Today is Thursday, Jan. 20, the 20th day of 2011. There are 345 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight:
On Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States; in his inaugural address, Kennedy declared, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
On this date:
In 1841, the island of Hong Kong was ceded by China to Great Britain. (It returned to Chinese control in July 1997.)
In 1936, Britain’s King George V died; he was succeeded by Edward VIII.
In 1942, Nazi officials held the notorious Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their “final solution” that called for exterminating Jews.
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 United States 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.
Ten years ago: George Walker Bush became America’s 43rd president after one of the most turbulent elections in U.S. history. Hundreds of thousands of protesting Filipinos forced President Joseph Estrada to step down.
Five years ago: Michael Fortier , the government’s star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing trials, was released from federal prison after serving more than 10 years for failing to warn authorities about the plot. Japan halted all imports of U.S. beef because of mad cow fears. (Shipments resumed six months later.)
Associated Press
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