FRIDAY, Jan. 16, 2026

1412-The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy

1547-Ivan the Terrible, aged 17, crowns himself the 1st tsar of Moscow

1605-The first edition of "El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha" (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid

1793-French King Louis XVI sentenced to death by the National Convention during the French Revolution

1913-British House of Commons accepts Home Rule for Ireland (but the Great War gets in the way of it happening)

1919-The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, authorizing the prohibition of alcohol, is ratified by a majority of U.S. states

1920-First assembly of the League of Nations is held in Paris