October 16 Birthday
Marie Antoinette was executed on October 16, 1793, at the Place de la Révolution. She was thirty-seven. She had been queen for nineteen years and had been imprisoned since August 1792. The Revolution had killed her husband, Louis XVI, in January. Her last words were an apology to the executioner for stepping on his foot. She never said "Let them eat cake" — that phrase appeared in Rousseau's writings when Marie was a child. She was buried in an unmarked grave. Her remains were recovered and buried at Saint-Denis in 1815. Pope John Paul II was elected on October 16, 1978. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in 1522, and the first Polish pope. His election was seen as a challenge to Soviet communism — a Polish pope would inspire the Polish people. It did. His visits to Poland drew millions and are credited with helping end communist rule. People born on October 16 fall under the zodiac sign of Libra. The birthstone is Opal and the birth flower is Marigold. Historical events on October 16 include 1793: Marie Antoinette executed by guillotine in Paris, 1964: China detonates its first atomic bomb, 1978: Cardinal Karol Wojtyła elected Pope John Paul II (first non-Italian in 455 years). Famous people born on October 16 include Eugene O'Neill (1888), Angela Lansbury (1925), Tim Robbins (1958).