On this day in history - October 16

What Happened On This Day – October 16

• 1986 First Person to Scale all Eight-Thousanders

  Italian Mountaineer, Reinhold Messner, scaled the Lhotse, in Nepal. It is the world’s 4th tallest peak, and it is one of the 14 eight-thousanders – mountains that are more than 8000 meters above sea level.

• 1978 First Non-Italian to Win the Papacy since 1523

  Karol Józef Wojtyła, the Archbishop of Kraków, won the papal elections that were held after his predecessor Pope John Paul I died after only 33 days in office. As Pope, Wojtyła took on the name of John Paul II. He was the second-longest serving pope in modern history, after Pope Pius IX, who was in office for over 31 years.

• 1964 First Chinese Nuclear Test

  Codenamed Chic-1 or 596, the 22 kiloton uranium fission device was dropped at Lop Nur. With this test, China became the fifth nuclear power state in the World. The other four are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France. Israel is thought to have nuclear weapons, however, they do not publicly admit the fact.

• 1945 Food and Agriculture Organization established

  The Food and Agriculture Organization, popularly known as the FAO was established in Quebec City, Canada.

• 1923 The Walt Disney Company is Founded

  A leader in the international entertainment industry, the company was created by brothers Walt and Roy as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Today, the company is synonymous with cartoon and animated movies and characters.