January 20

January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 345 days remaining until the end of the year (346 in leap years).

In the ancient astronomy, it is the cusp day between Capricorn and Aquarius. In some years it is Aquarius, but others Capricorn. It depends on the year.

Events

• 250 – Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.
• 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
• 1265 – In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the "Houses of Parliament".
• 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
• 1356 – Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scotland.
• 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
• 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
• 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
• 1649 – Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes".
• 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence).
• 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong River by the Tay Son in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
• 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
• 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
• 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
• 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
• 1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
• 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
• 1929 – In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
• 1936 – Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
• 1941 – A German officer is murdered in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
• 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question".
• 1945 – World War II: Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
• 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
• 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
• 1954 – The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
• 1959 – The first flight of the Vickers Vanguard.
• 1960 – Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
• 1969 – East Pakistani police kill student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman. The resulting outrage is in part responsible for the Bangladesh Liberation War.
• 1972 – Pakistan launched its Nuclear weapons program few weeks after its defeat in Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
• 1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
• 1986 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
• 1987 – Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
• 1990 – On Black Saturday, the Red Army kills Azerbaijani civilians in Baku.
• 1991 – Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
• 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board. A design flaw in the computer mode selection system resulted in the crew selecting the wrong rate of descent.
• 1999 – The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use, aimed especially at Internet cafés.
• 2001 – Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
• 2006 – Witnesses report seeing a bottlenose whale swimming in the River Thames, the first time the species had been seen in the Thames since records began in 1913.
• 2007 – A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
• 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.

