What happened on January 16? There are more than 314 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About January 16
January 16 is the 16th day of the year 2024. There are 350 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday. This day falls under the 3rd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Fortuna, North Dakota 58844 sunrise occured at 08:40 AM and sunset occured at 05:28 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Capricorn. The modern birthstone for this month is Garnet while the mystical birthstone is Emerald.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 25 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
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Historical Events For January 16
- 27 BCGaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
- 550Gothic War (535–554): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.
- 929Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III established the Caliphate of Cordoba.
- 1120The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
- 1362A storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German city of Rungholt on the island of Strand.
- 1412The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy.
- 1492The first grammar of the Spanish language is presented to Queen Isabella I.
- 1547Ivan IV of Russia aka Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1556Philip II becomes King of Spain.
- 1572Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.
- 1581The English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism.
- 1605The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid.
- 1707The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.
- 1761The British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
- 1780American Revolution: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
- 1786The Commonwealth of Virginia enacted the Statute for Religious Freedom authored by Thomas Jefferson.
- 1809Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
- 1847John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
- 1878Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) – Battle of Philippopolis: Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.
- 1883The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is passed.
- 1896Defeat of Cymru Fydd at South Wales Liberal Federation AGM, Newport, Monmouthshire.
- 1900The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.
- 1909Ernest Shackleton’s expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
- 1919Temperance movement: The United States ratifies the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition in the United States one year after ratification.
- 1920The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris.
- 1924Eleftherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece for the fourth time.
- 1938The Benny Goodman Orchestra performed the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.
- 1939The Irish Republican Army (IRA) begins a bombing and sabotage campaign in England.
- 1942Crash of TWA Flight 3, killing all 22 aboard, including film star Carole Lombard.
- 1945Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.
- 1956President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.
- 1968The Youth International Party is founded.
- 1969Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, in protest against the Soviets’ crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
- 1969Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of manned spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
- 1970Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects.
- 1979The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt.
- 1986First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
- 1991The United States goes to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War (U.S. Time).
- 1992El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City ending the 12-year Salvadoran civil war that claimed at least 75,000.
- 2001Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
- 2001US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish-American War.
- 2002The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
- 2003The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
- 2006Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia’s new president. She becomes Africa’s first female elected head of state.
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Who Were Born On January 16?
- 1093Isaac Komnenos, son of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (d. after 1152)
- 1245Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England (d. 1296)
- 1409René I of Naples (d. 1480)
