Did you know
In 1986, In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
January 20 in History
1986 — In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr
Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
January 20 spans 40 recorded events across recorded history, from 250 to 2018. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
40 events
250 – 2018
Today in history
More major events on January 20
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 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. Source
- 1981 Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages. Source
- 1973 Amílcar Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is assassinated in Conakry, Guinea. Source
Did you know
Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which protested legalized racial discrimination in federal and state law and civil society. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
The movement led to several groundbreaking legislative reforms in the United States. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
In 1986, In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
Head of the Catholic Church from 236 to 250
Pope Fabian was the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church 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. He was succeeded by Cornelius.
250
Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö.
12th-century apocryphal Finnish person
Lalli is an apocryphal character from Finnish history and one of the most well-known figures in Finnish medieval legend. According to tradition, he was a prosperous yeoman farmer who killed Bishop Henry, who was spreading Christianity to then pagan Finland, on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi on 20 January in the late 1150s.
1156
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".
English parliament of 1265
Simon de Montfort's Parliament was an English parliament held from 20 January 1265 until mid-March of the same year, called by Simon de Montfort, a baronial rebel leader.
1265
Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
King of Poland from 1320 to 1333
Władysław I Łokietek, in English known as the "Elbow-high" or Ladislaus the Short, was King of Poland from 1320 to 1333, and duke of several of the provinces and principalities in the preceding years. He was a member of the royal Piast dynasty, the son of Duke Casimir I of Kuyavia, and great-grandson of High-Duke Casimir II the Just.
1320
Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
Claimant to the Scottish throne from 1332 to 1356
Edward Balliol or Edward de Balliol 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.
1356
The Taula de canvi (Catalan: "Table of change"), described as Europe's first-ever public bank, began operations inside Barcelona's Llotja de Mar.
Medieval municipal bank
The Taula de canvi of Barcelona, created in 1401 and still extant in diminished form in the 19th century, was a municipal bank in Barcelona that has been described as the first-ever central bank. A Taula de canvi, also Taula de cambi or simply Taula, was a type of municipal public bank that existed in the Crown of Aragon in the late Middle Ages and early modern period.
1401
Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
King of Denmark and Norway from 1513 to 1523
Christian II, was a monarch under the Kalmar Union, reigning as King of Denmark and Norway from 1513 until 1523. He was briefly King of Sweden from 1520 until 1521. As king of Denmark, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in joint rule with his uncle Frederick.
1523
Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
Part of the Portuguese takeover of France Antarctique
The Battle of Rio de Janeiro or the Battle of Guanabara Bay took place on 20 January 1567 at Rio de Janeiro that ended with the definitive defeat of the French. Specifically, the battle was an attack on the fortification of Uruçú-mirim. The Portuguese commander, Estácio de Sá, was hit by an arrow which perforated his eye, and died on 20 February.
1567
The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
City in Guanajuato, Mexico
León, officially León de Los Aldama, is the most populous city and municipal seat of the municipality of León in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. In the 2020 census, INEGI reported 1,579,803 people living in the city of León and 1,721,215 in the municipality, making it the fourth-most populous city and third-most populous municipality in Mexico. The metropolitan area of León recorded a population of 2,140,094 in the 2020 state census, making it the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Mexico. León is part of the macroregion of the Bajío within the Mexican Plateau, located roughly in the center of the country.
1576
The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
1649 trial resulting in conviction of King Charles I
The trial of Charles I took place in January 1649, marking the first time a reigning monarch was tried and executed by his own subjects. Following years of conflict during the English Civil War, which pitted the Royalists loyal to Charles I against the Parliamentarians seeking to limit his powers, the king was captured by Parliamentary forces in 1646.
1649
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.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orchestral Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the Cello Suites and Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schübler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. He is known for his mastery of counterpoint, as heard in The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue. Felix Mendelssohn precipitated the Bach Revival with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. Ever since, Bach has been acclaimed as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music.
1726
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.
