At A Glance

16 August 2012 at a glance

Day of the week
16 August 2012 was a Thursday.
Irish Chart Song in 2012
The Irish chart song for 2012 was “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye ft. Kimbra.
Top Film of 2012
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2012 was The Avengers.
Star sign
The star sign for 16 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 August 2012 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 August 2012 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 16 August

  • 1972 In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.
  • 1975 Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically hands over land to the Gurindji people after the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration.
  • 1989 A solar particle event affects computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, forcing a halt to trading.
  • 2008 The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at 1,389 feet (423 m), at the time becoming the world's highest residence above ground-level.
  • 2020 The August Complex fire in California burns more than one million acres of land.

Famous people born on 16 August

  • Madonna, American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and director (born 1958)
  • Sophie Cunningham, American basketball player (born 1996)
  • Jannik Sinner, Italian tennis player (born 2001)
  • James Cameron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1954)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 2012 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '2012 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 1 January – The Government stopped paying expenses to former taoisigh (prime ministers), while sweeping price increases for goods and services, and in value added tax (VAT), affected consumers when decisions announced in Budget 2012 came into effect.
  • 21 February – President Michael D. Higgins began his first official trip abroad when he went to London for three days, accompanied by his wife, Sabina.
  • 27 March – Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore announced the date of the referendum on the fiscal compact as Thursday 31 May.

Life in Ireland in 2012

Taoiseach

Enda Kenny

Petrol (per litre)

€1.58/L

Loaf of Bread

€1.42

Average House

€165,000

Weekly Wage

€400

Or

Browse by Year

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →