January 20 in History

Historical Events on January 20

250

Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.
649

King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
1265

The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament".
1320

Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
1356

Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
1523

Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
1567

Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
1576

The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
1649

Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes".
1783

The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.
1785

Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
1788

The 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.
1839

In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
1841

Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
1877

The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
1887

The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
1920

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is founded.
1921

The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making 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 motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
1936

Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
1937

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President, the first occasion a Presidential Inauguration to take place on January 20 following the ratification of the 20th Amendment
1941

A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
1942

World 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".
1945

World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
1945

World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
1948

United Nations Security Council Resolution 39 relating to India and Pakistan is adopted.
1949

Point 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.
1953

Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on January 20 following the ratification of the 20th Amendment.
1954

In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
1972

Pakistan launched its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
1981

Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
1986

In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
1990

The Red Army crackdown on civil protests in Baku, Azerbaijan during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
1991

Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
1992

Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
2001

President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
2007

Four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
2009

A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
2009

Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
2017

Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America.

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