January 20 ...

In 1265 the first English parliament met in Westminster Hall. In 1649 King Charles I of England went on trial for treason and other "high crimes." He was later executed. In 1801 John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the US. In 1841 the island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain; the island returned to Chinese control in July 1997. In 1896 comedian George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City. In 1887 the US Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base. In 1891 James Hogg took office as the first native-born governor of Texas. In 1924 country singer Slim Whitman was born in Tampa, FL. In 1930 the second man to walk on the moon, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, NJ. In 1936 Britain's King George V died; he was succeeded by Edward VIII. In 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated for his second term in office, becoming the first president to be sworn in on January 20 in accordance with the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. In 1941 President Roosevelt was sworn in for an unprecedented 3rd term. In 1942 Nazi officials held the Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their "final solution" that called for exterminating Europe's Jews. In 1945 President Roosevelt was inaugurated for an unprecedented fourth term. In 1949 President Harry S. Truman was inaugurated as the 33rd president of the US, the first inauguration to be televised. In 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated as the 34th president of the US. In 1957 President Eisenhower was sworn in for his second term in office. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the US. In 1964 the Beatles released Meet the Beatles, their debut album in the US. In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th president of the US. As a result of President Kennedy's assassination, a bullet-proofed, closed limousine was used for the first time. In 1969 President Richard M. Nixon was inaugurated as the 37th president of the US. In 1973 President Nixon was sworn in for a second term. In 1977 Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th president of the US. In 1980 President Carter announced the US's boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. In 1981 President Ronald Wilson Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the US; it was the first inaugural held on the West Terrace of the Capitol. Also on this day, Iran released 52 Americans that had been held hostage for 444 days. In 1985 President Reagan was sworn in for his second term; it was held indoors due to the extremely cold weather. In 1986 Britain and France announced plans to build the Channel Tunnel. In 1987 while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages, Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. He was not freed until November 1991. In 1989 President George H. W. Bush was inaugurated as the 41st President of the US. In 1993 President William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd President of the US. In 1997 President Clinton was sworn in for his second term; also on this day, the oldest survivor of the Titanic, Edith Haisman, died at age 100. In 2001 President George W. Bush was inaugurated as the nation's 43rd president. In 2005 President George W. Bush was inaugurated for a second term; Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, ill with thyroid cancer, delivered the oath of office.