May 16

Events

• 1922: Nikolaos Stratos forms a government. He will fail to win a vote of confidence and will quit 6 days later.
• 1927: The Greek Parliament decides that former dictator, Theodoros Pangalos, should stand trial.
• 1944: Sixteen inhabitants of the village of Saktouria in Rethymno prefecture, Crete, are executed by German occupation troops.
• 1948: The body of American journalist, George Polk, who had been missing for days, is found by fisherman, Lambros Antonaros, floating in the Thermaic Gulf.
• 1956: EOKA members Michalis Koutsoftas and Andreas Panagidis kill British Cpl. Patrick J. Hale in retaliation for the Karaolis-Dimitriou executions 6 days earlier.
• 1974: Work starts on the Athens Metro.
• 2007: The European Commission concludes that Cyprus fulfils the necessary conditions to adopt the euro and proposes that Cyprus do so on 1 January 2008.

Sports

• 1949: Greece lose 1-2 to Turkey at Leoforos Stadium for the East Mediterranean Friendship Cup
• 1973: Greek football referee Christos Michas officiates the European Cup Winners Cup final between AC Milan - Leeds Utd. (1-0) in Thessaloniki. He will be punished later by the Greek Football Federation for his many grievous errors which affected the outcome of the match.
• 1998: Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas is the first Greek to play in an English FA Cup final at Wembley (Newcastle - Arsenal 2-0)
• 2020: Four men die in a cave in Loutraki while searching for German World War II-loot.

Births

• 1948: Katia Dandoulaki, actress

Deaths

• 2020: Gene Rossides, Greek-American political appointee and political lobbyist
• 2025: Manolis Papadopoulos, footballer