December 16 Birthday
On December 16, 1773, approximately fifty men, some disguised as Mohawk warriors, boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea — 92,000 pounds, worth about $1.7 million today — into the water. The action was a protest against the Tea Act, which gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. The protest was organized by the Sons of Liberty. Benjamin Franklin called the action "an act of violent injustice." John Adams called it "so bold, so daring, so firm, intrepid and inflexible." Parliament responded with the Intolerable Acts, which closed Boston Harbor and triggered the Revolution. On December 16, 1944, the German army launched its last major offensive of World War II through the Ardennes forest in Belgium and Luxembourg. The attack surprised the Allies, who believed Germany was incapable of a large offensive. The weather grounded Allied air power for the first week. The battle lasted six weeks. 19,000 Americans were killed and 60,000 wounded. The "Bulge" was the largest battle fought by the US Army in World War II. People born on December 16 fall under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius. The birthstone is Tanzanite and the birth flower is Holly. Historical events on December 16 include 1773: Boston Tea Party — colonists dump 342 chests of British tea into harbor, 1944: Battle of the Bulge begins — last major German offensive, 1971: Bangladesh gains independence from Pakistan after nine-month war. Famous people born on December 16 include Jane Austen (1775), Arthur C. Clarke (1917), Liv Ullmann (1938).