1862 Historical Events April 16 2 sources

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

Name: American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Colu
Start: 1862

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