27 BC In October 43 BC, Gaius, Mark Antony and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate. Within 12 years Gaius had defeated the other two to become sole leader of the Roman world. On January 16, 27 BC Gaius was given the title of Augustus by the Roman Senate meaning "venerable, grand, majestic," so until his death he was known as Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. This marked the end of the Roman republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.
1362 The Danish settlement of Rungholt on the island of Strand was sunk into the North Sea by a massive windstorm on January 16, 1362. Estimates put the number of deaths at around 10,000 and the coastline shifted east. Rogue or monster waves of a freakish height were long thought to be mythical, but the first proven one was recorded in the North Sea in 1995 and was 25.6m (84ft) tall.
1492 The first grammar of a modern European language was presented to Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon on January 16, 1492. Published by Antonio de Nebrija, Gramática de la lengua castellana was a grammar text for the Castilian Spanish language. De Nebrija introduced the grammar to the Catholic Monarchs, newly restored to power in Andalusia, as "a tool of empire."
1516 Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta king of the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma was born on January 16, 1516. During his 31-year reign, Bayinnaung assembled the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, which included much of modern-day Burma, Chinese Shan states, Lan Na, Lan Xang, Manipur and Siam.
1547 16-yr-old Ivan IV of Russia, aka. Ivan the Terrible, became Czar of Russia, when he was crowned on January 16, 1547. He rejected the title “Crown Prince” and under advice of the church took the title of "Tsar." Prior to Ivan, the rulers of Muscovy had been crowned as Grand Princes. Ivan took the title “Tsar” (the Russian form of Caesar) as he claimed to have descended from the Roman Emperor Augustus.
1556 On his father, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire's abdication on January 16, 1556, Philip II of Spain inherited his country of birth, the Netherlands, and the Spanish possessions in Italy and America. Philip was handicapped by his refusal to delegate responsibility. He had a passion for bureaucracy and spent much of his time solving insignificant problems such as correcting grammatical errors in official documents.
1605 The first part of Don Quixote was published in Madrid on January 16, 1605 (Second part 1615).
Tradition maintains that Miguel de Cervantes wrote his satire of chivalric romance in jail at Argamasill in La Mancha, during one of his imprisonments for debt. Don Quixote was such an immediate success that within two weeks of its publication, three pirate editions appeared in Madrid. Six editions were printed in its first year.
1786 The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Virginia General Assembly adopted Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786. That statute became the basis for the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and led to freedom of religion for all Americans.
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| By Till Niermann - Wikipedia Commons |
1362 The Danish settlement of Rungholt on the island of Strand was sunk into the North Sea by a massive windstorm on January 16, 1362. Estimates put the number of deaths at around 10,000 and the coastline shifted east. Rogue or monster waves of a freakish height were long thought to be mythical, but the first proven one was recorded in the North Sea in 1995 and was 25.6m (84ft) tall.
1492 The first grammar of a modern European language was presented to Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon on January 16, 1492. Published by Antonio de Nebrija, Gramática de la lengua castellana was a grammar text for the Castilian Spanish language. De Nebrija introduced the grammar to the Catholic Monarchs, newly restored to power in Andalusia, as "a tool of empire."
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| Title page of Nebrija's Grammatica |
1516 Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta king of the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma was born on January 16, 1516. During his 31-year reign, Bayinnaung assembled the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, which included much of modern-day Burma, Chinese Shan states, Lan Na, Lan Xang, Manipur and Siam.
1547 16-yr-old Ivan IV of Russia, aka. Ivan the Terrible, became Czar of Russia, when he was crowned on January 16, 1547. He rejected the title “Crown Prince” and under advice of the church took the title of "Tsar." Prior to Ivan, the rulers of Muscovy had been crowned as Grand Princes. Ivan took the title “Tsar” (the Russian form of Caesar) as he claimed to have descended from the Roman Emperor Augustus.
1556 On his father, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire's abdication on January 16, 1556, Philip II of Spain inherited his country of birth, the Netherlands, and the Spanish possessions in Italy and America. Philip was handicapped by his refusal to delegate responsibility. He had a passion for bureaucracy and spent much of his time solving insignificant problems such as correcting grammatical errors in official documents.
