20 January History
- 1327 - Edward II of England is deposed by his eldest son, Edward III.
- 1616 - The French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrives to winter in a Huron Indian village after being wounded in a battle with Iroquois in New France.
- 1783 - Britain signs a peace agreement with France and Spain, who allied against it in the American War of Independence.
- 1908 - The Sullivan Ordinance bars women from smoking in public facilities in the United States.
- 1930 - Charles Lindbergh arrives in New York, setting a cross country flying record of 14.75 hours.
- 1935 - Belgium arrests some Nazi agitators who urge for a return to the Reich.
- 1941 - Hitler meets with Mussolini and offers aid in Albania and Greece.
- 1942 - Nazi officials meet in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to decide the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question."
- 1944 - Allied forces in Italy begin unsuccessful operations to cross the Rapido River and seize Cassino.
- 1945 - Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for his fourth term.
- 1945 - The Allies sign a truce with the Hungarians.
- 1946 - France's Charles DeGaulle hands in his resignation.
- 1952 - British troops occupy Ismalia, Egypt.
- 1954 - Over 22,000 anti-Communist prisoners are turned over to UN forces in Korea.
- 1977 - President Jimmy Carter is sworn in and then surprises the nation as he walks from the U.S. Capitol to the White House.
- 1981 - Ronald Reagan is sworn in as president at the same time 52 American hostages are released from their captors in Tehran, Iran.
20 January Birthdays
- 1760 - Charles III, King of Spain.
- 1732 - Richard Henry Lee, American Revolutionary patriot and signatory of the Declaration of Independence.
- 1820 - Anne Clough, promoter of higher education.
- 1893 - Bessy Colman, first African American aviator.
- 1896 - George Burns, comedian and actor in vaudeville, radio, television and film.
- 1910 - Joy Adamson, British author and naturalist (Born Free).
- 1930 - Dr. Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, second man to walk on the moon.