Date·Lore

On This Day · The 16th day of the year

January 16

January 16 carries an unusually long memory — its events reach back as far as 27 BC. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♑ZodiacCapricorn ◈BirthstoneGarnet ❀Birth flowerCarnation

Capricorn is the sign for January 16 — read more on the Capricorn page, or see January's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on January 16?

January 16 is the 16th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between -27 and 2017. Famous people born on January 16 include Eduardo Frei Montalva, Johannes Rau and Carlos Pellicer.

Released on January 16

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game BrokenLore: Unfollow

2025

  • Game Arken Age
  • Game Blade Chimera

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. -27

    Augustus

  2. 1605

    Don Quixote

  3. 1780

    American Revolutionary War

  4. 1809

    Peninsular War

  5. 1883

    Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

  6. 1920

    League of Nations

  7. 1942

    TWA Flight 3

  8. 1945

    World War II

  9. 1992

    El Salvador

  10. 2017

    Turkish Airlines Flight 6491

Famous birthday twins

Born on January 16

Eduardo Frei Montalva

b. 1911

Johannes Rau

b. 1931

Carlos Pellicer

b. 1897

Emperor Shengzong of Liao

b. 972

Edith Frank

b. 1900

Fulgencio Batista

b. 1901

Aaliyah

b. 1979

Reto Ziegler

b. 1986

Deaths

  • 2025David Lynch
  • 2012Gustav Leonhardt
  • 1957Arturo Toscanini
  • 1864Anton Schindler
  • 1547Johannes Schöner
  • 1545George Spalatin

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Pope Benjamin (Coptic)
  • —Christian feast day: Berard of Carbio
  • —Christian feast day: Blaise (Armenian Apostolic)
  • —Christian feast day: Fursey
  • —Christian feast day: Joseph Vaz
  • —Christian feast day: Honoratus of Arles
  • —Christian feast day: Pope Marcellus I
  • —Christian feast day: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Coptic Church)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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