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Revision as of 11:46, 21 May 2008

January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 349 days remain until the end of the year (350 in leap years).

Events

• 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.
• 550 - Gothic War (535–552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.
• 1120 - The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
• 1362 - A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt.
• 1412 - The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy.
• 1492 - The first grammar of a modern language, in the Spanish language, is presented to Queen Isabella.
• 1547 - Ivan IV of Russia aka Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1556 - Philip II becomes King of Spain.
• 1572 - Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.
• 1581 - The English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism.
• 1605 - The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid.
• 1707 - The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.
• 1761 - The British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
• 1777 - Vermont declares its independence from New York.
• 1780 - American Revolution: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
• 1809 - Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
• 1847 - John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
• 1864 - Second Schleswig War: King Christian IX of Denmark declares war on the German Confederation in order to occupy Schleswig.
• 1878 - Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.
• 1883 - The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is passed.
• 1896 - Defeat of Cymru Fydd at South Wales Liberal Federation AGM, Newport, Monmouthshire.
• 1900 - The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.
• 1909 - Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
• 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.
• 1920 - Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. is founded on the campus of Howard University.
• 1938 - The famous jazz concert by the Benny Goodman Orchestra and special guests takes place at Carnegie Hall in New York City, the first jazz performance in that venue.
• 1945 - Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.
• 1956 - President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.
• 1968 - The Youth International Party is founded.
• 1969 - Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
• 1969 - The Metroliner train enters into service.
• 1970 - Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects.
• 1979 - The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt.
• 1986 - First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
• 1991 - The United States goes to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War (U.S. Time).
• 1992 - El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City ending a 12-year civil war that claimed at least 75,000.
• 1996 - Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou resigns from office for health reasons.
• 2001 - Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
• 2001 - US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish-American War.
• 2002 - The 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.
• 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.
• 2006 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.

