Famous people born on January 16 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is January 16, you share it with Ethel Merman, Dian Fossey, Lin-Manuel Miranda — and you were born under Capricorn, the sign of the ambitious, disciplined, and built for the long game.
Birthday basics for January 16
Capricorn ♑
Zodiac sign
Garnet
Birthstone
Carnation
Birth flower
16th
Day of the year
January 16 is the 16th day of the year, with 349 days still to come.
Famous people born on January 16
Ethel Merman — American Broadway singer and actress (born 1908).
Dian Fossey — American zoologist famous for her study of mountain gorillas (born 1932).
Lin-Manuel Miranda — American composer and playwright who created Hamilton (born 1980).
Also sharing the day:
Susan Sontag (b. 1933) — American essayist and critic known for "On Photography" and "Against Interpretation".
John Carpenter (b. 1948) — American filmmaker behind "Halloween" and "Escape from New York".
Kate Moss (b. 1974) — English supermodel who defined 1990s fashion.
January 16 in history
1909 — Members of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition reached the area of the magnetic South Pole.
1920 — The League of Nations held its first council meeting in Paris.
1969 — Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 performed the first docking of two crewed spacecraft in orbit.
1605 — The first edition of Miguel de Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote" was published in Madrid.
1786 — Virginia enacted Thomas Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom.
1919 — Nebraska became the 36th state to approve the Eighteenth Amendment, clearing the way for Prohibition.
January 16 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is January 16?
Anyone born on January 16 is a Capricorn — ambitious, disciplined, and built for the long game.
What is the birthstone for January 16?
The birthstone for a January 16 birthday is Garnet, and the birth flower is the Carnation.
Who is the most famous person born on January 16?
Ethel Merman is among the best known — American Broadway singer and actress (born 1908).
What happened on January 16?
In 1909, Members of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition reached the area of the magnetic South Pole.
What day of the year is January 16?
January 16 is the 16th day of the year, with 349 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on January 16? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.