1916 in France

← 1915 1914 1913 1916 in France → 1917 1918 1919
Decades:	1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s
See also:	Other events of 1916 Timeline of French history

Events from the year 1916 in France.

Events

• 29 January - Paris is bombed by German zeppelins for the first time.
• 21 February - Battle of Verdun begins.
• 27 April - Battle of Hulluch in World War I, 47th Brigade, 16th Irish Division decimated in one of the most heavily-concentrated gas attacks of the war.
• 16 May - Britain and France conclude the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement to divide Arab areas of the Ottoman Empire following the conclusion of World War I into French and British spheres of influence.
• 1 July - First day on the Somme.
• 14 July - Battle of Bazentin Ridge, start of the second phase of the Battle of the Somme.
• 15 September - Battle of Flers-Courcelette begins and lasts for a week, third and last large-scale offensive by the British Army during the Battle of the Somme.
• 25 September - Battle of Morval.
• 26 September - Battle of Thiepval Ridge begins, German fortress of Thiepval is captured by the British.
• 28 September - Battle of Thiepval Ridge ends successfully, with the capture of the Schwaben Redoubt.
• 13 November - Battle of the Ancre launches, the final act of the Battle of the Somme.
• 18 November - Battle of the Somme ends.
• 18 December - Battle of Verdun ends.

Births

January to June

• 11 January - Bernard Blier, actor (died 1989)
• 22 January - Henri Dutilleux, composer
• 14 February - Marcel Bigeard, military officer
• 16 February - Julien Darui, international soccer player (died 1987)
• 20 March - Pierre Messmer, Gaullist politician and Prime Minister (died 2007)
• 4 April - Robert Charpentier, cyclist and Olympic gold medallist (died 1966)
• 25 May - André Devigny, soldier and French Resistance member (died 1999)
• 30 May - Jacques Georges, soccer administrator (died 2004)
• 3 June - Denise Vernac, actress (died 1984)
• 10 June - André Mandouze, academic and journalist (died 2006)
• 16 June - Francis Cammaerts, Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent (died 2006)

July to December

• 22 July - Marcel Cerdan, boxer (died 1949)
• 24 August - Léo Ferré, poet, composer, singer and musician (died 1993)
• 17 September - Francis Lefebure, physician (died 1988)
• 21 September - Françoise Giroud, journalist, screenwriter, writer and politician (died 2003)
• 19 October - Jean Dausset, immunologist, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1980
• 26 October - François Mitterrand, President of France from 1981 to 1995 (died 1996)
• 14 November - Roger Apéry, mathematician (died 1994)

Full date unknown

• Lucienne Abraham, Trotskyist politician (died 1970)
• Jacques-Laurent Bost, journalist (died 1990)
• Andrée Clair, writer (died 1982)
• Jean-Yves Couliou, painter (died 1995)
• Léonie Duquet, nun, killed by a death squad in Argentina (died 1977)

Deaths

• 17 January - Marie Bracquemond, artist (born 1841)
• 22 February - Émile Driant, nationalist writer, politician, and army officer (born 1855; killed in action)
• 21 March - Léon Labbé, surgeon and politician (born 1832)
• 12 May - Frank Cheadle, Australian rugby league footballer and World War I soldier (born 1885)
• 19 May - Georges Boillot, motor racing driver and World War I fighter pilot (born 1884)
• 29 June - Georges Lacombe, sculptor and painter (born 1868)
• 28 August - Henri Harpignies, painter (born 1819)
• 6 July - Odilon Redon, painter and printmaker (born 1840)
• 8 July - Augustin Cochin (historian)
• 13 December - Antonin Mercié, sculptor and painter (born 1845)
• 14 December - Frédéric Febvre, actor (born 1835)

References

Years in France 18th century 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 19th century 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 20th century 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 21th century 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029