January 20
January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar. There are 345 days remaining (346 in
leap years). In
astrology, it is the
cusp day between
Capricorn and
Aquarius.
*
1156 - According to
legend, freeholder
Lalli slays
English crusader
Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of the lake
Köyliönjärvi in
Finland.
*
1265 - In
Westminster, the first
English parliament conducts its first meeting in the
Palace of Westminster, now also known as the "Houses of Parliament".
*
1320 -
Dante -
Quaestio de Aqua et Terra.
* 1320 - Duke
Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of
Poland.
*
1356 -
Edward Balliol resigns as King of
Scotland.
*
1523 -
Christian II is forced to
abdicate as King of
Denmark and
Norway.
*
1576 - The Mexican city of
León is founded by order of the viceroy Don MartÃn EnrÃquez de Almanza.
*
1649 -
Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes"
*
1667 -
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cedes
Kyiv,
Smolensk, and
left-bank Ukraine to
Imperial Russia in the
treaty of Andrusiv.
*
1783 - The
Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with
France and
Spain, officially ending hostilities in the
Revolutionary War.
*
1801 -
John Marshall is appointed the
Chief Justice of the United States.
*
1839 - In the
Battle of Yungay,
Chile defeats a
Peruvian and
Bolivian alliance.
*
1840 -
Dumont D'Urville discovers
Adélie Land,
Antarctica.
* 1840 -
Willem II becomes King of the
Netherlands.
*
1841 -
Hong Kong Island occupied by the
British Empire.
*
1885 -
L.A. Thompson patents the
roller coaster.
*
1887 - The
United States Senate allows the
Navy to lease
Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
*
1892 - At the
YMCA in
Springfield, Massachusetts, the first official
basketball game is played.
*
1920 -
American Civil Liberties Union founded.
*
1921 - The first constitution of
Turkey was adopted, which made fundamental change in the source and exercise of sovereignty.
*
1929 -
In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking film filmed outdoors, is released.
*
1936 -
Edward VIII becomes
King of the United Kingdom.
*
1937 - The
coldest temperature in
California is recorded by
Boca station at -45°
Fahrenheit.
* 1937 -
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for a second term as
President of the United States. This is the first inauguration scheduled on January 20, following adoption of the
20th Amendment. Previous inaugurations were scheduled on
March 4.
*
1941 -
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for an unprecedented third term as
President of the United States.
*
1942 -
World War II:
Nazis at the
Wannsee conference in
Berlin decide the "
final solution to the
Jewish problem".
*
1944 -
World War II: The
Royal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on
Berlin.
*
1945 -
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for an unprecedented fourth term as
President of the United States.
* 1945 -
Hungary drops out of the
Second World War, agreeing an
armistice with the
Allies.
*
1949 -
Harry S. Truman is inaugurated for a second term as
President of the United States.
*
1952 -
Edgar Faure becomes
Prime Minister of France.
*
1953 -
Dwight Eisenhower is inaugurated as 34th
President of the United States.
*
1954 - The
National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member
radio stations.
*
1957 -
Dwight Eisenhower is inaugurated for a second term as
President of the United States.
*
1960 -
Hendrik Verwoerd announced a plebiscite on whether
South Africa should become a Republic.
*
1961 -
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as 35th
President of the United States.
*
1964 -
Meet the Beatles, the first
Beatles album in the
United States, is released.
*
1965 -
Lyndon B. Johnson is inaugurated for a second term as
President of the United States.
*
1969 -
Richard Nixon is inaugurated as 37th
President of the United States.
* 1969 - The first
pulsar is discovered, in the
Crab Nebula.
*
1973 -
Richard Nixon is inaugurated for a second term as
President of the United States.
*
1977 -
Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as 39th
President of the United States.
*
1981 -
Ronald W. Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th
President of the United States.
* 1981 -
Iran releases 52
American hostages twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President.
*
1985 - As this day fell on a
Sunday,
Ronald Reagan's inauguration for his second term was held in the Grand Foyer of the
White House in a private ceremony.[
1]
*
1986 -
Martin Luther King, Jr., day was celebrated as a
federal holiday for the first time.
* 1986 - The
United Kingdom and
France announce plans to construct the
Channel Tunnel.
*
1987 -
Church of England envoy
Terry Waite is kidnapped in
Lebanon.
*
1989 -
George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st
President of the United States.
*
1990 -
Black January - bloody crackdown of
Azerbaijani peaceful pro-independence demonstrations by
Soviet army in
Baku.
