January 20

From Metapedia

[edit] Historical Events

1. 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred. Afterwards the Donatist controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffects many in North Africa.
2. 1156 - According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of the lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland.
3. 1265 - In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now also known as the "Houses of Parliament".
4. 1320 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
5. 1356 - Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scotland.
6. 1649 - Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes".
7. 1942 - World War II: The Wannsee Conference in Berlin.
8. 1954 - The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
9. 1960 - Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
10. 1986 - Martin Luther King, Jr., day is celebrated as a United States federal holiday for the first time.

[edit] Births

1. 225 - Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
2. 1292 - Elisabeth I of Bohemia (d. 1330)
3. 1358 - Eleanor of Aragon, wife of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
4. 1554 - King Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
5. 1586 - Johann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
6. 1664 - Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (d. 1718)
7. 1798 - Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (d. 1858)

[edit] Deaths

1. 1479 - King John II of Aragon (b. 1397)
2. 1568 - Myles Coverdale, English Bible translator
3. 1612 - Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
4. 1666 - Anna of Austria, wife of Louis XIII of France and regent (b. 1601)
5. 1707 - Humphrey Hody, English theologian (b. 1659)
6. 1709 - François de la Chaise, French confessor of Louis XIV of France (b. 1624)
7. 1936 - King George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)