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.

Since the ratification of the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1933, January 20 has been the date on which the terms of office for the President and Vice President of the United States begin every four years. The inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner on January 20, 1937 was the first time the 20th Amendment affected the start of the presidential and vice-presidential terms. January 20 continues to be Inauguration Day in the United States, although some Presidents have been sworn in on different days. For instance, Lyndon B. Johnson became President on November 22, 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, when Johnson was re-elected to a full four-year term of his own, that term began on January 20, 1965.

Events

• 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.
• 1667 - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cedes Kyiv, Smolensk, and left-bank Ukraine to Imperial Russia in the treaty of Andrusiv.
• 1783 - 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.
• 1958 - Elvis Presley receives his draft notice.
• 1960 - Hendrik Verwoerd announced a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
• 1960 - The Summit or Rat Pack begins performing at the Sands Hotel during the filming of Ocean's Eleven.
• 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 as 36th 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.
• 1975 - Michael Ovitz founds Creative Artists Agency.
• 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 bare minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President.
• 1985 - Super Bowl XIX: The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Miami Dolphins, 38-16.
• 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 Azeri protest 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.
• 2002 - Inauguration of Churches Uniting in Christ.
• 2004 - Senator John Kerry won the Iowa caucuses brushing aside the insurgent anti-war candidacy of Howard Dean.
• 2005 - George W. Bush is inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States.
• 2005 - Ireland completes metrication.
• 2006 - Robert Hill, an Australian politician, announces that he will resign.

Births

• 225 - Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
• 1358 - Eleanor of Aragon, queen 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 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)
• 1891 - Mischa Elman, Ukrainian born violinist (d. 1967)
• 1894 - Walter Piston, American composer
• 1896 - George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)
• 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 O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d. 2000)
• 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 - Buzz Aldrin, astronaut
• 1931 - David Lee, American physicist, Nobel Prize 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
• 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)
• 1952 - Paul Stanley, American musician (KISS)
• 1952 - John Witherow, Editor of The Sunday Times
• 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 - Kay Robinson (Nelson), American model and singer
• 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
• 1971 - Derrick Green, American singer (Sepultura)
• 1976 - Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
• 1979 - Rob Bourdon, American musician (Linkin Park)
• 1982 - Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (d. 2004)

Deaths

• 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, queen 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)
• 1891 - David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii (b. 1836)
• 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)
• 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)
• 1983 - Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
• 1984 - Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
• 1990 - Hayedeh, Persian singer (b. 1942)
• 1990 - Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
• 1993 - Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (b. 1929)
• 1994 - Matt Busby, Scotish 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)

Holidays and observances

• 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.

External links

• On this day in Canada
• NY Times: On this day
• BBC: On This Day

January 19 - January 21 - December 20 - February 20 — listing of all days