Updated January 19, 2012, 1:28 pm
On Jan. 20, 1981, Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.
On Jan. 20 , 1920, Federico Fellini, the Italian film director, was born. Following his death on Oct. 31, 1993, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1801 John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the United States. 1841 Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain. 1896 Comedian George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City. 1936 Britain’s King George V died. 1961 John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. 1981 Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. 1981 Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days. 1986 The United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 1987 Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite disappeared in Beirut, Lebanon, while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages. 2001 Bill Clinton pardoned 140 people in one of his final acts as president. The list included fugitive financier Marc Rich, whose wife was a major Democratic donor. 2001 George W. Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States. 2001 Hundreds of thousands of protesting Filipinos forced President Joseph Estrada to step down; Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as the new president. 2009 Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African-American president of the United States. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley turns 40 years old today.
AP Photo/Alice Keeney
Comedian-talk show host Bill Maher turns 56 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
1924 Slim Whitman, Country singer, turns 88 1929 Arte Johnson, Comedian (“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”), turns 83 1930 Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Astronaut, turns 82 1946 David Lynch, Director, turns 66 1952 Paul Stanley, Rock musician (Kiss), turns 60 1958 Lorenzo Lamas, Actor, turns 54 1963 James Denton, Actor (“Desperate Housewives”), turns 49 1965 John Michael Montgomery, Country singer, turns 47 1966 Rainn Wilson, Actor (“The Office”), turns 46 1967 Stacey Dash, Actress, turns 45 1968 Melissa Rivers, TV personality, turns 44
Historic Birthdays
Federico Fellini 1/20/1920 – 10/31/1993 Italian film director.Go to obituary »
44 Johannes Schein 1/20/1586 – 11/19/1630
German composer46 Henry Cromwell 1/20/1628 – 3/23/1674
English, brief ruler of Ireland62 Richard Henry Lee 1/20/1732 – 6/19/1794
American statesman/orator72 Anne J. Clough 1/20/1820 – 2/27/1892
English educator/feminist77 Johannes Jenson 1/20/1873 – 11/25/1950
Danish novelist/essayist91 Ruth St. Denis 1/20/1877 – 7/21/1968
American dancer & choreographer82 Walter Piston 1/20/1894 – 11/12/1976
American composer/teacher74 Harold Gray 1/20/1894 – 5/9/1968
American “Orphan Annie” cartoonist69 Joy Adamson 1/20/1910 – 1/3/1980
Australian conservationist/writer
