This Day in History: April 16

Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 16.

In 1889, famed actor and director Charlie Chaplin is born in London, England. Having grown up in poverty, he quickly developed comedic skills as a means of survival. He’d join Keystone Studios in 1914 for $175 a week (or around $5,500 in 2026). However, his mustachioed persona known as Charlie the Tramp would skyrocket his popularity. He’d later join Essanay Studios for $1,250 per week (or about $41,000 in 2026), and then Mutual Film Corporation for $10,000 per week (or about $326,000 in 2026). Having always resisted sound in film, he wouldn’t embrace it until 1940 with his film The Great Dictator. Chaplin passed away in 1977 at the age of 88 in Switzerland. Graverobbers stole his grave and held it for ransom the following year in 1978. It was found buried in a nearby village and reinterred in Corsier-sur-Vevey.

In 1947, a French sea vessel called the Grandcamp explodes in Texas City, TX, killing 581 people and injuring thousands. The explosion resulted from a fire that later ignited the ship’s cargo, which was about 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate – a component used for fertilizer. It’s believed the fire was caused from a lit cigarette discarded from one of the ship’s crewmen. The explosion was said to have literally blown the Grandcamp into bits, with chunks of the ship being flown at supersonic speed across the port. It triggered a 15-foot-tall tsunami and a shockwave that leveled nearby buildings.