2016

This article is about the year 2016.

2016 (MMXVI) is the current year, and is a leap year starting on Friday (dominical letter CB) of the Gregorian calendar, the 2016th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 16th year of the 3rd millennium, the 16th year of the 21st century, and the 7th year of the 2010s decade.

2016 has been designated as:

International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.^[1]
International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by The International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), and the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH).^[2]

Events

January

January 3 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabia ends its diplomatic relations with Iran.^[3]
January 8 – Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison.^[4]
January 16 – The International Atomic Energy Agency announces that Iran has adequately dismantled its nuclear weapons program, allowing the United Nations to lift sanctions immediately.^[5]
January 28 – The World Health Organization announces an outbreak of the Zika virus.^[6]

February

February 7 – North Korea launches a long-range rocket into space, violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world.^[7]
February 12 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.^[8]

March

March 14 – The ESA and Roscosmos launch the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars.^[9]
March 21 – The International Criminal Court finds former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the first time the ICC convicted someone of sexual violence.^[10]
March 22 – Three coordinated bombings in Brussels, Belgium kill at least 32 and injure at least 250. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attacks.^[11]
March 24 – Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić is sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian War.^[12]
March 27 – A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore kills 75 people and injures around 340 others with a millitant Sunni Islamic organization claiming responsibility for targeting Christians celebrating Easter.

April

April 2 – Clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani military in Nagorno-Karabakh kill at least 193 people, which becomes the heaviest breach of the 1994 ceasefire.^[13]
April 3 – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung publishes a set of 11.5 million confidential documents from the Panamanian corporate Mossack Fonseca that provides detailed information on more than 214,000 offshore companies, including the identities of shareholders and directors including noted personalities and heads of state.^[14]

May

May 19 – EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes with 66 people on board over the Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo.^[15]
May 30 – Former Chadian President Hissène Habré is sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during his tenure from 1982 to 1990, the first time an African Union-backed court convicted a former ruler of a country within its jurisdiction.^[16]

June

June 1 – The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest railway tunnel, is opened following two decades of construction work.^[17]
June 23 – The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union.^[18]
June 28 – ISIL claims responsibility for attacking Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, killing 45 and injuring around 230.^[19]

July

July 1 – Latvia becomes the 35th member of the OECD.^[20]
July 4 – NASA's Juno spacecraft enters orbit around Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.^[21]
July 12 – The Philippines wins the arbitration case they filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the legality of China's "Nine-Dash Line" claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.^[22]^[23]
July 22 – The final videocassette recorder is manufactured by the Japanese company Funai.^[24]^[25]
July 26 – Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.^[26]

August

August 5–21 – The 2016 Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[27]
August 31 – The Brazilian Senate votes (61–20) to impeach the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff. The Vice President of Brazil, Michel Temer, who had assumed the presidential powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil during Rousseff's suspension, takes office for the remainder of her term.^[28]

September

September 3 – The US and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both ratify the Paris global climate agreement.^[29]
September 8 – NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe will visit Bennu and is expected to return with samples in 2023.^[30]^[31]
September 9 – The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with the South calling it "maniacal recklessness".^[32]
September 28 – International investigators conclude that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Buk missile that came from an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels.^[33]
September 28 – Global CO2 levels exceed 400ppm at the time of year normally associated with minimum levels ^[34] A 400 ppm level is believed to be higher than anything experienced in human history.^[35]
September 30 – Two paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Seascape at Scheveningen and Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen, stolen on December 7, 2002 from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam are recovered, with a combined value of $100 million.^[36]

October

October 13 – The Maldives announces its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations.^[37]
October 15 – 150 nations meeting at the UNEP summit in Rwanda agree to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as an amendment to the Montreal Protocol.^[38]

November

Predicted and scheduled events

Date unknown

The right of the United States Armed Forces to use Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands as a military base will end, but there will be a provision for an automatic 20-year extension of their lease.^[39]

Births

February 5 – Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, heir apparent to the throne of Bhutan
March 2 – Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne
April 19 – Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland

