January 20

Historic Events

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. ›

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. ›

2009

A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start. ›

2001

President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. ›

1992

Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board. ›

1991

Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south. ›

1990

Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. ›

1986

In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time. ›

1986

Leabua Jonathan, Prime Minister of Lesotho, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by General Justin Lekhanya. ›

1981

Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages. ›

1974

China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam. ›

1973

Amílcar Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is assassinated in Conakry, Guinea. ›

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. ›

1954

In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations. ›

1945

World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies. ›

1945

World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months. ›

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". ›

1941

A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers. ›

1923

During the Irish Civil War the Irish Free State Army executes 11 members of the anti-treaty Irish Republican Army ›

1921

The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die. ›

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. ›

1909

Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division. ›

1887

The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base. ›

1877

The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans. ›

1874

The Treaty of Pangkor is signed between the British and Sultan Abdullah of Perak, paving the way for further British colonization of Malaya. ›

1841

Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War. ›

1839

In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia. ›

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. ›

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. ›

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. ›

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. ›

1649

The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings. ›

1576

The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza. ›

1567

Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro. ›

1523

Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway. ›

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. ›

1356

Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension. ›

1320

Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland. ›

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". ›

1156

Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö. ›

250

Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. ›