On This Day: 16 January

16 January in Indian history

• 1913Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan writes his first letter to G. H. Hardy at Cambridge, stating without proof various formulae involving integrals, infinite series, and continued fractions, beginning a long correspondence between the two as well as widesIndia
• 1757Forces of the Maratha Empire are defeated by the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Narela.India

16 January in world history

• 2011Syrian civil war: The Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) is established with the stated goal of re-organizing Syria along the lines of democratic confederalism.
• 2003The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
• 2002War in Afghanistan: The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
• 1984A radiation detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, United States, detects radioactivity after a truck carrying rebar accidentally passed through the laboratory's area, revealing a contamination incident that occurred in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
• 1969Space Race: Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of crewed 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.
• 1945World War II: Adolf Hitler and his staff moved into the Führerbunker in Berlin, where he would eventually commit suicide.
• 1942TWA Flight 3 crashed into Potosi Mountain in Nevada, killing actress Carole Lombard and all of the other 21 people on board.
• 1942World War II: During the Battle of Bataan, U.S. Army sergeant Jose Calugas organized a squad of volunteers to man an artillery position under heavy fire, an action that later earned him the Medal of Honor.
• 1905Despite being blind in one eye, ice hockey player Frank McGee set the record for most goals in a Stanley Cup game when he scored 14 against the Dawson City Nuggets.
• 1878Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Battle of Philippopolis: Captain Aleksandr Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.
• 1847Westward expansion of the United States: John C. Frémont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
• 1809Peninsular War: French forces under Jean-de-Dieu Soult attacked the British amphibious evacuation under Sir John Moore at Corunna in Galicia, Spain.
• 1780American Revolutionary War: The Royal Navy gained their first major naval victory over their European enemies in the war when they defeated a Spanish squadron in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
• 1716King Philip V of Spain promulgates the Nueva Planta decree of the Principality of Catalonia, abolishing the Catalan institutions and its legal system, being replaced by those of Castile, thus putting an end to Catalonia as separate state and becoming a provinc
• 1275Eleanor of Provence received permission from her son King Edward I of England to expel Jews from the towns of Worcester, Marlborough, Cambridge and Gloucester.
• 27 BCGaius Octavianus was given the titles Augustus and Princeps by the Roman Senate when he became the first Roman emperor.

Born on 16 January

• 1985Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actorIndia
• 1946Kabir Bedi, Indian actorIndia
• 1895Evripidis Bakirtzis, Greek soldier and politician (died 1947)
• 1874Robert W. Service, English-Canadian poet and author (died 1958)
• 1630Guru Har Rai, Sikh Guru (died 1661)India
• 1477Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (died 1547)

Died on 16 January

• 1962Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, designed the Monument to the Unknown Hero (born 1883)
• 1938Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Indian author and playwright (born 1876)India
• 1901Mahadev Govind Ranade, Indian scholar, social reformer, judge and author (born 1842)India
• 1898Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (born 1802)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 16 January in history?

2011: Syrian civil war: The Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) is established with the stated goal of re-organizing Syria along the lines of democratic confederalism. 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. 2002: War in Afghanistan: The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban. 1984: A radiation detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, United States, detects radioactivity after a truck carrying rebar accidentally passed through the laboratory's area, revealing a contamination incident that occurred in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

What happened on 16 January in Indian history?

1913: Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan writes his first letter to G. H. Hardy at Cambridge, stating without proof various formulae involving integrals, infinite series, and continued fractions, beginning a long correspondence between the two as well as wides. 1757: Forces of the Maratha Empire are defeated by the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Narela.

Which famous people were born on 16 January?

Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor (1985); Kabir Bedi, Indian actor (1946); Evripidis Bakirtzis, Greek soldier and politician (died 1947) (1895); Robert W. Service, English-Canadian poet and author (died 1958) (1874).

Which day is observed on 16 January?

National Religious Freedom Day (United States); Teachers' Day in Thailand and Myanmar.