January 20: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1885 - L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
2. 1887 - The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
3. 1949 - Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
4. 1986 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
5. 2009 - Barack Obama is inaugurated as the first black President of the United States.
6. Famous Birthdays: André-Marie Ampère (French physicist), Thomas Meik (Scottish engineer), Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (Danish author, Nobel Prize laureate), Gábor Szegő (Hungarian mathematician), David Lee (American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: January 19

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: January 21

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.