What happened on January 20? There are more than 293 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About January 20
January 20 is the 20th day of the year 2024. There are 346 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 3rd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Canton, Ohio 44760 sunrise occured at 07:43 AM and sunset occured at 05:29 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Capricorn. The modern birthstone for this month is Garnet while the mystical birthstone is Emerald.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 21 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 22 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
January 20: A Day In History
In the ancient astronomy, it was the cusp day between Capricorn and Aquarius. In some years it is Aquarius, but others Capricorn. It depends on the year.
Historical Events For January 20
- 250Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.
- 1265In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the “Houses of Parliament”.
- 1320Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
- 1356Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scotland.
- 1502The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is first explored.
- 1523Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
- 1576The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
- 1649Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other “high crimes”.
- 1783The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence).
- 1788The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
- 1801John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1839In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
- 1841Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
- 1885L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
- 1887The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
- 1920The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
- 1921The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
- 1929In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
- 1934Fujifilm, the photographic and electronics company, is founded in Tokyo, Japan.
- 1936Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
- 1941A Nazi officer is murdered in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
- 1942World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question”.
- 1945World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
- 1945World War II: Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
- 1949Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
- 1954The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- 1959The first flight of the Vickers Vanguard.
- 1960Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
- 1969East Pakistani police kill student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman. The resulting outrage is in part responsible for the Bangladesh Liberation War.
- 1972Pakistan launched its Nuclear detterent program few weeks after its defeat in Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
- 1981Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
- 1986Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
- 1987Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
- 1990On Black Saturday, the Red Army kills Azerbaijani civilians in Baku.
- 1991Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
- 1992Air Inter Flight 148 crashes near Strasbourg, France, killing 82 passengers and five crew members.
- 1999The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use, aimed especially at Internet cafés.
- 2001Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
- 2006Witnesses report seeing a bottlenose whale swimming in the River Thames, the first time the species had been seen in the Thames since records began in 1913.
- 2007A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completes a 1093 mi trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
Who Were Born On January 20?
- 225Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
- 1292Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330) (d. 1330)
- 1435Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (d. 1490)
- 1554King Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
- 1586Johann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
- 1664Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (d. 1718)
- 1716Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (d. 1795)
- 1716King Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
- 1732Richard Henry Lee, American statesman (d. 1794)
- 1755Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1824)
- 1775André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (d. 1836)
- 1781Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg, Austrian politician (d. 1848)
- 1783Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
- 1798Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (d. 1858)
- 1804Eugène Sue, French novelist (d. 1857)
- 1812Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
- 1834George D. Robinson, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1837David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1910)
- 1855Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
- 1867Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
- 1873Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish Nobel laureate (d. 1950)
- 1876Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d. 1967)
- 1878Finlay Currie, British actor (d. 1968)
- 1878Ruth St. Denis, American dancer (d. 1968)
- 1880Walter W. Bacon, American politician and 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
- 1889Allan Haines Loughead, American aviation executive (d. 1969)
- 1891Mischa Elman, Ukrainian born violinist (d. 1967)
- 1893Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (d. 1946)
- 1894Walter Piston, American composer (d. 1976)
- 1895Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1985)
- 1896George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)
- 1896Isabel Withers, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1898U Razak, Burmese politician (d. 1947)
- 1899Clarice Cliff, English ceramic artist (d. 1972)
- 1899Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese development of television (d. 1990)
- 1900Colin Clive, British actor (d. 1937)
- 1902Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1903Jennifer Ishikawa, Japanese singer (d. 1985)
- 1907Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
- 1908Fleur Cowles, American writer, editor and artist (d. 2009)
- 1910Joy Adamson, Austrian naturalist and writer (d. 1980)
- 1911Wendell J. Westcott, American carillonneur (d. 2010)
- 1912Walter Briggs, Jr., American sports executive (d. 1970)
- 1913Cleon Skousen, American author (d. 2006)
- 1915Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
- 1918Juan García Esquivel, Mexican bandleader (d. 2002)
- 1918Nevin S. Scrimshaw, American food scientist
- 1920DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1920Federico Fellini, Italian film director (d. 1993)
- 1920Frank Kush, American football player and coach
