# On this day: January 20

January 20 is the 20th day of the year (20th in leap years), with 345 days left until the end of the year (346 in a leap year).

## January 20 in one line

Headline entries for January 20, from Wikipedia: in 1942, The Holocaust: Reinhard Heydrich and other senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Conference near Berlin to discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question"; born 1920: Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1993); died 1993: Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (born 1929). In 2026 it is a Tuesday, in 2027 a Wednesday.

## Events on January 20

- 1156 According to legend, Lalli slew Bishop Henry of Finland with an axe on the ice of Lake Köyliönjärvi in Köyliö. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_(bishop_of_Finland))
- 1265 Simon de Montfort summoned local representatives to the Palace of Westminster to attend a parliament, now considered to be the forerunner of the House of Commons of England. [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, whose father John was briefly King of Scotland, gave up his claim to the throne in exchange for an English pension. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Balliol)
- 1523 Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_II_of_Denmark)
- 1726 J. S. Bach led the first performance of his cantata Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen on the second Sunday after the Epiphany. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday))
- 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/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783))
- 1841 Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Island)
- 1843 Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná, became the de facto first prime minister of the Empire of Brazil. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hon%C3%B3rio_Hermeto_Carneiro_Le%C3%A3o%2C_Marquis_of_Paran%C3%A1)
- 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)
- 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/Legionnaires'_rebellion_and_Bucharest_pogrom)
- 1942 The Holocaust: Reinhard Heydrich and other senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Conference near Berlin to discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_Conference)
- 1945 World War II: In an operation that took nearly two months to complete, Germany began the evacuation of at least 1.8 million people from East Prussia in anticipation of the advancing Soviet Red Army. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation_of_East_Prussia)
- 1968 The Houston Cougars upset the UCLA Bruins in what became known as the "Game of the Century", ending the Bruins' 47-game winning streak and establishing college basketball as a sports commodity on American television. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_the_Century_(college_basketball))
- 1969 Bengali student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman was shot and killed by East Pakistani police, an event that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanullah_Asaduzzaman)
- 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/Battle_of_the_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/Iran_hostage_crisis)
- 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)
- 1990 The Soviet Red Army violently cracked down on Azeri pro-independence demonstrations in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR. [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)
- 2009 During a national financial crisis, thousands of people protested at the Icelandic parliament in Reykjavík. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Icelandic_financial_crisis_protests)
- 2009 In Washington, D.C., Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first African-American president of the United States. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama)
- 2018 A group of Taliban gunmen attacked and took hostages at the Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle that left at least 21 people dead. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Inter-Continental_Hotel_Kabul_attack)

## Born on January 20

- 225 Gordian III, Roman emperor (died 244) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_III)
- 1029 Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; (died 1072) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_Arslan)
- 1554 Sebastian, King of Portugal (died 1578) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian%2C_King_of_Portugal)
- 1716 Charles III of Spain (died 1788) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_of_Spain)
- 1775 André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (died 1836) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9-Marie_Amp%C3%A8re)
- 1873 Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1950) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_V._Jensen)
- 1896 George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (died 1996) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Burns)
- 1906 Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (died 1975) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle_Onassis)
- 1920 Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1993) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Fellini)
- 1926 Patricia Neal, American actress (died 2010) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Neal)
- 1930 Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin)
- 1931 David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lee_(physicist))
- 1946 David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2025) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch)
- 1949 Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6ran_Persson)
- 1953 Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender (died 2019) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Epstein)
- 1956 Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Maher)
- 1964 Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fareed_Zakaria)
- 1972 Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Haley)
- 1973 Queen Mathilde of Belgium [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Mathilde_of_Belgium)
- 1981 Owen Hargreaves, English footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Hargreaves)
- 1987 Evan Peters, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Peters)
- 1995 José María Giménez, Uruguayan footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Gim%C3%A9nez)

## Died on January 20

- 820 Al-Shafi'i, Arab scholar and jurist (born 767) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shafi'i)
- 1612 Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1552) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
- 1819 Charles IV, Spanish king (born 1748) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_of_Spain)
- 1859 Bettina von Arnim, German author, illustrator, and composer (born 1785) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettina_von_Arnim)
- 1875 Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (born 1814) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Millet)
- 1900 John Ruskin, English painter and critic (born 1819) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruskin)
- 1936 George V of the United Kingdom (born 1865) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_V)
- 1983 Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (born 1933) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrincha)
- 1984 Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (born 1904) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Weissmuller)
- 1990 Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (born 1907) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Stanwyck)
- 1993 Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (born 1929) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Hepburn)
- 2012 Etta James, American singer-songwriter (born 1938) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etta_James)
- 2014 Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (born 1933) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Abbado)
- 2022 Meat Loaf, American singer and actor (born 1947) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_Loaf)

## Holidays and observances

- Armed Forces Day (Mali) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Mali)
- Army Day (Laos) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_Day)
- Christian feast day: Abadios [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaxaire_Arabe-Jacobite)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Basil Moreau [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Moreau)
- Christian feast day: Eustochia Smeralda Calafato [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustochia_Smeralda_Calafato)
- Christian feast day: Euthymius the Great [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthymius_the_Great)
- Christian feast day: Fabian [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Fabian)
- Christian feast day: Manchán of Lemanaghan [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manch%C3%A1n_of_Lemanaghan)
- Christian feast day: Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_of_the_Immaculate_Conception_Brando)
- Christian feast day: Richard Rolle (Church of England) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rolle)
- Christian feast day: Sebastian [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sebastian)
- Christian feast day: Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Min_Kuk-ka)
- Christian feast day: January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_20_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Heroes' Day (Cape Verde) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Cape_Verde)
- Martyrs' Day (Azerbaijan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Azerbaijan)
- Presidential inaugurations (United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_inauguration)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “January 20”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_20) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/January 20”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/January_20) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“January 20”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_20) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_20?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for January 20 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## January 20 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Tuesday | 2026-W04 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2027 | Wednesday | 2027-W03 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2028 | Thursday | 2028-W03 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2029 | Saturday | 2029-W03 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2030 | Sunday | 2030-W03 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on January 20

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on January 20 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← January 19](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-19/) · [January 21 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-21/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-20/