1. On May 16, 1777, the South Carolina General Assembly authorized the formation of a regiment of African American soldiers to fight in the Revolutionary War alongside white soldiers. The regiment, called the 1st South Carolina Regiment of Dragoons, was commanded by white officers and comprised of free and enslaved Black men.

2. The first cotton mill in South Carolina began operations on May 16, 1814. Called the Vaucluse Factory, it was located on Horse Creek in Aiken County and produced cotton thread and yarn.

3. On May 16, 1856, the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and his political opponent, Stephen A. Douglas, faced off in a debate in Charleston, South Carolina. The debate was part of a series of seven debates held throughout Illinois during the 1858 U.S. Senate campaign.

4. The South Carolina State House was completed on May 16, 1907. The building, located in downtown Columbia, is the seat of the South Carolina General Assembly and houses the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor.

5. On May 16, 1951, the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team won their first-ever Southern Conference championship. The team, coached by Bobby Richardson, would go on to win the conference title six more times over the next 63 years.