See what makes January 20 special at Famous Daily.
History, birthdays, holiday, and a quote!
What happened on January 20
- January 20, 0250 Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred. Afterwards the Donatist controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffects many in North Africa.
- January 20, 1156 "According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of the lake Kylinjrvi in Finland."
- January 20, 1265 "In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now also known as the ""Houses of Parliament""."
- January 20, 1265 The first English Parliament called into session by Earl of Leicester
- January 20, 1265 "UK hist First elected English parliament (De Montfort's Parliament) conducts its first meeting, in the Palace of Westminster"
- January 20, 1320 Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland
- January 20, 1356 Edward Balliol resigns as King of Scotland.
- January 20, 1356 Scottish king Edward Baliol resigns
- January 20, 1502 The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro first explored.
- January 20, 1503 Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) found (Spain) to deal with American affairs
- January 20, 1513 Christian II succeeds Johan I as Danish/Norwegian king
- January 20, 1523 Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
- January 20, 1576 The Mexican city of Len is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martn Enrquez de Almansa.
- January 20, 1613 Peace of Kn„rod ends War of Kalmar between Denmark & Sweden
- January 20, 1648 Cornerstone of Amsterdam town hall laid
- January 20, 1649 "Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other ""high crimes"""
- January 20, 1667 "Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cedes Kiev, Smolensk, and left-bank Ukraine to Imperial Russia in the treaty of Andrusovo."
- January 20, 1667 "The Treaty of Andrussovo ends a 13-year war between Russia and Poland which cedes Kiev, Smolensk, and the eastern Ukraine to Russia."
- January 20, 1778 "The first American military court martial trial begins, Cambridge MA"
- January 20, 1781 "The first edition of Pieter It Hoens ""Post of Neder-Rhijn"" published"
- January 20, 1783 Hostilities cease in Revolutionary War
- January 20, 1783 "The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the Revolutionary War."
- January 20, 1783 "U.S. and British representatives signed a preliminary Cessation of Hostilities, which ended the fighting in the Revolutionary War."
- January 20, 1785 "Samuel Ellis advertises to sell Oyster Island (Ellis Island), no takers"
- January 20, 1788 Pioneer African Baptist church organizes in Savannah GA
- January 20, 1788 "Third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides Botany Bay is unsuitable for location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson."
- January 20, 1800 Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries King Joachim Murat of Naples
- January 20, 1801 John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
- January 20, 1807 "Napoleon convenes the great Sanhedrin, Paris"
- January 20, 1809 The first US geology book published by William Maclure
- January 20, 1839 "In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance."
- January 20, 1840 "Dumont D'Urville discovers Adlie Land, Antarctica."
- January 20, 1840 Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.
- January 20, 1841 Hong Kong Island occupied by the British.
- January 20, 1850 "Investigator, first ship to effect northwest passage, leaves England"
- January 20, 1860 Dutch troops conquer Watampone in Celebes
- January 20, 1866 Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends
- January 20, 1868 Florida constitutional convention meets in Tallahassee
- January 20, 1869 Elizabeth Cady Stanton becomes first woman to testify before Congress
- January 20, 1870 """City of Boston"" vanishes at sea with all 177 aboard"
- January 20, 1870 Hiram R Revels elected to fill unexpired term of Jefferson Davis
- January 20, 1872 California Stock Exchange Board organized
- January 20, 1879 British troops under Lord Chelmsford set camp at Isandlwana
- January 20, 1879 "The Schooner Janet Wignall, in passage from Liverpool to Creetown, Scotland, in ballast stranded at Bargue near Dumfries with the loss of all hands."
- January 20, 1883 "Billy Barnes takes a hat-trick, England vs Australia MCG"
- January 20, 1885 L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
- January 20, 1886 UK hist Mersey railway (under Mersey) opened by Prince of Wales
- January 20, 1887 US Senate approves the naval base lease of Pearl Harbor
- January 20, 1892 "At the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, the first official basketball game is played."
- January 20, 1892 "The first officially recognized basketball game was played at the YMCA gym in Springfield, Mass."
- January 20, 1902 "The Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed, it ends the ""splendid isolation"" of Britain and recognizes Japan's interests in Korea"
- January 20, 1920 American Civil Liberties Union founded.
- January 20, 1920 Dutch 2nd Chamber passes school laws
- January 20, 1921 Dagestan ASSR forms in RSFSR
- January 20, 1921 Mountain Autonomous Republic established in RSFSR
- January 20, 1921 "The first Constitution of Turkey was adopted, which made fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty."
- January 20, 1921 Turkey declared in remnants of the Ottoman Empire
- January 20, 1925 "USSR & Japan sign treaty of Peking, Seychelles back to USSR"
- January 20, 1926 2nd German government of Luther begins
- January 20, 1929 "In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking film filmed outdoors, is released."
