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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 was 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 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 abdicates as King of Scotland .1502 - The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is 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 - The 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 - The 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 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 is 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, Massachusetts , the first official basketball game is played.1920 - The American Civil Liberties Union 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 1936 - Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom .1937 - Franklin 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 agree on 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 ends its involvement in the Second World War, agreeing to an armistice with the Allies .1954 - The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations .1960 - Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.1968 - The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win the Game of the Century .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, Jr. , day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.1987 - Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon .1990 - Black January - crackdown of Azerbaijani 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.1992 - Air Inter Flight 148 crashes near Strasbourg, France , killing 82 passengers and 5 crew.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 a nonviolent 4-day revolution , and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo .2009 - Barack Obama inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States
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 )1834 - George D. Robinson , 34th Governor of Massachusetts (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 , American dancer (d. 1968 )
1880 - Walter W. Bacon , American politician (d. 1962 )1889 - Allan Haines Loughead , American aviation executive (d. 1969 )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 )1899 - Kenjiro Takayanagi , Japanese development of television (d. 1990 )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 )1912 - Walter Briggs, Jr. , American sports executive (d. 1970 )1915 - Ghulam Ishaq Khan , President of Pakistan (d. 2006 )1919 - 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 )
1921 - Telmo Zarraonaindía , Spanish footballer (d. 2006 )1922 - Ray Anthony , American trumpeter, bandleader and actor1922 - Graham Stark , British actor
1923 - Nora Brockstedt , Norwegian singer1924 - Slim Whitman , American singer1925 - Ernesto Cardenal , Nicaraguan theologian and politician1926 - Jamiluddin Aali , Pakistani poet, essayist and columnist1926 - Qurratulain Hyder , Pakistani novelist (d. 2007 )
1926 - Patricia Neal , American actress
1926 - David Tudor , American pianist and composer (d. 1996 )
1929 - Jimmy Cobb , American jazz drummer1929 - Arte Johnson , American actor
1929 - Glenn Roberts , American race car driver (d. 1964 )
1930 - Buzz Aldrin , American astronaut1931 - David Lee , American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate1931 - Hachidai Nakamura , Japanese songwriter and pianist (d. 1992 )
1932 - Lou Fontinato , Canadian ice hockey player1933 - Ron Townson , American singer (The Fifth Dimension ) (d. 2001 )1934 - Tom Baker , British actor1935 - Joan Weston , Roller Derby Queen (d. 1997 )1937 - Dorothy Provine , American singer, dancer and actress1938 - William Berger , Austrian actor (d. 1993 )1938 - Derek Dougan , Northern Irish footballer (d. 2007 )
1939 - Paul Coverdell , American politician (d. 2000 )1940 - Carol Heiss , American figure skater1940 - Krishnam Raju , Indian actor and politician
1941 - Pierre Lalonde , Quebec singer and television host1943 - Farhad Mehrad , Iranian musician1944 - José Luis Garci , Spanish filmmaker1945 - Robert Olen Butler , American writer1945 - Christopher Martin-Jenkins , cricket commentator and correspondent
1945 - Eric Stewart , English musician and songwriter (10cc )
1946 - David Lynch , American film director1947 - Cyrille Guimard , French cyclist and directeur sportif 1948 - Natan Sharansky , Russian-born physicist and politician1948 - Nancy Kress , American writer1949 - Göran Persson , Prime Minister of Sweden 1950 - Liza Goddard , British actress1950 - Edward Hirsch . American poet
1950 - Chuck Lefley , Canadian ice hockey player
1950 - Mahamane Ousmane , President of Niger
1951 - Ivan Fischer , Hungarian conductor1951 - Ian Hill , British musician (Judas Priest )
1952 - Paul Stanley , American musician (Kiss )1955 - Wyatt Knight , American actor1955 - Joe Doherty , Provisional Irish Republican Army member
1955 - Hiromi Ōta , Japanese singer
1956 - Maria Larsson , Swedish politician1956 - Bill Maher , American actor, comedian, and political analyst
1958 - Lorenzo Lamas , American actor1960 - Scott Thunes , American musician (Frank Zappa )1960 - Will Wright , American computer game designer
1963 - James Denton , American actor1963 - Firebreaker Chip , American professional wrestler
1964 - Kazushige Nojima , Japanese game scenario writer1965 - Colin Calderwood , Scottish footballer1965 - 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
1965 - Anton Weissenbacher , Romanian footballer
1966 - Stacey Dash , American actress1966 - Tracii Guns , American guitarist
1968 - Melissa Rivers , American reporter and actress1968 - Rainn Wilson , American actor
1969 - Patrick K. Kroupa , American computer hacker1969 - Nicky Wire , British Musician (Manic Street Preachers )
1970 - Mitch Benn , UK comedian, songwriter, actor1970 - Kerri Kenney-Silver , American actress
1970 - Skeet Ulrich , American actor
1971 - Derrick Green , American singer (Sepultura )1971 - Gary Barlow , English singer (Take That )
1971 - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson , American drummer (The Roots )
1971 - Brian Giles , American baseball player
1973 - Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant 1975 - David Eckstein , American baseball player1975 - Norberto Fontana , Argentine racing driver
1976 - Gretha Smit , Dutch speed skater1977 - Melody , Belgian singer1978 - Joy Giovanni , American actress and glamour model1978 - Sonja Kesselschläger , German heptathlete
1978 - Allan Søgaard , Danish footballer
1979 - Rob Bourdon , American musician (Linkin Park )1979 - Asaka Kubo , Japanese gravure idol of 20th Century
1979 - Will Young , British singer
1980 - Philippe Cousteau Jr. , Freanch oceanographer; grandson of Jacques Cousteau 1980 - Brigitte Olivier , Belgian judoka
1980 - Matthew Tuck , Welsh guitarist (Bullet for My Valentine )
1981 - Freddy Guzmán , Dominican baseball player1981 - Christine Bleakley , BBC Television Host
1981 - Owen Hargreaves , English international footballer
1981 - Crystal Lowe , Canadian actress
1983 - Geovany Soto , Puerto Rican baseball player1983 - Paula Taylor , English-Thai actress, model and presenter
1983 - Mari Yaguchi , Japanese singer (Morning Musume )
1984 - Olivia Hallinan , English Actress1984 - Toni Gonzaga , Filipina Actress and Singer
Deaths
287 - St. Sebastian 1156 - Bishop Henry , patron saint of Finland1191 - Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia (b. 1167 )1479 - King John II of Aragon (b. 1397 )1568 - Myles Coverdale , English Bible translator1612 - Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (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, 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 )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 )2002 - Carrie Hamilton , actress and singer (b. 1963 )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
External links
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