27BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus was granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate on the 16th January 27BC, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
1581 – The English Parliament outlawed Roman Catholicism on the 16th January 1581.
1605 – The 1st edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes was published on the 16th January 1605, in Madrid, Spain.
1909 – Ernest Shackleton‘s expedition found the magnetic South Pole on the 16th January 1909.
1920 – The League of Nations held its first council meeting on the 16th January 1920, in Paris, France.
1932 ~ Dian Fossey the American zoologist was born in San Francisco on the 16th January 1932 (died 26th December 1985 aged 53). Dian Fossey undertook extensive studies of gorilla groups in the mountain forests of Rwanda. Dian Fossey’s 1983 book, Gorillas in the Mist, combined her scientific study of the mountain gorillas at Karisoke Research Center with her own personal story. Dian Fossey was murdered in 1985 (the case remains open). The Gorillas in the Mist movie was made in 1988, starring Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey. YouTube video: Gorillas in the Mist ~ 1988 movie trailer…
1942 ~ René Angélil the Canadian singer, and husband and manager of Celine Dion was born on the 16th January 1942.
1945 – Adolf Hitler moved into his underground bunker, known as the Führerbunker on the 16th January 1945.
1964 – Hello, Dolly! (musical) starring Carol Channing opened on Broadway on the 16th January 1964, beginning a run of 2,844 performances.
1965 – Maxine Jones the American singer from En Vogue was born on the 16th January 1965.
1969 – Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 & 5 performed the 1st-ever docking of a manned spacecraft in orbit on the 16th January 1969, the 1st-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
1970 – Buckminster Fuller received the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects on the 16th January 1970.
1972 – Greg Page the Australian singer from The Wiggles was born on the 16th January 1972.
1973 – Bonanza‘s final episode aired on NBC on the 16th January 1973.
1974 ~ Kate Moss the English model was born Katherine Moss in Croydon, Greater London on the 16th January 1974. Kate Moss Tumblr | YouTube video: Kate Moss by Kate Garner at Gallery 618 ~ See Kate Moss in the controversial photographs taken by Kate Garner in “Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil” 20 unique canvas works…
1979 – Aaliyah the American singer, dancer, and actress was born on the 16th January 1979 (died 2001).
1986 – 1st meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force on the 16th January 1986.
2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia took off for mission STS-107 on the 16th January 2003, which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
2005 – Romanian university lecturer and novelist Adriana Iliescu gave birth at 66 to her daughter Eliza on the 16th January 2005, breaking the record for the oldest birth mother in the world.
2006 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in as Liberia‘s new president on the 16th January 2006, becoming Africa‘s 1st female elected head of state.
Today in History for the 16th January video produced by Associated Press
Associated Press official website: www.AP.org