- January 20, 1929 "The first feature talking motion picture taken outdoors, ""In Old Arizona"""
- January 20, 1934 Japan sends Henry Pu Yi as regent to emperor of Manchuria
- January 20, 1936 Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
- January 20, 1936 UK hist George V dies; Edward VIII king
- January 20, 1937 "-45§F (-43§C), Boca CA (state record)"
- January 20, 1937 "The first Inauguration day on Jan 20th, (held every 4th years thereafter)"
- January 20, 1939 Hitler proclaims to German parliament to exterminate all European Jews
- January 20, 1942 Japanese air raid on Rabaul New Britain
- January 20, 1942 Japanese invade Burma
- January 20, 1942 "Nazi officials decide on their ""final solution"" that calls for the extermination of Jews."
- January 20, 1942 "Wannsee Conference: Details of plan to murder 11,000,000 European Jews are drafted."
- January 20, 1942 "World War II: Nazis at the Wannsee conference in Berlin decide the ""final solution to the Jewish problem""."
- January 20, 1943 "Lead SD, temp is 52§F, while 1.5 miles away Deadwood SD records -16§F"
- January 20, 1943 "Operation-Weiss Assault of German, Italian, Bulgarian & Croatian"
- January 20, 1943 "The Coast Guard Air Station, Floyd Bennett Field had experimented with a helicopter used as an airborne ambulance"
- January 20, 1944 RAF drops 2300 ton bombs on Berlin
- January 20, 1945 FDR sworn-in for an unprecedented 4th term as President
- January 20, 1945 "Hungary drops out of the Second World War, agreeing an armistice with the Allies."
- January 20, 1946 F Gouin follows De Gaulle as temporary leader of French government
- January 20, 1947 "Brigadier General Edwin K Wright, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA"
- January 20, 1949 J Edgar Hoover gives Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen
- January 20, 1949 President Truman announces his point 4 program
- January 20, 1950 """Dance Me a Song"" opens at Royale Theater New York City NY for 35 performances"
- January 20, 1950 Suriname becomes independent part in Realm of Netherlands
- January 20, 1952 "British army occupies Ismailiya, Suez Canal Zone"
- January 20, 1953 The first US telecast transmitted to Canada-from Buffalo NY
- January 20, 1954 "-70§F (-57§C), Rogers Pass, Montana (state 48 record)"
- January 20, 1954 "Dmitri Shostakovich's ""Concertino opus 94"" premieres"
- January 20, 1954 The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- January 20, 1956 "Buddy Holly records ""Blue Days Black Night"" in Nashville"
- January 20, 1957 Gomulka wins Poland's parliamentary election
- January 20, 1960 Hendrik Verwoerd announced a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
- January 20, 1960 Patrice Lumumba sentenced to 6 months in Belgian Congo
- January 20, 1961 Arthur M Ramsay becomes archbishop of Canterbury
- January 20, 1961 John Fitzgerald Kennedy began his presidency with inauguration ceremonies on the newly renovated east front of the Capitol.
- January 20, 1961 "Robert Frost recites ""The Gift Outright"" at JFK's inauguration"
- January 20, 1961 UK hist John F Kennedy becomes US President
- January 20, 1961 Yugoslav ex-Vice-President Milovan Djilas flees
- January 20, 1964 """Meet The Beatles"" album released in US"
- January 20, 1965 "Alan Freed, Cleveland disk jockey who coined the phrase ""rock and roll,"" dies in Palm Springs, California."
- January 20, 1965 Generalissimo Francisco Franco meets with Jewish representatives to discuss legitimizing Jewish communities in Spain
- January 20, 1965 JPL proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars & return
- January 20, 1965 The Beatles appear on Shindig (ABC-TV)
- January 20, 1965 "The Byrds record ""Mr Tambourine Man"""
- January 20, 1966 Number one hit on UK music charts - The Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running
- January 20, 1968 "Game of the Century, influential in college sports broadcasting."
- January 20, 1969 Richard M Nixon inaugurated as President
- January 20, 1969 "The first pulsar is discovered, in the Crab Nebula."
- January 20, 1969 U of Arizona reports first optical id of pulsar (in Crab Nebula)
- January 20, 1971 John Lennon meets Yoko Ono's parents in Japan
- January 20, 1974 4th NFL Pro Bowl AFC beats NFC 15-13
- January 20, 1974 7th ABA All-Star Game East 128 beats West 112 at Virginia
- January 20, 1975 5th NFL Pro Bowl NFC beats AFC 17-10
- January 20, 1976 29th NHL All-Star Game Wales beat Campbell 7-5 at Philadelphia
- January 20, 1977 "George Bush, ends term as 11th director of CIA"
- January 20, 1977 "Mr Knoche, serves as acting director of CIA through March 9"
- January 20, 1978 "Columbia Pictures pays $9.5 million for movie rights to ""Annie"""
- January 20, 1981 "Admiral Stansfield Turner, USN (Retired), ends term as 12th director of CIA"
- January 20, 1981 Iran releases 52 American hostages twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President.