Sovereign state in Western Europe (1707–1801)
Great Britain, officially the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The unitary state was governed by a single parliament at the Palace of Westminster, but the distinct legal systems—English law and Scots law—remained in use, as did distinct educational systems and religious institutions, namely the Church of England and the Church of Scotland remaining as the national churches of England and Scotland respectively.
1783
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.
Period of Thai history
The Rattanakosin Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Siam after 1855, refers to the Siamese kingdom between 1782 and 1932. It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok), which replaced the city of Thonburi as the capital of Siam. This article covers the period until the Siamese revolution of 1932.
1785
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.
The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the British colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three storeships and six convict transports under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip. On 13 May 1787, the ships, with over 1,400 convicts, marines, sailors, colonial officials, and free settlers onboard, left Portsmouth and travelled over 24,000 kilometres and over 250 days before arriving in Botany Bay, New South Wales, on 18 January 1788. Governor Arthur Phillip rejected Botany Bay, choosing instead Port Jackson to the north as the site for the new colony; the Fleet arrived there on 26 January 1788. The Fleet established the Colony of New South Wales as a penal colony; the first British settlement in Australia.
1788
In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
1839 battle in western Peru which ended the War of the Confederation
The Battle of Yungay was the final battle of the War of the Confederation, fought on January 20, 1839, near Yungay, Peru. The United Restoration Army, led by Chilean General Manuel Bulnes, consisting mainly of Chileans and 600 North Peruvian dissidents, attacked the Peru-Bolivian Confederation forces led by Andrés de Santa Cruz in northern Peru, 200 kilometers (120 mi) north of Lima.
1839
Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War.
Second largest island in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, has a land area of approximately 78.59 square kilometres (30.34 sq mi) and a population of 1,289,500 with a population density of 16,390 per square kilometre (42,400/sq mi), as of 2023. It is the second largest island in Hong Kong, with the largest being Lantau Island. Hong Kong Island forms one of the three areas of Hong Kong, with the other two being Kowloon and the New Territories.
1841
The Treaty of Pangkor is signed between the British and Sultan Abdullah of Perak, paving the way for further British colonization of Malaya.
1874 treaty between Great Britain and Perak
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 legitimised British control of the Malay rulers and paved the way for British imperialism in Malaya. It was the result of a multi-day conference organised by Andrew Clarke, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, to solve two problems: the Larut War and the disputed succession of the sultanship of Perak.
1874
The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
Multi-lateral diplomatic meeting regarding Bosnia (1876–77)
The 1876–77 Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers was held in Constantinople from 23 December 1876 until 20 January 1877. Following the beginning of the Herzegovinian Uprising in 1875 and the April Uprising in April 1876, the Great Powers agreed on a project for political reforms in Bosnia and in the Ottoman territories with a majority-Bulgarian population. The Ottoman Empire refused the proposed reforms, leading to the Russo-Turkish War a few months later.
1877
The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
Upper house of the US Congress
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, and the U.S. House of Representatives is the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the Constitution to make and pass or defeat federal legislation.
1887
Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division.
American multinational automotive company
General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac, each a separate division of GM. By total sales, it has continuously been the largest automaker in the United States, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the title to Toyota in 2008.
1909
The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
Royal Navy K-class submarine (1917 to 1921)
HMS K5 was one of the K-class submarines that served in the Royal Navy from 1917–1921. She was lost with all hands when she sank en route to a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay.
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.
Fundamental law of post-Ottoman Turkey from 1921 to 1924
The Constitution of 1921 was the fundamental law of Turkey for a brief period from 1921 to 1924. The first constitution of the modern Turkish state, it was ratified by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in January 1921. It was a simple document consisting of only 23 short articles. In October 1923 the constitution was amended to declare Turkey to be a republic. In April the following year the constitution was replaced by an entirely new document, the Constitution of 1924.