Births

• 225 – Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
• 1292 – Elisabeth of Bohemia, Bohemian queen consort (d. 1330)
• 1435 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (d. 1490)
• 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal, Portuguese king (d. 1578)
• 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (d. 1624)
• 1586 – Johann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
• 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian jurist (d. 1718)
• 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish composer and violinist (d. 1741)
• 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French numismatist (d. 1795)
• 1716 – Charles III of Spain, Spanish king (d. 1788)
• 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American politician (d. 1794)
• 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
• 1761 – Giovanni Domenico Perotti, Italian composer (d. 1825)
• 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
• 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (d. 1836)
• 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German politician (d. 1848)
• 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
• 1798 – Anson Jones, American politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
• 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author (d. 1857)
• 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
• 1834 – George D. Robinson, American politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
• 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
• 1867 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
• 1873 – Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1967)
• 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish actor (d. 1968)
• 1878 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer (d. 1968)
• 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
• 1880 – Max Schöne, German swimmer (d. 1961)
• 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mobster (d. 1957)
• 1883 – Nucky Johnson, American political boss and racketeer (d. 1968)
• 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American writer (d. 1942)
• 1886 – Claude Jameson, American soccer player (d. 1943)
• 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
• 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
• 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
• 1893 – Ēriks Vanags, Latvian shot putter
• 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
• 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer (d. 1976)
• 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1985)
• 1896 – George Burns, American comedian (d. 1996)
• 1896 – Rolfe Sedan, American actor (d. 1982)
• 1896 – Isabel Withers, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1898 – U Razak, Burmese politician (d. 1947)
• 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English sculptor (d. 1972)
• 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
• 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
• 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Turkish-Greek businessman (d. 1975)
• 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
• 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American writer and illustrator (d. 2009)
• 1908 – Jean S. MacLeod, Scottish author (d. 2011)
• 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austrian author (d. 1980)
• 1911 – Wendell J. Westcott, American carillon player (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Walter Briggs, Jr., American businessman (d. 1970)
• 1913 – S. M. Rasamanickam, Ceylon Tamil politician (d. 1974)
• 1918 – Cleon Skousen, American author (d. 2006)
• 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Nevin S. Scrimshaw, American scientist (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director (d. 1993)
• 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
• 1922 – Elizabeth Diana Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Graham Stark, English actor and director (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
• 1923 – Slim Whitman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Tekin Akmansoy, Turkish actor and director (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician
• 1926 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet and columnist
• 1926 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani author (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
• 1927 – Helen Elliot, Scottish table tennis player (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Rudy Boesch, American soldier, contestant on Survivor: Borneo and Survivor: All-Stars
• 1929 – Jimmy Cobb, American drummer
• 1929 – Arte Johnson, American comedian
• 1929 – Frank Kush, American football player and coach
• 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
• 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American pilot and astronaut
• 1930 – Blair Lent, American children's author and illustrator (d. 2009)
• 1931 – Preston Henn, American businessman, founded the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop
• 1931 – David Lee, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
• 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1933 – Ronald Townson, American singer and actor (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
• 1934 – Tom Baker, English actor
• 1935 – Alexander Men, Russian priest and scholar (d. 1990)
• 1935 – Joan Weston, American roller derby racer (d. 1997)
• 1937 – Dorothy Provine, American singer, dancer and actress (d. 2010)
• 1938 – William Berger, Austrian actor (d. 1993)
• 1938 – Liz Calder, English publisher
• 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish footballer (d. 2007)
• 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
• 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan astronomer
• 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater
• 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
• 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
• 1941 – Pierre Lalonde, Canadian singer and television host
• 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist
• 1943 – Rick Evans, American singer and guitarist (Zager and Evans)
• 1943 – Jessica Rawson, English art historian
• 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
• 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
• 1945 – Dave Boswell, American baseball player (d. 2012)
• 1945 – Robert Olen Butler, American author
• 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (d. 2013)
• 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (10cc, Hotlegs, Mandalaband, and The Mindbenders)
• 1946 – David Lynch, American director
• 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
• 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist
• 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author
• 1948 – Mel Pritchard, English drummer (Barclay James Harvest) (d. 2004)
• 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Russian-Israeli physicist and politician
• 1948 – Nigel Williams, English novelist
• 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
• 1950 – Liza Goddard, English actress
• 1950 – Edward Hirsch, American poet
• 1950 – Chuck Lefley, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerien politician, President of Niger
• 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
• 1951 – Ian Hill, English bass player (Judas Priest)
• 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (Kiss and Wicked Lester)
• 1952 – John Witherow, South African editor of The Times and The Sunday Times
• 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and philanthropist
• 1953 – Barbara Hay, British diplomat
• 1953 – Colleen Zenk Pinter, American actress
• 1954 – Rudy La Scala, Venezuelan singer-songwriter and producer
• 1954 – Ken Page, American actor and singer
• 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English politician
• 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
• 1955 – Joe Doherty, Irish soldier and activist
• 1955 – Wyatt Knight, American actor
• 1955 – Hiromi Ōta, Japanese singer
• 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
• 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, actor, and television host
• 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English jazz saxophonist
• 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
• 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
• 1959 – R.A. Salvatore, American author
• 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese mountaineer
• 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player (Fear)
• 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
• 1963 – Firebreaker Chip, American wrestler
• 1963 – James Denton, American actor
• 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
• 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player
• 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter
• 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
• 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer
• 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer
• 1965 – Greg Kriesel, American bass player (The Offspring)
• 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1965 – Heather Small, English singer-songwriter and actress (Hot House and M People)
• 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
• 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
• 1966 – Stacey Dash, American actress
• 1966 – Tracii Guns, American guitarist and songwriter (L.A. Guns, Brides of Destruction, Hollywood Rose, and Contraband)
• 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
• 1967 – Jay Hunt, Australian television executive
• 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player
• 1968 – Melissa Rivers, American actress, television host, and producer
• 1968 – Charlie Swan, Irish jockey
• 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
• 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player (Manic Street Preachers)
• 1970 – Mitch Benn, English comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
• 1970 – Kerri Kenney-Silver, American actress and singer
• 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1970 – Mark Spencer, English politician
• 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
• 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (Take That)
• 1971 – Brian Giles, American baseball player
• 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer-songwriter (Sepultura)
• 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
• 1971 – Gerard McDonnell, Irish mountaineer (d. 2008)
• 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer (The Roots and Soulquarians)
• 1972 – Tony DeVito, American wrestler
• 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish politician
• 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
• 1973 – Josh Weston, American porn actor (d. 2012)
• 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer
• 1975 – David Eckstein, American baseball player
• 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentine race car driver
• 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English politician
• 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish television host
• 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
• 1977 – Liivo Leetma, Estonian footballer
• 1977 – Melody, Belgian singer
• 1977 – Sid Wilson, American DJ and pianist (Slipknot)
• 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Joy Giovanni, American actress, model and wrestling valet
• 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
• 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
• 1978 – Luciano Zauri, Italian footballer
• 1979 – Asaka Kubo, Japanese singer
• 1979 – Shang Yi, Chinese footballer
• 1979 – Will Young, English singer-songwriter and actor
• 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer
• 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian Paralympic swimmer
• 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
• 1980 – Brigitte Olivier, Belgian martial artist
• 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
• 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer and guitarist (Bullet for my Valentine)
• 1981 – Daniel Cudmore, Canadian actor
• 1981 – Brendan Fevola, Australian footballer
• 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
• 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
• 1981 – Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress
• 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
• 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
• 1982 – Joe Swash, English actor
• 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1983 – Paula Taylor, English-Thai actress and model
• 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress (Morning Musume, Dream Morning Musume, and ZYX)
• 1984 – Victoria Asher, American keyboard player (Cobra Starship)
• 1984 – Toni Gonzaga, Filipino actress and singer
• 1984 – Olivia Hallinan, English actress
• 1984 – Rene Mandri, Estonian cyclist
• 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
• 1986 – Genie Chuo, Taiwanese singer and actress
• 1986 – Bissan Rafe, Palestinian-American painter and biologist
• 1986 – Derek Fathauer, American golfer
• 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
• 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
• 1987 – Mark Wright, English actor, footballer and radio host (TOWIE)
• 1988 – Colin Bensadon, Gibraltarian swimmer
• 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
• 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
• 1988 – Benjamin Ulrich, German rugby player
• 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
• 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
• 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English race car driver
• 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
• 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
• 1994 – Denis Mukhametdinov, Russian footballer
• 1995 – Joey Badass, Brooklyn rapper
• 1999 – Shannon Tavarez, American actress (d. 2010)

