SUMMARY
On August 16, 1858, Queen Victoria and then US President James Buchanan exchanged the first ever telegraphic message, inaugurating the first transatlantic cable that connected British North America to Ireland. The first message by the Queen was a 98-word greeting that took almost 16 hours to send through the 3,200-km cable. Here are some more historical events that make August 16 special.
1 / 9
1954 | The first issue of the magazine Sports Illustrated was released, which soon became the leading sports magazine in the United States. (Image: eBay)
2 / 91969 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri won the presidential elections to become the fourth President of India. He won by a margin of less than 1 lakh votes, and he remains as the only president to win with less than 50 percent of the total votes. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
3 / 91977 | Famous American singer Elvis Presley, known as the“King of Rock and Roll”, died of a heart attack. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
4 / 91992 | British Williams Formula 1 driver Nigel Mansell clinched his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship at the Hungaroring. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
5 / 92003 | Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for Manchester United at the age of 18 in the Premier League. (Image: Shutterstock)
6 / 92008 | Star Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt set a new world record of 9.69 seconds to win gold at the 100m event at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. (Image: Shutterstock)
7 / 92018 | The Vatican and Pope Francis issued a historic statement in support of the 300 victims of "predator priests" in Pennsylvania. (Image: Shutterstock)
8 / 92020 | The largest-ever demonstration in Belarus took place as 100,000 people gathered in Minsk to protest against the controversial election of Alexander Lukashenko. (Image: Shutterstock)
9 / 92020 | Englishman Snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan clinched his record 6th world title at World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. (Image: Shutterstock)