- 1477Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
- 1501Anthony Denny, confidant of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)
- 1516Bayinnaung, King of Burma (d. 1581)
- 1616François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort, French soldier (d. 1669)
- 1626Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (d. 1699)
- 1634Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (d. 1716)
- 1675Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (d. 1755)
- 1728Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (d. 1800)
- 1749Vittorio Alfieri, Italian dramatist (d. 1803)
- 1757Richard Goodwin Keats, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1834)
- 1807Charles Henry Davis, American Civil War Admiral (d. 1877)
- 1815Henry W. Halleck, American Civil War general (d. 1872)
- 1821John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician; 14th Vice President of the United States and Confederate general (d. 1875)
- 1834Robert R. Hitt, American politician (d. 1906)
- 1836King Francis II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1894)
- 1838Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
- 1844Ismail Qemali, Albanian nationalist (d. 1919)
- 1853André Michelin, French industrialist (d. 1931)
- 1853Gen Sir Ian Hamilton, British military commander (d. 1947)
- 1853Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, English actor and theatre manager (d. 1937)
- 1853Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov, Russian philosopher (d. 1900)
- 1872Edward Gordon Craig, English actor, producer, director and scenic designer (d. 1966)
- 1872Henri Busser, French composer (d. 1973)
- 1874Robert W. Service, Canadian poet (d. 1958)
- 1875Leonor Michaelis, German enzyme kinetic theorist (d. 1947)
- 1878Harry Carey, American silent film actor (d. 1947)
- 1885Zhou Zuoren, Chinese writer (d. 1967)
- 1886John Hamilton, American actor (d. 1958)
- 1888Osip Brik, Russian writer (d. 1945)
- 1893Daisy Kennedy, Australian violinist (d. 1981)
- 1894Irving Mills, American jazz music publisher (d. 1985)
- 1895Nat Schachner, American author (d. 1955)
- 1896Ruth Rose, American screenwriter (d. 1978)
- 1897Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (d. 1977)
- 1898Irving Rapper, UK-US film director (d. 1999)
- 1898Margaret Booth, American film editor (d. 2002)
- 1901Frank Zamboni, American inventor (d. 1988)
- 1901Fulgencio Batista, Cuban leader (d. 1973)
- 1902Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (d. 1945)
- 1903William Grover-Williams, English-French racing driver and WWII resistance fighter (d. 1945)
- 1905Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)
- 1906Diana Wynyard, British actress (d. 1964)
- 1907Alexander Knox, Canadian actor (d. 1995)
- 1907Paul Nitze, American government official (d. 2004)
- 1908Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)
- 1908Günther Prien, German World War II submarine captain (d. 1941)
- 1910Dizzy Dean, American baseball player (d. 1974)
- 1911Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician (d. 1982)
- 1911Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)
- 1914Roger Wagner, American choral musician (d. 1992)
- 1915Leslie H. Martinson, American television and film director.
- 1916Philip Lucock, Australian politician and Presbyterian minister (d. 1996)
- 1917Carl Karcher, founded the Carl’s Jr. hamburger chain (d. 2008)
- 1918Allan Ekelund, Swedish film producer (d. 2009)
- 1918Clem Jones, Australian Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2007)
- 1918Nel Benschop, Dutch poet (d. 2005)
- 1918Stirling Silliphant, American writer (d. 1996)
- 1920Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (d. 1991)
- 1920Elliott Reid, American actor
- 1921Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)
- 1922Ernesto Bonino, Italian singer (d. 2008)
- 1923Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
- 1923Gene Feist, American stage actor and producer
- 1924Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
- 1928Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano (d. 1996)
- 1928William Kennedy, American author
- 1930Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (d. 2006)
- 1930Norman Podhoretz, US writer, foreign policy adviser
- 1931Johannes Rau, German politician (d. 2006)
- 1931Robert L. Park, American physicist
- 1932Dian Fossey, American zoologist (d. 1985)
- 1933Susan Sontag, American writer (d. 2004)
- 1934Marilyn Horne, American opera singer
- 1935A.J. Foyt, American race car driver and team owner
- 1937Lorraine Bayly, Australian actress
- 1937Luiz Bueno, Brazilian racing driver
- 1938Jô Soares, Brazilian author, musician and TV personality
- 1938Michael Pataki, American actor d. 2010
- 1942Barbara Lynn, American singer
