January 20 - Events

Events

• 250 – Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.
• 1265 – In 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".
• 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 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 (also known as the American War of Independence).
• 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.
• 1801 – John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
• 1840 – Dumont D'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica.
• 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, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
• 1934 – Fujifilm, the photographic and electronics company, is founded in Tokyo, Japan.
• 1936 – Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
• 1937 – Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated for a second term as U.S. President. This is the first inauguration on January 20. The date was changed from March 4 by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
• 1941 – Franklin Roosevelt is the only President inaugurated for a third term.
• 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials decided on the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question", accelerating The Holocaust.
• 1945 – World War II: Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
• 1945 – Franklin Roosevelt's fourth and final inauguration is held at the White House due to wartime considerations.
• 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in hisinaugural address for a full term as President.
• 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the first Republican President in twenty years.
• 1954 – The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
• 1959 – The first flight of the Vickers Vanguard.
• 1960 – Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
• 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the youngest elected and first Roman Catholic President of the U.S. His inaugural address is one of the most memorable of the 20th century.
• 1968 – The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win the Game of the Century.
• 1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States. He is the last President inaugurated at the east front of the Capitol, which had been the traditional site for Presidential inaugurations since 1829.
• 1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iranreleases 52 American hostages. It is the first Presidential inauguration to be held at the west front of the Capitol.
• 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 – Tragedy at Baku – The Red Army killed Azerbaijani people in Baku.
• 1991 – Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christiansouth.
• 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 and first African-American President of the United States.