- 1920Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian author and ski jumper (d. 2006)
- 1921Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
- 1922Graham Stark, British actor
- 1922Ray Anthony, American trumpeter, bandleader and actor
- 1923Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
- 1924Slim Whitman, American singer
- 1925Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan theologian and politician
- 1926David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1926Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, essayist and columnist
- 1926Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1926Qurratulain Hyder, Indian and Pakistani novelist (d. 2007)
- 1928Rudy Boesch, Contestant on Survivor: Borneo (3rd Place) and Survivor: All-Stars (17th Place)
- 1929Arte Johnson, American actor
- 1929Edward Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
- 1929Jimmy Cobb, American jazz drummer
- 1930Buzz Aldrin, American astronaut
- 1931David Lee, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate
- 1931Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese songwriter and pianist (d. 1992)
- 1932Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1933Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
- 1934Tom Baker, British actor
- 1935Alexander Men, Russian priest (d. 1990)
- 1935Joan Weston, Roller Derby Queen (d. 1997)
- 1937Dorothy Provine, American singer, dancer and actress (d. 2010)
- 1938Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2007)
- 1938William Berger, Austrian actor (d. 1993)
- 1939Paul Coverdell, American politician (d. 2000)
- 1940Carol Heiss, American figure skater
- 1940Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
- 1941Pierre Lalonde, Canadian singer and television host
- 1942Linda Moulton Howe, American investigative journalist and documentary producer-writer-director-editor
- 1944Farhad Mehrad, Iranian musician (d. 2002)
- 1944José Luis Garci, Spanish filmmaker
- 1945Christopher Martin-Jenkins, cricket commentator and correspondent
- 1945Eric Stewart, English musician and songwriter (10cc)
- 1945Robert Olen Butler, American writer
- 1946David Lynch, American film director
- 1947Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and directeur sportif
- 1948Mel Pritchard, British Musician
- 1948Nancy Kress, American writer
- 1948Natan Sharansky, Russian-born physicist and politician
- 1949Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden (1996–2006)
- 1950Chuck Lefley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1950Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
- 1950Edward Hirsch, American poet
- 1950Liza Goddard, British actress
- 1950Mahamane Ousmane, President of Niger
- 1951Ian Hill, British musician (Judas Priest)
- 1951Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor
- 1952Paul Stanley, American musician (Kiss)
- 1953Colleen Zenk Pinter, American actress
- 1953Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender
- 1954Ken Page, American cabaret singer and actor
- 1954Rudy La Scala, Venezuelan singer-songwriter
- 1955Hiromi Ōta, Japanese singer
- 1955Joe Doherty, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- 1955Wyatt Knight, American actor
- 1956Bill Maher, American author, comedian, and political analyst
- 1956Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
- 1958Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
- 1959R.A. Salvatore, American author
- 1959Tami Hoag, American novelist
- 1960Apa Sherpa, Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer, summitted Everest 19 times
- 1960Scott Thunes, American musician (Frank Zappa)
- 1960Will Wright, American computer game designer
- 1963Firebreaker Chip, American professional wrestler
- 1963James Denton, American actor
- 1964Kazushige Nojima, Japanese game scenario writer
- 1964Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-born baseball player and manager
- 1964Ron Harper, American basketball player
- 1965Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
- 1965Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer
- 1965Greg Kriesel, American bassist (The Offspring)
- 1965Heather Small, British Soul Singer
- 1965John Michael Montgomery, American singer
- 1965Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
- 1965Warren Joyce, English footballer
- 1966Rainn Wilson, American actor
- 1966Stacey Dash, American actress
- 1966Tracii Guns, American guitarist
- 1968Melissa Rivers, American reporter and actress
- 1968Nick Anderson, American basketball player
- 1969Nicky Wire, British musician (Manic Street Preachers)
- 1969Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker
- 1970Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter
- 1970Kerri Kenney-Silver, American actress
- 1970Mitch Benn, UK comedian, songwriter and actor
- 1970Skeet Ulrich, American actor
- 1971Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, American drummer (The Roots)
- 1971Brian Giles, American baseball player
- 1971Derrick Green, American singer (Sepultura)
- 1971Gary Barlow, English singer (Take That)
- 1971Gerard McDonnell, Irish mountaineer (d. 2008)
- 1971Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
- 1973Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant
- 1974David Dei, Italian footballer
- 1975David Eckstein, American baseball player
- 1975Norberto Fontana, Argentine racing driver
- 1976Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- 1976Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish television presenter
- 1977Melody, Belgian singer
- 1977Sid Wilson, American Musician, (Slipknot)
- 1978Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
- 1978Joy Giovanni, American actress and glamour model
- 1978Luciano Zauri, Italian footballer
- 1978Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
- 1979Asaka Kubo, Japanese gravure idol of 20th Century
- 1979Shang Yi, Chinese footballer
- 1979Will Young, British singer
- 1980Brigitte Olivier, Belgian judoka
- 1980Philippe Cousteau, Jr., French oceanographer; grandson of Jacques Cousteau
- 1981Brendan Fevola, Australian Rules Football Player
- 1981Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress
- 1981Daniel Cudmore, Canadian actor
- 1981Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
- 1981Jason Richardson, American basketball player
- 1981Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
- 1982Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
- 1982Joe Swash, English actor
- 1983Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1983Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
- 1983Paula Taylor, English-Thai actress, model and presenter
- 1984Olivia Hallinan, English actress
- 1984Toni Gonzaga, Filipina actress and singer
- 1986Derek Fathauer, American professional golfer
- 1987Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
- 1988Benjamin Ulrich, German rugby player
- 1988Denisse Lara, American singer-songwriter
- 1988Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
- 1989Washington, Brazilian footballer
- 1991Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver; son of Jonathan Palmer
Who Died On January 20?
