Historical Events on January 16

Events 1 - 200 of 205

• 550 Gothic War (535-552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison

• 929 Caliphate of Cordoba is established by Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III
• 1120 The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
• 1219 Floods in Northern Netherlands after storm, thousands killed
• 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, Spanish, is presented to Queen Isabella.

• 1531 English Reformation parliament's 2nd sitting

• 1556 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V appoints his son Philip II, 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 English parliament passes laws against Catholicism

• 1707 The Act of Union is ratified by the Scottish Parliament
• 1749 Hoax article advertising fictitious theatrical performer "The Bottle Conjuror" drew huge crowds to the Haymarket Theatre, London, whose inevitable non-appearance caused a riot. It's alleged the Duke of Montagu perpetrated the fiasco to win a bet
• 1756 Britain & Prussia sign Treaty of Westminster
• 1761 The British capture Pondicherry, India, from the French.
• 1765 Charles Messier catalogs M41 (galactic cluster in Canis Major)
• 1776 Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks
• 1777 Vermont declares independence from New York
• 1780 Battle of Cape St Vincent: British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara

• 1795 French army under Pichegru occupies Utrecht, Netherlands
• 1809 Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna
• 1819 Godert Alexander Gerard Philip, Baron van der Capellen, becomes Governor-General of Dutch East Indies

• 1847 John C. Frémont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory
• 1862 Hartley Colliery disaster results in 204 deaths
• 1863 -Aug 23rd) Cruise of CSS Florida
• 1864 Heavy fighting takes place near Dandridge, Tennessee
• 1865 Drunken sailor attacks munitions at Ft Fisher NC, 40 die
• 1865 General William Sherman issues Field Order #15 (land for blacks)
• 1865 San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle starts


• 1868 Refrigerator car patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit
• 1870 Virginia becomes 8th state readmitted to US after Civil War
• 1871 Jefferson Long of Georgia sworn in as 2nd black congressman
• 1877 Color organ (for light shows) patented, by Bainbridge Bishop
• 1878 Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule
• 1879 January record 13" of snow falls in NYC (broken Jan 7, 1996)
• 1883 Pendleton Act creates basis of US Civil Service system
• 1883 Quebec Rugby Football Union forms
• 1887 Cliff House damaged when powder cargo of schooner "Parallel" explodes
• 1889 128°F (53°C), Cloncurry, Queensland (Australian record)
• 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
• 1900 The US gains control over Tutuila in Samoa and several smaller Pacific islands
• 1905 Baseball outfielder Frank Huelsman completes eighth transaction in 8 months
• 1905 Stanley Cup, Dey's Arena, Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Senators rout Dawson City (Yukon), 23-2 for 2-0 series sweep; most lopsided challenge playoff game in history; Frank McGee 14 goals
• 1906 -Apr 13] Conference of Algeciras (about Morocco)
• 1908 Pinnacles National Monument, California established
• 1909 British explorers David, Mawson & Mackay reach south magnetic pole as part of the Nimrod Expedition
• 1911 Pandora becomes 1st 2-man sailboat to round Cape Horn west to east
• 1913 British House of Commons accepts Home Rule for Ireland (but the Great War gets in the way of it happening)

• 1915 Congress authorizes $1 & $50 Panama-Pacific Intl Expo gold coin
• 1917 The Greek Government accepts reparations for Allied losses sustained in recent actions in Greece
• 1917 "Zimmermann Telegram" is sent from Germany to Mexico, stating in the event of the US entering World War I on the allied side, Mexico would be given Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Intercepted by British intelligence and partially deciphered by the next day. It's release in March shifts US public opinion in favor of war against Germany.
• 1918 Austria and Germany are disrupted by strikes as people express impatience with leaders continuing the war

• 1920 1st assembly of the League of Nations is held in Paris
• 1920 Georgia declares independence
• 1920 Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated is founded at Howard University
• 1921 Eleftherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece (4th time)

