January 20 holidays in 2026

Historical Events on January 20

• 1783: General hostilities in the American Revolutionary War come to an end between Great Britain and Spain and France when a peace treaty is officially signed.
• 1788: The third part of the First Fleet finally makes it to Botany Bay on this day. It is decided by Arthur Philip that the area isn’t suitable for a penal colony, so it’s moved to Port Jackson.
• 1841: The British begin occupation of Hong Kong Island.
• 1887: The United States Navy is given permission to lease Pearl Harbor, Hawaii as a naval base by the U.S Senate.
• 1920: The ACLU – the American Civil Liberties Union – is established on this day.
• 1929: The 1^st full-length motion picture that was filmed outdoors and with sound, “In Old Arizona”, is released on this day.
• 1936: Edward VIII ascends the throne of the United Kingdom.
• 1941: In Bucharest, Romania, a German officer is killed. This sparks a rebellion and retaliation by the Nazis. Over a hundred and twenty-five Jews are killed and thirty soldiers.
• 1945: The two month process of evacuating over 1.8 million people from East Prussia begins on this day during World War II.
• 1953: Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34^th President of the U.S.
• 1954: Forty charter member radio stations begin the National Negro Network in the U.S.
• 1981: Iran releases over 50 American hostages just 20 minutes after the inauguration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
• 2009: Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44^th President of the U.S. He’s the first African-American President of the U.S.
• 2017: Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45^th President of the U.S.

Famous Birthdays

• American mob boss Enoch L. Johnson is born in 1883.
• American journalist and author, Forrest Wilson is born in 1883.
• American actor Leon Ames is born in 1902.
• American comedian, TV host and political commentator, Bill Maher is born in 1956.
• American actor Lorenzo Lamas is born in 1958.
• American author Tami Hoag is born in 1959.
• American author R.A. Salvatore is born in 1959.
• American video game designer and co-founder of Maxis, Will Wright is born in 1960.
• American actor James Denton is born in 1963.