Events

Pre-1600

* 250 –

Pope Fabian Pope Fabian ( la, Fabianus) was the bishop of Rome from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Anterus. A dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope ...

is martyred during the

Decian persecution The Decian persecution of Christians occurred in 250 AD under the Roman Emperor Decius. He had issued an edict ordering everyone in the Empire to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods and the well-being of the emperor. The sacrifices had to ...

. * 649 – King

Chindasuinth Chindasuinth (also spelled Chindaswinth, Chindaswind, Chindasuinto, Chindasvindo, or Khindaswinth ( Latin: Chintasvintus, Cindasvintus; 563 – 30 September 653) was Visigothic King of Hispania, from 642 until his death in 653. He succeeded Tul ...

, at the urging of bishop

Braulio of Zaragoza Braulio ( la, Braulius Caesaraugustanus; 585 – 651 AD) was bishop of Zaragoza and a learned cleric living in the Kingdom of the Visigoths. Life Braulio was born of a noble Hispano-Roman family. His father was Bishop of Osma. In 610 Braulio ...

, crowns his son

Recceswinth Recceswinth (died 1 September 672) was the Visigothic King of Hispania, and Septimania in 649–672. He ruled jointly with his father Chindaswinth until his father's death in 653. Name His Gothic name is believed to have been *𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌺 ...

as co-ruler of the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic peoples, Germanic su ...

. * 1156 – Finnish peasant

Lalli Lalli is an apocryphal character from Finnish history. According to the legend, he killed Bishop Henry on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland on January 20, 1156. Legend The story begins with an expedition of one of the first Christian ...

kills English clergyman

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of

Lake Köyliö A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

. * 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 The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament". * 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes

king of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

. * 1356 –

Edward Balliol Edward Balliol (; 1283 – January 1364) was a claimant to the Scottish throne during the Second War of Scottish Independence. With English help, he ruled parts of the kingdom from 1332 to 1356. Early life Edward was the eldest son of John ...

surrenders his claim to the

Scottish throne The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

in exchange for an English pension. * 1523 –

Christian II Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...

is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway. * 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro:

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

forces under the command of

Estácio de Sá Estácio de Sá (1520 – February 20, 1567) was a Portuguese soldier and officer. Sá travelled to the colony of Brazil on the orders of the Portuguese crown to wage war on the French colonists commanded by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon. These ...

definitively drive the French out of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. * 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don

Martín Enríquez de Almanza Martín Enríquez de Almanza y Ulloa, (died ca. March 13, 1583) was the fourth viceroy of New Spain, who ruled in the name of Philip II from November 5, 1568 until October 3, 1580. Like many of the early viceroys of New Spain, Almanza was o ...

1601–1900

* 1649 – The

High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I The High Court of Justice was the court established by the Rump Parliament to try Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. Even though this was an ''ad hoc'' tribunal that was specifically created for the purpose of trying the king, it ...

begins its proceedings. * 1783 – The

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

signs preliminary articles of peace with the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

, setting the stage for the official end of hostilities in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

later that year. * 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, but are ambushed and annihilated at the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

river by the Tây Sơn in the

Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút The Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút ( vi, Trận Rạch Gầm – Xoài Mút, th, การรบที่ซากเกิ่ม-สว่ายมุต) was fought between the Vietnamese Tây Sơn forces and an army of Siam in present-da ...

. * 1788 – The third and main part of

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

arrives at

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

, beginning the

British colonization of Australia The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and penetrated to all parts ...

Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...

decides that

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

is a more suitable location for a colony. * 1839 – In the

Battle of Yungay The Battle of Yungay (or Yungai) was the final battle of the War of the Confederation, fought on January 20, 1839, near Yungay, Peru. The United Restorer Army, led by Chilean General Manuel Bulnes, consisting mainly of Chileans and 600 North ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

defeats an alliance between

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. * 1841 –

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

is occupied by the British during the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

. * 1874 – The

Treaty of Pangkor The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was a treaty signed between Great Britain and the Sultan of Perak on 20 January 1874, on the Colonial Steamer Pluto, off the coast of Perak. The treaty is significant in the history of the Malay states as it legitimi ...

is signed between the British and Sultan Abdullah of Perak, paving the way for further British colonization of Malaya. * 1877 – The last day of the

Constantinople Conference The 1876–77 Constantinople Conference ( tr, Tersane Konferansı "Shipyard Conference", after the venue ''Tersane Sarayı'' "Shipyard Palace") of the Great Powers (Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia) was held in Constan ...

results in agreement for political reforms in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. * 1887 – The

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

allows the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

to lease

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

as a naval base.

1901–present

* 1909 – Newly formed automaker

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

(GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

division. * 1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS ''K5'' sinks in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

; all 56 on board die. * 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 Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...

. * 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, ''

In Old Arizona ''In Old Arizona'' is a 1928 American pre-Code Western film directed by Raoul Walsh and Irving Cummings, nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film, which was based on the character of the Cisco Kid in the 1907 story " ...

'', is released. * 1936 – King

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

is not used for another 22 years. * 1937 –

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and

John Nance Garner John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...

are sworn in for their second terms as

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms. *

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

– A German officer is killed in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers. * 1942 –

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of

Wannsee Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger ''Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee, "See" means lake) and the ...

, senior

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

officials discuss the implementation of the "

Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...

to the

Jewish question The Jewish question, also referred to as the Jewish problem, was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other "national ...

". *

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

– World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. * 1945 – World War II:

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, a task which will take nearly two months. * 1949 –

Point Four Program The Point Four Program was a technical assistance program for "developing countries" announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address on January 20, 1949. It took its name from the fact that it was the fourth foreig ...

, a program for

economic aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

to poor countries, is announced by United States President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

in his

inaugural address In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event ...

for a full term as president. * 1954 – In the United States, the

National Negro Network The National Negro Network was a black-oriented radio programming service in the United States founded on January 20, 1954 by Chicago advertiser W. Leonard Evans, Jr. It was the first black-owned radio network in the country, and its programming ...

is established with 40 charter member radio stations. *

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

–

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

the 35th

President of the United States of America The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, becoming the youngest man to be elected into that office, and the first

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

– Pakistan launches its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

, as well as the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

. * 1973 –

Amílcar Cabral Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral (; – ) was a Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, pan-Africanist, intellectual, poet, theoretician, revolutionary, political organizer, nationalist and diplomat. He was one of Africa's foremo ...

, leader of the independence movement in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

and

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, is assassinated in

Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...

, Guinea. * 1974 – China gains control over all the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...

after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. * 1981 – Twenty minutes after

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

as the 40th

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

releases 52 American hostages. *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

– In the United States,

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...

is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time. * 1986 –

Leabua Jonathan Joseph Leabua Jonathan (30 October 1914 – 5 April 1987) was the second prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986. Early life and career Born in Le ...

, Prime Minister of Lesotho, is ousted from power in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

led by General

Justin Lekhanya General Justin Metsing Lekhanya (7 April 1938 – 20 January 2021) was the Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Military Council of Lesotho from 24 January 1986 to 2 May 1991. Background Born in Thaba-Tseka in 1938, Lekhanya completed his pri ...

. *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

–

Protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, part of the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. * 1991 –

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

's government imposes

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

nationwide, worsening the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

between the country's Muslim north and Christian south. *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

–

Air Inter Flight 148 Air Inter Flight 148 was a scheduled passenger flight from Lyon Satolas Airport to Strasbourg Airport in France. On 20 January 1992, the Airbus A320 operating the flight crashed into the slopes of the Vosges Mountains, France, near Mont Saint ...

, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board. * 2001 –

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution, and is succeeded by

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

. * 2009 –

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

as the 44th

, becoming the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. * 2009 – A protest movement in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start. * 2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others. * 2018 – Syrian civil war: The

Government of Turkey The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the ...

announces the initiation of the

Afrin offensive Afrin may refer to: Places * Afrin Canton, one of the cantons of the de facto autonomous Democratic Federation of Northern Syria * Afrin District, a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Afrin ...

and begins shelling Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in

Afrin Region Afrin Region ( ku, Herêma Efrînê, ar, إقليم عفرين, syc, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܥܦܪܝܢ, translit=Ponyotho d'Afrin) is the westernmost of the three original regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. The region pr ...

. *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

– Joe Biden is

as the 46th

. At 78, he becomes the oldest person ever inaugurated.

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

becomes the first female

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

Births

Pre-1600

* 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244) * 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; d. 1072) * 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1330) *

1436 Year 1436 ( MCDXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 11 – Eric of Pomerania is deposed from the Swedish throne for the second t ...

–

Ashikaga Yoshimasa Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

, Japanese shōgun (d. 1490) * 1488 –

Sebastian Münster Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, ' ...

, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (d. 1552) * 1499 –

Sebastian Franck Sebastian Franck (20 January 1499 Donauwörth, Swabia – c. 1543 Basel, Switzerland) was a 16th-century German freethinker, humanist, and radical reformer. Biography Franck was born in 1499 in Donauwörth, Swabia. Because of this he styled hims ...

, German humanist (probable; d. 1543) *

1500 Year 1500 (Roman numerals, MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year was seen as being especially important by many Christians in Europe, ...

–

Jean Quintin Jean Quintin or Quentin ( la, Johannes Quintinus, 20 January 1500 – 9 April 1561) was a French people, French priest, knight of the Knights Hospitaller, Order of St John and writer. His writings include ''Insulae Melitae Descriptio'' (1536), t ...

, French priest, knight and writer (d. 1561) *

1502 Year 1502 (Roman numerals, MDII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese explorers, led by Gonçal ...

–

Sebastian de Aparicio Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600) * 1526 –

Rafael Bombelli Rafael Bombelli (baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initia ...

, Italian mathematician (d. 1572) * 1554 –

Sebastian of Portugal Sebastian ( pt, Sebastião I ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz. He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and hi ...

(d. 1578) * 1569 –

Heribert Rosweyde Heribert Rosweyde (20 January 1569, Utrecht – 5 October 1629, Antwerp) was a Jesuit hagiographer. His work, quite unfinished, was taken up by Jean Bolland who systematized it, while broadening its perspective. This is the beginning of the as ...

, Jesuit hagiographer (d. 1629) *

1573 Year 1573 ( MDLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 25 – Battle of Mikatagahara in Japan: Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugaw ...

–

Simon Marius Simon Marius ( latinized form of Simon Mayr; 10 January 1573 – 5 January 1625) was a German astronomer. He was born in Gunzenhausen, near Nuremberg, but spent most of his life in the city of Ansbach. He is most known for being among the first ...

, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624) * 1586 –

Johann Hermann Schein Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into Germa ...

, German composer (d. 1630)

1601–1900

* 1664 –

Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina (20 January 1664 – 6 January 1718) was an Italian man of letters and jurist. He was born at Roggiano Gravina, a small town near Cosenza, in Calabria. Biography Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina was descended from a d ...

, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718) * 1703 –

Joseph-Hector Fiocco Joseph-Hector Fiocco (20 January 1703 – 21 June 1741), born in Brussels, was a composer and harpsichordist of the late Baroque period. His father, the Italian composer Pietro Antonio Fiocco, and one of his older step-brother Jean-Joseph Fio ...

, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741) * 1716 –

Jean-Jacques Barthélemy Jean-Jacques Barthélemy (20 January 1716 – 30 April 1795) was a French scholar who became the first person to decipher an extinct language. He deciphered the Palmyrene alphabet in 1754 and the Phoenician alphabet in 1758. Early years Barth� ...

, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795) * 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788) * 1732 –

Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from ...

, American lawyer and politician,

President of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as the president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the ...

(d. 1794) *

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. * February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...

–

Carl Linnaeus the Younger Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre (Swedish; abbreviated Carl von Linné d. y.), or ''Linnaeus filius'' (Latin for ''Linnaeus the son''; abbreviated L.fil. (outdated) or L.f. (modern) as a botanic ...

, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783) * 1755 –

Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet Admiral Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, (20 January 1755 – 24 February 1824) was a long-serving and at the time controversial officer of the Royal Navy who saw extensive service in his career, but also courted controversy with several of h ...

, English admiral (d. 1824) * 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842) * 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836) * 1781 –

Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg (german: link=no, Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg, also known as ''Joseph Freiherr von Hormayr zu Hortenburg'') (20 January 1781 or 1782 – 5 October 1848) was an Austrian and German statesman and hist ...

, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848) * 1783 –

Friedrich Dotzauer Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer (20 January 1783 – 6 March 1860) was a German cellist and composer. Life Early life and career Dotzauer was born in 1783 in , near Hildburghausen. His father, a pastor, encouraged his interest in music. I ...

, German cellist and composer (d. 1860) *

1799 Events January–June * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * January ...

–

Anson Jones Anson Jones (January 20, 1798 – January 09, 1858) was a doctor, businessman, member of Congress, and the fourth and last President of the Republic of Texas. Early life Jones was born on January 20, 1798, in Great Barrington, Massach ...

, American physician and politician, 5th

President of the Republic of Texas The president of the Republic of Texas ( es, Presidente de la República de Tejas) was the head of state and head of government while Texas was an independent republic between 1836 and 1845. History and duties The Republic of Texas was formed ...

(d. 1858) *

1812 Events January–March * January 1 – The ''Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire. * January 19 – Peninsular War: The French-held fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo Siege of ...

–

Thomas Meik Thomas Meik ( – )Thomas Meik
''Grace's Guide''. Retrieved: 8 October 2015. was a 19th-century Scottish eng ...

, Scottish engineer (d. 1896) * 1814 –

David Wilmot David Wilmot (January 20, 1814 – March 16, 1868) was an American politician and judge. He served as Representative and a Senator for Pennsylvania and as a judge of the Court of Claims. He is best known for being the prime sponsor and epon ...

, American politician, sponsor of

Wilmot Proviso The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the ...

(d. 1868) * 1819 –

Göran Fredrik Göransson Göran Fredrik Göransson (20 January 1819 – 12 May 1900) was a Swedish merchant, ironmaster and industrialist. He was the founder of the company ''Sandvikens Jernverks AB'' (now called Sandvik AB) and was the first person to implement the Bes ...

, Swedish merchant, ironmaster and industrialist (d. 1900) * 1834 –

George D. Robinson George Dexter Robinson (born George Washington Robinson; January 20, 1834 – February 22, 1896) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Chicopee, Massachusetts. After serving in the Massachusett ...

, American lawyer and politician, 34th

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

(d. 1896) * 1855 –

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of ...

