|
 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 (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)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.
[to top of second column] |
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 (shah-DAY') 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)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
 |
