e Roman Empire is established. One of the events marking the beginning of the Imperium Romanum was the Roman Senate's granting of the honorific Augustus to Octavian on this day.
Pop star Michael Jackson pleaded innocent to child molestation charges in Santa Maria, Calif. (Charges were later re-filed and Jackson was acquitted.).
The space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven blasted off from Cape Canaveral. (The shuttle broke up during its return descent on Feb. 1, killing everyone on board.).
Three days of rioting erupted in Miami when a police officer fatally shot a black motorcyclist, causing a crash that also claimed the life of a passenger.
Prohibition begins in the United States. The 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.