On Jan. 16, 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.

On this date:

In 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.”)

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. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)

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. (The officer, William Lozano, was convicted of manslaughter, but then was acquitted in a retrial.)

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 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 2006, Africa’s first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was sworn in as Liberia’s new president.

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

Ten years ago: Former Haitian strongman Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who’d been living in exile in France, made a surprise return to Haiti as the country wrestled with a political crisis, cholera outbreak and stalled reconstruction from a devastating earthquake. “The Social Network” won top movie honors at the Golden Globes with four prizes, including best drama and director; top TV honors went to “Boardwalk Empire” and “Glee.”

Five years ago: The U.N. nuclear agency certified that Iran had met all of its commitments under a landmark deal, prompting the West to lift economic sanctions that had been in place for years. Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-wen as its first female president, handing her pro-independence party its first majority in the national legislature. Former NFL coach Ted Marchibroda, 84, died in Weems, Virginia.

One year ago: Health authorities in China announced that a second person had died from a new coronavirus. The Senate overwhelmingly approved a pact rewriting the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. Six months after becoming president and CEO of the Recording Academy, Deborah Dugan was placed on “administrative leave”; she said she was ousted after complaining of sexual harassment and questioning the integrity of the Grammy nominations process. (Dugan was fired weeks later.) The New York Mets announced that they and manager Carlos Beltrán had agreed to “mutually part ways”; the former Houston Astros player had been the only player mentioned by name when Major League Baseball issued its findings from an investigation of sign-stealing by the Astros.

Today’s Birthdays: Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 87. Movie director John Carpenter is 73. Rhythm-and-blues singer Maxine Jones (En Vogue) is 62. Singer Sade is 62. Former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is 52. Model Kate Moss is 47.