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

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1783 - The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence).
2. 1788 - The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
3. 1885 - L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
4. 1887 - The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
5. 1929 - In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
6. 1934 - Fujifilm, the photographic and electronics company, is founded in Tokyo, Japan.
7. 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.
8. 1981 - Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
9. 1986 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
10. 2009 - Barack Obama is inaugurated as the first black President of the United States.
11. 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.