TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

2020

The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump opened in the Senate, with senators standing and swearing an oath of “impartial justice.” Trump again denounced the proceedings as a “hoax,” while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said new evidence reinforced the need to call additional witnesses.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1865

Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman decreed that 400,000acres of land in the South would be divided into 40-acre lots and given to former slaves.

1912

A day before reaching the South Pole, British explorer Robert Scott and his expedition found evidence that Roald Amundsen of Norway and his team had gotten there ahead of them.

1919

Pianist and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski became the first premier of the newly created Republic of Poland.

1920

Prohibition began in the United States as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, one year to the day after its ratification.

1969

Two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.

1987

Hu Yaobang resigned as head of China’s Communist Party, declaring he’d made mistakes in dealing with student turmoil and intellectual challenges to the system.

1989

Three days of rioting began in Miami when a police officer fatally shot Clement Lloyd, a Black motorcyclist, causing a crash that also claimed the life of Lloyd’s passenger, Allan Blanchard.

1991

The White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.