*
1991 -
Sudan's government imposes
Islamic law nationwide, worsening the
civil war between the country's
Muslim north and
Christian south.
*
1993-
Bill Clinton is inaugurated as the 42nd
President of the United States.
*
1996 -
Yasser Arafat is elected president of the
Palestinian Authority.
*
1997 -
Bill Clinton is inaugurated for a second term as
President of the United States.
*
1999 - The
China News Service announces new government restrictions on
Internet use aimed especially at
Internet bars.
*
2001 -
Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in the
EDSA II Revolution, succeeded by
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
* 2001 -
George W. Bush is inaugurated as the 43rd
President of the United States.
*
2005 -
George W. Bush is inaugurated for a second term as
President of the United States.
* 2005 -
Ireland completes
metrication.
*
225 -
Gordian III,
Roman Emperor (d.
244)
*
1358 -
Eleanor of Aragon, wife of
John I of Castile (d.
1382)
*
1435 -
Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (d.
1490)
*
1554 - King
Sebastian of Portugal (d.
1578)
*
1586 -
Johann Schein, German composer (d.
1630)
*
1664 -
Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (d.
1718)
*
1716 - King
Charles III of Spain (d.
1788)
* 1716 -
Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (d.
1795)
*
1775 -
Andre Marie Ampere, French physicist (d.
1836)
*
1798 -
Anson Jones, 5th and last
President of Texas (d.
1858)
*
1804 -
Eugène Sue, French novelist (d.
1857)
*
1812 -
Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d.
1896)
*
1837 -
David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d.
1910)
*
1855 -
Ernest Chausson, French composer (d.
1899)
*
1867 -
Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d.
1944)
*
1873 -
Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish writer,
Nobel Prize in Literature laureate (d.
1950)
*
1876 -
Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d.
1967)
*
1878 -
Ruth St. Denis, dancer (d.
1968)
*
1880 -
Walter W. Bacon, Governor of Delaware (d.
1962)
*
1889 -
Leadbelly, American musician (d.
1949)
*
1891 -
Mischa Elman, Ukrainian born violinist (d.
1967)
*
1894 -
Walter Piston, American composer (d.
1976)
*
1896 -
George Burns, American actor, comedian (d.
1996)
*
1898 -
U Razak, Burmese politician (d.
1947)
*
1900 -
Colin Clive, British actor (d.
1937)
*
1906 -
Aristotle Onassis, Greek industrialist (d.
1975)
*
1910 -
Joy Adamson, Austrian naturalist and writer (d.
1980)
*
1915 -
Ghulam Ishaq Khan,
President of Pakistan*
1918 -
Juan Garcia Esquivel, Mexican musician (d.
2002)
*
1920 -
Federico Fellini, Italian film director (d.
1993)
* 1920 -
DeForest Kelley, American actor (d.
1999)
* 1920 -
John Cardinal O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d.
2000)
* 1920 -
Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian author and ski jumper (d.
2006)
*
1923 -
Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
*
1924 -
Slim Whitman, American singer
*
1925 -
Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan theologian and author and politician
*
1926 -
Patricia Neal, American actress
* 1926 -
David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d.
1996)
*
1929 -
Jimmy Cobb, American jazz drummer
* 1929 -
Bob Denard, French mercenary
* 1929 -
Arte Johnson, American actor
* 1929 -
Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, American race car driver (d.
1964)
*
1930 -
Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., astronaut
*
1931 -
David Lee, American physicist,
Nobel Prize in Physics laureate
*
1934 -
Tom Baker, British actor
*
1938 -
William Berger, Austrian actor (d.
1993)
* 1938 -
Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer
*
1939 -
Paul Coverdell, American politician (d.
