Jan 16, 2008 3:00 am US/Eastern
Today In History - January 16, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) ―
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 16, the 16th day of 2008. There are 350 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 16, 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 (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)
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 1942, actress Carole Lombard, 33, her mother and about 20 other
people were killed when their plane crashed near Las Vegas while
returning from a war-bond promotion tour.
In 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London.
In 1957, three B-52's (accompanied at first by two spare aircraft)
took off from Castle Air Force Base in California on the first
non-stop, round-the-world flight by jet planes, which lasted 45 hours
and 19 minutes.
In 1964, the musical "Hello, Dolly!" opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances.
In 1967, Alan S. Boyd was sworn in as the first U.S. secretary of transportation.
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 1988, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was fired as a CBS Sports
commentator, one day after telling a Washington, D.C., TV station that,
during the era of slavery, blacks had been bred to produce stronger
offspring.
In 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
Ten years ago: NASA officially announced that John Glenn, the first
American to orbit the Earth, would fly aboard the space shuttle later
in the year. The tobacco industry reached a $15.3 billion settlement
with the state of Texas.
Five years ago: The space shuttle Columbia blasted off under
extremely tight security; on board was Israel's first astronaut, Ilan
Ramon. (The mission ended in tragedy on Feb. 1, when the shuttle broke
up during its return descent, killing all seven crew members.) AOL Time
Warner chief executive Dick Parsons was tapped to be the media
conglomerate's new chairman, succeeding Steve Case.
One year ago: Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) launched his bid for the
White House. Jury selection began in the CIA leak trial of former White
House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Two car bombs exploded outside
Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad, killing at least 70 people.
Pookie Hudson, lead singer for the Spaniels doo-wop group, died in
Capitol Heights, Md., at age 72. Actor Ron Carey ("Barney Miller") died
in Los Angeles at age 71.
Today's Birthdays: Author William Kennedy is 80. Author-editor
Norman Podhoretz is 78. Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 74. Auto racer
A.J. Foyt is 73. Singer Barbara Lynn is 66. Country singer Ronnie
Milsap is 65. Country singer Jim Stafford is 64. Talk show host Dr.
Laura Schlessinger is 61. Movie director John Carpenter is 60.
Actress-dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen is 58. Singer Sade
( is 49. Rock musician Paul Webb (Talk Talk) is 46.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Maxine Jones (En Vogue) is 42. Actor David
Chokachi is 40. Actor Richard T. Jones is 36. Actress Josie Davis is
35. Model Kate Moss is 34. Rock musician Nick Valensi (The Strokes) is
27. Actress Yvonne Zima is 19.
Thought for Today: "I am a believer in punctuality, though it
makes me very lonely." — E.V. Lucas, English writer and publisher
(1868-1938).
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
