TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.
Today’s highlight in history
On Jan. 20, 1942, Nazi officials held the notorious Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their “final solution” that called for exterminating Europe’s Jews.
On this date
In 1265, England’s first representative Parliament met for the first time.
In 1841, the island of Hong Kong was ceded by China to Great Britain. (It returned to Chinese control in 1997.)
In 1936, Britain’s King George V died after his physician injected the mortally ill monarch with morphine and cocaine to hasten his death; the king was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne 11 months later to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first chief executive to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 instead of March 4.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States.
In 1964, Capitol Records released the album “Meet the Beatles!”
In 1981, Iran released 52 Americans it had held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.
In 1986, the U.S. observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation’s 44th, as well as first African American, president.
In 2011, federal authorities orchestrated one of the biggest Mafia takedowns in FBI history, charging 127 suspected mobsters and associates in the Northeast with murders, extortion and other crimes spanning decades.
In 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.
Ten years ago: Singer Etta James, 73, died in Riverside.
Five years ago: Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.
One year ago: Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Kamala Harris — the first female vice president, and the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the position — was sworn in.
Today’s birthdays
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin is 92. Figure skater Carol Heiss is 82. Singer Eric Stewart is 77. Director David Lynch is 76. Musician George Grantham (Poco) is 75. Actor Daniel Benzali is 72. Musician Paul Stanley is 70. Musician Ian Hill (Judas Priest) is 70. Comedian Bill Maher is 66. Actor Lorenzo Lamas is 64. Actor James Denton is 59. Singer John Michael Montgomery is 57. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, is 57. Actor Rainn Wilson is 56. Actor Stacey Dash is 55. TV personality Melissa Rivers is 54. Actor Reno Wilson is 53. Singer Edwin McCain is 52. Actor Skeet Ulrich is 52. Musician ?uestlove (The Roots) is 51. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is 50. Actor Evan Peters is 35.