Date·Lore

On This Day · The 20th day of the year

January 20

This year marks the 300th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach — January 20 carries the weight of round numbers. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

♒ZodiacAquarius ◈BirthstoneGarnet ❀Birth flowerCarnation

Aquarius is the sign for January 20 — read more on the Aquarius page, or see January's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on January 20?

January 20 is the 20th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1156 and 2009. Famous people born on January 20 include Bill Maher, André-Marie Ampère and Jason Richardson.

Released on January 20

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game Mio: Memories in Orbit
  • Game 2XKO
  • Game Blightstone

2023

  • Game Fire Emblem Engage

2022

  • Game Expeditions: Rome
  • Game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction
  • Game Windjammers 2
  • Game Pupperazzi

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1156

    Lalli

  2. 1356

    Edward Balliol

  3. 1726

    Johann Sebastian Bach

  4. 1841

    Hong Kong Island

  5. 1941

    Bucharest

  6. 1942

    World War II

  7. 1945

    Nazi Germany

  8. 1981

    Ronald Reagan

  9. 1991

    Sudan

  10. 2009

    Iceland

Famous birthday twins

Born on January 20

Bill Maher

b. 1956

André-Marie Ampère

b. 1775

Jason Richardson

b. 1981

Gordian III

b. 225

David Lynch

b. 1946

Buzz Aldrin

b. 1930

Federico Fellini

b. 1920

Nikki Haley

b. 1972

Deaths

  • 2018Paul Bocuse
  • 1993Audrey Hepburn
  • 1973Lorenz Böhler
  • 1859Bettina von Arnim
  • 1189Emperor Shizong of Jin
  • 842Theophilos (emperor)

Holidays & observances

  • —Armed Forces Day (Mali)
  • —Army Day (Laos)
  • —Christian feast day: Abadios
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Basil Moreau
  • —Christian feast day: Eustochia Smeralda Calafato
  • —Christian feast day: Euthymius the Great
  • —Christian feast day: Fabian
  • —Christian feast day: Manchán of Lemanaghan

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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