Important Events From This day in History – 16 May

Today in History

• 1975 Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to conquer Mount Everest

  The Japanese adventurer’s ascent came 22 years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit.

• 1966 In China, the Cultural Revolution begins

  The publication of the May 16 notification marks the start of the ten-year political campaign launched by Mao Zedong. Its goal was to fortify communism by eliminating capitalist, traditional, and cultural elements from Chinese society.

• 1960 Theodore Maiman fires the first functional laser

  The invention of an American physicist, which was based on earlier research by scientists in the United States and the Soviet Union, was patented in 1967.

• 1929 The Oscars are awarded for the first time

  The first Academy Awards were given out at a private dinner attended by approximately 270 people. It is now the world’s most important entertainment awards show.

• 1919 Albert Cushing Read takes off on the first transatlantic flight in history

  The crossing from New York State, USA to Lisbon, Portugal on a Curtiss NC-4 flying boat took 19 days.