1. In 1782, the first recorded ascent of a hot air balloon in America took place in Philadelphia. The balloon, flown by Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American physician John Jeffries, lifted off from the courtyard of the Walnut Street jail and landed safely in Deptford, New Jersey, after a flight of approximately 9 miles.

2. On August 16, 1777, the Battle of Bennington took place in what is now Vermont, but was then part of the New Hampshire Grants. The battle was a turning point in the Revolutionary War, as it prevented a large British force from obtaining much-needed supplies and reinforcements.

3. Pennsylvania-born physician Mary Harris Thompson became the first female obstetrician to receive a medical degree from a United States medical school on August 16, 1875. She graduated from Philadelphia's Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, which was the first medical school to grant medical degrees to women.

4. The Keystone Municipal Health Building, located at 600 North 7th Street in Harrisburg, was dedicated on August 16, 1937. The building was designed to help combat the spread of communicable diseases, and featured a state-of-the-art laboratory, along with facilities for quarantine and treatment.

5. On August 16, 1942, the first B-17 bomber built in the United States was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps at the Boeing plant in Seattle, Washington. The aircraft, designated the B-17E Flying Fortress, would go on to become one of the most famous and heavily used bombers of World War II.