On This Day for October 16 - Marie-Antoinette guillotined, Günter Grass is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, [click here to view](. October 16 [Grass, Günter] FEATURED BIOGRAPHY 1927 Günter Grass The literary conscience of the generation that grew up in [Nazi Germany]( [Günter Grass]( poet, novelist, playwright, and 1999 winner of the [Nobel Prize]( for Literature, was born this day in 1927 in Danzig (now [Gdańsk]( Poland). [SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY]( [Marie-Antoinette] FEATURED EVENT 1793 Marie-Antoinette guillotined After the [French Revolution]( began, [Marie-Antoinette]( queen consort of [Louis XVI]( was targeted by agitators who, enraged by her extravagance and attempts to save the monarchy, ultimately [guillotined]( her on this day in 1793. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY [China] 1964: [China]( eager to join the nuclear race, successfully detonated its first [atomic bomb](. [Joachim von Ribbentrop.] 1946: Ten of the 12 defendants sentenced to death at the [Nürnberg trials]( including [Joachim von Ribbentrop]( and [Ernst Kaltenbrunner]( were executed. [Brown, John] 1859: [John Brown]( a militant [abolitionist]( made his legendary raid on the U.S. arsenal at [Harpers Ferry](. [William Thomas Green Morton administering ether anesthesia during the first successful public demonstration of its use during surgery, undated engraving.] 1846: [William Thomas Green Morton]( first demonstrated the use of [ether]( as a general [anesthetic]( before a gathering of physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. [The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David, 1812; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.] 1813: [Napoleon]( led his troops against an allied force of Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Swedish troops during the [Battle of Leipzig](. [Papp, László] 2003: Hungarian boxer [László Papp]( was the first three-time [Olympic]( [boxing]( champion, winning gold medals in 1948, 1952, and 1956—died in Budapest. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1854 Oscar Wilde Irish author 1977 John Mayer American singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1925 Angela Lansbury American actress 1908 Enver Hoxha prime minister of Albania 1890 Michael Collins Irish statesman 1936 Andrei Chikatilo Soviet serial killer [SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY]( FOLLOW: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, [click here](. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2018 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. [Privacy Policy]( • [Help](