Important Events From This day in History – 16th November

Today in History

• 2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone released

  The film adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s popular book of the same name starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and followed Potter’s first year at Hogwarts, a magical school.

• 1988 Estonians declare sovereignty from USSR

  As part of the Singing Revolution, Estonians issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration. The Declaration declared Estonian sovereignty over the Soviet Union and established Estonian law as superior to Soviet law. The day is now known as the Declaration of Sovereignty Day.

• 1965 Soviets launch Venera 3

  It was the first space probe to land on another planet, Venus, as part of the Venera program. Unfortunately, it was unable to send any data back to Earth due to technical difficulties. Venera 7 was the first space probe to transmit data from another planet to Earth.

• 1945 UNESCO founded

  The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization is a branch of the UN that promotes peace and well-being through education, scientific collaboration, and cultural understanding and exchange. It has 195 state members and is headquartered in Paris, France.

• 1940 Warsaw ghetto sealed

  The Warsaw Ghetto, the largest Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland, was established by German decree in October 1940. According to the decree, all Jews in the city were required to relocate to the ghetto, surrounded by a 10-foot wall and guarded 24 hours a day by soldiers and police. In 1943, the ghetto witnessed one of the largest Jewish uprisings of the Second World War.