January 20 is:
National Buttercrunch Day
Penguin Awareness Day
1265 – In Westminster, the first English parliament conducted its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the “Houses of Parliament“.
1503 – Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) founded in Spain to deal with American affairs. It was founded by Queen Isabella I of Castile.
First American military court martial trial began in Cambridge, Mass in 1778. Ordered by George Washington against William Seeds and Samuel Carter for desertion from the Continental Army.
The Kingdom of Great Britain signed a peace treaty with France and Spain in 1783, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence).
John Marshall was appointed Chief Justice of the United States in 1801.
LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the roller coaster in 1885 for the Switchback Railway that opened a year earlier at Coney Island. There are now over 6500 roller coasters all over the world.
1887 – The United States Senate allowed the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor, in Honolulu,Hawaii as a naval base.
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded by Roger Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Helen Keller, and Walter Nelles on January 20, 1920. Its stated mission was “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.”
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David) became King of the United Kingdom in 1936. He was the eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary. He abdicated in December the same year. He was succeeded by his younger brother Albert, (Albert Frederick Arthur George) who chose the regnal name of George VI.
Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated on January 20, 1981. Iran released 52 American hostages after holding them hostage for 444 days. The hostages were placed on a plane in Tehran as Reagan delivered his inaugural address.