Did you know about Meat Loaf
The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years and is one of the best-selling albums in history, still selling an estimated 200,000 copies annually as of 2016.
Notable Deaths on January 20
January 20 has 104 recorded notable deaths across history, from 640 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
2022 — Meat Loaf
American singer and actor (born 1947)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
104 source records
640 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on January 20
See what else happened on this day in history.
Did you know about Etta James
Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as the Chitlin' Circuit.
Did you know about Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison was nominated for an additional four Oscars, three Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, and won a BAFTA Award.
Did you know about Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan's piano-less quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz ensembles.
Did you know about Kalākaua
At his coronation and his birthday jubilee, the hula, which had hitherto been banned in public in the kingdom, became a celebration of Hawaiian culture.
More major people who died on January 20
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2012
Etta James
American singer-songwriter (born 1938)
Jamesetta Hawkins, known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as the Chitlin' Circuit. She sang in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll and soul and gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower" (1955), "At Last" (1960), "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (1962), "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind". She faced a number of personal problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch (1988).
2024
Norman Jewison
Canadian actor, director, and producer (born 1926)
Norman Frederick Jewison was a Canadian filmmaker. He is known for directing films which addressed topical social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects accessible to mainstream audiences. Among numerous other accolades, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times in three separate decades, for In the Heat of the Night (1967), Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Moonstruck (1987). He was nominated for an additional four Oscars, three Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, and won a BAFTA Award. He received the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1999.
1996
Gerry Mulligan
American saxophonist and composer (born 1927)
Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His piano-less quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz ensembles. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions, including "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards.
1891
Kalākaua
king of Hawaii (born 1836)
Kalākaua, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, until his death in 1891. Succeeding Lunalilo, he was elected to the vacant throne of Hawaiʻi against Queen Emma. Kalākaua was known as the Merrie Monarch for his convivial personality—he enjoyed entertaining guests with his singing and ukulele playing. At his coronation and his birthday jubilee, the hula, which had hitherto been banned in public in the kingdom, became a celebration of Hawaiian culture.
820
Al-Shafi'i
Arab scholar and jurist (born 767)
Al-Shafi'i was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, having authored one of the earliest work on the subject: al-Risala. His legacy and teaching on the matter provided it with a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influencing the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "beginning a new phase of the development of legal theory."
2014
Claudio Abbado
Italian conductor (born 1933)
Claudio Abbado 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 Berlin Philharmonic, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, founder and director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, founder and director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, founding artistic director of the Orchestra Mozart and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra. He was recipient of the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize and Senator for life in Italy.
882
Louis the Younger
king of the East Frankish Kingdom
Louis the Younger, sometimes called Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second of three sons of king Louis the German and queen Hemma, with his brothers being the elder Carloman and younger Charles. They all succeeded their father as kings in Eastern Francia on 28 August 876, in accordance with the prearranged partition, with Carloman ruling over Bavaria and the Pannonian March, Louis over Franconia, Saxony and Thuringia, and Charles over Alamannia. Louis and Charles also jointly ruled over eastern parts of Lotharingia. In 879-880, Louis acquired the western part of Lotharingia. In 880, Carloman died and his realm was inherited by Louis. By 881, the youngest brother Charles secured rule over Italy, and was crowned as emperor. Louis died in 882, without legitimate descendants, and was succeeded in all his territories, which encompassed most of East Francia, by his brother Charles.
1841
Jørgen Jørgensen
Danish explorer (born 1780)
Jørgen Jørgensen was a Danish adventurer during the Age of Revolution. During the action of 2 March 1808, his ship was captured by the British. In 1809 he sailed to Iceland, declared the country independent from Denmark–Norway and pronounced himself its ruler. He intended to found a new republic, following the examples of the United States and the French First Republic. He was also a prolific writer of letters, papers, pamphlets and newspaper articles covering a wide variety of subjects, and for a period was an associate of the famous botanists Joseph Banks and William Jackson Hooker. He left over a hundred written autographs and drawings, most of which are collected in the British Library. Marcus Clarke referred to Jørgensen as "a singularly accomplished fortune wooer—one of the most interesting human comets recorded in history".
