1862 164 years ago Historical Events April 16 2 sources

American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law.

On April 16, in the year 1862, American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of April 16, one of 433 recorded events on this date across all of history.

An Act for the Release of certain Persons held to Service or Labor in the District of Columbia, 37th Cong., Sess. 2, ch. 54, 12 Stat. 376, known colloquially as the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act or simply Compensated Emancipation Act, was a law that ended slavery in the District of Columbia, while providing enslavers who remained loyal to the United States in the then-ongoing Civil War to petition for compensation. Although not written by him, the act was signed by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862. April 16 is now celebrated in the city as Emancipation Day.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on April 16, 1862 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 16 March 2026.

On This Date in History 433

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Apr 16 Nora Aunor, Filipino actress and recording artist (born 1953)
Historical Events 2024 Apr 16 The historic Børsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, is severely damaged by a fire
Notable Deaths 2024 Apr 16 Carl Erskine, American baseball player (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2024 Apr 16 Bob Graham, American lawyer, author, and politician, 38th governor of Florida (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2021 Apr 16 Andrew Peacock, Australian politician (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2021 Apr 16 Helen McCrory, British actress (born 1968)
Notable Deaths 2021 Apr 16 Liam Scarlett, British choreographer (born 1986)
Notable Deaths 2021 Apr 16 John Dawes, Welsh rugby union player (born 1940)
Historical Events 2018 Apr 16 The New York Times and The New Yorker win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for breaking news of the Harvey Weinstei
Notable Deaths 2018 Apr 16 Harry Anderson, American actor and magician (born 1952)
Historical Events 2016 Apr 16 Ecuador's worst earthquake in nearly 40 years kills 676 and injures more than 230,000
Notable Deaths 2015 Apr 16 Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2015 Apr 16 Stanislav Gross, Czech lawyer and politician, fifth Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (born 1969)
Historical Events 2014 Apr 16 The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks near Jindo Island, killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to wid
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 16 Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 16 Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 16 Ernst Florian Winter, Austrian-American historian and political scientist (born 1923)
Selected Events 2014 Apr 16 The ferry MV Sewol capsized and sank off Donggeochado, South Korea, killing 306 people, mainly students from Danwon High
Historical Events 2013 Apr 16 A 7
Historical Events 2013 Apr 16 The 2013 Baga massacre is started when Boko Haram militants engage government soldiers in Baga
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 16 Charles Bruzon, Gibraltarian politician (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 16 Ali Kafi, Algerian politician (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 16 Siegfried Ludwig, Austrian politician, 18th Governor of Lower Austria (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 16 Pentti Lund, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 16 George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (born 1909)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 16 Pat Summerall, American football player and sportscaster (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 16 Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and National Museum of Anthropology (born
Historical Events 2012 Apr 16 The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway
Historical Events 2012 Apr 16 The Pulitzer Prize winners are announced
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 16 Sári Barabás, Hungarian soprano (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 16 Marian Biskup, Polish author and academic (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 16 Alan Hacker, English clarinet player and conductor (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 16 George Kunda, Zambian lawyer and politician, 11th Vice-President of Zambia (born 1956)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 16 Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish businessman (born 1913)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 16 Carlo Petrini, Italian footballer and coach (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2011 Apr 16 Gerry Alexander, Jamaican cricketer and veterinarian (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2011 Apr 16 Allan Blakeney, Canadian scholar and politician, tenth Premier of Saskatchewan (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2011 Apr 16 Sol Saks, American screenwriter and producer (born 1910)
Notable Deaths 2010 Apr 16 Rasim Delić, Bosnian general and convicted war criminal (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2010 Apr 16 Daryl Gates, American police officer, created the D
Notable Deaths 2009 Apr 16 Michael Martin Dwyer, Irish security guard (born 1984)
Notable Deaths 2009 Apr 16 Eduardo Rózsa-Flores, Bolivian-Hungarian-Croatian mercenary, journalist, and actor (born 1960)
Historical Events 2008 Apr 16 The U
Notable Deaths 2008 Apr 16 Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (born 1917)
Historical Events 2007 Apr 16 Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho murders 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide
Notable Deaths 2007 Apr 16 Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (born 1909)
Notable Deaths 2007 Apr 16 Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1962)
Notable Deaths 2007 Apr 16 Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2007 Apr 16 Chandrabose Suthaharan, Sri Lankan journalist
Selected Events 2007 Apr 16 In one of the deadliest shooting incidents in United States history, a gunman killed 32 people and wounded over 20 more

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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