A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
Today in History
January 16
| 1547 | Ivan IV crowns himself the new Czar of Russia in Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. | |
| 1786 | The Council of Virginia guarantees religious freedom. | |
| 1847 | John C. Fremont, the famed “Pathfinder” of Western exploration, is appointed governor of California. | |
| 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. | |
| 1920 | The League of Nations holds its first meeting in Paris. | |
| 1920 | Allies lift the blockade on trade with Russia. | |
| 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. | |
| 1944 | Eisenhower assumes supreme command of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. | |
| 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. | |
| 1965 | Eighteen are arrested in Mississippi for the murder of three civil rights workers. | |
| 1975 | The Irish Republican Army calls an end to a 25-day cease fire in Belfast. | |
| 1979 | The Shah leaves Iran. | |
| 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. | |
| Born on January 16 | ||
| 1757 | Samuel McIntire, architect of Salem, Massachusetts. | |
| 1749 | Vittorio Alfieri, Italian tragic poet (Cleopatra, Parigi shastigliata). | |
| 1821 | John C. Breckinridge, 14th U.S. Vice President, Confederate Secretary of War. | |
| 1909 | Ethel Merman, U.S. singer and actress, the “Queen of Broadway.” | |
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