, French composer (d. 1899) * 1856 –

Harriot Stanton Blatch Harriot Eaton Blatch ( Stanton; January 20, 1856–November 20, 1940) was an American writer and suffragist. She was the daughter of pioneering women's rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Biography Harriot Eaton Stanton was born, the sixt ...

, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940) * 1865 –

Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the '' Belle Époque''. Biography Born in Paris into a poor family as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, Guilbert b ...

, French singer and actress (d. 1944) * 1865 –

Wilhelm Ramsay Wilhelm Ramsay (20 January 1865 – 6 January 1928) was a Finland Swede geologist. He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1914 and in 1915 was accepted into the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund. He coined the terms Fen ...

, Finnish geologist and professor (d. 1928) * 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894) * 1873 –

Johannes V. Jensen Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (20 January 1873 – 25 November 1950) was a Danish author, known as one of the great Danish writers of the first half of 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944 "for the rare strength and fert ...

, Danish author, poet, and playwright,

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

laureate (d. 1950) * 1874 –

Steve Bloomer Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...

, English footballer and coach (d. 1938) * 1876 –

Josef Hofmann Josef Casimir Hofmann (originally Józef Kazimierz Hofmann; January 20, 1876February 16, 1957) was a Polish-American pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor. Biography Josef Hofmann was born in Podgórze (a district of Kraków), in A ...

, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1957) * 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968) * 1879 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968) * 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th

Governor of Delaware A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

(d. 1962) * 1882 –

Johnny Torrio John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian born-American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Sy ...

, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957) *

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

–

Enoch L. Johnson Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson (January 20, 1883December 9, 1968) was an Atlantic City, New Jersey, political boss, a sheriff of Atlantic County, New Jersey, a businessman and a crime boss who was the leader of the political machine that controlle ...

, American mob boss (d. 1968) * 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942) * 1888 –

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949) * 1889 –

Allan Haines Loughead Allan Haines Lockheed (né Allan Haines Loughead; January 20, 1889 – May 26, 1969) was an American aviation engineer and business man. He formed the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company along with his brother, Malcolm Loughead, that became Lockheed Co ...

, American engineer and businessman, founded the

Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company The Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company (originally founded as the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company) was an American company which designed and built aircraft. The founder, Allan Lockheed, went on to form the similarly named but otherwise unrelat ...

(d. 1969) * 1891 –

Mischa Elman Mischa (Mikhail Saulovich) Elman (russian: Михаил Саулович Эльман; January 20, 1891April 5, 1967) was a Russian-born American violinist famed for his passionate style, beautiful tone, and impeccable artistry and musicality. E ...

, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967) * 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946) * 1894 –

Harold Gray Harold Lincoln Gray (January 20, 1894 – May 9, 1968) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the newspaper comic strip ''Little Orphan Annie''. Early life Harold Gray was born in Kankakee, Illinois on January 20, 1894, to Este ...

, American cartoonist, created ''

Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on Aug ...

'' (d. 1968) * 1894 –

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...

, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976) * 1895 –

Gábor Szegő Gábor Szegő () (January 20, 1895 – August 7, 1985) was a Hungarian-American mathematician. He was one of the foremost mathematical analysts of his generation and made fundamental contributions to the theory of orthogonal polynomials and ...

, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985) * 1896 –

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996) * 1898 –

U Razak U Razak (Urdu: ; ; my, ဦးရာဇတ်, ; also Abdul Razak; 20 January 1898 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese politician and an educationalist. He was a Bamar of Tamil ancestry and also was a cabinet minister in Aung San's pre-indep ...

, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947) * 1899 –

Clarice Cliff Clarice Cliff (20 January 1899 – 23 October 1972) was an English ceramic artist and designer. Active from 1922 to 1963, Cliff became the head of the factory creative department. Early life Cliff's ancestors moved from the Eccleshall area ...

, English potter (d. 1972) * 1899 –

Kenjiro Takayanagi was a Japanese engineer and a pioneer in the development of television. Although he failed to gain much recognition in the West, he built the world's first all-electronic television receiver, and is referred to as "the father of Japanese televisi ...

, Japanese engineer (d. 1990) * 1900 – Dorothy Annan, English painter, potter, and muralist (d. 1983) * 1900 –

Colin Clive Colin Clive (born Colin Glenn Clive-Greig; 20 January 1900 – 25 June 1937) was a British stage and screen actor. His most memorable role was Henry Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, in the 1931 film ''Frankenstein'' and its 1935 sequel ...

, English actor (d. 1937)

1901–present

* 1902 –

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry L. Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rememb ...

, American actor (d. 1993) * 1902 –

Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Brit ...

, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920) * 1906 –

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and wa ...

, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975) * 1907 –

Paula Wessely Paula Anna Maria Wessely (20 January 1907 – 11 May 2000) was an Austrian theatre and film actress. ''Die Wessely'' (literally "The Wessely"), as she was affectionately called by her admirers and fans, was Austria's foremost popular postwar actr ...

, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000) * 1908 –

Fleur Cowles Fleur Fenton Cowles (January 20, 1908 – June 5, 2009
by

1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989) * 1910 –

Joy Adamson Friederike Victoria "Joy" Adamson ( Gessner; 20 January 1910 – 3 January 1980) was a naturalist, artist and author. Her book, ''Born Free'', describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa. ''Born Free'' was printed in several langua ...

, Austria-Kenyan painter and conservationist (d. 1980) * 1913 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006) * 1915 –

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...

, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.1918 –

Juan García Esquivel Juan García Esquivel (January 20, 1918 – January 3, 2002), often known mononymously as Esquivel!, was a Mexican band leader, pianist, and composer for television and films. He is recognized today as one of the foremost exponents of a sophisti ...

, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002) * 1918 –

Nevin Scrimshaw Nevin Stewart Scrimshaw (January 20, 1918 – February 8, 2013) was an American food scientist and Institute Professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scrimshaw was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During the course of hi ...

, American scientist (d. 2013) * 1920 –

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993) * 1920 –

DeForest Kelley Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999), known to colleagues as "Dee", was an American actor, screenwriter, poet, and singer. He was known for his roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the in the televisio ...

, American actor (d. 1999) * 1920 –

Thorleif Schjelderup Thorleif Schjelderup (20 January 1920 – 28 May 2006) was a Norwegian ski jumper, author and environmentalist. He was born to Ferdinand Schjelderup and Marie Leigh Vogt.1921 –

Telmo Zarra Telmo may refer to: People * Saint Telmo (died 303), also known as Erasmus of Formia, Christian martyr and saint * Pedro González Telmo (1190-1246), Castilian friar and priest * Luis Telmo Paz y Miño (1884-1962), President of the Supreme Milit ...

, Spanish footballer (d. 2006) *

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

–

Ray Anthony Raymond Antonini (born January 20, 1922), known as Ray Anthony, is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Ben ...

, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor * 1922 –

Don Mankiewicz Don Martin Mankiewicz (January 20, 1922 – April 25, 2015) was an American screenwriter and novelist best known for his novel, ''Trial''. Early life Born in Berlin, Germany, he was the son of Sara (née Aaronson) and the screenwriter Herman J. ...

, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015) * 1923 –

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), known as Slim Whitman, was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. He claimed he had sold in excess of ...

, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013) * 1924 –

Yvonne Loriod Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen (; 20 January 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod. Biography Loriod ...