Deaths

• 250 – Pope Fabian (b. 200)
• 820 – Imam al-Shafi'i, Muslim jurist, founder of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence (b. 767)
• 1156 – Henry, English-Finnish bishop and saint
• 1191 – Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
• 1410 – Martin of Aragon (b. 1356)
• 1479 – John II of Aragon (b. 1397)
• 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English translator (b. 1488)
• 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
• 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English divine (b. 1604)
• 1666 – Anne of Austria (b. 1601)
• 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English theologian (b. 1659)
• 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
• 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
• 1770 – Charles Yorke, English politician (b. 1722)
• 1779 – David Garrick, English actor (b. 1717)
• 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
• 1819 – Charles IV of Spain (b. 1748)
• 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
• 1841 – Minh Mang, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
• 1848 – Christian VIII of Denmark (b. 1786)
• 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet (b. 1779)
• 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
• 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
• 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter (b. 1814)
• 1877 – Lela Pandak Lam, Malayan activist
• 1891 – Kalākaua of Hawaii (b. 1836)
• 1900 – John Ruskin, English critic (b. 1819)
• 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
• 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon (b. 1830)
• 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
• 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (b. 1876)
• 1924 – Ivor Crapp, Australian umpire (b. 1872)
• 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
• 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
• 1941 – John Bissinger, American gymnast (b. 1879)
• 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (b. 1860)
• 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
• 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer (b. 1890)
• 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American writer and poet (b. 1892)
• 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet (b. 1887)
• 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
• 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1880)
• 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
• 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (b. 1885)
• 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
• 1979 – Gustav Winckler, Danish singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
• 1980 – William Roberts, English painter (b. 1895)
• 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
• 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
• 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Indian Freedom Fighter,Pakistani activist (b. 1890)
• 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek author (b. 1903)
• 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director (b. 1938)
• 1990 – Hayedeh, Iranian singer (b. 1942)
• 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
• 1991 – Stan Szelest American keyboardist (The Band) (b. 1943)
• 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-English actress (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
• 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
• 1997 – Curt Flood, American baseball player (b. 1938)
• 1998 – Bobo Brazil, American wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
• 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American illustrator (b. 1903)
• 2003 – Craig Kelly, American snowboarder (b. 1966)
• 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (b. 1947)
• 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan Tamil academic and lawyer (b. 1917)
• 2004 – Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Parveen Babi, Indian actress and model (b. 1949)
• 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Roland Frye, American critic and theologian (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
• 2006 – Dave Lepard, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Crashdïet) (b. 1980)
• 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
• 2009 – Stan Hagen, Canadian politician (b. 1940)
• 2009 – David "Fathead" Newman, American saxophonist and songwriter (b. 1933)
• 2009 – Sheila Walsh, English author (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Etta James, American singer (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Ron Fraser, American baseball coach (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Richard Garneau, Canadian journalist (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Dolores Prida, Cuban-American columnist and playwright (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet (b. 1911)
• 2013 – Tracy Sugarman, American illustrator (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Freddie Williams, Welsh motorcycle racer (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Wistin Abela, Deputy Prim Minister of Malta (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Mali)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abadios
  • Euthymius the Great
  • Fabian
  • Sebastian
  • Manchán of Lemanaghan
  • January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Inauguration Day (United States of America)
• Martyrs' Day (Azerbaijan)
• National 'Good Day' Day

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to January 20.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada