Born in 1916

What things cost in 1916

1916 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1916 has the CPI alone.

Who was in charge in 1916

United States

Woodrow Wilson (President)

United Kingdom

George V (King); H. H. Asquith, then David Lloyd George (Prime minister)

Russian Empire

Nicholas II (Emperor)

Empire of China (1915–1916)

Yuan Shikai (Emperor); Lu Zhengxiang (Premier)

French Third Republic

Raymond Poincaré (President); Aristide Briand (President of the Council of ministers)

German Empire

Wilhelm II (Emperor); Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (Chancellor)

Empire of Japan

Taishō (Emperor); Ōkuma Shigenobu, then Terauchi Masatake (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1901–1950) (revision 1377869146), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1916 →

Famous people born in 1916

• April 5 – Gregory Peck, American actor (died 2003) source
• April 17 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan politician (died 2000) source
• February 8 – Betty Field, American actress (died 1973)] source
• July 1 – Olivia de Havilland, British-American film actress (died 2020) source
• 26 October – François Mitterrand, President of France from 1981 to 1995 (died 1996) source
• 13 September – Roald Dahl, author (died 1990) source
• 11 March – Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1995) source
• July 9 – Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 2005) source
• July 11 – Gough Whitlam, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (died 2014) source
• 22 October – Peter Brodie, Church of Scotland minister, Moderator of the General Assembly (died 1996) source
• September 23 – Aldo Moro, 38th Prime Minister of Italy (died 1978) source
• March 14 – Horton Foote, American writer (died 2009) source
• December 9 – Kirk Douglas, American film actor (Spartacus) (died 2020) source
• February 11 – Ivan Hristov Bashev, Bulgarian Foreign Minister (died 1971) source
• 8 June – Francis Crick, molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (died 2004) source

What happened in 1916

• January 12 – The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, part of the British Empire, is established in modern-day Tuvalu and Kiribati. source
• January 9 – WWI: Gallipoli Campaign – The last British troops are evacuated from Gallipoli, as the Ottoman Empire prevails over a joint British and French operation to capture Constantinople. source
• January 22 – Japan launches its first domestically manufactured blimp. The blimp left Tokorozawa at 1:30 p.m. and, after landing and refueling at Toyohashi, landed in Osaka at 5:10 p.m. the next day. source
• March - Inauguration of the Liljevalchs konsthall. source
• April 24–May 10 – Voyage of the James Caird: An open boat journey from Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean (800 nmi) is undertaken by Sir Ernest Shackleton and five companions, to obtain rescue for the main body of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, following the loss of its ship Endurance. source
• 5 March - The liner Príncipe de Asturias runs aground in fog on the shoals out of Ponta do Boi, in the island of Sao Sebastião, while trying to approach the port of Santos. At least 445 people out of the 588 aboard are killed. source
• February 11 – The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents its first concert in the United States. source
• 4 March – third war budget raises income tax to five shillings in the pound. source