, French pianist and composer (d. 2010) *

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

–

Jamiluddin Aali Nawabzada Mirza Jamiluddin Ahmed Khan PP, HI (20 January 1925 – 23 November 2015), also known as Jamiluddin Aali or Aaliji, was a Pakistani poet, critic, playwright, essayist, columnist, and scholar. Early life and career Nawabzada Mir ...

, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015) * 1925 –

Ernesto Cardenal Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (20 January 1925 – 1 March 2020) was a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, and politician. He was a liberation theologian and the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he lived fo ...

, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician (d. 2020) * 1926 –

Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

, American actress (d. 2010) * 1926 –

David Tudor David Eugene Tudor (January 20, 1926 – August 13, 1996) was an American pianist and composer of experimental music. Life and career Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan W ...

, American pianist and composer (d. 1996) * 1927 –

Qurratulain Hyder Qurratulain Hyder (20 January 1927 – 21 August 2007) was an Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding and influential literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for ...

, Indian-Pakistani journalist and academic (d. 2007) * 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997) * 1929 –

Arte Johnson Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson (January 20, 1929 – July 3, 2019) was an American comic actor who was best known for his work as a regular on television's '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Biography Early life Johnson was born January 20, 1929, i ...

, American actor and comedian (d. 2019) * 1929 –

Masaharu Kawakatsu is a Japanese zoologist known for his studies on the taxonomy and ecology of planarians. Life Masaharu Kawakatsu was born in 1929 in the Asahi village, Kameoka town, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, son of Masakazu Kawakatsu, a squire of the villag ...

, Japanese biologist * 1929 –

Fireball Roberts Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer. Background Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. He was ...

, American race car driver (d. 1964) * 1930 –

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...

, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut *

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

– David Lee, American physicist and academic,

laureate * 1931 –

Hachidai Nakamura was a Japanese songwriter and jazz pianist. Biography Hachidai Nakamura was born in Tsingtao, Republic of China, to Japanese parents, before moving to Kurume at a young age, where he attended high school. He graduated from Waseda University in ...

, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992) * 1932 –

Lou Fontinato Louis Joseph "Leapin' Louie" Fontinato (January 20, 1932 – July 3, 2016) was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1954 to 1961 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1961 to 1963. NHL career Lou Fontinato ...

, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016) * 1934 –

Hennie Aucamp Hennie Aucamp (20 January 1934 – 20 March 2014) was a South African Afrikaans poet, short story writer, cabaretist and academic. He grew up on a farm in the Stormberg highlands and matriculated at Jamestown, Eastern Cape before continuing his ...

, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014) * 1934 –

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

, English actor * 1935 –

Dorothy Provine Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first ...

, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010) * 1937 – Bailey Howell, American basketball player * 1938 –

Derek Dougan Alexander Derek Dougan (20 January 1938 – 24 June 2007) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, football manager, football chairman, pundit, and writer. He was also known by his nickname, "The Doog". He was capped by Northern ...

, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007) * 1939 –

Paul Coverdell Paul Douglas Coverdell (January 20, 1939 – July 18, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia, elected for the first time in 1992 and re-elected in 1998, and director of the Peace Corps from 1989 until ...

, American captain and politician (d. 2000) * 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist * 1940 –

Carol Heiss Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the 1960 Olympic champion, the 1956 Olympic silver medalist, and a five-time World champion (1956� ...

, American figure skater and actress * 1940 –

Krishnam Raju Uppalapati Venkata Krishnam Raju (20 January 1940 – 11 September 2022) was an Indian actor and politician. He was known for his works in Telugu cinema and was widely known as "''Rebel Star''" for his rebellious acting style. He was also the ...

, Indian actor and politician * 1940 –

Mandé Sidibé Mandé Sidibé (20 January 1940"Présidentielles: 24 sur la ligne de dé ...

, Malian economist and politician,

Prime Minister of Mali This is a list of prime ministers of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of seventeen people have served as Prime Minister of Mali (not counting five acting prime ministers). Additionally, ...

(d. 2009) * 1942 –

Linda Moulton Howe Linda Moulton Howe (born January 20, 1942) is an American investigative journalist and Regional Emmy award-winning documentary film maker best known for her work as a ufologist and advocate of a variety of conspiracy theories, including her in ...

, American journalist and producer *

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

–

José Luis Garci José Luis García Muñoz (born 20 January 1944), known professionally as José Luis Garci, is a Spanish Film director, film director, Film, producer, critic, TV presenter, screenwriter and author. He earned worldwide acclaim and his country's fi ...

, Spanish director and producer * 1944 –

Farhad Mehrad Farhad Mehrad (20 January 1944 – 31 August 2002), commonly known as Farhad, was an Iranian pop, rock, and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, who released the first English rock and roll album in Iran. He rose to prominence amon ...

, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002) * 1944 –

Pat Parker Pat Parker (born Patricia Cooks; January 20, 1944June 17, 1989) was an American poet and activist. Both her poetry and her activism drew from her experiences as an African-American lesbian feminist.Pat Parker. Contemporary Authors Online, Gale ...

, American poet (d. 1989) *

–

Christopher Martin-Jenkins Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013), also known as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of MCC. He was also the longest serving commentator for ''Test Match Special'' (TMS) on ...

, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013) * 1945 –

Eric Stewart Eric Michael Stewart (born 20 January 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the rock groups the Mindbenders with whom he played from 1963 to 1968, and likewise of 1 ...

, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer * 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter * 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist * 1947 –

Cyrille Guimard Cyrille Guimard (born 20 January 1947) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and television commentator. Three of his riders, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Lucien Van Impe, won the Tour de Franc ...

, French cyclist and sportscaster * 1948 –

Nancy Kress Nancy Anne Kress (born January 20, 1948) is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo- and Nebula-winning 1991 novella ''Beggars in Spain'', which became a ...

, American author and academic * 1948 –

Natan Sharansky Natan Sharansky ( he, נתן שרנסקי; russian: Ната́н Щара́нский; uk, Натан Щаранський, born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky on 20 January 1948); uk, Анатолій Борисович Щаранський, ...

, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician,

Deputy Prime Minister of Israel The deputy prime minister of Israel falls into four categories; Designated Acting Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Vice Prime Minister and Alternate Prime Minister. Vice Prime Minister is honorary and extra-constitutional position, but ent ...

* 1949 –

Göran Persson Hans Göran Persson (; born 20 January 1949) is a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Persson was first elected to the Swedish Parliam ...

, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st

Prime Minister of Sweden The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subj ...

* 1950 –

Daniel Benzali Daniel Benzali (born January 20, 1946) is a Brazilian-American stage, television and film actor. Early life Benzali was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of Lee, a cook, and Carlo Benzali, a salesman who had also been an actor in Brazilian ...

, Brazilian-American actor * 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014) * 1950 –

Mahamane Ousmane Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993, U.S. Department of State. until he was deposed in a mili ...

, Nigerien politician,

President of Niger This is a list of heads of state of Niger since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of ten people have served as head of state of Niger. The current head of state of Niger is the President of the Re ...

* 1951 –

Ian Hill Ian Frank Hill (born 20 January 1951) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and the sole continuous member for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Biography Hill learned how to play the double bass from his father, a bass player ...

, English rock bassist * 1951 –

Iván Fischer Iván Fischer (born 20 January 1951) is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a musical family of Jewish heritage, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest. His older brother, Ádám Fisc ...

, Hungarian conductor and composer * 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet * 1952 –

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popula ...

, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer * 1952 –

John Witherow John Witherow (born 20 January 1952) is a former editor of British newspaper ''The Times''. A former journalist with Reuters, he joined News International (now News UK) in 1980 and was appointed editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in 1994 and edito ...

, South African-English journalist and author * 1953 –

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...

, American financier and convicted sex offender (d. 2019) * 1954 –

Alison Seabeck Alison Jane Seabeck (née Ward, 20 January 1954) is a former British politician. A member of the Labour Party, she served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Devonport from 2005 until 2010 when she won the new seat of Plymouth Mo ...

, English lawyer and politician *

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

–

McKeeva Bush William McKeeva Bush, OBE JP (born 20 January 1955) is a Caymanian politician, former Speaker of the Parliament of the Cayman Islands and former Premier of the Cayman Islands. Bush, the former leader of the Cayman Democratic Party, is the e ...

, Caymanian politician,

Premier of the Cayman Islands The Premier of the Cayman Islands is the political leader and head of government. The post of premier in the Cayman Islands is the equivalent to chief minister or prime minister in other British Overseas Territories. It is the highest political ...

* 1956 –

Maria Larsson Ingrid Maria Larsson (born 20 January 1956 in Långasjö) is Swedish politician of the Christian Democrats who has been Governor of Örebro County since May 2015, appointed by the cabinet of Stefan Löfven. She previously served as Minister ...

, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs * 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer * 1956 –

John Naber John Phillips Naber (born January 20, 1956) is an American former competitive swimmer, five-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in multiple events. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Naber studied in England and Italy where his father ...

, American swimmer * 1957 –

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

, English saxophonist and composer * 1958 –

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), for ...

, American actor, director, and producer * 1958 –

Amanda Villepastour Amanda Villepastour ( (born 20 January 1958) is an Australian ethnomusicologist and former professional musician. She is best known for being the keyboardist of Australian new wave band Eurogliders between 1980 and 1987, and for her 21st-centu ...

(), Australian-born ethnomusicologist and

professional musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

–

Tami Hoag Tami Hoag (born Tami Mikkelson; January 20, 1959) is an American novelist, best known for her work in the romance and thriller genres. More than 22 million copies of her books are in print. Biography Hoag was born in Cresco, Iowa and raised in t ...

, American author * 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author * 1963 –

James Denton James Thomas Denton Jr. (born January 20, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Mike Delfino on ABC's comedy-drama series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012) and Dr. Sam Radford on Hallmark Channel's come ...

, American actor * 1963 –

Mark Ryden Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow (or Pop Surrealist) art movement.Ken Johnson"Mark Ryden: ‘The Gay 90s: Old Tyme Art Show" ''The New York Times'', May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2013 ...

, American painter and illustrator * 1964 –

Ozzie Guillén Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (; born January 20, 1964) is a former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for 16 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox, from 1985 to 2000. During tha ...

, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager * 1964 –

Ron Harper Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1986 and 2001 and is a five-time NBA champion. Early life Harper was born ...

, American basketball player and coach * 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author * 1964 –

Kazushige Nojima is a Japanese video game writer. He is best known for writing several installments of Square Enix's ''Final Fantasy'' franchise—namely ''Final Fantasy VII'' and its spin-offs '' Advent Children'' and '' Crisis Core'', ''Final Fantasy VIII'', an ...

, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter * 1964 –

Aquilino Pimentel III Aquilino Martin de la Llana Pimentel III (born January 20, 1964), commonly known as Koko Pimentel, is a Filipino politician and lawyer serving as the Senate Minority Leader since 2022. He has been a Senator since 2011 and previously served as ...

, Filipino lawyer and politician * 1964 –

Fareed Zakaria Fareed Rafiq Zakaria (; born 20 January 1964) is an Indian-American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's '' Fareed Zakaria GPS'' and writes a weekly paid column for ''The Washington Post.'' He has been a columni ...

, Indian-American journalist and author *

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

–

Colin Calderwood Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the assistant manager at Northampton Town. As a player, he was a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hots ...

, Scottish footballer and manager * 1965 –

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew u ...

* 1965 –

Warren Joyce Warren Garton Joyce (born 20 January 1965) is an English football manager and former player, who is currently the lead coach of Nottingham Forest F.C.'s U18 Squad. As a player, he played in The Football League for Bolton Wanderers, Preston ...

, English footballer and manager * 1965 –

John Michael Montgomery John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965) is an American country music singer. Montgomery began singing with his brother Eddie, who would later become known as one half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, before beginning his major-label solo ca ...

, American singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer * 1966 –

Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...

, American actor * 1967 –

Stacey Dash Stacey Lauretta Dash (born January 20, 1967) is an American actress. Dash played Dionne Marie Davenport in the 1995 feature film '' Clueless'' and its television series of the same name. She has also appeared in the films '' Moving'', '' Mo' Mo ...

, American actress and television journalist * 1967 –

Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway (née Fitzpatrick; born January 20, 1967) is an American political consultant and pollster, who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2020. She was previous ...

, American political strategist and pundit * 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster * 1968 –

Junior Murray Junior Randalph Murray MBE (born January 20, 1968) is a former West Indian cricketer. He was the first Grenadian to play Test cricket for the West Indies. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1994 New Year Honou ...

, Grenadian cricketer * 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox * 1969 –

Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician and songwriter, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire s ...

, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player *

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

–

Edwin McCain Edwin Cole McCain (born January 20, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His songs " I'll Be" (1998) and "I Could Not Ask for More" (1999) were radio top-40 hits in the U.S., and five of his albums have reached the ''Billboard ...

, American singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1970 –

Skeet Ulrich Skeet Ulrich (; born Bryan Ray Trout on January 20, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in popular 1990s films, including Billy Loomis in '' Scream'' (1996), Chris Hooker in '' The Craft'' (1996) and Vincent Lopiano in '' ...

, American actor *

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

–

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer * 1971 –

Wakanohana Masaru is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. As an active wrestler he was known as , and his rise through the ranks alongside his younger brother Takanohana Kōji saw a boom in sumo's popularity in the early 1990s. He is the elder son of t ...

, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th

Yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

– Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the '' ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

* 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician,

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

* 1973 –

Queen Mathilde of Belgium Mathilde (born ''Jonkvrouw'' Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz ; 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to ...

* 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach * 1975 –

Norberto Fontana Norberto Edgardo Fontana (born 20 January 1975) is an Argentine racing driver. He participated in four Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 29 June 1997 but scoring no championship points. His opportunity to race came as a result of two separate ...

, Argentinian racing driver * 1975 –

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment s ...

, English journalist and politician *

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

–

Kirsty Gallacher Kirsty Jane Gallacher (born 20 January 1976) is a Scottish television presenter and model. She began her career at Sky Sports News in 1998 and hosted '' Kirsty's Home Videos'', '' RI:SE'' and '' Simply the Best'' before returning to Sky Sports ...

, Scottish television presenter * 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player * 1976 –

Gretha Smit Grietje "Greta" Smit (born 20 January 1976) is a Dutch former speed skater. Smit won a surprising silver medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics in the 5000 meter event. She skated a world record broken in a later pair by Claudia Pechstein. Prior to ...

, Dutch speed skater * 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach * 1978 –

Salvatore Aronica Salvatore Aronica (born 20 January 1978) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender, currently in charge as head coach of Eccellenza Sicily amateurs Don Carlo Misilmeri. Playing career Aronica spent his early ca ...

