What are the important events that happened on January 20? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
January 20: Facts & Myths About This Day
January 20 is the 20th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 346 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is January 7, 2024 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 473,808 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘icosagon’ day.
Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 21 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,047 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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January 20: This Day In History
In the ancient astronomy, it was the cusp day between Capricorn and Aquarius. In some years it is Aquarius, but others Capricorn. It depends on the year.
January 20 Historical Events
- 1320 –Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
- 1801 –John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1885 –L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
- 1887 –The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
- 1920 –The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
- 1936 –Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
- 1969 –East Pakistani police kill student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman. The resulting outrage is in part responsible for the Bangladesh Liberation War.
- 1987 –Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
- 1992 –Air Inter Flight 148 crashes near Strasbourg, France, killing 82 passengers and five crew members.
- 1999 –The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use, aimed especially at Internet cafés.
Who were born on January 20?
- 1873 –Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish Nobel laureate (d. 1950)
- 1920 –Frank Kush, American football player and coach
- 1925 –Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan theologian and politician
- 1950 –Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
- 1956 –Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
- 1965 –Warren Joyce, English footballer
- 1970 –Kerri Kenney-Silver, American actress
- 1971 –Gary Barlow, English singer (Take That)
- 1979 –Will Young, British singer
- 1984 –Olivia Hallinan, English actress
Who died on January 20?
- 1191 –Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
- 1739 –Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (b. 1659)
- 1770 –Charles Yorke, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
- 1841 –Minh Mang, the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam (b. 1791)
- 1900 –John Ruskin, English art critic (b. 1819)
- 1940 –Omar Bundy, American army general (b. 1861)
- 1965 –Alan Freed, American disk jockey (b. 1922)
- 1988 –Dora Stratou, Greek choreographer and folklorist (b. 1903)
- 1989 –Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (b. 1938)
- 2005 –Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist, writer, and politician (b. 1913)
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