Today in History, October 16th
On October 16, 1859, John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry. Plus Marie Antoinette's execution.
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October 16 is best known for John Brown’s 1859 raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, a failed uprising that pushed the country closer to civil war. The date also saw Marie Antoinette go to the guillotine in 1793 and Karol Wojtyła elected Pope John Paul II in 1978.
The big story: John Brown Raids Harpers Ferry (1859)
John Brown had failed at nearly every business he tried, but he never wavered on one goal: ending slavery by force. He had already fought proslavery settlers in Kansas, and by 1857 a group of wealthy Northern backers known as the Secret Six was funding him. He rented a farm in Maryland near Harpers Ferry, Virginia, a river town with a federal armory. On the night of October 16, 1859, Brown led 22 men, among them five Black men and three of his own sons, across the river. They seized the armory and took a few hostages, hoping enslaved people in the area would rise up and join them. That did not happen. By morning the raiders were surrounded, and U.S. Marines under Colonel Robert E. Lee soon arrived to finish the job. Ten of Brown’s men died, two of his sons among them. Brown was captured, tried by Virginia for treason and murder, and hanged on December 2. The raid failed, but it hardened feelings on both sides and made compromise between North and South far harder.
More events on October 16
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1793 | Marie Antoinette, the former queen of France, was executed by guillotine in Paris, nine months after her husband, Louis XVI. |
| 1813 | Napoleon’s army clashed with Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Swedish forces at the start of the Battle of Leipzig, known as the Battle of the Nations. |
| 1846 | William T.G. Morton showed that ether could put a surgical patient to sleep, in a public demonstration at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. |
| 1869 | A stone “giant” was “discovered” in Cardiff, New York. The Cardiff Giant was later revealed to be a hoax. |
| 1916 | Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S., in Brooklyn, New York. |
| 1923 | Walt and Roy Disney founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, the company that became Walt Disney Company. |
| 1946 | Ten Nazi leaders sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials, including Joachim von Ribbentrop, were hanged. |
| 1964 | China tested its first atomic bomb, becoming the world’s fifth nuclear power. |
| 1968 | U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave a Black Power salute on the medal stand at the Mexico City Olympics and were then sent home from the Games. |
| 1978 | Cardinal Karol Wojtyła of Poland was elected pope and took the name John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. |
| 1995 | The Million Man March brought a huge crowd of mostly African American men to the National Mall in Washington. |
Born on October 16
- 1854: Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and wit, author of The Importance of Being Earnest.
- 1888: Eugene O’Neill, playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1925: Angela Lansbury, London-born actress of stage, film and TV.
Keep reading
Sources
- John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry, History.com
- What Happened on October 16, History.com
- On This Day: October 16, Britannica
- Oscar Wilde, Britannica
- Eugene O’Neill, Britannica
- Angela Lansbury, Britannica