Births

• 1245 - Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England (d. 1296)
• 1409 - René I of Naples (d. 1480)
• 1477 - Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
• 1501 - Anthony Denny, confidant of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)
• 1616 - François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort, French soldier (d. 1669)
• 1626 - Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (d. 1699)
• 1634 - Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (d. 1716)
• 1675 - Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (d. 1755)
• 1728 - Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (d. 1800)
• 1807 - Charles Henry Davis, American Civil War Admiral (d 1877)
• 1815 - Henry W. Halleck, American Civil War general (d. 1872)
• 1821 - John C. Breckinridge, U.S. Vice-President and Confederate general (d. 1875)
• 1834 - Robert R. Hitt, American politician (d. 1906)
• 1836 - King Francis II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1894)
• 1838 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
• 1844 - Ismail Qemali, Albanian nationalist (d. 1919)
• 1853 - Andre Michelin, French industrialist (d. 1931)
• 1853 - Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, English actor and theatre manager (d. 1937)
• 1853 - Gen Sir Ian Hamilton, British military commander (d. 1947)
• 1872 - Edward Gordon Craig, English actor, producer, director and scenic designer (d. 1966)
• 1872 - Henri Busser, French composer (d. 1973)
• 1874 - Robert W. Service, Canadian poet (d. 1958)
• 1875 - Leonor Michaelis, German enzyme kinetic theorist (d. 1947)
• 1878 - Harry Carey, American silent film actor (d. 1947)
• 1885 - Zhou Zuoren, Chinese writer (d. 1967)
• 1886 - John Hamilton, American actor (d. 1958)
• 1888 - Osip Brik, Russian writer (d. 1945)
• 1893 - Daisy Kennedy, Australian violinist (d. 1981)
• 1894 - Irving Mills, American jazz music publisher (d. 1985)
• 1895 - Nat Schachner, American author (d. 1955)
• 1897 - Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (d. 1977)
• 1898 - Irving Rapper, UK-US film director (d. 1999)
• 1898 - Margaret Booth, American film editor (d. 2002)
• 1901 - Fulgencio Batista, Cuban leader (d. 1973)
• 1901 - Frank Zamboni, American inventor (d. 1988)
• 1902 - Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (d. 1945)
• 1903 - William Grover-Williams, English-French racing driver and WWII resistance fighter (d. 1945, by execution)
• 1905 - Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)
• 1906 - Diana Wynyard, British actress (d. 1964)
• 1907 - Alexander Knox, Canadian actor (d. 1995)
• 1907 - Paul Nitze, American government official (d. 2004)
• 1908 - Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)
• 1908 - Günther Prien, German World War II submarine captain (d. 1941)
• 1910 - Dizzy Dean, American baseball player (d. 1974)
• 1911 - Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)
• 1911 - Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician (d.1982)
• 1914 - Roger Wagner, American choral musician (d. 1992)
• 1916 - Philip Lucock, Australian politician and Presbyterian minister (d. 1996)
• 1917 - Carl Karcher, founded the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain (d. 2008)
• 1918 - Nel Benschop, Dutch poet (d. 2005)
• 1918 - Clem Jones, Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Australia (d. 2007)
• 1918 - Stirling Silliphant, American writer (d. 1996)
• 1920 - Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (d. 1991)
• 1921 - Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)
• 1922 - Ernesto Bonino, Italian singer
• 1923 - Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
• 1924 - Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
• 1928 - Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano (d. 1996)
• 1928 - William Kennedy, American author
• 1930 - Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (d. 2006)
• 1930 - Norman Podhoretz, US writer, foreign policy adviser
• 1931 - Johannes Rau, German politician (d. 2006)
• 1932 - Dian Fossey, American zoologist (d. 1985)
• 1933 - Susan Sontag, American writer (d. 2004)
• 1934 - Marilyn Horne, American opera singer
• 1935 - A.J. Foyt, American race car driver and team owner
• 1937 - Lorraine Bayly, Australian actress
• 1937 - Luiz Bueno, Brazilian racing driver
• 1938 - Jô Soares, Brazilian author, musician and TV personality
• 1942 - René Angélil, Canadian music executive
• 1942 - Barbara Lynn, American singer
• 1943 - Gavin Bryars, English composer and double bassist
• 1943 - Brian Ferneyhough, British composer
• 1944 - Jim Stafford, American singer and songwriter
• 1946 - Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
• 1946 - Ronnie Milsap, American singer and songwriter
• 1946 - Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano
• 1947 - Laura Schlessinger, American radio talk show host
• 1947 - Magdalen Nabb, British author (d. 2007)
• 1947 - Harvey Proctor, British politician
• 1948 - John Carpenter, American film director
• 1948 - Dalvanius Prime, New Zealand entertainer (d. 2002)
• 1948 - Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
• 1948 - Ruth Reichl, American magazine editor
• 1949 - Andrew Refshauge, Australian politician, Deputy Premier of New South Wales
• 1950 - Debbie Allen, American dancer and choreographer
• 1950 - Damo Suzuki, Japanese singer (Can)
• 1951 - Glenn Ordway, American radio talk show host
• 1952 - King Fuad II of Egypt
• 1953 - Robert Jay Mathews, American neo-Nazi (d. 1984)
• 1956 - Jennifer Dale, Canadian actress
• 1956 - Martin Jol, Dutch football manager
• 1956 - Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist (d. 2007)
• 1958 - Anatoli Boukreev, Russian climber (d. 1997)
• 1958 - Lena Ek, Swedish politician
• 1959 - Juanita Bynum, American televangelist
• 1959 - Sade, Nigerian-born singer
• 1961 - Paul Raven, English musician (Killing Joke) (d. 2007)
• 1961 - Jill Sobule, American singer-songwriter
• 1962 - Paul Webb, British musician (Talk Talk, .O.rang)
• 1962 - Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian Labor Party politician
• 1963 - James May, English television presenter
• 1965 - Maxine Jones, American singer (En Vogue)
• 1968 - David Chokachi, American actor
• 1969 - Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
• 1969 - Dead, Swedish black metal vocalist (Mayhem) (d. 1991)
• 1970 - Garth Ennis, Irish comic book author
• 1970 - Brendan O'Hare, Scottish drummer (Teenage Fanclub, Telstar Ponies)
• 1970 - Ron Villone, American baseball player
• 1971 - Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player
• 1972 - Richard T. Jones, American actor
• 1972 - Greg Page, Australian actor
• 1973 - Josie Davis, American actress
• 1974 - Marlon Anderson, American baseball player
• 1974 - Kate Moss, English model
• 1975 - Greg Strause, American visual effects creator
• 1975 - Gillian Iliana Waters, American actress
• 1976 - Viktor Maslov, Russian racing driver
• 1976 - Martina Moravcová, Slovak female swimmer
• 1977 - Jeff Foster, American basketball player
• 1979 - Aaliyah, American singer (d. 2001)
• 1979 - Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 - Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 - Albert Pujols, Dominican-born baseball player
• 1980 - Michelle Wild, Hungarian model
• 1980 - Seydou Keita, Malian footballer
• 1981 - Bobby Zamora, English footballer
• 1981 - Nick Valensi, American guitarist (The Strokes)
• 1982 - Samuel Preston, British singer (The Ordinary Boys)
• 1982 - Tuncay Şanlı, Turkish footballer
• 1983 - Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
• 1984 - Jared Slingerland, Canadian musician
• 1985 - Jonathan Richter, Danish professional football midfielder
• 1987 - Lauren McAvoy, British fashion model
• 1988 - Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer.

