Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/December 16
December 16: National Day in Bahrain (1971), Victory Day in Bangladesh (1971), Independence Day in Kazakhstan (1991).
- 1653 – The Protectorate: Oliver Cromwell (pictured) became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England.
- 1689 – The Parliament of England adopted the Bill of Rights, declaring that Englishmen possessed certain positive civil and political rights.
- 1850 – The Canterbury Pilgrims aboard Randolph and Charlotte-Jane arrived to settle Christchurch, New Zealand.
- 1944 – World War II: The Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany launched its final offensive in the western front, the Battle of the Bulge.
- 1971 – Pakistani forces in East Pakistan surrendered, ending the Indo-Pakistani War and the Bangladesh Liberation War.
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