- 1942René Angélil, Canadian music executive
- 1943Brian Ferneyhough, British composer
- 1943Gavin Bryars, English composer and double bassist
- 1944Gerd Klier, German footballer (d. 2011)
- 1944Jim Stafford, American singer and songwriter
- 1945Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer
- 1946Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
- 1946Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano
- 1946Ronnie Milsap, American singer and songwriter
- 1947Harvey Proctor, British politician
- 1947Laura Schlessinger, American radio talk show host
- 1947Magdalen Nabb, British author (d. 2007)
- 1947Sarah Jane Olson, American political activist
- 1948Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
- 1948Dalvanius Prime, New Zealand entertainer (d. 2002)
- 1948John Carpenter, American film director
- 1948Ruth Reichl, American magazine editor
- 1949Andrew Refshauge, Australian politician, Deputy Premier of New South Wales
- 1949Caroline Munro, British actress
- 1950Brian Castro, Australian author
- 1950Damo Suzuki, Japanese singer (Can)
- 1950Debbie Allen, American dancer and choreographer
- 1950Robert Schimmel, American Comedian (d. 2010)
- 1951Glenn Ordway, American radio talk show host
- 1952King Fuad II of Egypt
- 1952L. Blaine Hammond, NASA astronaut
- 1953Robert Jay Mathews, American neo-Nazi (d. 1984)
- 1955Jerry M. Linenger, NASA astronaut
- 1956Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist (d. 2007)
- 1956Jennifer Dale, Canadian actress
- 1956Martin Jol, Dutch football manager
- 1957Jurijs Andrejevs, Latvian footballer
- 1957Ricardo Darin, Argentine actor
- 1958Anatoli Boukreev, Russian climber (d. 1997)
- 1958Lena Ek, Swedish politician
- 1959Juanita Bynum, American televangelist
- 1959Sade, Nigerian-born singer
- 1961Paul Raven, English musician (Killing Joke) (d. 2007)
- 1962Denis O'Hare, Irish-American actor
- 1962Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian politician
- 1962Paul Webb, British musician (Talk Talk, .O.rang)
- 1962Tracey Moore, voice actress
- 1963James May, English television presenter
- 1965Jill Sobule, American singer-songwriter
- 1965Maxine Jones, American singer (En Vogue)
- 1968David Chokachi, American actor
- 1969Neil Back, England rugby player
- 1969Per Yngve “Dead” Ohlin, Swedish black metal vocalist (Mayhem) (d. 1991)
- 1969Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
- 1970Brendan O'Hare, Scottish drummer (Teenage Fanclub, Telstar Ponies)
- 1970Garth Ennis, Irish comic book author
- 1970Ron Villone, American baseball player
- 1971Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player
- 1972Alen Peternac, Croatian footballer
- 1972Ang Christou, Australian rules footballer
- 1972Dameon Clarke, Canadian actor
- 1972Ezra Hendrickson, Vincentian footballer
- 1972Greg Page, Australian musician and actor
- 1972Joe Horn, American football player
- 1972Richard T. Jones, American actor
- 1972Ruben Bagger, Danish footballer
- 1972Salah Hissou, Moroccan long-distance runner
- 1972Yuri Drozdov, Russian footballer
- 1973Josie Davis, American actress
- 1974Kate Moss, English model
- 1974Marlon Anderson, American baseball player
- 1975Gillian Iliana Waters, American actress
- 1975Greg Strause, American visual effects creator
- 1976Martina Moravcová, Slovak female swimmer
- 1976Viktor Maslov, Russian racing driver
- 1977Ariel Zeevi, Israeli judoka
- 1977Jeff Foster, American basketball player
- 1978Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player
- 1979Aaliyah, American R&B singer/actress (d. 2001)
- 1979Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979Mark Anthony Fernandez, Filipino actor
- 1980Albert Pujols, Dominican-born baseball player
- 1980Lin Manuel Miranda, American actor, composer, lyricist (In The Heights)
- 1980Michelle Wild, Hungarian model
- 1980Seydou Keita, Malian footballer
- 1981Bobby Zamora, English footballer
- 1981Nick Valensi, American guitarist (The Strokes)
- 1982Samuel Preston, British singer (The Ordinary Boys)
- 1982Tuncay Şanlı, Turkish footballer
- 1983Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
- 1984Jared Slingerland, Canadian musician
- 1984Stephan Lichtsteiner, Swiss footballer
- 1985Gintaras Janusevicius, Lithuanian pianist
- 1985Joe Flacco, American football player
- 1985Jonathan Richter, Danish footballer
- 1986Mason Gamble, American actor
- 1986Paula Pareto, Argentine judoka
- 1986Reto Ziegler, Swiss footballer
- 1987Lauren McAvoy, British fashion model
- 1988Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer
- 1989Yvonne Zima, American actress
- 1991Matt Duchene, Canadian hockey player
- 1992Maja Keuc, Slovenian singer
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Who Died On January 16?
