A birthday on the globe
16 January on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 16 January, the English Wikipedia lists 59 events and 226 births. 32 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; 12 more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 16 January through the years
The Earth on 16 January
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in January 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 16 January the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 21.0° south. In London, the day lasts about 8 hours 20 minutes.
Beyond 69° south the Sun no longer sets; beyond 69° north it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · University of Cambridge
1913
Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan writes his first letter to G. H. Hardy at Cambridge, stating without proof various formulae involving integrals, infinite series, and continued fractions, beginning a long correspondence between the two as well as widespread recognition of Ramanujan's results.
On the map: University of Cambridge.
Europe · Madrid
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, Spain.
On the map: Madrid.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish, Romanian and Chinese.
Europe · Paris
1920
The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris, France.
On the map: Paris.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Europe · Ľubochňa
1921
The Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine holds its founding congress in Ľubochňa.
On the map: Ľubochňa.
Wikipedia: Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine
North America · St. James Theatre
1964
The musical Hello, Dolly! opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway, and went on to win ten Tony Awards, a record that stood for 37 years.
On the map: St. James Theatre.
Oceans · South Pole
1909
Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
On the map: South Pole.
16 January
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Santo Domingo
1493
From the present-day city of Santo Domingo (capital of the Dominican Republic), on the island of Hispaniola, the navigator Christopher Columbus and his sailors set out on the return voyage to Spain.
On the map: Santo Domingo.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
16 January
Born on 16 January#
The English Wikipedia lists 226 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 16 January
1933
Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, and critic (died 2004)
Place of birth: New York City.
Born on 16 January
1932
Dian Fossey, American zoologist and anthropologist (died 1985)
Place of birth: San Francisco.
Born on 16 January
1979
Aaliyah, American singer and actress (died 2001)
Place of birth: Brooklyn.
Born on 16 January
1974
Kate Moss, English model and fashion designer
Place of birth: Addiscombe.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1988
FKA Twigs, English singer-songwriter and actress
Place of birth: Cheltenham.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1963
James May, English journalist and television presenter
Place of birth: Bristol.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1981
Bobby Zamora, English footballer
Place of birth: Barking.
16 January
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 16 January through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 16 January
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 15 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 1458 BC
Hatshepsut dies at the age of 50 and is buried in the Valley of the Kings.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Hatshepsut - 27 BC
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
Europe · Roman EmpireWikipedia: Augustus - 378
General Siyaj K'ak' conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Spearthrower Owl of Teotihuacán.
Latin America · TikalWikipedia: Teotihuacan - 550
The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.
Europe · Siege of RomeWikipedia: Siege of Rome - 929
Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III establishes the Caliphate of Córdoba.
Europe · Umayyad state of CórdobaWikipedia: Emir - 1120
Crusades: The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Asia · NablusWikipedia: Council of Nablus - 1275
Edward I permits his mother Eleanor of Provence to expel the Jews from the towns Worcester, Marlborough, Cambridge and Gloucester.
Britain & Ireland · Worcester, EnglandWikipedia: Edward I - 1349
Basel Massacre: Dozens to hundreds of Jews were burned to death by Christians after being accused of causing the Black Death.
Europe · Basel MassacreWikipedia: Basel Massacre - 1362
Saint Marcellus's flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
Oceans · North SeaWikipedia: Saint Marcellus's flood - 1537
Bigod's Rebellion, an armed insurrection attempting to resist the English Reformation, begins.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Bigod's rebellion - 1547
Grand Prince Ivan IV is crowned as Tsar of all Russia.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ivan the Terrible - 1556
Philip II becomes King of Spain.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Philip II of Spain - 1572
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried and found guilty of treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ridolfi plot - 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, Spain.
Europe · MadridWikipedia: Don Quixote - 1641
Reapers' War: The Junta de Braços (parliamentary assembly) of the Principality of Catalonia accepts the proposal of establishment of the Catalan Republic, under French protection.
Europe · Principality of CataloniaWikipedia: Reapers' War - 1707
The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.
