August 16: Not a good day for entertainment and literature history.
On this day in:

1886: Ned Buntline, inventor of the dime novel western, that created Buffalo Bill, dies.

1949: Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind, dies from being hit by a car.

1956: Bela Lugosi, famed portrayer of Dracula in movies, dies.

BUT, biggest of all

1948: George Herman "Babe" Ruth dies at age 53.

Or if you are not a baseball fan,
On this day in 1977, the King died.