Today in History....January 16

On this day in …

1920, Prohibition began in the United States as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)
1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London

1945, Adolf Hitler, ym"sh, takes to his underground bunker, where he remains for 105 days until he commits suicide

1953, The Chevrolet Corvette was introduced as a show car at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The car became an American classic almost instantly

1957, three B-52's (accompanied at first by two spare aircraft) took off from Castle Air Force Base in California on the first nonstop, round-the-world flight by jet planes, which lasted 45 hours and 19 minutes

1964, the musical "Hello, Dolly!" opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances

1969, an agreement is reached in Paris for the opening of expanded peace talks. It was agreed that representatives of the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front would sit at a circular table without nameplates, flags or markings

1979, faced with an army mutiny and violent demonstrations against his rule, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the leader of Iran since 1941, is forced to flee the country. Fourteen days later, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the Islamic revolution, returned after 15 years of exile and took control of Iran

1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait

1997, Israeli soldiers dismantled their military headquarters in Hebron, marking the beginning of the end of Israel's 30-year-old rule over Judaism's second most holy city

2002, Richard Reid was indicted in Boston on federal charges alleging he'd tried to blow up a U.S.-bound jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes

2003, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off with Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. (The mission ended in tragedy on Feb. 1, when the shuttle burned up during its return, killing all seven crew members.)