Britain & Ireland · Kingdom of Great BritainWikipedia: Acts of Union 1707 - 1716
King Philip V of Spain promulgates the Nueva Planta decree of the Principality of Catalonia, abolishing the Catalan institutions and its legal system, being replaced by those of Castile, thus putting an end to Catalonia as separate state and becoming a province of the new French-style Kingdom of Spain.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Philip V of Spain - 1757
Forces of the Maratha Empire are defeated by the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Narela.
Asia · NarelaWikipedia: Battle of Narela - 1780
American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
Europe · Battle of Cape St. VincentWikipedia: Battle of Cape St. Vincent - 1786
Virginia enacts the Statute for Religious Freedom authored by Thomas Jefferson.
North America · VirginiaWikipedia: Virginia - 1809
Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
Europe · Battle of CorunnaWikipedia: Battle of Corunna - 1847
Westward expansion of the United States: John C. Frémont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
North America · CaliforniaWikipedia: Territorial evolution of the United States - 1862
Hartley Colliery disaster: Two hundred and four men and boys killed in a mining disaster, prompting a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
Britain & Ireland · Hartley Colliery disasterWikipedia: Hartley Colliery disaster - 1878
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Battle of Philippopolis: Captain Aleksandr Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.
Europe · Battle of PlovdivWikipedia: Russo-Turkish War - 1883
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is enacted by Congress.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act - 1900
The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.
Oceania · American SamoaWikipedia: Tripartite Convention - 1905
Despite being blind in one eye, ice hockey player Frank McGee set the record for most goals in a Stanley Cup game when he scored 14 against the Dawson City Nuggets.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ice hockey - 1909
Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
Oceans · South PoleWikipedia: Ernest Shackleton - 1913
Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan writes his first letter to G. H. Hardy at Cambridge, stating without proof various formulae involving integrals, infinite series, and continued fractions, beginning a long correspondence between the two as well as widespread recognition of Ramanujan's results.
Britain & Ireland · University of CambridgeWikipedia: University of Cambridge - 1919
Nebraska becomes the 36th state to approve the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. With the necessary three-quarters of the states approving the amendment, Prohibition is constitutionally mandated in the United States one year later.
North America · NebraskaWikipedia: Nebraska - 1920
The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris, France.
Europe · ParisWikipedia: League of Nations - 1921
The Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine holds its founding congress in Ľubochňa.
Europe · ĽubochňaWikipedia: Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine - 1942
Crash of TWA Flight 3, killing all 22 aboard, including film star Carole Lombard.
North America · TWA Flight 3Wikipedia: TWA Flight 3 - 1942
The Holocaust: Nazi Germany begins deporting Jews from the Łódź Ghetto to Chełmno extermination camp.
Europe · Łódź GhettoWikipedia: The Holocaust - 1942
World War II: During the Battle of Bataan, U.S. Army sergeant Jose Calugas organized a squad of volunteers to man an artillery position under heavy fire, an action that later earned him the Medal of Honor.
Asia · Battle of BataanWikipedia: World War II - 1945
World War II: Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.
Europe · FührerbunkerWikipedia: World War II - 1959
Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Astor Piazzolla International Airport in Mar del Plata, Argentina, killing 51.
Latin America · Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205Wikipedia: Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205 - 1964
The musical Hello, Dolly! opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway, and went on to win ten Tony Awards, a record that stood for 37 years.
North America · St. James TheatreWikipedia: Hello, Dolly! - 1969
Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
Europe · PragueWikipedia: Prague Spring - 1969
Space Race: Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of crewed spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Space Race - 1979
Iranian Revolution: The last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Iranian Revolution - 1983
Turkish Airlines Flight 158 crashes at Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Ankara, Turkey, killing 47 and injuring 20.
Asia · Turkish Airlines Flight 158Wikipedia: Turkish Airlines Flight 158 - 1984
A radiation detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, United States, detects radioactivity after a truck carrying rebar accidentally passed through the laboratory's area, revealing a contamination incident that occurred in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the previous month.
Latin America · Ciudad JuárezWikipedia: Ciudad Juárez cobalt-60 contamination incident - 1991
Coalition Forces go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War.
Asia · IraqWikipedia: Gulf War - 1992
El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, Mexico ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.
Latin America · Mexico CityWikipedia: Salvadoran Civil War - 1995
An avalanche hits the Icelandic village Súðavík, destroying 25 homes and burying 26 people, 14 of whom died.