1921
A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
Capital and largest city of Romania
Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.71 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2.31 million residents, which makes Bucharest the 9th most-populous city by population within city limits in the European Union. The city has an area of 240 km2 (93 sq mi), while the metropolitan area covers 1,811 km2 (699 sq mi). The city proper is administratively known as the "Municipality of Bucharest", and has the same administrative level as that of a national county, being further subdivided into six sectors, each governed by a local mayor. Bucharest is a major cultural, political and economic hub, the country's seat of government, and the capital of the Muntenia region. It is an enclave completely surrounded by Ilfov County.
1941
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".
Global conflict (1939–1945)
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1942
World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
Former Hungarian prime minister (1944-1945)
Béla Miklós de Dálnok, Vitéz of Dálnok was a Hungarian military officer and politician who served as acting Prime Minister of Hungary, at first in opposition, and then officially, from 1944 to 1945. He was the last Prime Minister of war-time Hungary.
1945
World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
German state from 1933 to 1945
Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.
1945
In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
American radio 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 was broadcast on up to 45 affiliates. An article in the trade publication Broadcasting said that the network was expected "to reach approximately 12 million of the 15 million Negroes in America."
1954
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.
Pakistan is one of nine states that possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Pakistan's arsenal is estimated at 170 nuclear weapons as of 2025. Pakistan carried out two nuclear tests, Chagai-I and Chagai-II, both in 1998 and underground.
1972
Amílcar Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is assassinated in Conakry, Guinea.
Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean politician (1924–1973)
Amílcar Lopes Cabral was a Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, political organizer, diplomat, and half-brother of Luís Cabral. He was widely remembered as one of Africa's foremost anti-colonial leaders. He was also a pan-Africanist and intellectual nationalist revolutionary poet.
1973
China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam.
Disputed islands in the South China Sea
The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands and the Hoàng Sa Archipelago, are an archipelago in the South China Sea, under the control of the People's Republic of China, but its sovereignty in whole or in part is disputed.
1974
Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
President of the United States from 1981 to 1989
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he became an important figure in the American conservative movement. The period encompassing his presidency is known as the Reagan era.
1981
Leabua Jonathan, Prime Minister of Lesotho, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by General Justin Lekhanya.
Prime Minister of Lesotho from 1965 to 1986
Joseph Leabua Jonathan was the first prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.
1986
Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Violent 1990 crackdown in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR
Black January, also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on anti-Soviet and anti-Armenian sentiments, Azerbaijani nationalism, and irredentism in Baku on 19 and 20 January 1990, as part of a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
1990
Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
Country in Northeast Africa
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast, and South Sudan to the south. Sudan has a population of 51.8 million people as of 2025 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres, making it Africa's third-largest country by area. Sudan's capital and most populous city is Khartoum.
1991
Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
1992 aviation accident in France
Air Inter Flight 148 was a scheduled passenger flight from Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport to Strasbourg Airport in France. On 20 January 1992, the Airbus A320 operating the flight crashed into the slopes of the Vosges Mountains in Eastern France, near Mont Sainte-Odile, while on a non-precision approach to Strasbourg Airport. A total of 87 of the 96 people on board were killed, while the remaining 9 were all injured.
1992
President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Head of state and government of the Philippines
President of the Philippines is the title of the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
2001
A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
Island country in the Atlantic Ocean
Iceland is a Nordic island country between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Europe and North America. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the region's westernmost and most sparsely populated country. Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 35% of the country's roughly 395,000 residents. The official language of the country is Icelandic. Iceland is on a rift between tectonic plates, and its geologic activity includes geysers and frequent volcanic eruptions. The interior consists of a volcanic plateau with sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite being at a latitude just south of the Arctic Circle. Its latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.
2009
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.
On 20 January 2018, a group of four or five gunmen attacked the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack left 40 people dead including 14 foreigners, while 14 others were injured.
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.
2011–2024 armed conflict in Syria
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring. The Assad regime responded to the protests with lethal force, which led to a series of defections, the emergence of armed opposition groups, and the civilian uprising descending into a civil war. The war lasted almost 14 years and culminated in the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Many sources regard this as the end of the civil war even though clashes have continued into 2026.
2018