1978 - Roman Catholic Cardinals stun the world by electing a 58-year-old Pole, Karol Wojtyla, as successor to Pope John Paul I. The new Pope, who took the name of John Paul II, is the first non-Italian to be elected supreme Pontiff since 1522 and the first Pole ever to picked. News of his election was greeted with disbelief, amazement and joy in Poland and analysts said the election would give a big boost to the church in eastern Europe. The last non-Italian elected to the Papacy, Dutchman Adrian VI, was pelted with stones when he appeared in public to greet his flock for the first time. Archbischop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, came out on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica under a rising full moon as Pope John Paul II.
Other major events on October 16
1945 The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations is founded.
1951 The first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated in Rawalpindi.
1963 Ludwig Erhard becomes Chancellor of West Germany.
1988 Concorde make its first-ever landing at Abu Dhabi international airport.
1993 Omar Al Bashir becomes president of Sudan after being its military ruler for four years.
1994 Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government wins a thin majority in Germany’s elections.
1996 Fans try to squeeze into a World Cup qualifying soccer match in Guatemala City, killing 78 people in the crush.
1998 British police arrest former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London.
2003 UN Security Council votes unanimously to adopt a resolution on postwar Iraq.
2013 Typhoon Wipha hits Japan’s Pacific coast, leaving more than 19 people dead.
2014 Apple unveils iPad Air 2, the world’s slimmest tablet.
2017 Iraqi forces have taken full control of Kirkuk governor’s office.