Deaths

• 960 - Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople
• 1400 - John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician (executed) (b. 1352)
• 1545 - George Spalatin, German reformer (b. 1484)
• 1547 - Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
• 1554 - Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480)
• 1585 - Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512)
• 1659 - Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
• 1710 - Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (b. 1675)
• 1711 - Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (b. 1651)
• 1747 - Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680)
• 1748 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)
• 1750 - Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshall (b. 1667)
• 1752 - Francis Blomefield, English topographer (b. 1705)
• 1794 - Edward Gibbon, English historian (b. 1737)
• 1809 - John Moore, British general (b. 1761)
• 1817 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman (b. 1759)
• 1834 - Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (b. 1769)
• 1856 - Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)
• 1864 - Anton Schindler, Austrian biographer of Beethoven (b. 1795)
• 1865 - Edmond François Valentin About, French writer (b. 1828)
• 1879 - Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (b. 1827)
• 1886 - Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian opera composer (b. 1834)
• 1891 - Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836)
• 1898 - Charles Pelham Villiers, longest-serving MP in the British House of Commons (b. 1802)
• 1901 - Hiram Revels, U.S. Senator, first African-American to serve in the United States Congress (b. 1822)
• 1901 - Jules Barbier, French opera librettist (b. 1825)
• 1901 - Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter (b. 1827)
• 1906 - Marshall Field, founder of Marshall Field and Company (b. 1834)
• 1917 - George Dewey, U.S. admiral (b. 1837)
• 1919 - Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848)
• 1920 - Reginald De Koven, American music critic and composer of operettas (b. 1859)
• 1924 - Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (b. 1859)
• 1935 - Ma Barker, American criminal (b. 1871)
• 1936 - Albert Fish, American serial killer (b. 1870)
• 1942 - Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, Governor General of Canada (b. 1850)
• 1942 - Carole Lombard, American actress (b. 1908)
• 1957 - Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (b. 1867)
• 1957 - 1st Earl of Athlone, British royal, Governor-General of South Africa and Canada (b. 1874)
• 1962 - Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (b. 1883)
• 1962 - Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (b. 1885)
• 1963 - Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player (b. 1918)
• 1967 - Robert J. Van de Graaff, American nuclear physicist (b. 1901)
• 1969 - Vernon Duke, American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)
• 1969 - Jan Palach, Czech protester against the Soviet led invasion.(b. 1948)
• 1971 - Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)
• 1972 - Ross Bagdasarian, American actor and creator of The Chipmunks (b. 1919)
• 1979 - Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932)
• 1979 - August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (b. 1897)
• 1981 - Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
• 1982 - Red Smith, American sports columnist (b. 1905)
• 1985 - Robert Fitzgerald, U.S. poet and translator (b. 1910)
• 1986 - Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
• 1987 - Bertram Wainer, Australian pro-abortion campaigner (b. 1928)
• 1988 - Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)
• 1988 - Ballard Berkeley, English actor (b. 1904)
• 1993 - Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)
• 1995 - Eric Mottram, English poet, teacher, critic, and editor (b. 1924)
• 1996 - Marcia Davenport, American author and music critic (b. 1903)
• 1997 - Ennis Cosby, son of entertainer Bill Cosby (murdered) (b. 1969)
• 1998 - Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (b. 1921)
• 1999 - Jim McClelland, Australian solicitor, politician, Minister, Royal Commissioner, judge (b. 1915)
• 2000 - Will "Dub" Jones, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)
• 2000 - John Morris Rankin, musical entertainer (b. 1959)
• 2001 - Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)
• 2001 - Auberon Waugh, British author and journalist (b. 1939)
• 2002 - Robert Hanbury Brown, British-Australian astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
• 2002 - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
• 2002 - Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)
• 2002 - Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
• 2002 - Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
• 2003 - Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)
• 2004 - Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
• 2005 - Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958)
• 2006 - Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery, (b. 1923)
• 2007 - Ron Carey, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2007 - Benny Parsons, American racecar driver and commentator (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances

• Teacher's Day in Thailand
• Thai Pongal in Tamil nadu, India
• National Religious Freedom Day in the United States, to commemorate the adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786
• Berard of Carbio
• Saint Fursey
• Honoratus of Arles
• January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada

• January