- 250Pope Fabian
- 1156Bishop Henry, patron saint of Finland
- 1191Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
- 1479King John II of Aragon (b. 1397)
- 1568Myles Coverdale, English Bible translator
- 1612Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
- 1663Isaac Ambrose, English Puritan divine (b. 1604)
- 1666Anna of Austria, wife of Louis XIII of France and regent (b. 1601)
- 1707Humphrey Hody, English theologian (b. 1659)
- 1709François de la Chaise, French confessor of Louis XIV of France (b. 1624)
- 1739Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (b. 1659)
- 1751John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
- 1770Charles Yorke, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
- 1779David Garrick, English actor (b. 1717)
- 1810Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of colonial Pennsylvania (b. 1722)
- 1819King Charles IV of Spain (b. 1748)
- 1837Sir John Soane, English neo-classical architect (b. 1753)
- 1841Minh Mang, the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam (b. 1791)
- 1848Christian VIII of Denmark (b. 1786)
- 1850Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet (b. 1779)
- 1852Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
- 1873The Blessed Father Basil Anthony Marie Patrice Moreau, Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
- 1875Jean-François Millet, French painter (b. 1814)
- 1877Dato Maharajalela Lela, Malay nationalist.
- 1891King Kalākaua, of Hawaiʻi (b. 1836)
- 1900John Ruskin, English art critic (b. 1819)
- 1901Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (b. 1826)
- 1908John Ordronaux, American Civil War army surgeon, a professor of medical jurisprudence, and pioneering mental health commissioner (b. 1830)
- 1913José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852).
- 1920Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (b. 1876)
- 1924Ivor Crapp, Australian rules football umpire (b. 1872)
- 1936King George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
- 1940Omar Bundy, American army general (b. 1861)
- 1944James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (b. 1860)
- 1947Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1954Fred Root, English cricketer (b. 1890)
- 1962Robinson Jeffers, American poet (b. 1887)
- 1965Alan Freed, American disk jockey (b. 1922)
- 1971Gilbert M. ‘Broncho Billy’Anderson, American actor, director, writer, and producer (b. 1880)
- 1971Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
- 1973Amilcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan and Cape Verdian politician (b. 1924)
- 1973Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (b. 1885)
- 1979Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (b. 1925)
- 1980William Roberts, British painter (b. 1895)
- 1983Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
- 1984Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
- 1988Dora Stratou, Greek choreographer and folklorist (b. 1903)
- 1988Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pashtun Nationalist & non-violent freedom fighter (b. 1890)
- 1989Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (b. 1938)
- 1990Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
- 1990Hayedeh, Persian singer (b. 1942)
- 1993Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (b. 1929)
- 1994Sir Matt Busby, Scottish football player and coach (b. 1909)
- 1996Gerry Mulligan, American musician (b. 1927)
- 1997Curt Flood, American baseball player (b. 1938)
- 1998Bobo Brazil, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
- 2002Carrie Hamilton, actress and singer, daughter of comedienne/actress Carol Burnett (b. 1963).
- 2003Al Hirschfeld, American caricaturist (b. 1903)
- 2003Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (b. 1947)
- 2003Craig Kelly, American snowboarder (b. 1966)
- 2003Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
- 2004Guinn Smith, American athlete (b. 1920)
- 2005Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist, writer, and politician (b. 1913)
- 2005Miriam Louisa Rothschild, British zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
- 2005Parveen Babi, Indian Actress and Model (b. 1949)
- 2005Per Borten, Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
- 2005Roland Frye, American literary critic and theologian (b. 1921)
- 2006Dave Lepard, Swedish rock singer and guitarist (b. 1980)
- 2009David Newman, American jazz musician, nicknamed “Fathead” (b. 1933)
- 2009Sheila O'Nions Walsh (aka Sheila Walsh, Sophie Leyton), English romance writer (b. 1928)
- 2009Stéphanos II Ghattas, Patriarch Emeritus of Alexandria for the Coptic Catholic Church (b. 1920)
- 2009Stan Hagen, Canadian politician (b. 1940)
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