, Italian footballer * 1978 –

Sonja Kesselschläger Sonja Kesselschläger (born 20 January 1978, in Finsterwalde) is a German heptathlete. International competitions Circuit performances *Hypo-Meeting **2000 (14th), 2001 (9th), 2002 (4th), 2003 (3rd), 2004 (9th), 2005 (8th), 2006, (10th), ...

, German heptathlete * 1978 –

Allan Søgaard Allan Søgaard (born 20 January 1978) is a former Danish football (soccer) player, spent his entire career playing for the Danish Superliga side AC Horsens. His normal position was as a defensive midfielder. He was known as a pacy player, with a ...

, Danish footballer * 1979 –

Choo Ja-hyun Chu Eun-ju (born January 20, 1979), known by her stage name Choo Ja-hyun, is a South Korean actress. Best known in Korea for the films '' Bloody Tie'' (2006) and '' Portrait of a Beauty'' (2008), Choo has also actively worked in China since 200 ...

, South Korean actress * 1979 –

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...

, English singer-songwriter and actor * 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler * 1980 –

Philippe Cousteau, Jr. Philippe-Pierre Jacques-Yves Arnault Cousteau Jr. (born January 20, 1980) is an American oceanographer and environmental activist, the son of Philippe Cousteau and the grandson of Jacques Cousteau. Cousteau has continued the work of his father ...

, American-French oceanographer and journalist * 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer * 1980 –

Kim Jeong-hoon Kim Jeong-hoon (born January 20, 1980), also known by his stage name John Hoon, is a South Korean singer and actor. He initially rose to fame as a member of South Korean duo UN debuting with the single ''Voice Mail'' in 2000. After the duo disb ...

, South Korean singer and actor * 1980 –

Petra Rampre Petra Rampre (born 20 January 1980) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. In her career, she won eight singles and five doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 30 April 2012, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 151. On ...

, Slovenian tennis player * 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player * 1981 –

Owen Hargreaves Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known as a hard-working and "solid defensive midfielder who worked tirelessly to win the ball" and provide his teammates with posses ...

, English footballer * 1981 –

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pic ...

, American basketball player * 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer * 1982 –

Fredrik Strømstad Fredrik Strømstad (born 20 January 1982) is a Norwegian football player. Career In 2002, he was loaned to Bærum SK and helped them win promotion to the Norwegian First Division. He signed for the French club Le Mans Union Club 72 on June 13 ...

, Norwegian footballer * 1983 –

Geovany Soto Geovany Soto (born January 20, 1983) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 2005 to 2017, most prominently as a member of the Chicago Cubs where he appeared in the MLB ...

, Puerto Rican-American baseball player * 1984 –

Toni Gonzaga Celestine Cruz Gonzaga-Soriano (; born January 20, 1984), better known as Toni Gonzaga, is a Filipino singer, host, actress, producer, vlogger and entrepreneur. She is the former lead host of long-running reality show, ''Pinoy Big Brother''. To ...

, Filipino singer and television personality * 1987 –

Janin Lindenberg Janin Lindenberg (born 20 January 1987) is a German athlete who specialises in the 400 metres. She was born in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and popul ...

, German sprinter * 1987 –

Marco Simoncelli Marco Simoncelli (; 20 January 198723 October 2011), nicknamed Sic (), was an Italian professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the MotoGP World Championship for 10 years from 2002 to 2011. He started in the 125cc class before moving up to ...

, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011) * 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer * 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer * 1989 –

Nick Foles Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL D ...

, American football player * 1989 –

Washington Santana da Silva Washington Santana da Silva (born 20 January 1989) is a Brazilian Association football, footballer who plays for Portuguese club C.D. Feirense, Feirense as a midfielder. Biography Washington started his career in São Paulo, for a small club F ...

, Brazilian footballer * 1989 –

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (born 20 January 1989) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL) and New Zealand at international level. Waerea-Hargreaves started h ...

, New Zealand rugby league player *

– Ray Thompson, Australian rugby league player * 1991 – Ciara Hanna, American actress and model * 1991 –

Tom Cairney Thomas Cairney (born 20 January 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Fulham, whom he captains. Cairney has previously played for Hull City and Blackburn Rovers. Born in England, he made his full international ...

, Scottish footballer * 1991 –

Polona Hercog Polona Hercog (, born 20 January 1991) is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA rankings are 35 in singles and 56 in doubles. She has won five titles on the WTA Tour, three in singles and two in doubles. Hercog also enjoye ...

, Slovenian tennis player * 1993 –

Lorenzo Crisetig Lorenzo Crisetig (born 20 January 1993) is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Reggina. Crisetig made his competitive debut on 27 September 2011, in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. Club career Youth career Born in Cividal ...

, Italian footballer *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

– Seán Kavanagh, Irish footballer * 1994 –

Lucas Piazon Lucas Domingues Piazon (born 20 January 1994) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Primeira Liga club S.C. Braga. He plays as a second striker or a winger, as an attacking midfielder. He spent a decade at Chelsea, though he on ...

, Brazilian footballer *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

–

Joey Badass Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pr ...

, American rapper and actor * 1995 –

Calum Chambers Calum Chambers (born 20 January 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for club Aston Villa. Originally a member of Southampton's academy system, Chambers was promoted to the first team at the be ...

, English footballer * 2003 –

Antonia Ružić Antonia Ružić (born 20 January 2003) is a Croatian tennis player. Ružić has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of 182, achieved on 4 March 2024. She also has a career-high WTA doubles ranking of 612, reached on 22 May 2023. Ružić ha ...

, Croatian tennis player

Deaths

Pre-1600

820 __NOTOC__ Year 820 ( DCCCXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate *Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun appointed Isa ibn Yazid al-Juludi as Abbasid gove ...

–

Al-Shafi‘i Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī ( ar, أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ, 767–19 January 820 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian, writer, and schola ...

, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 767) *

842 __NOTOC__ Year 842 ( DCCCXLII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 20 – Emperor Theophilos dies of dysentery at Constantin ...

– Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813) * 882 –

Louis the Younger Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Emma. He succeeded his father as the King of Saxony on 28 August 876 and his elder brother C ...

, king of the East Frankish Kingdom * 924 –

Li Jitao Li Jitao (; died 20 January 924''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 272. = 20 January 924.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), nickname Liude (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ...

, Chinese general of

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

928 Year 928 (Roman numerals, CMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Rudolph of France, Rudolph I loses the support of Herbert II, Count of ...

–

Zhao Guangfeng Zhao Guangfeng (趙光逢) (died January 20, 928? Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Yanji (延吉), formally the Duke of Qi (齊公), was an official in the late Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and the succeeding Lat ...

, Chinese official and chancellor * 1029 – Heonae, Korean queen and regent (b. 964) * 1095 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester * 1156 –

, English bishop and saint * 1189 – Shi Zong, Chinese emperor of Jin (b. 1123) * 1191 – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (b. 1167) * 1191 – Theobald V, count of Blois (b. 1130) * 1265 –

John Maunsell Sir John Maunsell ( 1190/1195 – 1265), Provost of Beverley Minster, was a king's clerk and a judge. He served as chancellor to King Henry III and was England's first secretary of state. Life His grandfather, Robert Mansel, was a Templar un ...

, English

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

1336 Year 1336 ( MCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * February 25 ** Rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights, 4,000 defenders of Pilėnai, Lithuania co ...

