About the day » Thursday May 16, 1940Calender converter

• jacob middelbeek, Warder († 2002)
• Georges Bex, Jeuk, België († 2011)
• Derk Jan (Dick) Bijsterbosch, Wapenveld, Gelderland, Nederland (Gemeente Heerde) († 1990)
• Johannes Goverde († 2022)
• Elizabeth (Els) Maria Kamp, Den Haag, Nederland († 2012)
• Aaltje Venninga, Appingedam
• Jan Eisinga, Weiwerd († 1973)
• Jet Sins, Kaatsheuvel, Noord-Brabant, Nederland († 2016)
• Annie van Hal, Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, Nederland († 1997)
• Jan Pieters Rodenburg († 1996)

• Anna Maria Vossen (83), Nederweert
• Anna Maria Vossen (83)
• Adrianus Houweling (66), Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland
• Albert Van den Bogaert (23), Koningshooikt
• Anne de Vries (78), Emmen
• Anna Catharina Ceulen (6), Maastricht
• Aagje Ritsma (61), Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland
• Aagje Kornelis Ritsma (61), Amsterdam
• Anne de Vries (78), Emmen, Drenthe, Nederland
• Alphonsine HERBEN (61)

• 1937 » Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress († 2015)
• 1938 » Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist and academic
• 1938 » Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian television host and sexologist († 2018)
• 1938 » Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician († 2012)
• 1939 » Mario Segni, Italian professor and politician
• 1941 » Denis Hart, Australian archbishop
• 1942 » David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge († 2015)
• 1943 » Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany
• 1943 » Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician
• 1943 » Wieteke van Dort, Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist

• 1926 » Mehmed VI, Ottoman sultan (b. 1861)
• 1936 » Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (b. 1860)
• 1938 » Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870)
• 1943 » Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)
• 1944 » George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866)
• 1946 » Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890)
• 1947 » Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
• 1947 » Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903)
• 1953 » Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (b. 1910)
• 1954 » Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1893)

1. Jan
2. Johannes
3. Cornelis
4. Hendrik
5. Willem
6. Gerrit
7. Pieter
8. Jacob
9. Adrianus
10. Robert
11. Petrus
12. Jacobus
13. Wilhelmus
14. Gerardus
15. Dirk
16. Arie

1. Maria
2. Johanna
3. Anna
4. Cornelia
5. Elisabeth
6. Wilhelmina
7. Hendrika
8. Adriana
9. Catharina
10. Petronella
11. Geertruida
12. Jacoba
13. Annie
14. Margaretha
15. Marie
16. Helena

• Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from September 3, 1940 to July 27, 1941 the cabinet Gerbrandy I, with Prof. dr. P.S. Gerbrandy (ARP) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 8.8 million citizens.
• February 29 » In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco.
• June 14 » Seven hundred twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
• June 26 » World War II: Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.
• July 3 » World War II: The Royal Navy attacks the French naval squadron in Algeria, to ensure that it will not fall under German control. Of the four French battleships present, one is sunk, two are damaged, and one escapes back to France.
• September 15 » World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft.
• December 9 » World War II: Operation Compass: British and Indian troops under the command of Major-General Richard O'Connor attack Italian forces near Sidi Barrani in Egypt.

The temperature on May 16, 1940 was between 5.6 °C and 15.7 °C and averaged 10.3 °C. There was 9.4 hours of sunshine (60%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the northeast.