On this day, Jan. 16
27 B.C. Caesar Augustus was declared the first Emperor of the Roman Empire by the Senate.
1865 Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman decreed that 400,000 acres of land in the South would be divided into 40-acre lots and given to former slaves. (The order, later revoked by President Andrew Johnson, is believed to have inspired the expression, “Forty acres and a mule.”)
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. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)
1942 Actor Carole Lombard, 33, her mother, Elizabeth, and 20 other people were killed when their plane crashed near Las Vegas while en route to California from a war-bond promotion tour.
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. (The officer, William Lozano, was convicted of manslaughter, but then was acquitted in a retrial.)
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.)
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. (Reid later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.)
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.)
2020 The first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump opened in the Senate, with senators standing and swearing an oath of “impartial justice.” Mr. Trump, who denounced the proceedings as a “hoax,” would later be acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Today’s birthdays: Author William Kennedy, 95. Author-editor Norman Podhoretz, 93. Opera singer Marilyn Horne, 89. Hall of Fame auto racer A.J. Foyt, 88. Singer Barbara Lynn, 81. Country singer Ronnie Milsap, 80. Singer Katherine Anderson Schaffner (The Marvelettes), 79. Country singer Jim Stafford, 79. Talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, 76. Movie director John Carpenter, 75. Actor-dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen, 73. R&B singer Maxine Jones (En Vogue), 64. Singer Sade, 64. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, 64. Rock musician Paul Webb (Talk Talk), 61. Actor David Chokachi, 55. Former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, 54. Actorwriter-director Josh Evans, 52. Actor-comedian Jonathan Mangum, 52. Actor Richard T. Jones, 51. Actor Josie Davis, 50. Model Kate Moss, 49. Actor-playwright LinManuel Miranda, 43. Country musician James Young (The Eli Young Band), 43. Rock musician Nick Valensi (The Strokes), 42. Actor Renee Felice Smith, 38. NFL quarterback Joe Flacco, 38. Actor Yvonne Zima (“The Young and the Restless”), 34.