Today in History
Originally Published: Saturday, January 15, 2011
Updated: Saturday, January 15, 2011
Today is Sunday, Jan. 16, the 16th day of 2011. There are 349 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 16, 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. In an address to the nation, President George H.W. Bush declared, "The battle has been joined."
On this date:
In 1547, Ivan IV of Russia (popularly known as "Ivan the Terrible") was crowned czar.
In 1883, the U.S. Civil Service Commission was established.
In 1919, pianist and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski (pah-der-EF'-skee) became the first premier of the newly created republic of Poland.
In 1920, Prohibition began in the United States as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, one year to the day after its ratification. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)
In 1935, fugitive gangster Fred Barker and his mother, Kate "Ma" Barker, were killed in a shootout with the FBI at Lake Weir, Fla.
In 1942, actress Carole Lombard, 33, her mother and about 20 other people died when their plane crashed near Las Vegas, Nev., while returning from a war-bond promotion tour.
In 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London.
In 1969, two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.
In 1978, NASA named 35 candidates to fly on the space shuttle, including Sally K. Ride, who became America's first woman in space, and Guion S. Bluford Jr., who became America's first black astronaut in space.
In 1981, in Northern Ireland, Protestant gunmen shot and wounded Irish nationalist leader Bernadette Devlin McAliskey and her husband.
Ten years ago: Confirmation hearings for Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft opened in Washington with Senate Democrats throwing jabs at him over abortion and civil rights. Laurent Kabila (loh-RAWN' kah-BEE'-lah), president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was mortally shot and wounded by a bodyguard at his home. Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on their first try. Leonard Woodcock, former head of the United Auto Workers union, died in Ann Arbor, Mich., at age 89.
Five years ago: A U.S. military helicopter crashed north of Baghdad, killing the two crew members; it was the third American chopper to go down in ten days. Africa's first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was sworn in as Liberia's new president. "Brokeback Mountain" won four Golden Globes, including best motion picture drama; "Lost" won best dramatic television series while "Desperate Housewives" won for best musical or comedy series.
One year ago: Precious water and food began reaching parched and hungry earthquake survivors on streets of ruined Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Haitian President Rene Preval (reh-NAY' preh-VAHL') and promised that U.S. quake relief efforts would be closely coordinated with local officials. Glen W. Bell Jr., 86, founder of the Taco Bell chain, died in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Today's Birthdays: Author William Kennedy is 83. Author-editor Norman Podhoretz is 81. Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 77. Hall of Fame auto racer A.J. Foyt is 76. Singer Barbara Lynn is 69. Country singer Ronnie Milsap is 68. Country singer Jim Stafford is 67. Talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger is 64. Movie director John Carpenter is 63. Actress-dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen is 61. Singer Sade (shah-DAY') is 52. Rock musician Paul Webb (Talk Talk) is 49. Rhythm-and-blues singer Maxine Jones (En Vogue) is 45. Actor David Chokachi (CHOH'-kuh-chee) is 43. Actor Richard T. Jones is 39. Actress Josie Davis is 38. Model Kate Moss is 37. Rock musician Nick Valensi (The Strokes) is 30. Actress Yvonne Zima is 22.
Thought for Today: "A fanatic is a man that does what he thinks th' Lord wud do if He knew th' facts iv th' case." -- Finley Peter Dunne, American humorist (1867-1936).
http://www.reliablenews.com/e51394-today-in-history