640
Eadbald
king of Kent
Eadbald was King of Kent from 616 until his death in 640. He was the son of King Æthelberht and his wife Bertha, a daughter of the Merovingian king Charibert. Æthelberht made Kent the dominant force in England during his reign and became the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Eadbald's accession was a significant setback for the growth of the church, since he retained his people's paganism and did not convert to Christianity for at least a year, and perhaps for as many as eight years. He was ultimately converted by either Laurentius or Justus, and separated from his first wife, who had been his stepmother, at the insistence of the church. Eadbald's second wife was Emma, who may have been a Frankish princess. They had two sons, Eormenred and Eorcenberht, and a daughter, Eanswith.
2005
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański
Polish journalist and politician (born 1914)
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański 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 best remembered for his work as an emissary shuttling between the commanders of the Home Army and the Polish Government in Exile in London and other Allied governments which gained him the nickname "Courier from Warsaw", and for his participation in the Warsaw Uprising. After the war he worked as the head of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe, and later as a security advisor to the US presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded him with America's highest civilian award the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
1908
John Ordronaux
American surgeon and academic (born 1830)
John Ordronaux was an American Civil War army surgeon, a professor of medical jurisprudence, a pioneering mental health commissioner and a generous patron of university endowments. Between 1859 and 1901 Ordronaux published at least fifteen books and articles about subjects as diverse as heroes of the American Revolution of 1776, military medicine, medical jurisprudence, mental health, United States constitutional law and historical treatises. He left an estate worth $2,757,000 much of which he gave in endowments to several US universities and other institutions.
1770
Charles Yorke
English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (born 1722)
Charles Yorke PC was a British lawyer and politician who briefly served as 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 Attorney-General for several governments, during which he was best known for writing what became the Quebec Act. He was appointed Lord Chancellor over his objections, but he committed suicide only three days after taking the post.
1990
Barbara Stanwyck
American actress (born 1907)
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic screen presence and versatility. She was a favorite of directors, including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra, and made 86 films in 38 years before turning to television. She received numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, and was nominated for four Academy Awards.
1841
Minh Mạng
Vietnamese emperor (born 1791)
Minh Mạng, also known as Minh Mệnh, was the second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 14 February 1820 until his death, on 20 January 1841. He was the fourth son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh, had died in 1801. He was well known for his opposition to French involvement in Vietnam, completing the final Vietnamese conquest of Champa, temporary annexation of Cambodia, and his rigid Confucian orthodoxy.
2016
Mykolas Burokevičius
Lithuanian carpenter and politician (born 1927)
Mykolas Burokevičius 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 Communist Party of Lithuania in early 1990, and led it as the First Secretary of Central Committee until its ban in 1991. He was the only Lithuanian to serve in the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, and did so from 1990 until its ban in 1991.
1663
Isaac Ambrose
English minister and author (born 1604)
Isaac Ambrose was an English Puritan divine. He graduated with a BA from Brasenose College, Oxford, on 1624. He obtained the curacy of St Edmund’s Church, Castleton, Derbyshire, in 1627. He was one of king's four preachers in Lancashire in 1631. He was twice imprisoned by commissioners of array. He worked for the establishment of Presbyterianism; successively at Leeds, Preston, and Garstang, whence he was ejected for nonconformity in 1662. He also published religious works.
1984
Johnny Weissmuller
American swimmer and actor (born 1904)
Johnny Weissmuller was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He set world records alongside winning five gold medals in the Olympics. He won the 100m freestyle and the 4 × 200 m relay team event in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris and the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Weissmuller also won gold in the 400m freestyle, as well as a bronze medal in the water polo competition in Paris.
1875
Jean-François Millet
French painter and educator (born 1814)
Jean-François Millet was a French painter 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 art movement. Toward the end of his career, he became increasingly interested in painting pure landscapes. He is known best for his oil paintings but is also noted for his pastels, Conté crayon drawings, and etchings.
1994
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga
first Kenyan Vice-President (born 1911)
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was a Kenyan politician who became a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence. He served as Kenya's first vice-president, and thereafter as an opposition leader. Jaramogi’s son CGH Raila Odinga (1945–2025) was the second Prime Minister of Kenya, and his other son, Oburu Odinga, is a former assistant minister in the Ministry of Finance, and Current ODM Party Leader after the death of Raila Odinga (2025)