What Happened Today in History on January 20

The first English Parliament to include members outside the nobility, is summoned by Simon de Montfort after his forces defeated and captured King Henry III and his heir, Prince Edward, at the Battle of Lewes in May 1264. His victory made de Montfort the de facto ruler of England. Expand +

Emperor Henry VII is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement V in Rome.

King Władysław I of Poland was crowned on January 20, 1320 at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, a significant event that officially reestablished the Kingdom ending the period of feudal fragmentation.

King Richard II of England marries Anne of Bohemia at Westminster Abbey. Anne was the daughter of the Emperor Charles IV of Bohemia; the marriage helped  form an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire against France. Anne was crowned Queen on January 22. 

The Battle of Rio de Janeiro takes place. It was a small but significant skirmish in which a Portuguese force under Governor-General Mem de Sá attacked and destroyed the French settlement of Henriville.  Expand +

Charles II of England is crowned king of Scotland at Scone.

England, the Dutch Republic, and Sweden sign the Triple Alliance against France.

The Siege of Gibraltar ends with the lifting of the Spanish and French blockade.

The first public radio broadcast takes place in the United States, a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

The first transatlantic telephone service is established between New York and London.

Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States.

Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States.

The Iran Hostage Crisis finally came to an end within hours from President Ronald Reagan inauguration and the hostages were brought to Germany for family reunions. More

Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States.

George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States.

Yasser Arafat is elected President of the newly created Palestinian National Authority (PNA) with 88.1 percent of the popular vote and a high voter turnout, despite the campaign by his rivals to abstain.

Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.

Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.

The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was diagnosed in Snohomish County, WA. The patient from had returned to the United States from Wuhan on January 15, 2020. The Seattle area became an early epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. Notably, 39 residents of a nursing home in Kirkland, WA, died from complications from the virus during a span of one month. The CDC reported that 14 U.S. coronavirus cases were reported by public health agencies between January 21 and February 23, 2020; all patients had traveled to China. On February 26, the first non-travel case was confirmed in California, and the first U.S. death was reported on February 29. More than 110 Million cases were diagnosed in the U.S. alone.

Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, and Kamala Harris becomes the first female Vice President.