January 20
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- Presidential inauguration day in the U.S.
- Feast of St Sebastian, patron saint of athletes
- St. Agnes Eve, when young women dream of their future husband
On this day . . .
- The first English parliament meets in Westminster Hall (1265)
- Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British. (1841)
- The roller coaster is patented by L.A. Thompson (1885)
- Basketball is first played in Massachusetts (1892)
- In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released (1929)
- John F Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th US president (1961)
- Richard Nixon takes the oath as 37th US president (1969)
- France and Britain agree to start work on the Channel Tunnel (1986)
- Bill Clinton is sworn in as America's 42nd president (1993)
- Ronaldo is voted best footballer in the world (1997)
- Barack Obama becomes the United States' first African-American
president (2009)
Births
- George Burns, American comedian (1896)
- Joy Adamson, German-born author and conservationist (1910)
- Roy Plomley, creator of Desert Island Discs (1914)
- Frederico Fellini, Italian film director (1920)
- Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, American astronaut (1930)
- David Lynch, film director (1946)
- Malcolm McLaren, American -born pop manager (1947)
- Lorenzo Lamas, American actor (1958)
- Skeet Ulrich, American actor (1970)
- Gary Barlow, British singer (1971)
- Will Young, British singer (1979)
Deaths
- Mahatma Gandhi, Indian nationalist leader and pacifist (1948)
- Alan Freed, American DJ who created the term rock 'n roll (1965)
- Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (1984)
- Barbara Stanwyck, American film actress (1990)
- Audrey Hepburn, actress (1993