January 16
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Featured Event
NASA
NASA’s First Female Astronauts
On this day in 1978, NASA announced the members of its newest class of astronauts, which, for the first time in history, included six women. Sally Ride (pictured), Kathryn Sullivan, Rhea Seddon, Shannon Lucid, Anna Fisher, and Judy Resnick were chosen from more than 1,500 applications, and they had enviable skills and specialties. In 1983, Ride became the first American woman to travel into space. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International/gorillafund.org
American zoologist Dian Fossey, born this day in 1932, became the world’s leading authority on the mountain gorilla, and her autobiography, Gorillas in the Mist (1983), was subsequently adapted into a feature film.
Famous Birthdays
More on January 16
David Magnus/Shutterstock.com
2021
American record producer Phil Spector, who scored a number of hits with his unique take on pop music but who was later convicted of second-degree murder, died at age 80. [How much do you know about pop music?]
NASA
2017
American astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last person to walk on the Moon (1972), died at age 82. [Take our quiz about famous astronauts and cosmonauts.]
Spencer Platt—Getty Images/Thinkstock
2006
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected head of state of an African country, was sworn in as president of Liberia. [Test your knowledge of some famous firsts for women.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1992
The civil war in El Salvador ended as the government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front signed the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City. [Test your knowledge of Latin American history.]
Lt. S. Gozzo/U.S. Department of Defense
1991
The Persian Gulf War, triggered by Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, began with a U.S.-led air offensive against Iraq that continued until a cease-fire was declared on February 28.
© National Broadcasting Company
1973
The last episode of Bonanza aired on NBC as the popular western series ended after 14 seasons. [How much do you know about pop culture?]
Christian Steiner
1934
Opera singer Marilyn Horne, an American mezzo-soprano noted for the seamless quality and exceptional range and flexibility of her voice, was born. [Take our quiz about opera.]
U.S. Navy/U.S. Department of Defense
1915
Susan Ahn Cuddy, the first Asian American woman to become an officer in the U.S. Navy, was born in Los Angeles. [Watch: How Susan Ahn Cuddy became a Navy pioneer.]
Brady-Handy Photograph Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no.LC-DIG-cwpbh-02930)
1883
The Pendleton Civil Service Act, a bill sponsored by Senator George H. Pendleton of Ohio, established the Civil Service Commission in the United States. [Take our quiz about American history and politics.]
© AISA—Everett/Shutterstock.com
1556
Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain, renounced his claim to Spain. [Test your knowledge of kings and emperors.]
© IgorGolovniov/Shutterstock.com
1547
Ivan the Terrible was crowned “tsar and grand prince of all Russia.” [How much do you know about Russian history?]