# What happened on January 20 in history?

**Date:** January 20  
**Events recorded:** 40  
**Years spanned:** 250 – 2018  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/january/20/

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## Featured Event

**2018** — Syrian civil war: The Government of Turkey announces the initiation of the Afrin offensive and begins shelling Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in Afrin Region.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war)

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## Events on this date

- **250** — Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Fabian))
- **1156** — Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalli))
- **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, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_de_Montfort's_Parliament))
- **1320** — Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_I_%C5%81okietek))
- **1356** — Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Balliol))
- **1401** — The Taula de canvi (Catalan: "Table of change"), described as Europe's first-ever public bank, began operations inside Barcelona's Llotja de Mar. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taula_de_canvi_de_Barcelona))
- **1523** — Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_II_of_Denmark))
- **1567** — Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rio_de_Janeiro_(1567)))
- **1576** — The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n%2C_Guanajuato))
- **1649** — The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Charles_I))
- **1726** — J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen (My sighs, my tears), BWV 13, for the second Sunday after Epiphany. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach))
- **1783** — The Kingdom of Great Britain signs preliminary articles of peace with the Kingdom of France, setting the stage for the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain))
- **1785** — Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattanakosin_Kingdom_(1782%E2%80%931932)))
- **1788** — The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, beginning the British colonization of Australia. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Fleet))
- **1839** — In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yungay))
- **1841** — Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Island))
- **1874** — The Treaty of Pangkor is signed between the British and Sultan Abdullah of Perak, paving the way for further British colonization of Malaya. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangkor_Treaty_of_1874))
- **1877** — The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople_Conference))
- **1887** — The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate))
- **1909** — Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors))
- **1921** — The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_K5))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Constitution_of_1921))
- **1941** — A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharest))
- **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". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1945** — World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_Mikl%C3%B3s))
- **1945** — World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany))
- **1954** — In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Negro_Network))
- **1972** — Pakistan launches its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction))
- **1973** — Amílcar Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is assassinated in Conakry, Guinea. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%ADlcar_Cabral))
- **1974** — China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracel_Islands))
- **1981** — Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan))
- **1986** — In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Day))
- **1986** — Leabua Jonathan, Prime Minister of Lesotho, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by General Justin Lekhanya. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leabua_Jonathan))
- **1990** — Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_January))
- **1991** — Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan))
- **1992** — Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Inter_Flight_148))
- **2001** — President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Philippines))
- **2009** — A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland))
- **2018** — A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Inter-Continental_Hotel_Kabul_attack))
- **2018** — Syrian civil war: The Government of Turkey announces the initiation of the Afrin offensive and begins shelling Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in Afrin Region. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war))

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## Notable births on January 20

- **2003** — **J. J. McCarthy** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._J._McCarthy))
- **2003** — **Antonia Ružić** — Croatian tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonia_Ru%C5%BEi%C4%87))
- **2002** — **Arnaud Kalimuendo** — French footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnaud_Kalimuendo))
- **2000** — **Tyler Herro** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Herro))
- **1995** — **Joey Badass** — American rapper and actor ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Badass))
- **1995** — **Calum Chambers** — English footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calum_Chambers))
- **1995** — **José María Giménez** — Uruguayan footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Gim%C3%A9nez))
- **1995** — **Sergi Samper** — Spanish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergi_Samper))
- **1995** — **Kim So-hee** — South Korean singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_So-hee_(singer%2C_born_1995)))
- **1994** — **Seán Kavanagh** — Irish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se%C3%A1n_Kavanagh))

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## Notable deaths on January 20

- **2025** — **Lynn Ban** — Singaporean jewelry designer (born 1972) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Ban))
- **2025** — **Cecile Richards** — American activist and former Planned Parenthood president (born 1957) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecile_Richards))
- **2024** — **Norman Jewison** — Canadian actor, director, and producer (born 1926) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Jewison))
- **2022** — **Meat Loaf** — American singer and actor (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_Loaf))
- **2021** — **Sibusiso Moyo** — Zimbabwean politician, army general (born 1960) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibusiso_Moyo_(politician)))
- **2021** — **Mira Furlan** — Croatian actress and singer (born 1955) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mira_Furlan))
- **2020** — **Jaroslav Kubera** — Czech politician (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaroslav_Kubera))
- **2020** — **Tom Fisher Railsback** — American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives (born 1932) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Railsback))
- **2018** — **Paul Bocuse** — French chef (born 1926) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bocuse))
- **2018** — **Naomi Parker Fraley** — American naval machiner, considered the model for the "We Can Do It!" posters of World War II (born 1921) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Parker_Fraley))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/january/20/](https://thisday.info/events/january/20/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.