Historical Events and Current Affairs on January 20

1045: Giovanni di Sabina elected Pope Sylvester III
1265: 1st English Parliament called into session by Earl of Leicester
1320: Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland
1356: Scottish king Edward Baliol resigns
1503: American affairs
1503: Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) found (Spain) to deal with
1513: Christian II succeeds Johan I as Danish/Norwegian king
1613: Peace of Kn„rod ends War of Kalmar between Denmark & Sweden
1648: Cornerstone of Amsterdam townhall laid
1667: Treaty of Andrussovo-ends 13 year war between Poland & Russia
1778: 1st American military court martial trial begins, Cambridge, Mass
1781: 1st edition of Pieter It Hoens "Post of Neder-Rhijn" published
1783: Hostilities cease in Revolutionary War
1785: Samuel Ellis advertises to sell Oyster Island (Ellis Is), no takers
1788: Pioneer African Baptist church organizes in Savannah, Ga
1800: Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries King Joachim Murat of Naples
1801: John Marshall appointed US chief justice
1807: Napoleon convenes great Sanhedrin, Paris
1809: 1st US geology book published by William Maclure
1840: Dumont D'Urville discovers Ad‚lie Land, Antarctica
1840: Dutch King Willem II crowned
1841: China cedes Hong Kong to British
1850: Investigator, 1st ship to effect northwest passage, leaves England
1860: Dutch troops conquer Watampone in Celebes
1866: Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends
1868: Florida constitutional convention meets in Tallahassee
1869: Elizabeth Cady Stanton becomes 1st woman to testify before Congress
1870: "City of Boston" vanishes at sea with all 177 aboard
1870: Hiram R Revels elected to fill unexpired term of Jefferson Davis
1872: Calif Stock Exchange Board organized
1879: British troops under Lord Chelmsford set camp at Isandlwana
1883: Billy Barnes takes a hat-trick, England v Aust MCG
1887: US Senate approves naval base lease of Pearl Harbor
1892: 1st basketball game played (Mass)
1910: Ottawa Senators sweep Edmonton in 2 for Stanley Cup (2nd of 1910)
1920: Dutch 2nd Chamber passes school laws
1921: British submarine K5 leaves with man & mouse
1921: Dagestan ASSR forms in RSFSR
1921: Mountain Autonomous Republic established in RSFSR
1921: Turkey declared in remnants of Ottoman Empire
1925: USSR & Japan sign treaty of Peking, Seychelles back to USSR
1926: 2nd German govt of Luther begins
1929: 1st feature talking motion picture taken outdoors, "In Old Arizona"
1930: 1st radio broadcast of "Lone Ranger" (WXYZ-Detroit)
1934: Japan sends Henry Pu Yi as regent to emperor of Manchuria
1936: Edward VIII succeeds British king George V
1937: -45øF (-43øC), Boca, Calif (state record)
1937: 1st Inauguration day on Jan 20th, (held every 4th years there-after)
1939: Charles Ives' 1st Sonate "Concord," premieres
1939: Hitler proclaims to German parliament to exterminate all European Jews
1941: B‚la Bart¢k's 6th string quartet, premieres in NYC
1942: Japanese air raid on Rabaul New Britain
1942: Japanese invade Burma
1942: Nazi officials hold notorious Wannsee conference in Berlin deciding
1942: on "final solution" calling for extermination of Europe's Jews
1943: Lead SD, temp is 52øF, while 1.5 miles away Deadwood SD records -16øF
1943: Operation-Weiss: Assault of German, Italian, Bulgarian & Croatian
1944: RAF drops 2300 ton bombs on Berlin
1945: FDR sworn-in for an unprecedented 4th term as president
1946: F Gouin follows De Gaulle as temporary leader of French govt
1947: Brigadier General Edwin K Wright, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
1949: J Edgar Hoover gives Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen
1949: Pres Truman announces his point 4 program
1950: "Dance Me a Song" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 35 performances
1950: Suriname becomes independent part in Realm of Netherlands
1952: British army occupies Ismailiya, Suez Canal Zone
1953: 1st live coast-to-coast inauguration address (Eisenhower)
1953: 1st US telecast transmitted to Canada-from Buffalo NY
1954: -70øF (-57øC), Rogers Pass, Montana (US 48 state record)
1954: Dmitri Sjostakovitsj' "Concertino opus 94," premieres
1955: 1st atomic sub, USS Nautilus, launched at Groton Conn
1956: Buddy Holly records "Blue Days Black Night" in Nashville
1957: Gomulka wins Poland's parliamentary election
1957: Morton Gould's "Declaration," premieres in Washington, DC
1958: KUED TV channel 7 in Salt Lake City, UT (PBS) begins broadcasting
1959: Dmitri Sjostakovitsj' Moscow-Tsjerjomoesjki, premieres in Moscow