Deaths

Main article: Deaths in 2016

Further information: Category:2016 deaths

January

January 1 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer (b. 1930)
January 2
- Michel Delpech, French singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1946)
- Sheikh Nimr, Saudi Arabian Shia religious leader (b. 1959)
January 3
- Paul Bley, Canadian pianist (b. 1932)
- Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist (b. 1928)
January 4 – Michel Galabru, French actor (b. 1922)
January 5 – Pierre Boulez, French composer, conductor and writer (b. 1925)
January 6 – Silvana Pampanini, Italian actress (b. 1925)
January 7
- Princess Ashraf of Iran (b. 1919)
- André Courrèges, French fashion designer (b. 1923)
January 8 – Maria Teresa de Filippis, Italian racing driver (b. 1926)
January 9 – Angus Scrimm, American actor (b. 1926)
January 10 – David Bowie, English singer, songwriter and actor (b. 1947)
January 14
- René Angélil, Canadian singer and manager (b. 1942)
- Alan Rickman, English actor and director (b. 1946)
January 18
- Glenn Frey, American musician (b. 1948)
- Michel Tournier, French writer (b. 1924)
January 19 – Ettore Scola, Italian screenwriter and film director (b. 1931)
January 23 – Jimmy Bain, Scottish musician (b. 1947)
January 24 – Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist (b. 1927)
January 26
- Black, British singer-songwriter (b. 1962)
- Abe Vigoda, American actor (b. 1921)
January 28
- Paul Kantner, American singer and musician (b. 1941)
- Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
January 29
- Jean-Marie Doré, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (b. 1938)
- Jacques Rivette, French film director and critic (b. 1928)
January 30
- Frank Finlay, British actor (b. 1926)
- Francisco Flores Pérez, President of El Salvador (b. 1959)
January 31 – Terry Wogan, Irish-British broadcaster (b. 1938)

February

Edgar Mitchell

Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Harper Lee

February 1 – Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, 27th President of Guatemala (b. 1930)
February 3
- Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (b. 1952)
- Maurice White, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
February 4 – Edgar Mitchell, American astronaut (b. 1930)
February 9 – Sushil Koirala, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1939)
February 13
- Trifon Ivanov, Bulgarian footballer (b. 1965)
- Slobodan Santrač, Serbian football player and manager (b. 1946)
- Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court Justice (b. 1936)
February 15 – George Gaynes, Dutch-born American actor (b. 1917)
February 16 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the UN (b. 1922)
February 17
- Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (b. 1923)
- Andrzej Żuławski, Polish film director and writer (b. 1940)
February 19
- Umberto Eco, Italian writer and philosopher (b. 1932)
- Harper Lee, American writer (b. 1926)
February 22 – Douglas Slocombe, British cinematographer (b. 1913)
February 23 – Donald E. Williams, American astronaut (b. 1942)
February 25 – Tony Burton, American actor (b. 1937)
February 28 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
February 29
- Hannes Löhr, German footballer (b. 1942)
- José Parra Martínez, Spanish footballer (b. 1925)

March

March 5
- Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese spiritual leader (b. 1932)
- Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Austrian conductor (b. 1929)
- Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer (b. 1941)
March 6 – Nancy Reagan, American actress, First Lady of the United States (b. 1921)
March 8
- George Martin, English record producer, composer, arranger and engineer (b. 1926)
- Claus Ogerman, German conductor and composer (b. 1930)
March 9 – Naná Vasconcelos, Brazilian jazz percussionist and vocalist (b. 1944)
March 10
- Anita Brookner, British novelist (b. 1928)
- Keith Emerson, British musician (b. 1944)
- Roberto Perfumo, Argentine footballer and sport commentator (b. 1942)
March 11
- Iolanda Balaș, Romanian athlete (b. 1936)
- Dragan Nikolić, Serbian actor (b. 1943)
March 12 – Lloyd Shapley, American Nobel mathematician (b. 1923)
March 13 – Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1926)
March 14 – Peter Maxwell Davies, English composer and conductor (b. 1934)
March 17
- Meir Dagan, Israeli general and former Director of Mossad (b. 1945)
- Larry Drake, American actor (b. 1949)
March 18
- Lothar Späth, German politician (b. 1937)
- Guido Westerwelle, German politician (b. 1961)
March 20 – Anker Jørgensen, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1922)
March 21 – Andrew Grove, Hungarian-American electronic executive (b. 1936)
March 22 – Rob Ford, Canadian politician (b. 1969)
March 23 – Ken Howard, American actor (b. 1944)
March 24
- Roger Cicero, German jazz and pop musician (b. 1970)
- Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1947)
- Garry Shandling, American actor and comedian (b. 1949)
March 26 – Raúl Cárdenas, Mexican footballer and coach (b. 1928)
March 29 – Patty Duke, American actress (b. 1946)
March 31
- Georges Cottier, Swiss cardinal (b. 1922)
- Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician (b. 1927)
- Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-British architect (b. 1950)
- Imre Kertész, Hungarian Nobel author (b. 1929)

