What are the important events that happened on January 16? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
January 16: Facts & Myths About This Day
January 16 is the 16th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 349 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is January 3, 2025 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 482,496 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hexadecagon’ day.
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Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 13 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,409 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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January 16 Historical Events
- 1362 –A storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German city of Rungholt on the island of Strand.
- 1547 –Ivan IV of Russia aka Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1581 –The English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism.
- 1707 –The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.
- 1883 –The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is passed.
- 1919 –Temperance movement: The United States ratifies the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition in the United States one year after ratification.
- 1938 –The Benny Goodman Orchestra performed the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.
- 1969 –Soviet 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.
- 1979 –The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt.
- 2003 –The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
Who were born on January 16?
- 1409 –René I of Naples (d. 1480)
- 1894 –Irving Mills, American jazz music publisher (d. 1985)
- 1907 –Paul Nitze, American government official (d. 2004)
- 1911 –Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician (d. 1982)
- 1928 –William Kennedy, American author
- 1930 –Norman Podhoretz, US writer, foreign policy adviser
- 1945 –Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer
- 1962 –Paul Webb, British musician (Talk Talk, .O.rang)
- 1972 –Salah Hissou, Moroccan long-distance runner
- 1987 –Lauren McAvoy, British fashion model
Who died on January 16?
- 1747 –Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680)
- 1794 –Edward Gibbon, English historian (b. 1737)
- 1809 –John Moore, British general (b. 1761)
- 1942 –Carole Lombard, American actress (b. 1908)
- 1979 –Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932)
- 1981 –Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1993 –Glenn Corbett, American actor (b. 1930)
- 1993 –Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)
- 2007 –Ron Carey, American actor (b. 1935)
- 2009 –John Mortimer, British barrister, screenwriter and author. (b. 1923)
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