• 1925 Leon Trotsky resigns as chairman of the Russian Revolutionary Military Council as he and Joseph Stalin battle for power in the aftermath of Vladimir Lenin's death

• 1933 Cricket's Bodyline Tour: Australian batsman Bert Oldfield's skull fractured by delivery bowled by Englishman Harold Larwood during the third test in Adelaide
• 1936 1st photo finish camera installed at Hialeah Race track in Hialeah, Florida
• 1936 Screen Actors Guild incorporates with King Vidor as president
• 1936 Spanish socialists, communists and anarchists form Unidad Popular
• 1938 1st jazz concert held at Carnegie Hall (Benny Goodman)
• 1938 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg retains title by a massive 14 strokes ahead of Jane Cothran
• 1939 Daily newspaper comic strip "Superman" debuts
• 1939 The IRA begins a bombing campaign in England

• 1941 War Department forms first Army Air Corps squadron for black cadets
• 1942 William Knudsen becomes 1st civilian appointed a general in US army
• 1943 -60°F (-51°C), Island Park Dam, Idaho (state record)
• 1943 1st US air raid on Ambon
• 1943 German 2nd SS-Panzer division evacuates Charkow
• 1943 Red Army recaptures Pitomnik airport at Stalingrad

• 1945 Scottish 52nd land division and 1st Commando brigade-assault at Heinsberg
• 1945 US 1st & 3rd army meet at Houffalise

• 1947 Vincent Aurial elected President of France


• 1948 35 Haganah members are ambushed & killed in Gush Etzyon
• 1949 "Rape of Lucretia" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 23 performances
• 1949 KNBH (now KNBC) TV channel 4 in Los Angeles, CA (NBC) 1st broadcast
• 1949 WTOP (now WUSA) TV channel 9 in Washington, D.C. (CBS) 1st broadcast
• 1950 Belgium, Luxembourg & Netherlands recognize Israel
• 1951 Viet Minh offensive against Hanoi
• 1951 World's largest gas pipeline opens (Brownsville Texas, to 134th St, New York City)
• 1952 New Dutch bible translation finished

• 1953 Egyptian Premier General Naguib disbands all political parties
• 1953 KXLY TV channel 4 in Spokane, WA (ABC/CBS) begins broadcasting
• 1954 "South Pacific" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 1928 performances
• 1955 5th NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 26-19; MVP: Billy Wilson, SF 49ers, WR
• 1956 Egyptian President Nasser pledges to reconquer Palestine
• 1957 3 B-52s leave California for 1st non-stop round world flights
• 1957 Cavern Club opens on Matthews Street in Liverpool, England, home of The Beatles' 1st appearance
• 1958 William Gibson's "Two for the Seesaw" premieres in NYC

• 1961 "Conquering Hero" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 8 performances
• 1961 Russian espionage ring detected in Great Britain
• 1962 Shooting begins on "Dr No" the first James Bond film
• 1962 Suit accuses NYC Board of Education uses "racial quotas"

• 1963 Los Angeles night club and music venue The Whiskey A-Go-Go opens (inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2006)
• 1964 "Hello, Dolly!" opens at St James Theater NYC for 2,844 performances
• 1964 AL owners vote 9-1 against Charlie Finley moving KC A's to Louisville
• 1965 "Oh What a Lovely War" closes at Broadhurst NYC after 125 performances


• 1965 "Outer Limits" last airs on ABC-TV
• 1965 4th AFL All Star Game, Jeppeson Stadium, Houston: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 38-14; MVPs: Keith Lincoln, LA Chargers, RB; Willie Brown, Denver Broncos, DB
• 1965 The Searchers' "Love Potion Number 9" peaks at #3
• 1965 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

• 1966 Harold R Perry becomes 2nd black Roman Catholic bishop in US
• 1966 Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi seizes power in the chaos caused by a military coup and becomes the Nigerian Head of State
• 1966 Chicago is granted an NBA franchise to be called the Bulls; become the 3rd NBA franchise in the city, after the Chicago Stags (1946–50) and Chicago Packers/Zephyrs (now Washington Wizards)