- 960Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople
- 1327Nikephoros Choumnos, Byzantine scholar and statesman (b. 1250/55)
- 1387Elizabeth of Bosnia, Hungarian queen and regent (b. 1340)
- 1400John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician (b. 1352)
- 1545George Spalatin, German reformer (b. 1484)
- 1547Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
- 1554Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480)
- 1585Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512)
- 1659Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
- 1710Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (b. 1675)
- 1711Blessed Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (b. 1651)
- 1747Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680)
- 1748Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)
- 1750Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal (b. 1667)
- 1752Francis Blomefield, English topographer (b. 1705)
- 1794Edward Gibbon, English historian (b. 1737)
- 1809John Moore, British general (b. 1761)
- 1817Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman (b. 1759)
- 1826Lindley Murray, grammarian (b. 1745)
- 1834Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (b. 1769)
- 1856Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)
- 1864Anton Schindler, Austrian biographer of Beethoven (b. 1795)
- 1865Edmond François Valentin About, French writer (b. 1828)
- 1879Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (b. 1827)
- 1886Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian opera composer (b. 1834)
- 1891Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836)
- 1898Charles Pelham Villiers, British Member of Parliament (b. 1802)
- 1901Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter (b. 1827)
- 1901Hiram Revels, first African-American to serve in the U. S. Senate (b. 1822)
- 1901Jules Barbier, French opera librettist (b. 1825)
- 1906Marshall Field, American entrepreneur (b. 1834)
- 1917George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)
- 1919Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848)
- 1920Reginald De Koven, American music critic and operetta composer (b. 1859)
- 1924Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, Scottish philanthropist (b. 1859)
- 1935Ma Barker, American criminal (b. 1871)
- 1936Albert Fish, American serial killer (b. 1870)
- 1942Carole Lombard, American actress (b. 1908)
- 1942Ernst Scheller, German Nazi politician (b. 1899)
- 1942Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria (b. 1850)
- 19571st Earl of Athlone, British royal, brother of Queen Mary (b. 1874)
- 1957Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (b. 1867)
- 1959Phan Khoi, Vietnamese intellectual (b. 1887)
- 1962Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (b. 1885)
- 1962Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (b. 1883)
- 1963Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player (b. 1918)
- 1967Robert J. Van de Graaff, American nuclear physicist (b. 1901)
- 1968Bob Jones, Sr, American evangelist (b. 1883)
- 1969Vernon Duke, American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)
- 1971Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)
- 1972Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. (David Seville), American actor (b. 1919)
- 1972Teller Ammons, American politician (b. 1895)
- 1976Israel Abramofsky, Russian-born American artist (b. 1888)
- 1979August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (b. 1897)
- 1979Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932)
- 1981Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1982Red Smith, American sports columnist (b. 1905)
- 1985Robert Fitzgerald, American poet and translator (b. 1910)
- 1986Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
- 1987Bertram Wainer, Australian abortion rights campaigner (b. 1928)
- 1988Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)
- 1988Ballard Berkeley, English actor (b. 1904)
- 1989Prem Nazir, Malayalam actor (b. 1926)
- 1993Glenn Corbett, American actor (b. 1930)
- 1993Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)
- 1995Eric Mottram, English poet, teacher, critic, and editor (b. 1924)
- 1996Marcia Davenport, American author and music critic (b. 1903)
- 1997Ennis Cosby, son of entertainer Bill Cosby (b. 1969)
- 1997Markus Hoffmann, German actor (b. 1971)
- 1998Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (b. 1921)
- 1999Jim McClelland, Australian solicitor and politician (b. 1915)
- 2000John Morris Rankin, Canadian musical entertainer (b. 1959)
- 2000Will “Dub” Jones, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)
- 2001Auberon Waugh, British author and journalist (b. 1939)
- 2001Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)
- 2002Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)
- 2002Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
- 2002Michael Anthony Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
- 2002Robert Hanbury Brown, British astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
- 2002Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
- 2003Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)
- 2004Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
- 2005Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958)
- 2006Stanley Biber, American surgeon (b. 1923)
- 2007Benny Parsons, American racecar driver and commentator (b. 1941)
- 2007Ron Carey, American actor (b. 1935)
- 2009Andrew Wyeth, American realist painter (b. 1917)
- 2009Joe Erskine, American boxer and long distance runner (b. 1930)
- 2009John Mortimer, British barrister, screenwriter and author. (b. 1923)
- 2010Glen Bell, American businessman, founder of Taco Bell. (b. 1923)
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