January 16 is Religious Freedom Day

On January 16, 1786, soon after the United States of America came into existence as a sovereign nation, the Virginia General Assembly adopted Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. This statute then became the basis for what we know today as the First Amendment, which guarantees religious freedom to all people residing in the US. Every year since then, an statement is released on this same day by the President of the United States officially proclaiming Religious Freedom day.


Today in history: January 16, 1991: Operation Desert Storm Begins

After weeks of posturing and threats, the first war against Iraq began as Allied aircraft conducted a major raid against Iraqi air defenses. The air raid on Baghdad was broadcast live to a global audience by CNN correspondents as operation Desert Shield became Desert Storm.

In early August, Iraq invaded Kuwait after a dispute over border area oil fields. Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing from its oil by slant-drilling into border area wells. Iraq 10 billion dollars in reparations. Kuwait offered 9 billion. Iraq’s response was to invade.
After the Iraqis overran Kuwait and looted their treasury, Saddam Hussein began making threats toward Saudi Arabia, and from within striking distance of the Saudi oil fields. President George HW Bush immediately responded by organizing Operation Desert Shield, by building up military presence to defend Saudi Arabia from potential Iraqi aggression.

President Bush organized through the UN a coalition of 34 nations to drive the Iraqis from Kuwait. On this date, Operation Desert Shield transformed to Operation Desert Storm as the first of more than 100,000 bombing sorties began.

Weird fact: A man landed a plane on a street in Manhattan while drunk… twice.


In 1956, a man named Thomas Fitzpatrick was drinking in a Manhattan bar. He made a bet with another patron that said he could not get back to the bar from New Jersey in 15 minutes. Intoxicated, Fitzpatrick reportedly stole a single engine airplane from an aviation school and landed it right in front of the bar on St. Nicholas Ave. in Manhattan.

As if drunkenly stealing a plane and landing it on a narrow Manhattan street wasn’t enough, two years later he did it again after a patron in the same bar refused to believe his story.
He was arrested both times.