• 1967 1st black government installed in Bahamas
• 1967 Lucius Amerson, becomes 1st southern (Alabama) African American sheriff in 20th century
• 1968 21st NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens: Toronto Maple Leafs beat All-Stars 4-3; MVP: Bruce Gamble, Toronto, G
• 1968 Jay Allen's "Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" premieres in NYC
• 1968 The Youth International Party is founded.
• 1969 Soviet Soyuz 4 & Soyuz 5 perform 1st transfer of crew in space
• 1970 Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause
• 1970 NFL realigns into 3 divisions (down from 4)
• 1970 AAU player Steve Myers makes a basketball field goal of 92'3½" from out of bounds, Tacoma-it shouldn't have counted, but was allowed
• 1970 Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects

• 1970 Inaugural Buffalo Sabres owners Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox hire former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach in the same capacities for their new NHL franchise
• 1971 Ard Schenk skates world record 1500m (1:58.7)
• 1972 Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes European all-round lady skating champ
• 1972 Super Bowl VI, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: Dallas Cowboys beat Miami Dolphins, 24-3; MVP: Roger Staubach, Dallas, QB
• 1973 NBC presents 440th & final showing of "Bonanza"
• 1973 USSR's Lunakhod 2 begins radio-controlled exploration of Moon

• 1974 L A Landslide kills 9 in Canyonville, Oregon
• 1976 "Donny & Marie" [Osmond] musical variety show premieres on ABC TV
• 1976 Peter Frampton released platinum live album "Frampton Comes Alive"


• 1977 Cap's H Monahan scored on 2nd penalty shot against Islanders

• 1978 Soyuz 27 returns to Earth

• 1979 Bakhtiar government established by the Shah in Iran, will preside until unrest in the country subsides

• 1981 Protestant gunmen shoot & wound Bernadette Devlin McAliskey & husband

• 1985 "Playboy" announces end of stapling centerfolds
• 1986 Police arrested 3 IRA-terrorists in Amsterdam
• 1986 First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
• 1988 4th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
• 1988 Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder fired from CBS for racial remarks
• 1988 NFL St Louis Cardinals announce move to Phoenix

• 1989 USSR announces plan for 2-yr manned mission to Mars
• 1989 5th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
• 1990 2 Bank of Credit & Commerce members plea guilty to money laundering
• 1991 7th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
• 1992 "Two Shakespearean Actors" opens at Cort Theater NYC for 29 performances
• 1992 Chapultepec Peace Accords are signed in Mexico City which ends the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War
• 1993 25th NAACP Image Awards: "Boyz n the Hood" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
• 1994 Scott skates world record 1000m (1:12.54)
• 1995 UPN (Universal-Parmount Network) begins telecasting (WWOR in NYC)
• 1997 Anthony Stuart takes ODI hat-trick, Aus v Pakistan, MCG


• 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
• 2001 A fuel supply tanker runs aground off the island of San Cristobal, causing an 'ecological disaster'

• 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.

• 2005 At 66 years old, Romanian university lecturer Adriana Illiescu becomes the oldest birth mother in the world

• 2013 24 people die after three car bombs exploded in Idlib Governorate, Syria
• 2013 A four day occupation of an Algerian BP facility by Amenas militants begins, killing 48 hostages
• 2013 25 people are killed after an apartment block collapses in Alexandria, Egypt
• 2014 19th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: 12 Years a Slave wins Best Film
• 2016 First ever flower grown in space - a zinnia aboard the International Space Station using NASA Veggie system
• 2019 Golden State Warriors break 2 franchise records in 142-111 win over Denver Nuggets; in 1st quarter, record 10 three-point field goals on way to franchise best 51 points in the period
• 2019 Australian Bureau of Meteorology tweets last four days were the country's hottest on record with Tarcoola, South Australia, reaching 49 C (120 F), Port Augusta 48.5 C (119 F)

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