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John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (23 November 1306 – 20 January 1336) was born in St Clement's, Oxford to Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, a daughter of Edward I of England. After his father's death ...

(b. 1306) * 1343 –

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, king of Naples (b. 1275) * 1479 –

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

, king of Sicily (b. 1398) *

1568 Year 1568 ( MDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 6– 13 – In the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, the delegates of Unio Tr ...

–

Myles Coverdale Myles Coverdale, first name also spelt Miles (1488 – 20 January 1569), was an English ecclesiastical reformer chiefly known as a Bible translator, preacher and, briefly, Bishop of Exeter (1551–1553). In 1535, Coverdale produced the first ...

, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)

1601–1900

* 1612 –

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...

, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552) * 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604) * 1666 –

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

, Queen and regent of France (b. 1601) * 1707 –

Humphrey Hody Humphrey Hody (1659 – 20 January 1707) was an English scholar and theologian. Life He was born at Odcombe in Somerset in 1659. In 1676 he entered Wadham College, Oxford, of which he became a fellow in 1685. In 1692 he became chaplain to ...

, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659) * 1709 –

François de la Chaise François de la Chaise (August 25, 1624 – January 20, 1709) was a French Jesuit priest, the father confessor of King Louis XIV of France. Biography François de la Chaise was born at the Château of Aix in Aix-la-Fayette, Puy-de-Dôme, Auverg ...

, French priest (b. 1624) * 1751 –

John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol (27 August 1665 – 20 January 1751) was an English politician. John Hervey was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the son of Sir Thomas Hervey. He was educated in Bury and at Clare College, Cambridge. He b ...

, English politician (b. 1665) * 1770 –

Charles Yorke Charles Yorke PC (30 December 172220 January 1770) was briefly Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. His father was also Lord Chancellor, and he began his career as a Member of Parliament. He served successively as Solicitor-General and Att ...

, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722) * 1779 –

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717) * 1810 –

Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew (November 19, 1722 – January 20, 1810) was a fifth-generation American, a Quaker-born legal scholar, a prominent and successful Philadelphia lawyer, slaveowner, head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System under both Colony and Com ...

, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721) * 1819 – Charles IV, Spanish king (b. 1748) * 1837 –

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...

, English architect, designed the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

(b. 1753) * 1841 –

Jørgen Jørgensen Jørgen Jørgensen (name of birth: Jürgensen, and changed to Jorgenson from 1817)Wilde, W H, ''Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' 2nd ed. (29 March 1780 – 20 January 1841) was a Danish adventurer during the Age of Revolution. Dur ...

, Danish explorer (b. 1780) * 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791) * 1848 – Christian VIII, Danish king (b. 1786) * 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779) * 1859 –

Bettina von Arnim Bettina von Arnim (the Countess of Arnim) (4 April 178520 January 1859), born Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano, was a German writer and novelist. Bettina (or Bettine) Brentano was a writer, publisher, composer, singer, visual art ...

, German author, illustrator, and composer (b. 1785) * 1852 –

Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Noto Province. He was the sport's 6th ''yokozuna''. He trained '' ōzeki'' Tsurugizan Taniemon. Early career He was born in Shitsumi, Noto and went to Edo in 1815. His birth name remains ambiguous, but was c ...

, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th

(b. 1794) * 1873 –

Basil Moreau Basil Moreau, C.S.C. (February 11, 1799 – January 20, 1873) was the French priest who founded the Congregation of Holy Cross from which three additional congregations were founded, namely the Marianites of Holy Cross, the Sisters of the H ...

, French priest, founded the

Congregation of Holy Cross , image = Congregation of Holy Cross.svg , image_size = 150px , abbreviation = CSC , formation = , founder = Blessed Fr. Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau, C.S.C. , founding_location = ...

(b. 1799) * 1875 –

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism ...

, French painter and educator (b. 1814) * 1891 –

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ...

, king of Hawaii (b. 1836) * 1900 –

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

, English painter and critic (b. 1819)

1901–present

* 1901 –

Zénobe Gramme Zénobe Théophile Gramme (4 April 1826 – 20 January 1901) was a Belgian electrical engineer. He was born at Jehay-Bodegnée on 4 April 1826, the sixth child of Mathieu-Joseph Gramme, and died at Bois-Colombes on 20 January 1901. He invented ...

, Belgian engineer, invented the

Gramme machine A Gramme machine, Gramme ring, Gramme magneto, or Gramme dynamo is an electrical generator that produces direct current, named for its Belgian inventor, Zénobe Gramme, and was built as either a dynamo or a magneto. It was the first generator to p ...

(b. 1826) * 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842) * 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830) * 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852) * 1915 –

Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, 2nd Baronet (1 November 1840 – 20 January 1915), known as Sir Arthur Guinness, Bt, between 1868 and 1880, was an Irish businessman, politician, and philanthropist, best known for giving St Stephen's G ...

, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840) * 1920 –

Georg Lurich Georg Lurich ( – 20 January 1920) was an Estonian Greco-Roman wrestler and strongman of the early 20th century. Lurich was also the trainer of Estonian wrestlers and weightlifters Georg Hackenschmidt and Aleksander Aberg. Early life Born Geo ...

, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876) * 1921 –

Mary Watson Whitney Mary Watson Whitney (September 11, 1847 – January 20, 1921) was an Americans, American astronomer and for 22 years the head of the Vassar Observatory where 102 scientific papers were published under her guidance. Early life and education ...

, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847) * 1924 – Henry "Ivo" Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872) * 1936 –

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

of the United Kingdom (b. 1865) * 1940 –

Omar Bundy Major General Omar Bundy (June 17, 1861 – January 20, 1940) was a career United States Army officer who was a veteran of the American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Pancho Villa Expedition, and World War I. A n ...

, American general (b. 1861) *

– James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860) * 1947 –

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...

, American baseball player (b. 1911) * 1947 –

Andrew Volstead Andrew John Volstead () (October 31, 1860 – January 20, 1947) was an American member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota, 1903–1923, and a member of the Republican Party. His name is closely associated with the N ...

, American member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1860) * 1954 –

Warren Bardsley Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882 – 20 January 1954) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of ...

, Australian cricketer (b. 1882) * 1954 –

Fred Root Charles Frederick Root (16 April 1890 – 20 January 1954) was an English cricketer who played for England in 1926 and for Derbyshire between 1910 and 1920 and for Worcestershire between 1921 and 1932. Early career Root was born in Somercote ...

, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890) *

–

Robert P. T. Coffin Robert Peter Tristram Coffin (March 18, 1892 – January 20, 1955) was an American poet, educator, writer, editor and literary critic. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1936, he was the Poetry editor for ''Yankee'' magazine. Early life ...

, American author and poet (b. 1892) * 1962 –

Robinson Jeffers John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Much of Jeffers's poetry was written in narrative and epic form. However, he is also known for his short ...

, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887) *

–

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

, American radio host (b. 1922) *

–

Broncho Billy Anderson Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (born Maxwell Henry Aronson; March 21, 1880 – January 20, 1971) was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who was the first star of the Western film genre. He was a founder and star ...

, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880) * 1971 –

Minanogawa Tōzō , also known as , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tsukuba, Ibaraki. He was the sport's 34th ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna''. Career He was born . He had lost his father in the Russo-Japanese War at the age of two, and worked as a l ...

, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th

(b. 1903) * 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885) * 1973 –

, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924) * 1977 –

Dimitrios Kiousopoulos Dimitrios Kiousopoulos ( el, Δημήτριος Κιουσόπουλος) was an important Greek jurist, politician, and the caretaker Prime Minister of Greece in 1952. He was born on November 17, 1892 in the town of Andritsaina, Elis, Peloponnese ...

, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892) * 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895) * 1983 –

Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is widely regarded as one o ...

, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933) * 1984 –

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904) * 1988 –

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...

, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890) * 1988 –

Dora Stratou Dora Stratou (born Dorothea Stratou; el, Δωροθέα (Δόρα) Στράτου; 1903–1988) was a significant contributor to Greek Folk Dancing and Greek Folk Music. She issued one of the largest series of folk music in the world with 50 re ...

, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903) * 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938) *

– Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907) * 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929) *

– Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909) * 1994 –

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (October 1911 – 20 January 1994) was a Luo (Kenya), Luo chieftain who became a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence. He later served as Kenya's first Vice-President of Kenya, Vice-President, and t ...

, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911) * 1996 –

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927) * 2002 –

Carrie Hamilton Carrie Louise Hamilton (December 5, 1963 – January 20, 2002) was an American actress, playwright and singer. Hamilton was a daughter of comedian Carol Burnett and producer Joe Hamilton. She was also the older sister of Jody Hamilton, an ac ...

, American actress and singer (b. 1963) * 2003 –

Al Hirschfeld Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars. Personal life Al Hirschfeld was born in 1903 in a two-story duplex at 1313 Carr ...

, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903) * 2003 –

Nedra Volz Nedra Volz (née Gordonier; June 18, 1908 – January 20, 2003) was an American actress. In television, she portrayed Aunt Iola on ''All in the Family'', Adelaide Brubaker on ''Diff'rent Strokes'', Emma Tisdale on ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', a ...

, American actress (b. 1908) * 2004 – Alan Brown, English racing driver (b. 1919) * 2004 –

T. Nadaraja Professor Thambiah Nadaraja was a Sri Lankan academic, lawyer and author. He was dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ceylon and chancellor of the University of Jaffna. Early life and family Nadaraja was born on 27 December 1927. He ...

, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917) * 2005 –

Per Borten (3 April 1913 – 20 January 2005) was a Norwegian politician from the Centre Party and the 25th prime minister of Norway from 1965 to 1971. Per Borten is credited for leading the modernization of what was then named Bondepartiet (the Agrarian ...

, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

(b. 1913) * 2005 –

Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Jan Nowak-Jeziorański (; 2 October 1914 – 20 January 2005) was a Polish journalist, writer, politician, social worker and patriot. He served during the Second World War as one of the most notable resistance fighters of the Home Army. He is b ...

, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913) * 2005 –

Miriam Rothschild Dame Miriam Louisa Rothschild (5 August 1908 – 20 January 2005) was a British natural scientist and author with contributions to zoology, entomology, and botany. Early life Miriam Rothschild was born in 1908 in Ashton Wold, near Oundle in No ...

, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908) * 2009 –

Stéphanos II Ghattas Stéphanos II Ghattas ( ar, إسطفانوس الثاني غطاس) (January 16, 1920 – January 20, 2009), was an eparch of the Coptic Catholic Church. From 1986 to 2006 he served as the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria. He was also a ...

, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920) *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

– Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938) * 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912) * 2012 –

Ioannis Kefalogiannis Ioannis Kefalogiannis ( el, Ιωάννης Κεφαλογιάννης; 6 December 1933 – 20 January 2012) was a Greek politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1958 to 1964, and again from 1974 to 2004. During this time he was brief ...

, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933) * 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918) *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

–

Pavlos Matesis Pavlos Matesis (12 January 1933 – 20 January 2013) was a Greek novelist, playwright and translator. He was born in Divri, a village in the Peloponnese and had a peripatetic youth. He studied acting, music and languages, and taught drama at the ...

, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933) * 2013 –

Toyo Shibata was a bestselling Japanese poet; her first anthology ''Kujikenaide'' (″Don't lose heart″), published in 2009, sold 1.58 million copies. In comparison, poetry book sales of 10,000 are considered successful in Japan. Her anthology also topped Ja ...

, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911) * 2014 –

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

, Italian conductor (b. 1933) * 2014 –

Otis G. Pike Otis Grey Pike (August 31, 1921 – January 20, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served nine terms as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1961 to 1979. Early life Pike was born in ...

, American judge and politician (b. 1921) * 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939) * 2016 –

Mykolas Burokevičius Mykolas Burokevičius (7 October 1927 – 20 January 2016) was a communist political leader in Lithuania. After the Communist Party of Lithuania separated from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), he established alternative pro-CPSU Co ...

, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927) * 2016 –

Edmonde Charles-Roux Edmonde Charles-Roux (17 April 1920 – 20 January 2016) was a French writer. Early life Charles-Roux was born in 1920 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, the daughter of Francois Charles-Roux, the former French ambassador to Czechoslovakia, a member of t ...

, French journalist and author (b. 1920) * 2018 –

Paul Bocuse Paul Bocuse (; 11 February 1926 – 20 January 2018) was a French chef based in Lyon who was known for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. A student of Eugénie Brazier, he was one of the most prominent ...

, French chef (b. 1926) * 2018 –

Naomi Parker Fraley Naomi Fern Parker Fraley (August 26, 1921 – January 20, 2018) was an American war worker who is considered the most likely model for the iconic " We Can Do It!" poster. During World War II, she worked on aircraft assembly at the Naval Air Sta ...

, American naval machiner (b. 1921) *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

– Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (b. 1947) * 2020 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

(b. 1932) *

–

Sibusiso Moyo Sibusiso Busi Moyo (SB Moyo) (196020 January 2021) was a Zimbabwean politician and army Lieutenant general. He was noted for announcing the ousting of Robert Mugabe on national television during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état. He went on to ...

, Zimbabwean politician, army general (b. 1960) * 2021 –

Mira Furlan Mira Furlan (7 September 1955 – 20 January 2021) was a Croatian actress and singer. Internationally, she was best known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn in the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' (1993–1998), and as ...

, Croatian actress and singer (b. 1955) *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

–

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

, American singer and actor (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

* Armed Forces Day (Mali) *

Army Day Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. This day is not to be confused with Veterans Day or Memorial Day. Africa Egypt In Egypt, Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 6 Octob ...

(Laos) *Christian Calendar of saints, feast day: **Synaxaire Arabe-Jacobite, Abadios **Beatification, Blessed

**Eustochia Smeralda Calafato **Euthymius the Great **Pope Fabian, Fabian **Manchán of Lemanaghan **Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando **Richard Rolle (Church of England) **Saint Sebastian, Sebastian **Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs) **January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) *Public holidays in Cape Verde, Heroes' Day (Cape Verde) *United States presidential inauguration, Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years immediately following years divisible by 4, except for the public ceremony when January 20 falls on Sunday (the public ceremony is held the following day; however, the terms of offices still begin on the 20th) (United States of America, not a federal holiday for all government employees but only for those working in the Capital region) *Public holidays in Azerbaijan, Martyrs' Day (Azerbaijan)

Notes

In ancient astrology, it is the cusp (astrology), cusp day between Capricorn (astrology), Capricorn and Aquarius (astrology), Aquarius.

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*
Historical Events on January 20
{{months Days of the year January