January 16
1547
Ivan the Terrible was crowned the first czar of Russia.
1883
The U.S. Civil Service Commission established.
1920
A year after it was ratified, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages, went into effect.
1942
Actress Carole Lombard, the wife of actor Clark Gable, died in a plane crash.
1991
Operation Desert Storm was announced by the White House.
1992
The El Salvador government signed a peace treaty with guerrilla forces, formally ending 12 years of civil war.
2001
Laurent Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was assassinated.
2003
Space shuttle Columbia blasted off on what would be its final mission. The craft broke up on its descent on Feb. 1, killing all on board.
Birthdays
Fulgencio Batista
1901–1973, Cuban President.
Robert W. Service
writer (1874)
Ethel Merman
entertainer (1909)
Dizzy Dean
baseball player (1911)
William Kennedy
novelist (1928)
Susan Sontag
writer and critic (1933)
Marilyn Horne
mezzo-soprano (1934)
A.J. Foyt
auto racer (1935)
Aaliyah
singer, actor (1979)