This Day That Year

December 16

in History

Justinian's Legal Legacy — All of Roman law condensed into one volume
Constantinople, Byzantine EmpireMedieval
533

Justinian's Legal Legacy

All of Roman law condensed into one volume

Emperor Justinian I issued the Digest, a monumental compilation of all Roman jurists' legal writings, alongside the Institutes, a new official textbook for legal education. Together, these works preserved and organized centuries of Roman legal thought, creating the foundation of civil law that would influence legal systems across Europe and beyond for the next fifteen hundred years.

533 AD
First Boer War — Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire.
Modern
1880

First Boer War

Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire.

Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire.

1880 AD
V. S. Pritchett Born — Britain's master of the short story arrives
Ipswich, EnglandEarly 20th Century
1900

V. S. Pritchett Born

Britain's master of the short story arrives

In Ipswich, England, Victor Sawdon Pritchett was born into a family of modest means. He would become one of the twentieth century's most celebrated British writers and literary critics, particularly renowned for his mastery of the short story form. His elegant prose and perceptive literary criticism earned him a knighthood and the admiration of readers and writers worldwide.

1900 AD