1. On November 16, 1916, the first woman elected to the Illinois General Assembly, Florence Fifer Bohrer, was born in Bloomington, Illinois. She served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1951 to 1957 and was instrumental in enacting legislation to benefit children and women.

2. In 1933, the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright presented his design for the Illinois Institute of Technology campus at a meeting held on November 16. The campus, which was completed in the late 1940s, is considered a masterpiece of modern architecture.

3. November 16, 1862, marked the day of the "Great Westerner" disaster, one of the worst train accidents in Illinois history. The accident occurred when a train carrying Union soldiers derailed near Camp Douglas, killing more than forty and injuring nearly seventy.

4. On November 16, 2004, Illinois Senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States, becoming the first African American to do so. He went on to win the presidency in 2008 and serve two terms as America's first black president.

5. On November 16, 1985, the Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys 44-0 in a game that has since become known as "The Fridge Game." The game was notable for William "The Refrigerator" Perry's touchdown run, which has become one of the most iconic moments in NFL history.