TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, JAN. 16, the 16th day of 2022. There are 349 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. (Allied forces prevailed on Feb. 28, 1991.)
In 27 B.C., Caesar Augustus was declared the first emperor of the Roman Empire by the Senate.
In 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.
In 1919, pianist and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski became the first premier of the newly created Republic of Poland.
In 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.
In 1942, actor Carole Lombard, 33, her mother, Elizabeth, and 20 others were killed when their plane crashed near Las Vegas, Nevada, while en route to California from a war-bond promotion tour.
In 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.
In 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.
In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off for what turned out to be its last flight; on board was Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. (The mission ended in tragedy on Feb. 1, when the shuttle broke up during its return descent, killing all seven crew members.)
In 2007, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois launched his successful bid for the White House.
In 2020, the first 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.” (Trump would be acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.)
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Author William Kennedy is 94. Author-editor Norman Podhoretz is 92. Hall of Fame auto racer A.J. Foyt is 87. Singer Barbara Lynn is
80. Country singer Ronnie Milsap is 79. Singer Katherine Anderson Schaffner (The Marvelettes) and country singer Jim Stafford are 78. Talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger is 75. Movie director John Carpenter is 74. Actor-dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen is 72. Singer Sade is 63. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is 61. Rock musician Paul Webb (Talk Talk) is 60. Actor David Chokachi is 54. Actor-writer-director Josh Evans and actor-comedian Jonathan Mangum are 51. Actor Richard T. Jones is 50. Actor Josie Davis is 49. Model Kate Moss is 48. Actor-playwright LinManuel Miranda and country musician James Young (The Eli Young Band) are
42. Rock musician Nick Valensi (The Strokes) is 41. Actor Renee Felice Smith and NFL quarterback Joe Flacco are 37. Actor Yvonne Zima is 33.