January 20Birthdays & History

On this day: January 20 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 250Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.Europe
2. 1156Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö.Europe
3. 1265The 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".Europe
4. 1320Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.Europe
5. 1356Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.Europe
6. 1401The Taula de canvi (Catalan: "Table of change"), described as Europe's first-ever public bank, began operations inside Barcelona's Llotja de Mar.Europe
7. 1523Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.Europe
8. 1567Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.Latin AmericaEurope
9. 1576The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.Latin America
10. 1649The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.Europe
11. 1726J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen (My sighs, my tears), BWV 13, for the second Sunday after Epiphany.Europe
12. 1783The Kingdom of Great Britain signs preliminary articles of peace with the Kingdom of France, setting the stage for the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.EuropeNorth America
13. 1785Invading 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.Asia
14. 1788The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, beginning the British colonization of Australia. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.EuropeOceania
15. 1839In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.Latin America
16. 1841Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War.AsiaEurope
17. 1874The Treaty of Pangkor is signed between the British and Sultan Abdullah of Perak, paving the way for further British colonization of Malaya.EuropeAsia
18. 1877The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.Middle EastEurope
19. 1887The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.North America
20. 1909Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division.North America
21. 1921The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.Middle East
22. 1921The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.Europe
23. 1923During the Irish Civil War the Irish Free State Army executes 10 members of the anti-treaty Irish Republican ArmyEurope
24. 1941A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.Europe
25. 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".Europe
26. 1945World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.Europe
27. 1945World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.Europe
28. 1954In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.North America
29. 1972Pakistan launches its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.Asia
30. 1973Amílcar Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is assassinated in Conakry, Guinea.Africa
31. 1974China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam.Asia
32. 1981Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages.North AmericaMiddle East
33. 1986In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.North America
34. 1986Leabua Jonathan, Prime Minister of Lesotho, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by General Justin Lekhanya.Africa
35. 1990Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.Europe
36. 1991Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.Africa
37. 1992Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board.Europe
38. 2001President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.Asia
39. 2009A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.Europe
40. 2018A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.Asia
41. 2018Syrian civil war: The Government of Turkey announces the initiation of the Afrin offensive and begins shelling Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in Afrin Region.Middle East

Source: Wikipedia "January 20" / CC BY-SA 4.0