2016
Our birthday pages list 3 people born in 2016. Here are some of them.
- Jigme Namgyel WangchuckBorn February 5 · turns 10 this year
- Prince Oscar, Duke of SkåneBorn March 2 · turns 10 this year
- The RizzlerBorn April 19 · turns 10 this year
Events of 2016 (timeline · 106)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
In response to the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
West Air Sweden Flight 294 crashes near the Swedish reservoir of Akkajaure; both pilots, the only people on board, are killed.
Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.
Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
Multiple explosions reported near the Sarinah Building, Jakarta, followed by shootout between perpetrators and the police, killing seven people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility.
The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
President Barack Obama announces the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.
Cybercriminals initiate the Bangladesh Bank robbery, using the SWIFT network to fraudulently transfer $101 million from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account of Bangladesh Bank.
New Zealand politician Steven Joyce is hit by a flung rubber dildo in a Waitangi Day protest.
North Korea launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into outer space violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world.
Two passenger trains collide in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. Twelve people die and 85 others are injured.
South Korea decides to stop the operation of the Kaesong joint industrial complex with North Korea in response to the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4.
A man shoots seven people dead at an education center in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia.
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.
Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashes, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.
Three people are killed and fourteen others injured in a series of shootings in the small Kansas cities of Newton and Hesston.
In the Miqdadiyah bombing: at least 40 people are killed and 58 others wounded following a suicide bombing by ISIL at a Shi'ite funeral in the city of Miqdadiyah, Diyala, Iraq.
Three gunmen attack two hotels in the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam, killing at least 19 people.
Two suicide bombers detonate their explosives at a mosque during morning prayer on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing 24 and injuring 18.
A bomb detonates in a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring at least 30.
Rojava conflict: At a conference in Rmelan, the Movement for a Democratic Society declares the establishment of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.
An explosion occurs in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, killing five people and injuring 36.
Flydubai Flight 981 crashes while attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don international airport, killing all 62 on board.
Three suicide bombers kill 32 people and injure 316 in the 2016 Brussels bombings at the airport and at the Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station.
A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter.
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko return to Earth after a yearlong mission at the International Space Station.
The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict begins along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact.
The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
The Paravur temple accident, in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for the seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.
An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, impacting India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.
Ecuador's worst earthquake in nearly 40 years kills 676 and injures more than 230,000.
Eighty-eight thousand people are evacuated from their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada as a wildfire rips through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings.
EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.
The government of Singapore authorises the controversial execution of convicted murderer Kho Jabing for the murder of a Chinese construction worker despite international pleas for clemency, notably from Amnesty International and the United Nations.
Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, kill at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
Eight bombings are carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people are killed and at least 200 people injured.
Barack Obama is the first president of the United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
Harambe, a gorilla, is shot to death after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, resulting in widespread criticism and sparking various internet memes.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Forty-nine civilians are killed and 58 others injured in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States; the gunman, Omar Mateen, is killed in a gunfight with police.
Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in mainland China, opens to the public.
Brexit: The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, by 52% to 48%.
A terrorist attack in Turkey's Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others.
The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
Ex-US Army soldier Micah Xavier Johnson shoots fourteen policemen, killing five of them, in downtown Dallas, Texas at the end of a protest of recent police killings of Black men. He is subsequently killed by a robot-delivered bomb.
Portugal defeats France in the UEFA Euro 2016 Final to win their first European title.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns, and is succeeded by Theresa May.
A man ploughs a truck into a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France, killing 86 people and injuring another 434 before being shot by police.
The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Nineteen people are killed.
Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.
Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for president of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Terrorists attack a government hospital in Quetta, Pakistan with a suicide blast and shooting, killing between 70 and 94 people, and injuring around 130 others.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Fifty-four people are killed when a suicide bomber detonates himself at a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, Turkey.
Proxima Centauri b, the closest exoplanet to Earth, is discovered by the European Southern Observatory.
An earthquake strikes Central Italy with a magnitude of 6.2, with aftershocks felt as far as Rome and Florence. Around 300 people are killed.
The first experimental mission of ISRO's Scramjet Engine towards the realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System is successfully conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
The U.S. and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally ratify the Paris global climate agreement.
NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe visited 101955 Bennu and returned with samples in September 2023.
The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it "maniacal recklessness".
Two bombs explode in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and Manhattan. Thirty-one people are injured in the Manhattan bombing.
The 2016 Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India by terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed results in the deaths of nineteen Indian Army soldiers and all four attackers.
In the wake of a manhunt, the suspect in a series of bombings in New York and New Jersey is apprehended after a shootout with police.
The 2016 South Australian blackout occurs, lasting up to three days in some areas.
Eleven days after the Uri attack, the Indian Army conducts "surgical strikes" against suspected militants in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
Hurricane Matthew becomes a Category 5 hurricane, making it the strongest hurricane to form in the Caribbean Sea since 2007.
Two paintings with a combined value of $100 million are recovered after having been stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.
The leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, Pedro Sánchez, resigns. He would return to the position a year later.
Ethiopian protests break out during a festival in the Oromia region, killing dozens of people.
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army launches its first attack on Myanmar security forces along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border.
The Maldives announces its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations.
One hundred and ninety-seven nations amend the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons.
Three heavily armed terrorists from the Islamic State – Khorasan Province open fire on and eventually suicide bomb a police training centre in Balochistan, Pakistan, killing at least 59 cadets and injuring more than 165 others.
A French surveillance aircraft flying to Libya crashes on takeoff in Malta, killing all five people on board.
The Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, ending the longest Major League Baseball championship drought at 108 years.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces launch an offensive to capture the ISIL-held city of Raqqa.
Donald Trump is elected the 45th President of the United States, defeating Hillary Clinton, the first woman ever to receive a major party's nomination.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly announces the withdrawal of ₹500 and ₹1000 denomination banknotes.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Kaikōura, New Zealand, at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), resulting in the deaths of two people.
Hong Kong's High Court bans elected politicians Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung from the city's Parliament.
Jimmie Johnson wins his seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship to tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all-time.
The government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army sign a revised peace deal, bringing an end to the country's more than 50-year-long civil war.
LaMia Flight 2933 crashes near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of 77 people on board, including members of the Brazilian football club Chapecoense
Thirty-six people die in a fire at a converted Oakland, California, warehouse serving as an artist collective.
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661, a domestic passenger flight from Chitral to Islamabad, operated by an ATR-42-500 crashes near Havelian, killing all 47 on board.
At least 57 people are killed and a further 177 injured when two schoolgirl suicide bombers attack a market area in Madagali, Adamawa, Nigeria in the Madagali suicide bombings.
President Park Geun-hye of South Korea is impeached by the country's National Assembly in response to a major political scandal.
Two explosions outside a football stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, kill 38 people and injure 166 others.
A vehicular attack in Berlin, Germany, kills 12 and injures 56 people at a Christmas market.
Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov is assassinated while at an art exhibition in Ankara. The assassin, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, is shot and killed by a Turkish guard.
Aerosucre Flight 157 crashes during takeoff from Germán Olano Airport in Puerto Carreño, Colombia, killing five people.
A study finds the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus between 70 and 100% effective, making it the first proven vaccine against the disease.
A Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 92 people on board.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 2016 in the Japanese calendar?
2016 was Heisei 28 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 2016?
2016 is the Year of the Monkey.
How old is someone born in 2016?
They turn 10 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 2016?
In March 2016, the Hokkaido Shinkansen opened, and in April the Kumamoto earthquakes registered the maximum intensity of 7 on Japan's seismic scale. In May, Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, and in August Emperor Akihito publicly expressed his personal thoughts.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.