April

Patricio Aylwin

Prince

Banharn Silpa-archa

April 2
- Amber Rayne, American pornographic actress (b. 1984)
- Gato Barbieri, Argentine jazz saxophonist (b. 1932)
April 3
- Cesare Maldini, Italian football player and manager (b. 1932)
- Kōji Wada, Japanese rock singer (b. 1974)
April 4 – Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (b. 1930)
April 6 – Merle Haggard, American country singer (b. 1937)
April 8 – Erich Rudorffer, German fighter ace (b. 1917)
April 12
- Balls Mahoney, American professional wrestler (b. 1972)
- Arnold Wesker, British playwright (b. 1932)
April 16 – Louis Pilot, Luxembourgian football player and manager (b. 1940)
April 17 – Doris Roberts, American actress (b. 1925)
April 19
- Patricio Aylwin, 32nd President of Chile (b. 1918)
- Ronit Elkabetz, Israeli actress and film director (b. 1964)
- Walter Kohn, Austrian-born American Nobel physicist (b. 1923)
April 20
- Guy Hamilton, British film director (b. 1922)
- Chyna, American professional wrestler (b. 1969)
April 21 – Prince, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (b. 1958)
April 23 – Banharn Silpa-archa, 21st Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1932)
April 24
- Billy Paul, American singer (b. 1934)
- Klaus Siebert, German Olympic biathlete (b. 1955)
- Papa Wemba, Congolese singer (b. 1949)
April 25 – Martin Gray, Polish writer (b. 1922)
April 26 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (b. 1937)
April 27 – Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian-Swiss chess Grandmaster (b. 1957)
April 30 – Harry Kroto, English Nobel chemist (b. 1939)

May

Margot Honecker

Marco Pannella

Loris Francesco Capovilla

Mohamed Abdelaziz

May 1 – Solomon W. Golomb, American mathematician (b. 1932)
May 2 – Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman (b. 1947)
May 4
- Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, 2nd President of Burundi (b. 1946)
- Bob Bennett, American politician (b. 1933)
May 5
- Siné, French political cartoonist (b. 1928)
- Isao Tomita, Japanese composer (b. 1932)
May 6 – Margot Honecker, East German politician (b. 1927)
May 8 – William Schallert, American actor (b. 1922)
May 16 – Giovanni Coppa, Italian cardinal (b. 1925)
May 17
- Guy Clark, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- Yūko Mizutani, Japanese voice actress (b. 1964)
May 19
- Alexandre Astruc, French film critic and director (b. 1923)
- Marco Pannella, Italian politician (b. 1930)
- Alan Young, English-Canadian actor (b. 1919)
May 21
- Sándor Tarics, Hungarian Olympic water polo player (b. 1913)
- Nick Menza, German-born American drummer (Megadeth) (b. 1964)
May 22 – Bata Živojinović, Serbian actor and politician (b. 1933)
May 26
- Loris Francesco Capovilla, Italian cardinal (b. 1915)
- Arturo Pomar, Spanish chess grandmaster (b. 1931)
May 28
- Giorgio Albertazzi, Italian actor (b. 1923)
- David Cañada, Spanish cyclist (b. 1975)
May 31
- Mohamed Abdelaziz, 3rd Secretary-General of the Polisario Front (b. 1947)
- Corry Brokken, Dutch singer (b. 1932)
- Antonio Imbert Barrera, Dominican politician (b. 1920)

