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January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 345 days remaining until the end of the year (346 in leap years).
In astrology, it is the cusp day between Capricorn and Aquarius.
Events[]
- 250 - 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.
- 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 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
- 1356 - Edward Balliol resigns as King of Scotland.
- 1502 - The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro first explored.
- 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 Martín Enríquez de Almansa.
- 1649 - Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes"
- 1667 - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cedes Kiev, Smolensk, and left-bank Ukraine to Imperial Russia in the treaty of Andrusovo.
- 1783 - The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the Revolutionary War.
- 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.
- 1801 - John Mall 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.
- 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, the first official basketball game is played.
- 1920 - American Civil Liberties Union founded.
- 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.
- 1929 - In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking film filmed outdoors, is released.
- 1936 - Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
- 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.
- 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 - Hungary drops out of the Second World War, agreeing an armistice with the Allies.
- 1954 - The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- 1960 - Hendrik Verwoerd announced a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
- 1968 - Game of the Century, influential in college sports broadcasting.
- 1969 - The first pulsar is discovered, in the Crab Nebula.
- 1981 - Iran releases 52 American hostages twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President.
- 1986 - Martin Luther King, 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.
- 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.
- 1999 - The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafés.
- 2001 - Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in the EDSA II Revolution, succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Births[]
- 225 - Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
- 1292 - Elisabeth I of Bohemia (d. 1330)
- 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 - André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (d. 1836)
- 1781 - Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg, Austrian politician (d. 1848)
- 1783 - Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
- 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 Nobel laureate (d. 1950)
- 1876 - Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d. 1967)
- 1878 - Finlay Currie, British actor (d. 1968)
- 1878 - Ruth St. Denis, dancer (d. 1968)
- 1880 - Walter W. Bacon, Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
- 1891 - Mischa Elman, Ukrainian born violinist (d. 1967)
- 1893 - Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (d. 1946)
- 1894 - Walter Piston, American composer (d. 1976)
- 1896 - George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)
- 1896 - Isabel Withers, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1898 - U Razak, Burmese politician (d. 1947)
- 1900 - Colin Clive, British actor (d. 1937)
- 1902 - Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1907 - Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
- 1910 - Joy Adamson, Austrian naturalist and writer (d. 1980)
- 1915 - Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
- 1918 - Juan García Esquivel, Mexican bandleader (d. 2002)
- 1920 - Federico Fellini, Italian film director (d. 1993)
- 1920 - DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1920 - Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian author and ski jumper (d. 2006)
- 1922 - Ray Anthony, American trumpeter, bandleader, songwriter and actor
- 1923 - Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
- 1923 - Slim Whitman, American singer
- 1925 - Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan theologian and author and politician
- 1926 - Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, essayist and columnist
- 1926 - Qurratulain Hyder, Indian novelist (d. 2007)
- 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
- 1932 - Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1934 - Tom Baker, British actor
- 1937 - Dorothy Provine, American singer, dancer and actress
- 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
- 1940 - Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
- 1941 - Pierre Lalonde, Quebec singer and television host
- 1941 - Ron Townson, American singer (The Fifth Dimension) (d. 2001)
- 1943 - Farhad Mehrad, Iranian musician
- 1944 - José Luis Garci, Spanish filmmaker
- 1945 - Robert Olen Butler, American writer
- 1945 - Christopher Martin-Jenkins, cricket commentator and correspondent
- 1945 - Eric Stewart, English musician and songwriter (10cc)
- 1946 - David Lynch, American film director
- 1947 - Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and directeur sportif
- 1948 - Natan Sharansky, Russian-born physicist and politician
- 1949 - Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1950 - Liza Goddard, British actress
