A few of the great historical events that happened today in history, January 16th!

1547	Ivan IV (popularly known as “Ivan the Terrible”) was crowned czar of Russia.
1786	The Council of Virginia guarantees religious freedom.
1847	John C. Fremont, the famed “Pathfinder” of Western exploration, is appointed governor of California. John C. Fremont
1865	General William T. Sherman begins a march through the Carolinas.
1900	The U.S. Senate recognizes the Anglo-German Treaty of 1899 by which the UK renounced its rights to the Samoan Islands.
1909	One of Ernest Shackleton’s polar exploration teams reaches the Magnetic South Pole.
1914	Maxim Gorky is authorized to return to Russia after an eight year exile for political dissidence. Maxim Gorky
1920	The League of Nations holds its first meeting in Paris.
1920	Allies lift the blockade on trade with Russia.
1920	Prohibition began as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect.
1939	Franklin D. Roosevelt asks for an extension of the Social Security Act to include more women and children.
1940	Hitler cancels an attack in the West due to bad weather and the capture of German attack plans in Belgium.
1942	Japan’s advance into Burma begins.
1942	Actress Carole Lombard, 33, died in a plane crash near Las Vegas.
1944	Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion force in London.
1945	The U.S. First and Third armies link up at Houffalize, effectively ending the Battle of the Bulge.
1956	The Egyptian government makes Islam the state religion.
1964	The musical “Hello, Dolly!” starring Carol Channing opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances. Carol Channing
1965	Eighteen are arrested in Mississippi for the murder of three civil rights workers.
1969	Two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.
1973	The final first-run episode of the long-running western “Bonanza” aired on NBC.
1975	The Irish Republican Army calls an end to a 25-day cease fire in Belfast.
1979	The Shah leaves Iran.
1989	Three days of rioting erupted in Miami when a police officer fatally shot a black motorcyclist, causing a crash that also claimed the life of a passenger.
1991	The Persian Gulf War begins. The massive U.S.-led offensive against Iraq — Operation Desert Storm — ended on February 28, 1991, when President George Bush declared a cease-fire, and Iraq pledged to honor future coalition and U.N. peace terms.
1992	The government of El Salvador and rebel leaders signed a pact in Mexico City ending 12 years of civil war that had killed at least 75,000 people.
2003	The space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven blasted off from Cape Canaveral. (The shuttle broke up during its return descent on Feb. 1, killing everyone on board.)
2004	Pop star Michael Jackson pleaded innocent to child molestation charges in Santa Maria, Calif. (Charges were later re-filed and Jackson was acquitted.) Michael Jackson
2006	Africa’s first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was sworn in as Liberia’s president.
2007	Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., launched his successful bid for the White House.

Today in history facts are from various sites including, but not limited too: the History Channel, The New York Times, WHG Historynet.com, and HistoryOrb.com.