January 16 ...

In 1547 Ivan the Terrible crowned himself the new Czar of Russia, becoming the first Russian ruler to assume that title. In 1599 English poet Edmund Spencer, author of The Faerie Queene, died in London. In 1776 the Continental Congress approved the enlistment of free blacks, leading to the all-black First Rhode Island Regiment. In 1868 Detroit fish dealer William Davis patented the refrigerated railroad car. In 1883 the United States Civil Service Commission was established when the Pendleton Act went into effect. In 1911 baseball Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean was born in Lucas, AR. In 1919 Nebraska, Wyoming, and Missouri became the 36th, 37th, and 38th states to ratify Prohibition, which went into effect a year later. It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment. In 1920 the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution took effect and Prohibition began. In 1925 Leon Trotsky was dismissed as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the USSR. In 1938 in what was quite possibly the most famous jazz concert in history, Benny Goodman performed at Carnegie Hall along with Count Basie, Harry James, Lionel Hampton, Lester Young, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Harry Carney, and Gene Krupa, among others -- they ripped the roof off the joint, as people were literally dancing in the aisles. In 1939 the comic strip hero Superman appeared for the first time. In 1942 actress Carole Lombard, her mother, and 20 other people killed in a plane crash near Las Vegas while returning from a tour to promote war bonds. In 1944 General Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion force in London. In 1957 Little Richard recorded the rock classic Lucille. In 1964 the musical Hello, Dolly! opened on Broadway, beginning a run of almost 3,000 performances. In 1973 the last new episode of Bonanza aired on NBC. In 1979 the Shah of Iran was forced into exile by Ayatollah Khomeini. In 1991 the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. In 2003 the space shuttle Columbia was launched, starting its ill-fated mission.