Editing January 16 (section)

===1601–1900===
*[[1605]] &ndash; The first edition of ''[[Don Quixote|El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha]]'' (Book One of ''Don Quixote'') by [[Miguel de Cervantes]] is published in [[Madrid|Madrid, Spain]].
*[[1707]] &ndash; The [[Parliament of Scotland|Scottish Parliament]] ratifies the [[Acts of Union 1707|Act of Union]], paving the way for the creation of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Leadam|first=I.S.|title=The Political History of England. Volume 9: From the Accession of Anne to the Death of George II (1702-1760)|editor-last1=Hunt|editor-first1=William|editor-last2=Poole|editor-first2=Reginald Lane|location=New York|publisher=Longman, Greens, & Co.|date=1909|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFm8PtHUrM4C|page=106}}</ref>
*[[1716]] &ndash; King [[Philip V of Spain]] promulgates the [[Nueva Planta decrees|Nueva Planta decree]] of the [[Principality of Catalonia]], abolishing the Catalan institutions and its [[Catalan constitutions|legal system]], being replaced by those of the [[Crown of Castile|Castile]], thus putting an end to [[Catalonia]] as separate state and becoming a province of the new French-style [[History of Spain (1700–1808)|Kingdom of Spain]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elliott |first1=John H. |title=España, Europa y el mundo de Ultramar (1500-1800) |date=2009 |publisher=Taurus |location=Madrid |isbn=978-84-306-0780-8 |pages=50–51}}</ref>
*[[1757]] &ndash; Forces of the [[Maratha Confederacy|Maratha Empire]] defeat a 5,000-strong army of the [[Durrani Empire]] in the [[Battle of Narela]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Advanced study in the history of modern India 1707-1813|author= Jaswant Lal Mehta|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.|year=2005|isbn=1-932705-54-6 |page=225 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA225}}</ref>
*[[1780]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)|Battle of Cape St. Vincent]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bruce|first1=Anthony|last2=Cogar|first2=William|title=Encyclopedia of Naval History|location=Chicago|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|date=1998|isbn=9781579581091|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yci2AgAAQBAJ|page=67}}</ref>
*[[1786]] &ndash; [[Virginia]] enacts the [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom|Statute for Religious Freedom]] authored by [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Peterson|editor-first1=Merrill Daniel|editor-last2=Vaughan|editor-first2=Robert C.|title=The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Its Evolution and Consequences in American History|location=Cambridge, U.K.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2002|isbn=9780521892988|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9v9aVcsfJ8C|page=viii}}</ref>
*[[1809]] &ndash; [[Peninsular War]]: The British defeat the French at the [[Battle of Corunna|Battle of La Coruña]].
*[[1847]] &ndash; [[Westward expansion of the United States]]: [[John C. Frémont]] is appointed [[Governor of California|Governor]] of the new [[California]] Territory.
*[[1862]] &ndash; [[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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coxe|first=Eckley B.|title=Mining Legislation|journal=Journal of Social Science|date=1874|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8nNAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA19|page=19|access-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref>
*[[1878]] &ndash; [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)]]: [[Battle of Philippopolis (1878)|Battle of Philippopolis]]: Captain [[Aleksandr Burago]] with a [[Squadron (army)|squadron]] of [[Russian Empire|Russian Imperial]] army [[dragoon]]s [[Liberation of Bulgaria|liberates Plovdiv]] from [[Ottoman Bulgaria|Ottoman rule]].
*[[1883]] &ndash; The [[Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act]], establishing the [[United States Civil Service Commission|United States Civil Service]], is enacted by Congress.<ref>{{cite book|last=Adkins|first=Randall E.|title=The Evolution of Political Parties, Campaigns, and Elections: Landmark Documents, 1787-2007|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=CQ Press|date=2008|isbn=9780872895782|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6E5DQAAQBAJ|page=112}}</ref>
*[[1900]] &ndash; The [[United States Senate]] accepts the [[Anglo-German treaty of 1899]] in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the [[American Samoa|Samoan islands]].