June

Muhammad Ali

Gordie Howe

Anton Yelchin

June 2 – Tom Kibble, British physicist (b. 1932)
June 3
- Luis Salom, Spanish motorcycle racer (b. 1991)
- Muhammad Ali, American boxer (b. 1942)
June 5 – Jerome Bruner, American psychologist (b. 1915)
June 6
- Kimbo Slice, Bahamian-born American mixed martial artist (b. 1974)
- Peter Shaffer, British playwright and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- Viktor Korchnoi, Russian-born Swiss chess grandmaster (b. 1931)
June 7 – Stephen Keshi, Nigerian footballer and manager (b. 1962)
June 8
- Pierre Aubert, Swiss politician (b. 1927)
- Qahhor Mahkamov, 1st President of Tajikistan (b. 1932)
June 10
- Gordie Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1928)
- Christina Grimmie, American singer (b. 1994)
June 11 – Rudi Altig, German road racing cyclist (b. 1937)
June 12 – George Voinovich, American politician (b. 1936)
June 18 – Vittorio Merloni, Italian entrepreneur (b. 1933)
June 19
- Victor Stănculescu, Romanian general and politician (b. 1928)
- Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American actor (b. 1989)
June 20 – Edgard Pisani, French politician (b. 1918)
June 23
- Michael Herr, American writer, journalist and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- Ralph Stanley, American bluegrass musician (b. 1927)
June 25 – Maurice G. Dantec, French writer (b. 1959)
June 27
- Bud Spencer, Italian actor (b. 1929)
- Alvin Toffler, American writer and futurist (b. 1928)
June 28
- Scotty Moore, American guitarist (b. 1931)
- Pat Summitt, American basketball coach (b. 1952)
June 30 – Martin Lundström, Swedish cross country skier (b. 1918)

July

July 1 – Yves Bonnefoy, French poet (b. 1923)
July 2
- Michael Cimino, American screenwriter and film director (b. 1939)
- Rudolf E. Kálmán, Hungarian-born American electrical engineer (b. 1930)
- Patrick Manning, 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1946)
- Michel Rocard, Prime Minister of France (b. 1930)
- Elie Wiesel, Romanian-born American Nobel writer and political activist (b. 1928)
July 4 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director (b. 1940)
July 6 – Turgay Şeren, Turkish footballer (b. 1932)
July 8
- Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistani philanthropist, social activist, ascetic and humanitarian (b. 1928)
- William H. McNeill, Canadian-American historian and author (b. 1917)
July 9 – Silvano Piovanelli, Italian cardinal (b. 1924)
July 12 – Goran Hadžić, Serbian politician and alleged war criminal (b. 1958)
July 13
- Héctor Babenco, Argentine-Brazilian film director (b. 1946)
- Bernardo Provenzano, Italian criminal (b. 1933)
- Zygmunt Zimowski, Polish bishop (b. 1949)
July 14 – Péter Esterházy, Hungarian writer (b. 1950)
July 16 – Nate Thurmond, American basketball player (b. 1941)
July 19
- Garry Marshall, American film director, television producer and actor (b. 1934)
- Anthony D. Smith, British historical sociologist (b. 1939)
July 22 – Ursula Franklin, German-born Canadian scientist (b. 1921)
July 23 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1926)
July 24 – Marni Nixon, American vocalist (b. 1930)
July 25
- Halil İnalcık, Turkish historian (b. 1916)
- Dwight Jones, American basketball player (b. 1952)
- Tim LaHaye, American evangelist and author (b. 1926)
July 27
- Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (b. 1928)
- Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1915)
- Jerry Doyle, American talk show host and actor (b. 1956)
July 28
- Mahasweta Devi, Indian social activist and writer (b. 1926)
- Vladica Kovačević, Serbian footballer (b. 1940)
- Émile Derlin Zinsou, 4th President of Dahomey (b. 1918)
July 30 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress (b. 1925)
July 31
- Seymour Papert, South African-born American mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1928)
- Fazil Iskander, Russian writer (b. 1929)
- Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1955)