Today is Sunday, January 16, the 16th day of 2022. There are 349 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight in the story:

On January 16, 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. (Allied forces prevailed on February 28, 1991.)

To this date :

In 27 BC. J.-C., César Auguste is declared first emperor of the Roman Empire by the Senate.

In 1865, Union Major General 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 said to have inspired the phrase “Forty Acres and a Mule”.)

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 arrived there before them.

In 1919, pianist and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski (pah-dehr-EHF’-skee) became the first Prime Minister of the newly created Republic of Poland.

In 1920, prohibition began in the United States with the entry into force of the 18th Amendment to the American Constitution, one year to the day after its ratification. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)

In 1942, 33-year-old actress Carole Lombard, her mother, Elizabeth, and 20 others were killed when their plane crashed near Las Vegas, Nevada, while traveling to California after a tour of promotion of war bonds.

In 1987, Hu Yaobang resigned as head of the Chinese Communist Party, saying he had made mistakes in dealing with student unrest and the intellectual challenges of the system.

In 1989, three days of rioting began in Miami when a police officer shot and killed Clement Lloyd, a black motorcyclist, causing an accident that also claimed the life of Lloyd’s passenger, Allan Blanchard. (The officer, William Lozano, was convicted of manslaughter, but was later acquitted in a retrial.)

In 2002, Richard Reid was indicted in Boston on federal charges alleging he attempted to blow up an airliner bound for the United States with explosives hidden in his shoes. (Reid later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.)

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia lifted off on what turned out to be its final flight; on board was the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon (ee-LAHN’ rah-MOHN’). (The mission ended in tragedy on February 1, when the shuttle broke up during its return descent, killing all seven crew members.)

In 2007, Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois successfully launched his bid for the White House.

In 2020, President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial opened in the Senate, with senators standing and taking an oath of “fair justice”. Trump again denounced the proceedings as a “hoax,” while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said new evidence reinforced the need to call additional witnesses. (Trump would be acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.)

Ten years ago: Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney fended off attacks from his rivals during a debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Hours before the debate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman pulled out of the race and announced his support for Romney despite their differences.

Five years ago: Turkish authorities captured an Uzbek national suspected of killing 39 people in an attack on an Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations. Former NASA astronaut Eugene Cernan , to date the last man to walk on the moon, has died in Houston at the age of 82.

A year ago: By bus and plane, National Guard troops poured into the nation’s capital, as governors responded to urgent calls from US defense officials for more troops to help protect Washington in the days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, even as they anxiously kept tabs on possible violent protests in their own states. Biden introduced his team of science advisers, saying they would lead with “science and truth.” Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method, died in California at 81 while serving a prison sentence for killing actor Lana Clarkson in 2003 in his mansion.

Today’s birthdays: Author William Kennedy turns 94. Author-editor Norman Podhoretz is 92 years old. Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 88 years old. Hall of Fame race car driver AJ Foyt is 87. Singer Barbara Lynn is 80 years old. Country singer Ronnie Milsap is 79. Singer Katherine Anderson Schaffner (The Marvelettes) is 78 years old. Country singer Jim Stafford is 78 years old. Talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger is 75. Director John Carpenter is 74 years old. Actor-dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen is 72 years old. R&B singer Maxine Jones (En Vogue) is 63 years old. The singer Sade (shah-DAY’) is 63 years old. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is 63 years old. Rock musician Paul Webb (Talk Talk) is 60 years old. Actor David Chokachi (CHOH’-kuh-chee) is 54 years old. Former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is 53. Actor-writer-director Josh Evans is 51. Actor-comedian Jonathan Mangum is 51 years old. Actor Richard T. Jones is 50 years old. Actor Josie Davis is 49 years old. Model Kate Moss is 48 years old. -Manuel Miranda is 42 years old. Country musician James Young (The Eli Young Band) is 42 years old. Rock musician Nick Valensi (The Strokes) is 41. Actor Renee Felice Smith is 37. NFL quarterback Joe Flacco is 37 years old. Actor Yvonne Zima is 33 years old.