2000)
*
1940 -
Carol Heiss, American figure skater
*
1945 -
Christopher Martin-Jenkins, cricket commentator and chief cricket correspondent of The Times
*
1946 -
David Lynch, American film director
*
1947 -
Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and directuer sportif
*
1948 -
Natan Sharansky, Russian-born physicist and politician
*
1949 -
Göran Persson,
Prime Minister of Sweden*
1950 -
Mahamane Ousmane,
President of Niger* 1950 -
Liza Goddard, actress
*
1951 -
Ian Hill, British musician (
Judas Priest)
*
1951 -
Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor
*
1952 -
Paul Stanley, American musician (
KISS)
*
1955 -
Wyatt Knight, American actor
*
1956 -
Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst
*
1958 -
Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
*
1960 -
Will Wright, American computer game designer
* 1960 -
Scott Thunes, American musician (
Frank Zappa)
*
1963 -
James Denton, American actor
*
1965 -
Greg Kriesel, American bassist (
The Offspring)
* 1965 -
Sophie, The Countess of Wessex, the wife of
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex* 1965 -
John Michael Montgomery, American singer
*
1968 -
Melissa Rivers, American reporter and actress
*
1969 -
Patrick K. Kroupa, American writer, hacker
* 1969 -
Skeet Ulrich, American actor
*
1970 -
Mitch Benn, UK comedian, songwriter, actor
*
1971 -
Brian Giles,
Major League Baseball player
* 1971 -
Derrick Green, American singer (
Sepultura)
*
1971 -
Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson American Drummer (
The Roots)
*
1975 -
David Eckstein, baseball player
*
1976 -
Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
*
1979 -
Rob Bourdon, American musician (
Linkin Park)
*
1981 -
Owen Hargreaves, English international footballer
*
1982 -
Erin Wasson, American supermodel
*
1156 -
Bishop Henry, patron saint of Finland
*
1479 - King
John II of Aragon (b.
1397)
*
1568 -
Myles Coverdale, English Bible translator
*
1612 -
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1552)
*
1666 -
Anna of Austria, wife of
Louis XIII of France and regent (b.
1601)
*
1707 -
Humphrey Hody, English theologian (b.
1659)
*
1709 -
François de la Chaise, French confessor of
Louis XIV of France (b.
1624)
*
1745 -
Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1697)
*
1751 -
John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b.
1665)
*
1770 -
Charles Yorke, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b.
1722)
*
1779 -
David Garrick, English actor (b.
1717)
*
1810 -
Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of colonial Pennsylvania (b.
1722)
*
1819 - King
Charles IV of Spain (b.
1748)
*
1848 -
Christian VIII of Denmark (b.
1786)
*
1850 -
Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet (b.
1779)
*
1873 -
The Venerable Father Basil Anthony Marie Moreau, Founder of the
Congregation of Holy Cross (b.
1799)
*
1891 -
David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii (b.
1836)
*
1900 -
John Ruskin, art critic (b.
1819)
*
1901 -
Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (b.
1826)
*
1907 -
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b.
1834)
*
1920 -
Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (b.
1876)
*
1936 - King
George V of the United Kingdom (b.
1865)
*
1944 -
James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (b.
1860)
*
1947 -
Josh Gibson, African-American baseball player (b.
1911)
*
1962 -
Robinson Jeffers, American poet (b.
1887)
*
1965 -
Alan Freed, American disk jockey (b.
1922)
*
1979 -
Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (b.
1925)
*
1971 -
Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, American actor, director, writer, and producer (b.
1880)
*
1973 -
Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (b.
1885)
*
1983 -
Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b.
1933)
*
1984 -
Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b.
1904)
*
1988 -
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pashtun Nationalist & non-violent freedom fighter (b.
1890)
*
1990 -
Hayedeh, Persian singer (b.
1942)
* 1990 -
Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b.
1907)
*
1993 -
Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (b.
1929)
*
1994 -
Matt Busby, Scottish football manager (b.
1909)
*
1996 -
Gerry Mulligan, American musician (b.
1927)
*
1997 -
Curt Flood, baseball player (b.
1938)
*
1998 -
Bobo Brazil, American professional wrestler (b.
1924)
*
2003 -
Al Hirschfeld, American caricaturist (b.
1903)
* 2003 -
Nedra Volz, American actress (b.
1908)
* 2003 -
Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (b.
1947)
*
2004 -
Guinn Smith, American athlete (b.
1920)
*
2005 -
Per Borten,
Prime Minister of Norway (b.
1913)
* 2005 -
Roland Frye, American literary critic and theologian
* 2005 -
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist, writer, and politician (b.
1913)
* 2005 -
Miriam Rothschild, British zoologist, entomologist, and author (b.
1908)
*
Feast day of the following
saints in the
Roman Catholic Church:
**
Sebastian**
Saint Fabian**
Euthymus**
Desiderius**
Meinrad**
Epiphanius of Pavia*
The Eve of St. Agnes.
* Presidential
Inauguration Day in the
United States.
*
Astrology: First day of sun sign
Aquarius.
*
On this day in Canada*
NY Times: On this day*
BBC: On This DayJanuary 19 -
January 21 -
December 20 -
February 20 â€"
listing of all days
