16 January in history
8 events that happened on 16 January, from 1362 to 2003.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1362 CE 664 years ago
The 'Great Drowning of Men' storm surge hits the North Sea coast
A severe south-westerly gale drove the sea over the coasts of England, the Low Countries, Germany and Denmark. At least 25,000 people died, and the trading town of Rungholt vanished beneath the waves.
1780 CE 246 years ago
Rodney defeats the Spanish in the 'Moonlight Battle'
Admiral George Rodney's larger British fleet overwhelmed a Spanish squadron off Cape St Vincent in an unusual night action. The victory allowed him to resupply besieged Gibraltar.
1919 CE 107 years ago
Ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment sets up Prohibition
Nebraska became the 36th state to ratify the amendment banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol, making it part of the US Constitution. Prohibition took effect a year later and lasted until 1933.
1945 CE 81 years ago
Hitler moves into the Führerbunker in Berlin
Adolf Hitler took up residence in the air-raid shelter beneath the Reich Chancellery garden. He directed the final months of the war from there and killed himself in the bunker on 30 April.
1969 CE 57 years ago
Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 make the first crewed docking
Two Soviet spacecraft docked in orbit and two cosmonauts spacewalked from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4. It was the first exchange of crew between spacecraft, a rehearsal for building space stations.
2003 CE 23 years ago
Space Shuttle Columbia launches on its final mission
Columbia lifted off on mission STS-107 with seven astronauts. Foam debris struck its wing during launch, and the shuttle broke apart on re-entry sixteen days later, killing the crew.
