January 20
1801 - John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1841 - As a result of the First Opium War, Hong Kong was ceded to the British. (It was returned to Chinese control in July 1997.)
1885 - LaMarcus A. Thompson of Coney Island patented the roller coaster.
1936 - Britain's King George V died after his physician injected the mortally ill monarch with morphine and cocaine to hasten his death; the king was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII, who would abdicate the throne 11 months later to marry America divorcee Wallis Simpson.
1937 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for a second term and became the first president to be inaugurated on January 20 instead of March 4.
1942 - The Nazis formulated their "Final Solution" regarding the Jews at the Wannsee Conference.
1961 - John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States.
1964 - The Beatles released their first album in the United States, "Meet the Beatles."
1981 - Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States.
1981 - Minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president of the United States, Iran released 52 Americans it had held hostage for 444 days.
1986 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
2009 - Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, and the nation's first Black president.
2011 - Federal authorities orchestrated one of the biggest Mafia takedowns in FBI history, charging 127 suspected mobsters and associates in the Northeast with murders, extortion and other crimes spanning decades.
2017 - Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.
2020 - Chinese government experts confirmed human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, saying two people caught the virus from family members and that some health workers had tested positive.
Birthdays
21 - J.J. McCarthy (football player)
32 - Cindy Prado (model)
35 - Dena Kaplan (actress)
37 - Evan Peters (actor)
40 - Bonnie McKee (singer)
52 - Nikki Haley (politician)
54 - Edwin McCain (actor)
56 - Melissa Rivers (TV personality)
57 - Stacey Dash (actress)
58 - Rainn Wilson (Actor)
59 - John Michael Montgomery (singer)
61 - James Denton (actor)
66 - Lorenzo Lamas (actor)
68 - Bill Maher (comedian/TV host)
72 - Ian Hill (musician)
78 - David Lynch (director)
79 - Eric Stewart (singer)
94 - Buzz Aldrin (astronaut)
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Today in Sports History - January 20
1952 - George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers scores 61 points in a win over the Rochester Royals.
1968 - Houston defeats UCLA 71-69 to snap UCLA's 47-game men's basketball winning streak.
1980 - President Jimmy Carter announces the United States will boycott the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.
1980 - The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 to win Super Bowl XIV.
1985 - The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Miami Dolphins 38-16 to win Super Bowl XIX.
1989 - Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins becomes just the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in less than 50 games, doing so in just 44.
2007 - Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan passes Larry Brown into fourth place on the NBA's all-time coaching wins list with 1,010.
1801 - John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1841 - As a result of the First Opium War, Hong Kong was ceded to the British. (It was returned to Chinese control in July 1997.)
1885 - LaMarcus A. Thompson of Coney Island patented the roller coaster.
1936 - Britain's King George V died after his physician injected the mortally ill monarch with morphine and cocaine to hasten his death; the king was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII, who would abdicate the throne 11 months later to marry America divorcee Wallis Simpson.
1937 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for a second term and became the first president to be inaugurated on January 20 instead of March 4.
1942 - The Nazis formulated their "Final Solution" regarding the Jews at the Wannsee Conference.
1961 - John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States.
1964 - The Beatles released their first album in the United States, "Meet the Beatles."
1981 - Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States.
1981 - Minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president of the United States, Iran released 52 Americans it had held hostage for 444 days.
1986 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
2009 - Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, and the nation's first Black president.
2011 - Federal authorities orchestrated one of the biggest Mafia takedowns in FBI history, charging 127 suspected mobsters and associates in the Northeast with murders, extortion and other crimes spanning decades.
2017 - Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.
2020 - Chinese government experts confirmed human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, saying two people caught the virus from family members and that some health workers had tested positive.
Birthdays
21 - J.J. McCarthy (football player)
32 - Cindy Prado (model)
35 - Dena Kaplan (actress)
37 - Evan Peters (actor)
40 - Bonnie McKee (singer)
52 - Nikki Haley (politician)
54 - Edwin McCain (actor)
56 - Melissa Rivers (TV personality)
57 - Stacey Dash (actress)
58 - Rainn Wilson (Actor)
59 - John Michael Montgomery (singer)
61 - James Denton (actor)
66 - Lorenzo Lamas (actor)
68 - Bill Maher (comedian/TV host)
72 - Ian Hill (musician)
78 - David Lynch (director)
79 - Eric Stewart (singer)
94 - Buzz Aldrin (astronaut)
===========================================
Today in Sports History - January 20
1952 - George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers scores 61 points in a win over the Rochester Royals.
1968 - Houston defeats UCLA 71-69 to snap UCLA's 47-game men's basketball winning streak.
1980 - President Jimmy Carter announces the United States will boycott the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.
1980 - The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 to win Super Bowl XIV.
1985 - The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Miami Dolphins 38-16 to win Super Bowl XIX.
1989 - Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins becomes just the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in less than 50 games, doing so in just 44.
2007 - Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan passes Larry Brown into fourth place on the NBA's all-time coaching wins list with 1,010.