1960: Patrice Lumumba sentenced to 6 months in Belgian Congo
1961: Arthur M Ramsay becomes archbishop of Canterbury
1961: Francis Poulenc's "Gloria," premieres in Boston
1961: Robert Frost recites "Gift Outright" at JFK's inauguration
1961: Yugoslav ex-vice-president Milovan Djilas flees
1962: "Kean" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 92 performances
1964: "Meet The Beatles" album released in US
1965: Beatles appear on Shindig (ABC-TV)
1965: Byrds record "Mr Tambourine Man"
1965: discuss legitimizing Jewish communities in Spain
1965: Generalissimo Francisco Franco meets with Jewish representatives to
1965: JPL proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars & return
1968: Houston ends UCLA's 47-game basketball winning streak, 71-69
1969: Richard M Nixon inaugurated as president
1969: U of Az reports 1st optical id of pulsar (in Crab Nebula)
1970: 20th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 142-135 at Philadelphia
1970: Super Fight, computer mock championship between Ali & Marciano
1971: John Lennon meets Yoko Ono's parents in Japan
1974: 7th ABA All-Star Game: East 128 beats West 112 at Virginia
1974: A college basketball game ends 210-67
1974: Essex Comm College beats Englewood Cliffs 210-67 in basketball
1975: Terrence McNally's "Ritz," premieres in NYC
1977: George Bush, ends term as 11th director of CIA
1977: Mr Knoche, serves as acting director of CIA
1978: Columbia Pictures pays $9.5 million for movie rights to "Annie"
1980: President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow
1980: Superbowl MVP: Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, QB
1980: Superbowl XIV: Pitts Steelers beat LA Rams, 31-19 in Pasadena
1981: 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days freed
1981: Adm Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret), ends term as 12th director of CIA
1981: Frank C Carlucci, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1981: Islander Glenn Resch's 25th & last shut-out opponent-Flames 5-0
1981: Ronald Reagan inaugurated as president
1982: 7 miners killed in an explosion in Craynor Ky
1982: Honduras constitution goes into effect
1982: Piet Dankert elected chairman of European Parliament
1985: Cold front strikes US, at least 40 die (-27øF (-33øC) in Chicago)
1985: Superbowl MVP: Joe Montana, San Francisco, QB
1985: Superbowl XIX: SF 49ers beat Miami Dolphins, 38-16 in Stanford
1986: 1st federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr
1986: Chunnel announced (railroad tunnel under Canal)
1986: Milt coup in Lesotho under gen-mjr Lekhanya & premier Leabua Jonathan
1987: Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon
1987: Rhino Records 1st #1-Billy Vera & Beaters' "At This Moment"
1988: Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Gov Evan Mecham
1989: Bush inaugurated as 41st president & Quayle becomes 44th vice pres
1989: office alive
1989: Reagan becomes 1st pres elected in a "0" year, since 1840, to leave
1990: 47th Golden Globes: Born on 4th of July, Driving Miss Daisy win
1990: US 64th manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) returns from space
1991: "Black & Blue" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 829 performances
1991: "Les Miserables," opens at Pantages Theatre, LA
1991: "Peter Pan" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC or 45 performances
1991: "Shogun - The Musical" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 72 perfs
1991: 13th UCP Telethon
1991: Buffalo Bills beat LA Raiders 51-3 for AFC title
1991: Matt Barr's field goal with no time left gives NY Giant 15-13
1991: US Patriot missiles begins shooting down Iraqi missiles
1991: Victory over defending champs SF 49ers, for NFC title
1992: Australia beat India 2-0 to win the World Series Cup
1993: Adm Studeman, serves as acting director of CIA
1993: Bill Clinton inaugurated as 42nd president
1995: "Love! Valor! Compassion!" opens at Walter Kerr NYC for 276 perfs
1995: Russian ruble drops to 3,947 per dollar (record)
1996: Australia defeat Sri Lanka 2-0 to win World Series Cup
1996: WPAT FM NYC radio station switches to English-Spanish format
1997: Comet Hale-Bopp crosses Mars' orbit
1997: Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in New Orleans LA on KKND 106.7 FM
1997: Pakistan defeat West Indies 2-0 to win Aust one-day Series
1998: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts Mama & Papas & Eagles
1998: Warner Brothers TV Network begins Tueday night programming

News Updates

Birthdays

Death Days

Events