- January 20, 1981 Ronald Reagan inaugurated as President
- January 20, 1982 7 miners killed in an explosion in Craynor KY
- January 20, 1982 Honduras constitution goes into effect
- January 20, 1982 Piet Dankert elected chairman of European Parliament
- January 20, 1985 "Cold front strikes US, at least 40 die (-27§F (-33§C) in Chicago)"
- January 20, 1986 Chunnel announced (railroad tunnel under English Channel)
- January 20, 1986 "England and France announce plans to build a tunnel under the English Channel, affectionately called the ""Chunnel."""
- January 20, 1986 Military coup in Lesotho under General-Major Lekhanya & premier Leabua Jonathan
- January 20, 1986 The first federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr
- January 20, 1986 The U.S. observes the first federal holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
- January 20, 1986 The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.
- January 20, 1987 "Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon"
- January 20, 1987 Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
- January 20, 1987 "Rhino Records first #1-Billy Vera & the Beaters' ""At This Moment"""
- January 20, 1988 Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham
- January 20, 1989 Bush inaugurated as 41st President & Quayle becomes 44th Vice President
- January 20, 1989 Wayne Holdsworth takes a wicket first ball in 1st-class cricket
- January 20, 1990 "47th Golden Globes Born on 4th of July, Driving Miss Daisy win"
- January 20, 1990 "Actress Barbara Stanwyck dies in Santa Monica, California, at age 82."
- January 20, 1990 At least 62 civilians were killed and more than 200 wounded when the Soviet army stormed into Baku to end what Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called fratricidal killing between Moslem Azerbaijanis and Christian Armenians.
- January 20, 1990 Black January - bloody crackdown of Azerbaijani peaceful pro-independence demonstrations by Soviet army in Baku.
- January 20, 1990 US 64th manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) returns from space
- January 20, 1991 """Black & Blue"" closes at Minskoff Theater New York City NY after 829 performances"
- January 20, 1991 """Shogun - The Musical"" closes at Marquis Theater New York City NY after 72 performances"
- January 20, 1991 Iraq pardes captured Allied airmen on TV
- January 20, 1991 Seven men identified as allied airmen captured during the Persian Gulf War were put on Iraqi television in Baghdad.
- January 20, 1991 "Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south."
- January 20, 1991 US Patriot missiles begins shooting down Iraqi missiles
- January 20, 1992 Score begins selling international soccer cards
- January 20, 1993 "Admiral Studeman, serves as acting director of CIA"
- January 20, 1993 Bill Clinton inaugurated as 42nd President
- January 20, 1993 "Movie actress Audrey Hepburn dies of color cancer in Tolochenaz, Switzerland."
- January 20, 1993 Oscar-winning actress Audrey Hepburn died of cancer at her home in Switzerland. She was 63.
- January 20, 1994 Shannon Faulkner becomes the first woman to join the cadet corps at The Citadel military academy in South Carolina.
- January 20, 1995 1994-95 NHL Season begin after a lengthy strike
- January 20, 1995 "A strike-shortened National Hockey League season opened, with teams playing a 48-game schedule instead of the usual 84."
- January 20, 1995 "Russian ruble drops to 3,947 per dollar (record)"
- January 20, 1995 The United States announced it was easing the trade embargo in effect against North Korea since the Korean War.
- January 20, 1996 Australia defeat Sri Lanka 2-0 to win World Series Cup
- January 20, 1996 "Yasser Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian Authority, with 88 percent of the vote."
- January 20, 1997 Comet Hale-Bopp crosses Mars' orbit
- January 20, 1997 Millionaire Steve Fossett landed in northern India after a record-setting bid to become the first person to circle the globe in a hot-air balloon.
- January 20, 1997 Pakistan defeats West Indies 2-0 to win Australia one-day Series
- January 20, 1997 President Clinton was inaugurated for his second term in office.
- January 20, 1998 "Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts Mama & Papas, Eagles"
- January 20, 1998 Warner Brothers TV Network begins Tuesday night programming
- January 20, 1999 "On day two of U.S. President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, his lawyers argue their case before the Senate, calling the House-passed articles of impeachment ""flawed and unfair."""
- January 20, 1999 The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafs.
- January 20, 2000 "Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., warned the U.N. Security Council that the United States would withdraw from the world body if it failed to respect American sovereignty."
- January 20, 2001 George W. Bush is sworn in as President of the United States.
- January 20, 2001 "Just hours before leaving office, President Clinton issued 176 pardons -- a number of them controversial."
- January 20, 2001 "Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in the EDSA II Revolution, succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo."
- January 20, 2003 "Britain said it was sending 26,000 troops to the Gulf for possible deployment to Iraq but France said it would not support a United Nations resolution for military action."
- January 20, 2005 Republic of Ireland completes metrication with the conversion of speed limits to km/h.
- January 20, 2006 High School Musical is released on the Disney Channel.
- January 20, 2007 "A Black Hawk was apparently shot down in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, killing 12 soldiers aboard."
- January 20, 2008 "Israel closed off all the crossings into Gaza and cut off humanitarian relief and the delivery of oil. The power plant in Gaza was shut down, and the power is almost completely off in Gaza."
- January 20, 2009 Inaugeration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. This was a historical event in that he is the first African-American president of the United States.
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