January 16: Martin Luther King Day in the United States ( 2006)
- 27 BC - Gaius Octavius was given the title Augustus by the Roman Senate.
- 1547 - Ivan the Terrible was crowned Tsar of Russia.
- 1605 - Book One of Don Quixote, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes, was first published in Madrid, Spain.
- 1909 - The expedition led by Sir Ernest H. Shackleton located the Magnetic South Pole.
- 1917 - World War I: The Zimmermann Telegram was dispatched.
Recent days: January 15 – January 14 – January 13