16 May It Happened Today

1703  Death of the French writer Charles Perrault.

1905  Birth of American actor Henry Fonda.

1919  Birth of American pianist Liberace.

1984  Death of American author Irwin Shaw.

1990  Death of American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.

1990  A Japanese businessman pays $82.5 million for Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr Cachet at Christie’s auction house.