123 things happened on 20 January, from AD 225 to 2022. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1265 · 761 years ago
Simon de Montfort, a powerful nobleman who had taken control of England after rebelling against King Henry III, called a parliament at Westminster. As well as nobles, it included ordinary citizens from the towns. This parliament is seen as the forerunner of t…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Simon de Montfort, a powerful nobleman who had taken control of England after rebelling against King Henry III, called a parliament at Westminster. As well as nobles, it included ordinary citizens from the towns. This parliament is seen as the forerunner of the House of Commons. Montfort's rule lasted only just over a year.
UK story
Edward Balliol gave up his claim to be King of Scots in return for a pension from England. Balliol's father, John Balliol, had been King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. During the Second War of Scottish Independence, Edward Balliol was crowned at Scone in 1332. With English help, he ruled parts of Scotland until 1356.
UK story
After years of civil war between the king's supporters and Parliament, a special court began the trial of King Charles I in London. He was accused of treason for waging war against Parliament and the people, but he refused to accept the court's authority. He was found guilty and executed on 30 January 1649. He was the first reigning monarch to be tried and put to death by his own subjects.
UK story
The main group of ships of the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay, in Australia, marking the start of British settlement there. The eleven ships had left Portsmouth in May 1787, carrying more than 1,400 people, including convicts, marines, sailors, officials and free settlers. The voyage took over 250 days. Captain Arthur Phillip soon decided that Port Jackson, to the north, was a better place for the new colony.
UK story
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.
UK story
The Treaty of Pangkor is signed between the British and Sultan Abdullah of Perak, paving the way for further British colonization of Malaya.
The Taula de canvi, meaning 'table of change', opened for business inside a building called the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, Spain. It was a bank run by the city, and it has been described as Europe's first ever public bank. The Llotja was a meeting place where merchants came to trade. Its medieval hall still survives inside a later building.
German composer Johann Sebastian Bach led the first performance of his church cantata Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen, which means 'My sighs, my tears'. A cantata is a piece of music for singers and instruments. Bach wrote it in Leipzig for a Sunday service. He is one of the most famous composers of all time, known for works such as the Brandenburg Concertos.
Martin Luther King Jr Day was celebrated as a national holiday across the United States for the first time. It honours the civil rights leader, who led peaceful protests against unfair laws that treated Black Americans differently. The holiday is held on the third Monday of January each year, close to King's birthday on 15 January.
Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, outside the Capitol building in Washington, DC. He was the first African American to become president. The ceremony drew the largest crowd ever recorded for an event in the city. It was also the most watched presidential inauguration for nearly 30 years.
According to legend, Lalli slew Bishop Henry of Finland with an axe on the ice of Lake Köyliönjärvi in Köyliö.
Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná, became the de facto first prime minister of the Empire of Brazil.
The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division.
The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
During the Irish Civil War the Irish Free State Army executes 10 members of the anti-treaty Irish Republican Army
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.
World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
The Houston Cougars upset the UCLA Bruins in what became known as the "Game of the Century" (pictured), ending the Bruins' 47-game winning streak and establishing college basketball as a sports commodity on American television.
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.
China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam.
Leabua Jonathan, Prime Minister of Lesotho, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by General Justin Lekhanya.
The Soviet Red Army violently cracked down on Azeri pro-independence demonstrations in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR.
Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
During a national financial crisis, thousands of people protested (pictured) at the Icelandic parliament in Reykjavík.
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.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Simon de Montfort's parliament meets, with ordinary townspeople”?
A: 1265. 1265 — that’s 761 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Edward Balliol gives up his claim to the Scottish throne”?
A: 1356. 1356 — that’s 670 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: Simon de Montfort's parliament meets, with ordinary townspeople. 1788: The main part of the First Fleet reaches Botany Bay · 1356: Edward Balliol gives up his claim to the Scottish throne · 1265: Simon de Montfort's parliament meets, with ordinary townspeople Find it on the page
“The main part of the First Fleet reaches Botany Bay” happened in 1788. How many years ago was that?
A: 238 years. 2026 − 1788 = 238. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 20 January.
André-Marie Ampère was a French scientist and mathematician who helped to found the science of electromagnetism, which studies how electricity and magnetism are linked. He was largely self-taught. He invented the solenoid, a coil of wire that acts like a magnet when electricity flows through it. The ampere, or amp, the unit used to measure electric current, is named after him.
Buzz Aldrin is an American astronaut who was the second person to walk on the Moon. During the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, he stepped onto the Moon 19 minutes after Neil Armstrong. Earlier, on Gemini 12 in 1966, he had spent more than five hours on spacewalks. He has continued to campaign for space exploration, especially a human mission to Mars.
Well-known people who died on 20 January.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 20 January somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “January 20” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.