January 16 Birthday
On January 16, 1547, Ivan IV was crowned Tsar of All Russia at the age of sixteen. He was the first Russian ruler to use the title "tsar," derived from "caesar." His early reign was reformist and relatively enlightened — he revised the legal code, created a standing army, and opened trade with England. Then his wife died in 1560, and Ivan descended into paranoia and violence. He created the oprichnina, a personal terror state within the state, with a private army of black-clad enforcers who rode through Russia killing anyone the tsar suspected of disloyalty. He killed his own son and heir in a rage, striking him with his iron-tipped staff. The Rurik dynasty never recovered. "The Terrible" is a translation of the Russian "grozny," which means more like "formidable" or "awe-inspiring" — but the English translation has stuck, and it fits. The League of Nations held its first meeting on this day in 1920, in Paris. It was Woodrow Wilson's idea, and his refusal to compromise with the US Senate meant that the United States never joined the organization it had proposed. The League failed comprehensively — it did nothing about the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, or the German remilitarization of the Rhineland. It was dissolved in 1946 and replaced by the United Nations, which was given enforcement powers the League never had. Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for creating it. He never recovered from a stroke he suffered while campaigning for American membership, and he died in 1924 believing his life's work had failed. Space Shuttle Columbia launched on January 16, 2003, on its twenty-eighth flight. A piece of foam insulation broke off the external fuel tank during launch and struck the left wing's leading edge. Engineers reviewed the video and raised concerns, but NASA management dismissed them. The shuttle was not equipped to inspect or repair damage in orbit. For sixteen days, the crew conducted science experiments in orbit, unaware that their reentry was compromised. On February 1, during reentry, superheated plasma entered the wing through the breach and the shuttle disintegrated over Texas. All seven astronauts died. The foam problem had been observed on previous launches and accepted as routine — a classic normalization of deviance. Susan Sontag, born this day in 1933, wrote "Notes on 'Camp'" in 1964 and defined an aesthetic sensibility that people had been feeling for decades without naming. She wrote about photography, illness, and war with equal authority. Aaliyah, born this day in 1979, was killed in a plane crash at twenty-two. Kate Moss, born this day in 1974, was discovered at fourteen at JFK airport and became the face of "heroin chic" — a look that defined the 1990s and was later acknowledged as promoting anorexia. People born on January 16 fall under the zodiac sign of Capricorn. The birthstone is Garnet and the birth flower is Carnation. Historical events on January 16 include 1547: Ivan IV crowned first Tsar of All Russia at age sixteen, 1920: League of Nations holds its first meeting in Paris, 2003: Space Shuttle Columbia launches its final mission (STS-107). Famous people born on January 16 include Susan Sontag (1933), Kate Moss (1974), Aaliyah (1979).