History of 20th January

250 - St Fabian ends his reign as Catholic Pope (236-50)
820 - Book of mother, published
1045 - Giovanni di Sabina elected Pope Sylvester III
1156 - According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland.
1265 - 1st English Parliament called into session by Earl of Leicester
1320 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland
1356 - Scottish king Edward Baliol resigns
1356 - Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scotland.
1502 - The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is first explored.
1503 - Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) found (Spain) to deal with American affairs
1513 - Christian II succeeds Johan I as Danish/Norwegian king
1523 - Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
1576 - The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almansa.
1613 - Peace of Knarodends War of Kalmar between Denmark & Sweden
1648 - Cornerstone of Amsterdam townhall laid
1667 - Treaty of Andrussovo-ends 13 year war between Poland & Russia
1778 - 1st American military court martial trial begins, Cambridge, Mass
1781 - 1st edition of Pieter It Hoens "Post of Neder-Rhijn" published
1783 - Hostilities cease in Revolutionary War
1785 - Samuel Ellis advertises to sell Oyster Island (Ellis Is), no takers
1788 - Pioneer African Baptist church organizes in Savannah, Ga
1800 - Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries King Joachim Murat of Naples
1801 - John Marshall appointed US chief justice
1807 - Napoleon convenes great Sanhedrin, Paris
1809 - 1st US geology book published by William Maclure
1839 - In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance.
1840 - Dumont D'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica
1840 - Dutch King Willem II crowned
1841 - China cedes Hong Kong to British
1850 - Investigator, 1st ship to effect northwest passage, leaves England
1860 - Dutch troops conquer Watampone in Celebes
1866 - Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends
1868 - Florida constitutional convention meets in Tallahassee
1869 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton becomes 1st woman to testify before Congress
1870 - "City of Boston" vanishes at sea with all 177 aboard
1870 - Hiram R Revels elected to fill unexpired term of Jefferson Davis
1872 - Calif Stock Exchange Board organized
1879 - British troops under Lord Chelmsford set camp at Isandlwana
1883 - Billy Barnes takes a hat-trick, England v Aust MCG
1887 - US Senate approves naval base lease of Pearl Harbor
1892 - 1st basketball game played (Mass)
1910 - Ottawa Senators sweep Edmonton in 2 for Stanley Cup (2nd of 1910)
1920 - Dutch 2nd Chamber passes school laws
1920 - The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
1921 - British submarine K5 leaves with man & mouse
1921 - Dagestan ASSR forms in RSFSR
1921 - Mountain Autonomous Republic established in RSFSR
1921 - Turkey declared in remnants of Ottoman Empire
1922 - Arthur Honegger's ballet "Skating Rink" premieres, Paris
1925 - USSR & Japan sign treaty of Peking, Seychelles back to USSR
1926 - 2nd German govt of Luther begins
1929 - 1st feature talking motion picture taken outdoors, "In Old Arizona"
1930 - 1st radio broadcast of "Lone Ranger" (WXYZ-Detroit)
1934 - Japan sends Henry Pu Yi as regent to emperor of Manchuria
1936 - Edward VIII succeeds British king George V
1937 - -45°F (-43°C), Boca, Calif (state record)
1937 - 1st Inauguration day on Jan 20th, (held every 4th years there-after)
1939 - Charles Ives' 1st Sonate "Concord," premieres
1939 - Hitler proclaims to German parliament to exterminate all European Jews
1941 - Bela Bartok's 6th string quartet, premieres in NYC
1942 - Japanese air raid on Rabaul New Britain
1942 - Japanese invade Burma
1942 - Nazi officials hold notorious Wannsee conference in Berlin deciding on "final solution" calling for extermination of Europe's Jews
1943 - Lead SD, temp is 52°F, while 1.5 miles away Deadwood SD records -16°F
1943 - Operation-Weiss: Assault of German, Italian, Bulgarian & Croatian
1944 - RAF drops 2300 ton bombs on Berlin
1945 - FDR sworn-in for an unprecedented 4th term as president
1945 - Hungary ends its involvement in the Second World War, agreeing to an armistice with the Allies.
1946 - F Gouin follows De Gaulle as temporary leader of French govt
1947 - Brigadier General Edwin K Wright, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
1949 - J Edgar Hoover gives Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen
1949 - Pres Truman announces his point 4 program
1950 - "Dance Me a Song" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 35 performances
1950 - Suriname becomes independent part in Realm of Netherlands
1952 - British army occupies Ismailiya, Suez Canal Zone
1952 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1953 - 1st US telecast transmitted to Canada-from Buffalo NY
1953 - 1st live coast-to-coast inauguration address (Eisenhower)
1954 - -70°F (-57°C), Rogers Pass, Montana (US 48 state record)
1954 - Dmitri Sjostakovitsj' "Concertino opus 94," premieres
1954 - The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
1955 - 1st atomic sub, USS Nautilus, launched at Groton Conn
1956 - Buddy Holly records "Blue Days Black Night" in Nashville
1957 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1957 - Gomulka wins Poland's parliamentary election
1957 - Morton Gould's "Declaration," premieres in Washington, DC
1958 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1958 - KUED TV channel 7 in Salt Lake City, UT (PBS) begins broadcasting
1959 - Dmitri Sjostakovitsj' Moscow-Tsjerjomoesjki, premieres in Moscow
1960 - Patrice Lumumba sentenced to 6 months in Belgian Congo
1961 - Arthur M Ramsay becomes archbishop of Canterbury
1961 - Francis Poulenc's "Gloria," premieres in Boston
1961 - Robert Frost recites "Gift Outright" at JFK's inauguration
1961 - Yugoslav ex-vice-president Milovan Djilas flees
1962 - "Kean" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 92 performances
1964 - "Meet The Beatles" album released in US
1965 - Beatles appear on Shindig (ABC-TV)
1965 - Byrds record "Mr Tambourine Man"
1965 - JPL proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars & return
1965 - Generalissimo Francisco Franco meets with Jewish representatives to discuss legitimizing Jewish communities in Spain

1968 - Houston ends UCLA's 47-game basketball winning streak, 71-69
1968 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
1968 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Tim Wood
1968 - The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win the Game of the Century.
