Today in History.....August 16

On this day in …

1777, American forces won the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington

1812, Detroit fell to British and Indian forces

1841, former Whig ally President John Tyler vetoed a bill that would have established the Second Bank of the United States. The move sparked a riot outside the White House, as incensed -- and drunk -- members of the Whig party bombarded the White House with stones, fired their guns in the air and burned Tyler in effigy. In response to the outburst -- which still stands as the most violent demonstration ever held outside the White House -- the government formed the District of Columbia's police force

1861, President Lincoln prohibited the states of the Union from trading with the seceding states of the Confederacy

1912, the U.S. government sues the Motion Picture Patents Company. A week later, the court ruled that the company could not claim exclusive rights to the machines used in movie cameras. The ruling, along with subsequent court cases, ended the effective monopoly of the company, formed in 1908 by the nine leading film companies. The Patents Company refused to let other companies use their patented film equipment and distributed films only to theater owners who agreed to their terms. In 1913, the government continued its anti-trust suits against the company, and within four years the company's power had dissolved

1928, Carl Panzram, one of the 20th century's most evil criminals, is arrested in Washington, D.C.

1972, one year after he survived an abortive coup against his rule, King Hassan II of Morocco nearly perishes when the airliner carrying him back to Rabat was fired on by his own air force


1955, Paul Robeson loses his court appeal to try to force the Department of State to grant him a passport (In 1958, it was grudgingly restored)

2005, hundreds of defiant Jewish residents hunkered down in advance of a midnight deadline to leave Gaza