On this day, Jan. 20

1801 Secretary of State John Marshall was nominated by President John Adams to be chief justice of the United States. He was sworn in on Feb. 4.

1887 The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.

1937 The three-month strike of 6,000 Pittsburgh Plate Glass workers ended with an agreement for an eight-cent hourly pay raise.

1964 Capitol Records released the album “Meet the Beatles!”

1977 A blast at Langley Hall on the University of Pittsburgh campus caused by a gas leak kills three and injures 22.

1986 The United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

2009 Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation’s 44th — as well as first African-American — president.

2016 President Barack Obama hailed the revival of the nation’s auto industry during a visit to Detroit while acknowledging the water crisis in nearby Flint, Mich.

2017 Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, pledging emphatically to empower America’s “forgotten men and women.” Protesters registered their rage against the new president in a chaotic confrontation with police just blocks from the inaugural parade.

2020 Chinese government experts confirmed human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, saying two people caught the virus from family members and that some health workers had tested positive.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Alyssa Brown Today’s birthdays: Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 91. Olympic gold medal figure skater Carol Heiss, 81. Singer Eric Stewart, 76. Movie director David Lynch, 75. Country-rock musician George Grantham (Poco), 74. Israeli activist Natan Sharansky, 73. Actor Daniel Benzali, 71. Rock musician Paul Stanley (KISS), 69. Rock musician Ian Hill (Judas Priest), 69. Comedian Bill Maher, 65. Actor Lorenzo Lamas, 63. Actor James Denton, 58. Rock musician Greg K. (The Offspring), 56. Country singer John Michael Montgomery, 56. Sophie, Countess of Wessex,, 56. Actor Rainn Wilson, 55. Actor Stacey Dash, 54. TV personality Melissa Rivers, 53. Actor Reno Wilson, 52. Singer Edwin McCain, 51. Actor Skeet Ulrich, 51. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, 49. Rock musician Rob Bourdon (Linkin Park), 42. Singer-songwriter Bonnie McKee, 37. Country singer Brantley Gilbert, 36. Rock singer Kevin Parker (Tame Impala), 35. Actor Evan Peters, 34. Thought for today: “Know yourself, and your neighbor will not mistake you.” — Scottish proverb