1969 - Richard M Nixon inaugurated as president
1969 - U of Az reports 1st optical id of pulsar (in Crab Nebula)
1970 - 20th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 142-135 at Philadelphia
1970 - 23rd NHL All-Star Game: East beat West 4-1 at St Louis
1970 - Super Fight, computer mock championship between Ali & Marciano
1971 - Ard Schenk skates world record 1000m (1:18.8)
1971 - John Lennon meets Yoko Ono's parents in Japan
1974 - 4th NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 15-13
1974 - 7th ABA All-Star Game: East 128 beats West 112 at Virginia
1974 - A college basketball game ends 210-67
1974 - Essex Comm College beats Englewood Cliffs 210-67 in basketball
1975 - 5th NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 17-10
1975 - Terrence McNally's "Ritz," premieres in NYC
1976 - 29th NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 7-5 at Phila
1977 - George Bush, ends term as 11th director of CIA
1977 - Mr Knoche, serves as acting director of CIA
1978 - Columbia Pictures pays $9.5 million for movie rights to "Annie"
1980 - President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow
1980 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Linda Fratianne
1980 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Charles Tickner
1980 - Superbowl MVP: Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, QB
1980 - Superbowl XIV: Pitts Steelers beat LA Rams, 31-19 in Pasadena
1981 - 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days freed
1981 - Adm Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret), ends term as 12th director of CIA
1981 - Frank C Carlucci, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1981 - Islander Glenn Resch's 25th & last shut-out opponent-Flames 5-0
1981 - Ronald Reagan inaugurated as president
1982 - 7 miners killed in an explosion in Craynor Ky
1982 - Honduras constitution goes into effect
1982 - Piet Dankert elected chairman of European Parliament
1984 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Rosalynn Sumners
1985 - Cold front strikes US, at least 40 die (-27°F (-33°C) in Chicago)
1985 - Superbowl XIX: SF 49ers beat Miami Dolphins, 38-16 in Stanford Superbowl MVP: Joe Montana, San Francisco, QB
1986 - 1st federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr
1986 - Chunnel announced (railroad tunnel under Canal)
1986 - Milt coup in Lesotho under gen-mjr Lekhanya & premier Leabua Jonathan
1987 - Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon
1987 - Rhino Records 1st #1-Billy Vera & Beaters' "At This Moment"
1988 - Andre Hoffman skates world record 1500m (1:52.06)
1988 - Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Gov Evan Mecham
1989 - Bush inaugurated as 41st president & Quayle becomes 44th vice pres
1989 - Wayne Holdsworth takes a wicket 1st ball in 1st-class cricket
1989 - Reagan becomes 1st pres elected in a "0" year, since 1840, to leave office alive
1990 - 47th Golden Globes: Born on 4th of July, Driving Miss Daisy win
1990 - US 64th manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) returns from space
1990 - Black January - crackdown of Azerbaijani pro-independence demonstrations by Soviet army in Baku.
1991 - "Black & Blue" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 829 performances
1991 - "Les Miserables," opens at Pantages Theatre, LA
1991 - "Peter Pan" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC or 45 performances
1991 - "Shogun - The Musical" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 72 perfs
1991 - 13th UCP Telethon
1991 - Buffalo Bills beat LA Raiders 51-3 for AFC title
1991 - Jane Geddes wins LPGA Jamaica Golf Classic
1991 - US Patriot missiles begins shooting down Iraqi missiles
1991 - Matt Barr's field goal with no time left gives NY Giant 15-13 Victory over defending champs SF 49ers, for NFC title
1991 - Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
1992 - Australia beat India 2-0 to win the World Series Cup
1992 - Score begins selling international soccer cards
1993 - Adm Studeman, serves as acting director of CIA
1993 - Bill Clinton inaugurated as 42nd president
1995 - "Love! Valor! Compassion!" opens at Walter Kerr NYC for 276 perfs
1995 - 1994-95 NHL Season begin after a lengthy strike
1995 - Russian ruble drops to 3,947 per dollar (record)
1996 - 46th NHL All-Star Game: East beat West 5-4 at Fleet Center Boston
1996 - Australia defeat Sri Lanka 2-0 to win World Series Cup
1996 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Michelle Kwan
1996 - WPAT FM NYC radio station switches to English-Spanish format
1997 - Comet Hale-Bopp crosses Mars' orbit
1997 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in New Orleans LA on KKND 106.7 FM
1997 - Pakistan defeat West Indies 2-0 to win Aust one-day Series
1998 - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts Mama & Papas & Eagles
1998 - Warner Brothers TV Network begins Tueday night programming
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 the EDSA II Revolution and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
2009 - Barack Obama, inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becomes the United States' first African-American president