Europe · SúðavíkWikipedia: 1995 Súðavík avalanche - 1998
In Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Guatemala, thirteen American students on a school trip are attacked and robbed at gunpoint; five were raped.
Latin America · Santa Lucía CotzumalguapaWikipedia: 1998 Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa attack - 2001
Second Congo War: Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards in Kinshasa.
Africa · Assassination of Laurent-Désiré KabilaWikipedia: Assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila - 2001
US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish–American War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Spanish–American War - 2002
War in Afghanistan: The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
no place on the mapWikipedia: War in Afghanistan - 2003
The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
North America · Space Shuttle Columbia disasterWikipedia: Space Shuttle Columbia disaster - 2006
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.
Africa · LiberiaWikipedia: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - 2011
Syrian civil war: The Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) is established with the stated goal of re-organizing Syria along the lines of democratic confederalism.
Asia · SyriaWikipedia: Syrian civil war - 2012
The Mali War begins when Tuareg militias start fighting the Malian government for independence.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mali War - 2016
Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
Africa · 2016 Ouagadougou attacksWikipedia: 2016 Ouagadougou attacks - 2017
Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 crashes into a residential area near Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan, killing 39 people.
Asia · Turkish Airlines Flight 6491Wikipedia: Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 - 2018
Myanmar police open fire on a group of ethnic Rakhine protesters, killing seven and wounding twelve.
Asia · 2018 Mrauk U riotWikipedia: 2018 Mrauk U riot - 2020
The United States Senate ratifies the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement as a replacement for NAFTA.
no place on the mapWikipedia: United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement - 2020
The first impeachment of Donald Trump formally moves into its trial phase in the United States Senate.
no place on the mapWikipedia: First impeachment of Donald Trump
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
- 1493
From the present-day city of Santo Domingo (capital of the Dominican Republic), on the island of Hispaniola, the navigator Christopher Columbus and his sailors set out on the return voyage to Spain.
Who was born on 16 January
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 226 are shown.
- 1933
Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, and critic (died 2004)
New York CityWikipedia: Susan Sontag - 1901
Fulgencio Batista, Cuban colonel and politician, ninth President of Cuba (died 1973)
- 1996
Jennie, South Korean singer
SeongnamWikipedia: Jennie - 1931
Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, eighth Federal President of Germany (died 2006)
WuppertalWikipedia: Johannes Rau - 1932
Dian Fossey, American zoologist and anthropologist (died 1985)
San FranciscoWikipedia: Dian Fossey - 1979
Aaliyah, American singer and actress (died 2001)
BrooklynWikipedia: Aaliyah - 1974
Kate Moss, English model and fashion designer
AddiscombeWikipedia: Kate Moss - 1959
Sade, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer
IbadanWikipedia: Sade - 1988
Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer
CopenhagenWikipedia: Nicklas Bendtner - 1749
Vittorio Alfieri, Italian poet and playwright (died 1803)
- 1948
John Carpenter, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
Jefferson CountyWikipedia: John Carpenter - 1821
John C. Breckinridge, American general and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States (died 1875)
LexingtonWikipedia: John C. Breckinridge - 1908
Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (died 1984)
AstoriaWikipedia: Ethel Merman - 1984
Stephan Lichtsteiner, Swiss footballer
AdligenswilWikipedia: Stephan Lichtsteiner - 1980
Seydou Keita, Malian footballer
BamakoWikipedia: Seydou Keita - 1838
Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (died 1917)
BoppardWikipedia: Franz Brentano - 1844
Ismail Kemal, Albanian politician and statesman, first prime minister of Albania (died 1919)
- 1985
Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor
New DelhiWikipedia: Sidharth Malhotra - 1980
Lin-Manuel Miranda, American actor, playwright, and composer
ManhattanWikipedia: Lin-Manuel Miranda - 1911
Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (died 1982)
SantiagoWikipedia: Eduardo Frei Montalva - 1946
Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
LahoreWikipedia: Kabir Bedi - 1924
Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (died 2002)
GuadalajaraWikipedia: Katy Jurado - 1952
Fuad II, King of Egypt
- 1969
Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
PensacolaWikipedia: Roy Jones Jr. - 1409
René of Anjou, king of Naples (died 1480)
AngersWikipedia: René of Anjou - 1836
Francis II of the Two Sicilies (died 1894)
- 1935
Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (died 2015)
Boże, Warmian-Masurian VoivodeshipWikipedia: Udo Lattek - 1988
FKA Twigs, English singer-songwriter and actress
CheltenhamWikipedia: FKA Twigs - 1971
Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player and coach
BarcelonaWikipedia: Sergi Bruguera - 1900
Edith Frank, German-Dutch mother of Anne Frank (died 1945)
AachenWikipedia: Edith Frank - 1907
Alexander Knox, Canadian-English actor and screenwriter (died 1995)
Strathroy-CaradocWikipedia: Alexander Knox - 1963
James May, English journalist and television presenter
BristolWikipedia: James May - 1950
Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
HoustonWikipedia: Debbie Allen - 1956
Martin Jol, Dutch footballer and manager
The HagueWikipedia: Martin Jol - 1982
Tuncay, Turkish footballer
Sakarya ProvinceWikipedia: Tuncay Şanlı - 1986
Reto Ziegler, Swiss footballer
GenevaWikipedia: Reto Ziegler - 1728
Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer and educator (died 1800)
- 1909
Clement Greenberg, American art critic (died 1994)
The BronxWikipedia: Clement Greenberg - 1983
Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
- 1675
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French soldier and diplomat (died 1755)
- 1981
Bobby Zamora, English footballer
BarkingWikipedia: Bobby Zamora - 1878
Harry Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1947)
New York CityWikipedia: Harry Carey - 1906
Diana Wynyard, English actress (died 1964)
LewishamWikipedia: Diana Wynyard - 1908
Günther Prien, German captain (died 1941)
OsterfeldWikipedia: Günther Prien - 1516
Bayinnaung, king of Burma (died 1581)
TaungooWikipedia: Bayinnaung - 1630
Guru Har Rai, Sikh Guru (died 1661)
Kiratpur SahibWikipedia: Guru Har Rai - 1815
Henry Halleck, American lawyer, general, and scholar (died 1872)
Oneida CountyWikipedia: Henry Halleck - 1902
Eric Liddell, Scottish runner, rugby player, and missionary (died 1945)
TianjinWikipedia: Eric Liddell - 1934
Marilyn Horne, American soprano and actress
BradfordWikipedia: Marilyn Horne - 1957
Ricardo Darín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
Buenos AiresWikipedia: Ricardo Darín - 1980
Albert Pujols, Dominican-American baseball player
Santo DomingoWikipedia: Albert Pujols - 1937
Francis George, American cardinal (died 2015)
ChicagoWikipedia: Francis George - 1944
Jill Tarter, American astronomer and biologist
New York CityWikipedia: Jill Tarter - 1983
Andriy Rusol, Ukrainian footballer
KropyvnytskyiWikipedia: Andriy Rusol - 1245
Edmund Crouchback, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (died 1296)
- 1945
Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer and manager (died 2020)
EindhovenWikipedia: Wim Suurbier - 1958
Anatoli Boukreev, Russian mountaineer and explorer (died 1997)
KorkinoWikipedia: Anatoli Boukreev - 1935
A. J. Foyt, American race car driver
HoustonWikipedia: A. J. Foyt - 1948
Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
VictoriaWikipedia: Cliff Thorburn - 1477
Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (died 1547)
Karlstadt am MainWikipedia: Johannes Schöner
What is celebrated on 16 January
- Christian feast day: Pope Benjamin (Coptic)
- Christian feast day: Berard of Carbio
- Christian feast day: Blaise (Armenian Apostolic)
- Christian feast day: Fursey
- Christian feast day: Joseph Vaz
- Christian feast day: Honoratus of Arles
- Christian feast day: Pope Marcellus I
- Christian feast day: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Coptic Church)
- Christian feast day: Titian of Oderzo
- Christian feast day: Eve of Saint Anthony observed with ritual bonfires in San Bartolomé de Pinares
- Christian feast day: January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- National Religious Freedom Day (United States)
- Teachers' Day in Thailand and Myanmar
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.