1605 The first part of Don Quixote was published in Madrid on January 16, 1605 (Second part 1615).
Tradition maintains that Miguel de Cervantes wrote his satire of chivalric romance in jail at Argamasill in La Mancha, during one of his imprisonments for debt. Don Quixote was such an immediate success that within two weeks of its publication, three pirate editions appeared in Madrid. Six editions were printed in its first year.
 |
| Don Quixote de la Mancha and Sancho Panza, 1863, by Gustave Doré |
1786 The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Virginia General Assembly adopted Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786. That statute became the basis for the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and led to freedom of religion for all Americans.
1794 Edward Gibbon, author of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, suffered from a malady now believed to be hydrocele, which caused his testicles to swell with fluid to extraordinary proportions. Gibbon underwent numerous procedures to have the fluid removed and in early 1794, the last of a series of these operations caused an unremitting peritonitis to set in and spread. From this Gibbon passed away at 12:45 pm on January 16, 1794 at age 56.
1862 The Hartley Colliery disaster was a coal mining accident in Northumberland, England that occurred on January 16. 1862. It resulted in the deaths of 240 men and boys and prompted a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
1871 Politician Jefferson F. Long of Georgia was the second African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected as a Republican to fill the vacancy caused when the U.S. House declared Samuel F. Gove not entitled to the seat and served from January 16, 1871 to March 3, 1871. The term of less than three months was the shortest of any African–American Member, but nevertheless he became the first black Member to speak on the House Floor.
1862 The Hartley Colliery disaster was a coal mining accident in Northumberland, England that occurred on January 16. 1862. It resulted in the deaths of 240 men and boys and prompted a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
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| Hartley Colliery Disaster: the dead are brought up to their families (L'llustration, 1862, p 101) |
1871 Politician Jefferson F. Long of Georgia was the second African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected as a Republican to fill the vacancy caused when the U.S. House declared Samuel F. Gove not entitled to the seat and served from January 16, 1871 to March 3, 1871. The term of less than three months was the shortest of any African–American Member, but nevertheless he became the first black Member to speak on the House Floor.
1898 Charles Pelham Villiers was the longest serving UK Member of Parliament. When he died on January 16, 1898, aged 96 years and 13 days, he had represented Wolverhampton South for a record 63 years and six days.
1905 Despite being blind in one eye, ice hockey player Frank McGee scored 14 goals for Ottawa Silver Seven in a 23–2 Stanley Cup victory over the Dawson City Nuggets on January 16, 1905. It remains to this day the most goals scored by a single player in a Stanley Cup hockey game, and has not been surpassed in any professional match.
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| McGee (standing, far right) as a member of the 1905 Ottawa Silver Seven |
1919 Thanks to the influence of anti-alcohol crusades, such as the Anti-Saloon League, the U.S. government voted for the 19th Amendment, a law which prohibited the public sale or the manufacture of alcohol. Prohibition took effect in the US on January 16, 1919 after an amendment to the 18th U.S. Constitution. The law was intended to eliminate the saloon and the drunkard from American society.
1932 American primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey was born in San Francisco on January 16, 1932. Fossey's love for animals began at a young age with her first pet goldfish. After a life-changing trip to Africa in 1963, she was inspired by famed paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey to study mountain gorillas. She dedicated the rest of her life to studying and protecting mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
1938 Benny Goodman's concert on January 16, 1938 at New York City's Carnegie Hall was the premiere performance given by a jazz orchestra in the famed venue. It was considered instrumental in establishing jazz as a legitimate form of music. The LP, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert by Benny Goodman, issued in 1950, was the first ever double album, and one of the first records on the new long-playing format to sell over a million copies.
1942 After the U.S. entered World War II, the actress Carole Lombard, wife of actor Clark Gable, went to her home state of Indiana for a war bond rally. She wanted to return home quickly so flew home on January 16, 1942, Lombard, her mother, and 20 others were killed when the plane crashed outside of Las Vegas. President Franklin D. Roosevelt posthumously awarded Lombard the Medal of Freedom as the first woman killed in the line of duty in World War II.
