| Maratha's crowned Shahaalam as king of Delhi. |
| 16-October-1878 |
| Vallathol Narayana Menon, great freedom fighter, poet and writer, was born at Chennara village in Kerala. |
| 16-October-1896 |
| Govindas Seth, hindi litterateur and politician, was born. |
| 16-October-1905 |
| Bengal was partitioned by Lord Curzon on the pretext of it being too big to administer. Instead of dividing it on the basis of non-Bengali areas, the division was on the basis of Hindus and Muslims. Britishers thought that would succeed in increasing Hindu - Muslim tensions. The tremor of partition was felt throughout India and was regarded as an insult and challenge to Indian Nationalism. A movement was launched by the moderates. New method of protests 'Swadeshi and Swaraj' became the slogan of the common man and the whole of India was drawn into the n]ational movement. |
| 16-October-1906 |
| Shankar Damodar Chitale, famous author and teacher, was born in Secundarabad. |
| 16-October-1920 |
| B. Sathyaji Rao, cricket Test umpire for 17 tests from 1960-79, was born in Karnataka. |
| 16-October-1922 |
| M.V. Desai, social reformer and journalist, was born. |
| 16-October-1936 |
| 35 killed in Hindu-Muslim riots at Bombay. |
| 16-October-1942 |
| Cyclone in Bay of Bengal kills some 40,000 people in south of Calcutta, India. |
| 16-October-1945 |
| Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) established. |
| 16-October-1952 |
| Pakistan's first Test vs India starts at Delhi. |
| 16-October-1959 |
| National Council of Women's Education was inaugurated in New Delhi. |
| 16-October-1968 |
| Hargovind Khorana, Indian scientist, was awarded 1968 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology on man-made synthetic gene. |
| 16-October-1971 |
| David Jude Johnson, cricketer (Karnataka fast bowler, India 1996), was born in Arasikere. |
| 16-October-1976 |
| Jalgaon Radio Station started broadcasting. |
| 16-October-1978 |
| Test debut of Kapil Dev, India vs Pakistan, at Faisalabad. |
| 16-October-1983 |
| Harish Chandra, great Indian scientist, died. His work in a narrow branch of modern mathematics led to its developement to such an extent that it drew the attention of mathematicians all over the world. |
| 16-October-1990 |
| Dr. Nelson Mandela, conferred with 'Bharat Ratna', the highest civilian honour. |
| 16-October-1990 |
| Om Shivpuri, famous film and theatre artist, died. |
| 16-October-1992 |
| Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal of Azad Hind Fauz died. During the trial at the Red Fort, he said, "Beacuse I wanted freedom for my motherland, I was ready to shed my blood for it". |
| 16-October-1994 |
| CIA connection to CN Annadurai alleged in book on Seshan, Jayalalitha obtains stay. |
| 16-October-1994 |
| IRS P-2 successfully placed in orbit. |
| 16-October-1997 |
| Queen Elizabeth visits Kalakshetra where she witnesses Bharatanatyam show and film shooting at MGR Film City, Taramani in Chennai. She also goes to Kancheepuram and Sriperumbudur (Rajiv Gandhi memorial). |
| 16-October-1999 |
| A woman is elected as the Speaker of the Sikkim Assembly. |
| 16-October-1999 |
| Geet Sethi bagged the Fred Davis award as the "Billiards Player of the Year 1998-99". |
| 16-October-1999 |
| Indian women claimed bronze in the Asian team chess championship in Shenyang. |
| 16-October-1999 |
| Congress (I)-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine is invited to form the Government in Maharashtra. Vilasrao Deshmukh to be sworn in as Chief Minister. |
| 16-October-1999 |
| Dr. Najma Heptulla, Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, is elected president of the 138-nation Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). |
| 16-October-2000 |
| Rest of India wins the Irani Trophy cricket tournament. Murali Karthik scalps nine for 70, the best figures by a bowler in 38 Irani cup matches. |