On This Day in History, January 20

January 20 is normally the inauguration day every four years after a presidential election. Wouldn’t it be fun to know what major events happened in the past on this day? Here is a summary of significant events you should know about.

  • 1265 -The first English parliament met in Westminster Hall.
  • 1841 -During the First Opium War, China ceded Hong Kong to the British.
  • 1841 -L.A Thompson patented the roller coaster.
  • 1887 -The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.
  • 1892 -The students of Springfield, MA, YMCA Training School, played the first official basketball game.
  • 1934– Fujifilm photography was founded.
  • 1937 -Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to be inaugurated on January 20th.
  • 1942 -Nazi officials held a notorious Wannsee Conference in Berlin to organize the extermination of Europe’s Jews.
  • 1952 -In Mexico, Patricia McCormick debuted as the first professional woman bullfighter from the United States.
  • 1954 -The National Afro-American Network was formed.
  • 1972 -The number of unemployed people in Britain exceeded 1 million.
  • 1981 -Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America.
  • 1981 -The end of Iran hostage crisis.
  • 1985 -The most-watched Super Bowl game in history recorded an estimated 115.9 million viewership.
  • 1986 -The U.S. observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
  • 1987 -Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1997 -Bill Clinton was inaugurated for his second term as president of the United States.
  • 1998 –American researchers announced their work in cloning calves that may produce medicinal milk.
  • 1999 -The China News Service announced the Chinese government’s restrictions on internet use.
  • 2002 -Michael Jordan played his first game in Chicago as a visiting player.

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