1964 Whiskey-a-Go-Go, the first real American discotheque, opened on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on January 16, 1964. The nightclub gave birth to a new pop culture phenomenon when its female disc jockey, who was suspended in a cage above the dancefloor, began dancing to the records she was spinning between sets. Bright lights and mini-skirted dancers in cages became the club's prominent features. Numerous acts, including the Doors, would get their start here.
1992 The devastating Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992), was fought between the military-led El Salvador government and a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups claiming at least 75,000 lives. The conflict ended on January 16, 1992 with a negotiated settlement that established a multiparty constitutional republic, which remains in place to this day.
1997 Comedian Bill Cosby's only son Ennis was murdered on January 16, 1997 while changing a flat tire on the side of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles. Bill and Camille Cosby had five children altogether: in addition to Ennis, they had four daughters.
2004 Maria Skobtsova was a Russian noblewoman, nun, and member of the French Resistance during World War II. She died as a martyr in the terrible Ravensbrück concentration camp in 1945, On January 16, 2004, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized Mother Maria Skobtsova as a saint. Their glorification took place in Paris' Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky.
2006 When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian general election in 2005; she became the first democratically elected female head of state of an African country. Johnson-Sirleaf took office as the 24th President of Liberia on January 16, 2006.
2016 A bloodhound called Ludivine became famous for unexpectedly joining the Elkmont Half Marathon in Alabama on January 16, 2016. The dog escaped from her owner's backyard and decided to participate in the race. Ludivine not only completed the entire 13.1-mile course but also finished in seventh place.
2016 The first flower grown in space, a zinnia, bloomed on January 16, 2016. It was grown in the Veggie plant growth facility on the International Space Station. It was an important milestone in the history of space exploration, as it demonstrated that it is possible to grow plants in space, which could have important implications for long-term space missions.
1938 Benny Goodman's concert on January 16, 1938 at New York City's Carnegie Hall was the premiere performance given by a jazz orchestra in the famed venue. It was considered instrumental in establishing jazz as a legitimate form of music. The LP, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert by Benny Goodman, issued in 1950, was the first ever double album, and one of the first records on the new long-playing format to sell over a million copies.
1942 After the U.S. entered World War II, the actress Carole Lombard, wife of actor Clark Gable, went to her home state of Indiana for a war bond rally. She wanted to return home quickly so flew home on January 16, 1942, Lombard, her mother, and 20 others were killed when the plane crashed outside of Las Vegas. President Franklin D. Roosevelt posthumously awarded Lombard the Medal of Freedom as the first woman killed in the line of duty in World War II.
1964 Whiskey-a-Go-Go, the first real American discotheque, opened on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on January 16, 1964. The nightclub gave birth to a new pop culture phenomenon when its female disc jockey, who was suspended in a cage above the dancefloor, began dancing to the records she was spinning between sets. Bright lights and mini-skirted dancers in cages became the club's prominent features. Numerous acts, including the Doors, would get their start here.
1992 The devastating Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992), was fought between the military-led El Salvador government and a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups claiming at least 75,000 lives. The conflict ended on January 16, 1992 with a negotiated settlement that established a multiparty constitutional republic, which remains in place to this day.
1997 Comedian Bill Cosby's only son Ennis was murdered on January 16, 1997 while changing a flat tire on the side of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles. Bill and Camille Cosby had five children altogether: in addition to Ennis, they had four daughters.
2004 Maria Skobtsova was a Russian noblewoman, nun, and member of the French Resistance during World War II. She died as a martyr in the terrible Ravensbrück concentration camp in 1945, On January 16, 2004, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized Mother Maria Skobtsova as a saint. Their glorification took place in Paris' Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky.
2006 When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian general election in 2005; she became the first democratically elected female head of state of an African country. Johnson-Sirleaf took office as the 24th President of Liberia on January 16, 2006.
2016 A bloodhound called Ludivine became famous for unexpectedly joining the Elkmont Half Marathon in Alabama on January 16, 2016. The dog escaped from her owner's backyard and decided to participate in the race. Ludivine not only completed the entire 13.1-mile course but also finished in seventh place.
2016 The first flower grown in space, a zinnia, bloomed on January 16, 2016. It was grown in the Veggie plant growth facility on the International Space Station. It was an important milestone in the history of space exploration, as it demonstrated that it is possible to grow plants in space, which could have important implications for long-term space missions.
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