16 January in Indian and World History
16 January in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 16 January is the birth anniversary of Guru Har Rai, Kamini Kaushal, Subhash Mukhopadhyay, and Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath.
16 January is also observed as the death anniversary of Lakshmi Kant Jha, and Ramnaresh Tripathi.
Birth Anniversary on 16 January
16 January in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Guru Har Rai (16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) was the seventh Guru of the Sikhs. He was appointed Guru on 3 March 1644 and remained in this post till 6 October 1661 AD. Unlike his paternal grandfather, the great warrior Guru Hargobind Singh, Guru Har Rai was a proponent of peace, who was not interested in resisting Mughal oppression. He was born on 16 January 1630 in Punjab.
Kamini Kaushal is an actress and TV artist of Hindi films, who won the hearts of everyone with her decency. Her real name was ‘Uma Kashyap’. The film name ‘Kamini Kaushal’ was given by Chetan Anand and she was known by this name. She was born on 16 January 1927 in Lahore, Punjab.
Subhash Mukhopadhyay (16 January 1931 – 19 June 1981) was an Indian physician and scientist. He was the father of the world’s second and India’s ‘first test tube baby’. The first test tube baby in India was born on 3 October 1978 in Kolkata. It was the misfortune of Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay that his success was not recognized. He was born on 16 January 1931 in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand.
Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath was the former 18th Chief Election Commissioner of India. He held this position from 11 June 2012 to 15 January 2015. He was born on 16 January 1950, Tamil Nadu.
Read More: 15 January in Indian and World History
Death Anniversary on 16 January
16 January in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
Lakshmi Kant Jha (22 November 1913 – 16 January 1988) was the eighth Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. His tenure was from 1 July 1967 to 3 May 1970. He was also the third Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He died on 16 January 1988.
Ramnaresh Tripathi (4 March 1881 – 16 January 1962) was an important poet of the Pracchhayavadi era, who also wrote poems about nationalism. Apart from poetry, he also wrote novels, plays, criticism, a brief history of Hindi literature, and children’s books. His main poetry works are ‘Milan’, ‘Pathik’, ‘Swapna’ and ‘Mansi’. Ramnaresh Tripathi traveled all over the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Saurashtra to Guwahati to select folk songs. He died on 16 January 1962 in Prayag UP.
Read More: 14 January in Indian and World History
Notable events on 16 January in Indian and World History
16 January 1581 – The British Parliament declared Roman Catholicism illegal.
16 January 1681 – The grand coronation of Sambhaji, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, took place at Raigad fort in Maharashtra.
16 January 1769 – Organized horse racing was organized for the first time in Accra, Calcutta (now Kolkata).
16 January 1934 – Karima Mokhtar, an Egyptian actress, was born.
16 January 1943 – First air attack of the US Air Force on Ambon Island of Indonesia.
16 January 1969 – For the first time, members were exchanged in space between the Soviet spacecraft ‘Soyuz 4’ and ‘Soyuz 5’.
16 January 1989 – The Soviet Union announces its plans for a two-year manned mission to Mars.
16 January 1995 – Agreement between Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and the Chechnya delegation to stop the ongoing civil war in Chechnya.
16 January 2000 – The Chinese government recognized a two-year-old Tibetan boy as the pre-incarnation of ‘Sakar Buddha’.
16 January 2013 – 24 people died in bomb blasts in Idlib, Syria.
16 January 2020 – Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off the 51st K-9 Vajra-T cannon at Hazira Larsen & Toubro Armored System Complex located in Surat, Gujarat.
16 January Historical Significance
On January 16th, several significant events left their mark on history. In 1920, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect, initiating the era of Prohibition, which banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. This period had profound social and cultural effects on American society. Additionally, on January 16, 1991, the Persian Gulf War began with Operation Desert Storm. This military operation, led by a coalition of forces primarily from the United States and its allies, aimed to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. The conflict had far-reaching geopolitical implications and reshaped the dynamics of the Middle East. Furthermore, on January 16, 2001, President Bill Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former President Ronald Reagan, recognizing his contributions to American society and his leadership during challenging times. These events on January 16th illustrate the diverse range of historical moments that have occurred on this date.
Important Days of 16 January in History
National Religious Freedom Day: This day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly’s adoption of Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, which laid the foundation for the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom in the United States.
Appreciate a Dragon Day: A whimsical holiday created to celebrate the mythical creature, dragons. It encourages people to learn about dragons in various cultures and express appreciation for these legendary beings through art, storytelling, or other creative means.
World Day of the Fight against Pneumonia: This day aims to raise awareness about pneumonia, a serious lung infection that affects millions of people worldwide, particularly children and the elderly. It highlights the importance of prevention, early detection, and access to proper treatment to reduce the global burden of pneumonia-related illness and death.
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