Calendar date · January

What happened on January 20

On January 20, 250: Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.

Events

40

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Aquarius

Featured moment · 250

Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.

Pope Fabian was the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Anterus. A dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope. He was succeeded by Cornelius.

People

Born on January 20

J. J. McCarthy 2003– American football player (born 2003)
Antonia Ružić 2003– Croatian tennis player (born 2003)
Arnaud Kalimuendo 2002– French footballer (born 2002)
Tyler Herro 2000– American basketball player (born 2000)
Joey Badass 1995– American rapper and actor (born 1995)
Calum Chambers 1995– English association football player
José María Giménez 1995– Uruguayan footballer (born 1995)
Sergi Samper 1995– Spanish footballer (born 1995)
Kim So-hee 1995– South Korean singer (born 1995)
Show 9 more — notable births on January 20
Seán Kavanagh 1994– Irish footballer
Hampus Lindholm 1994– Swedish ice hockey player (born 1994)
Lucas Piazon 1994– Brazilian footballer (born 1994)
Lorenzo Crisetig 1993– Italian footballer (born 1993)
Cat Janice 1993– American musician (1993–2024)
DeVante Parker 1993– American football player (born 1993)
Tom Cairney 1991– Scottish footballer (born 1991)
Ciara Hanna 1991– American actress and model
Polona Hercog 1991– Slovenian tennis player (born 1991)

People

Died on January 20

Lynn Ban Singaporean jewelry designer (1972–2025)
Cecile Richards American activist (1957–2025)
Norman Jewison Canadian filmmaker (1926–2024) Meat Loaf American singer and actor (1947–2022)
Sibusiso Moyo Zimbabwean politician (1960–2021)
Mira Furlan Croatian-American actress and singer (1955–2021)
Jaroslav Kubera Czech politician (1947–2020)
Tom Fisher Railsback American politician and lawyer (1932–2020)
Paul Bocuse French chef (1926–2018)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on January 20
Naomi Parker Fraley American war worker (1921–2018)
Mykolas Burokevičius Lithuanian communist politician (1927–2016)
Edmonde Charles-Roux French writer (1920–2016)
Claudio Abbado Italian conductor (1933–2014)
Otis G. Pike Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives (1921–2014)
Jonas Trinkūnas Lithuanian ethnologist (1939–2014)
Pavlos Matesis Greek author and playwright (born 1933)
Toyo Shibata Japanese poet (1911–2013)
Etta James American blues singer (1938–2012)

Timeline

Every January 20 on record

  1. 250 Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.

    Head of the Catholic Church from 236 to 250

    Pope Fabian was the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Anterus. A dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope. He was succeeded by Cornelius.

  2. 1156 Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö.

    12th-century apocryphal Finnish person

    Lalli is an apocryphal character from Finnish history and one of the most well-known figures in Finnish medieval legend. According to tradition, he was a prosperous yeoman farmer who killed Bishop Henry, who was spreading Christianity to then pagan Finland, on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi on 20 January in the late 1150s.

  3. 1265 The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament".

    English parliament of 1265

    Simon de Montfort's Parliament was an English parliament held from 20 January 1265 until mid-March of the same year, called by Simon de Montfort, a baronial rebel leader.

  4. 1320 Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.

    King of Poland from 1320 to 1333

    Władysław I Łokietek, in English known as the "Elbow-high" or Ladislaus the Short, was King of Poland from 1320 to 1333, and duke of several of the provinces and principalities in the preceding years. He was a member of the royal Piast dynasty, the son of Duke Casimir I of Kuyavia, and great-grandson of High-Duke Casimir II the Just.

  5. 1356 Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.

    Claimant to the Scottish throne (c. 1283–1364)

    Edward Balliol or Edward de Balliol was a claimant to the Scottish throne during the Second War of Scottish Independence. With English help, he ruled parts of the kingdom from 1332 to 1356.

  6. 1401 The Taula de canvi (Catalan: "Table of change"), described as Europe's first-ever public bank, began operations inside Barcelona's Llotja de Mar.
  7. 1523 Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
  8. 1567 Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
  9. 1576 The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
  10. 1649 The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
  11. 1726 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen (My sighs, my tears), BWV 13, for the second Sunday after Epiphany.
  12. 1783 The Kingdom of Great Britain signs preliminary articles of peace with the Kingdom of France, setting the stage for the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
  13. 1785 Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
  14. 1788 The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, beginning the British colonization of Australia. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
  15. 1839 In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
Show 15 earlier entries from January 20
  1. 1841 Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War.
  2. 1874 The Treaty of Pangkor is signed between the British and Sultan Abdullah of Perak, paving the way for further British colonization of Malaya.
  3. 1877 The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
  4. 1887 The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
  5. 1909 Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division.
  6. 1921 The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
  7. 1921 The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
  8. 1941 A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
  9. 1942 World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish question".
  10. 1945 World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
  11. 1945 World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
  12. 1954 In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
  13. 1972 Pakistan launches its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
  14. 1973 Amílcar Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is assassinated in Conakry, Guinea.
  15. 1974 China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam.

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