- 1950 - Edward Hirsch. American poet
- 1950 - Chuck Lefley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1950 - Mahamane Ousmane, President of Niger
- 1951 - Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor
- 1951 - Ian Hill, British musician (Judas Priest)
- 1952 - Paul Stanley, American musician (Kiss)
- 1955 - Wyatt Knight, American actor
- 1955 - Joe Doherty, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- 1956 - Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
- 1956 - Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst
- 1958 - Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
- 1960 - Scott Thunes, American musician (Frank Zappa)
- 1960 - Will Wright, American computer game designer
- 1965 - Greg Kriesel, American bassist (The Offspring)
- 1965 - Sophie, the wife of Prince Edward
- 1965 - John Michael Montgomery, American singer
- 1965 - Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
- 1966 - Tracii Guns, American guitarist
- 1968 - Melissa Rivers, American reporter and actress
- 1968 - Rainn Wilson, American actor
- 1969 - Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker
- 1969 - Nicky Wire, British Musician (Manic Street Preachers)
- 1970 - Mitch Benn, UK comedian, songwriter, actor
- 1970 - Kerri Kenney-Silver, American actress
- 1970 - Skeet Ulrich, American actor
- 1971 - Derrick Green, American singer (Sepultura)
- 1971 - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, American drummer (The Roots)
- 1971 - Brian Giles, American baseball player
- 1973 - Princess Mathilde
- 1975 - David Eckstein, American baseball player
- 1975 - Norberto Fontana, Argentine racing driver
- 1976 - Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- 1978 - Joy Giovanni, American actress and glamour model
- 1978 - Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
- 1979 - Rob Bourdon, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1979 - Asaka Kubo, Japanese gravure idol of 20th Century
- 1979 - Will Young, British singer
- 1980 - Matthew Tuck, Welsh guitarist (Bullet for My Valentine)
- 1980 - Philippe Cousteau Jr. Oceanographer/Environmentalist, grandson of Jacques Cousteau
- 1981 - Owen Hargreaves, English international footballer
- 1981 - Jason Richardson, American basketball player (Golden State Warriors)
- 1981 - Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress
- 1984 - Toni Gonzaga, Filipino TV host and actress
- 2002 - Prince Tassilo of Bulgaria
Deaths[]
- 1156 - Bishop Henry, patron saint of Finland
- 1191 - Frederick VI (b. 1167)
- 1479 - King John II of Aragon (b. 1397)
- 1568 - Myles Coverdale, English Bible translator
- 1612 - Rudolf II (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)
- 1739 - Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (b. 1659)
- 1751 - John Hervey, 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)
- 1875 - Jean-François Millet, French painter (b. 1814)
- 1891 - David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii (b. 1836)
- 1900 - John Ruskin, art critic (b. 1819)
- 1901 - Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (b. 1826)
- 1920 - Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (b. 1876)
- 1936 - King George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
- 1940 - Omar Bundy, U.S. army general (b. 1861)
- 1944 - James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (b. 1860)
- 1947 - Josh Gibson, African-American baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1954 - Fred Root, English cricketer (b. 1890)
- 1962 - Robinson Jeffers, American poet (b. 1887)
- 1965 - Alan Freed, American disk jockey (b. 1922)
- 1971 - Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, American actor, director, writer, and producer (b. 1880)
- 1973 - Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (b. 1885)
- 1979 - Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (b. 1925)
- 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)
- 1988 - Dora Stratou, Greek choreographer and folklorist (b. 1903)
- 1989 - Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (b. 1938)
- 1990 - Hayedeh, Persian singer (b. 1942)
- 1990 - Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
- 1993 - Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (b. 1929)
- 1994 - Sir Matt Busby, Scottish football player and coach (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 (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist, writer, and politician (b. 1913)
- 2005 - Miriam Louisa Rothschild, British zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
Holidays and observances[]
- Presidential Inauguration Day in the United States, held every four years since 1937.
- Astrology: First day of sun sign Aquarius.
- Ati-Atihan Festival in the Philippines
Religious feasts[]
- Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
- The Eve of St. Agnes.
- January 20
- Abadios[2]
References[]
- ^ a b c Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4.
- ^ *Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saint. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
External links[]
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| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at January 20. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
172 Familypedia people were born on January 20
157 Familypedia people died on January 20
116 Familypedia people were first married on January 20