On This Day January 20th

 OTD

January 20th is the Twentieth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 345 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the significant towns hold its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament."

1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.

1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signs preliminary articles of peace with the Kingdom of France, setting the stage for the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.

1841 – the British occupied Hong Kong Island during the First Opium War.

1887 – The United States Senate allowed the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.

1909 – Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division.

1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.

1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America, becoming the first president to begin his presidency on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.

1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the youngest man elected to that office and the first Catholic.

2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

 

Birthdays

741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)

1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)

1856 – Harriot Stanton Blatch, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940)

1888 – Lead Belly, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949

1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)

1920 – Deforest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)

1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)

1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)

1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut

1971 – Questlove, American musician, record producer, and filmmaker

 

Holiday Spotlight

Take a Walk Outdoors Day

  There is no evidence of how this holiday started, but we assume it was established to remind people to stay active. This is especially applicable in the modern world driven by technology as it is. We spend much of our day sitting in front of a monitor. The idea of walking is a substantial part of human evolution as we separate ourselves from other animals by walking without our hands.

 The Romans came up with the concept of a mile by walking. In their estimation, a thousand military steps were equivalent to a mile. Through the ages, long-distance walking developed into a competitive sport as humans liked to exhibit their outstanding feats of achievement. In the latter half of the 19th century, this became a popular sport in America and Europe. Germany boasts the oldest surviving walking club, Black Forest Wanderverein, which was set up in 1864. The first race walk in the U.S. occurred in New York in 1911. Even before that, there is a record of race walks being an official sport in the London Olympics of 1908.

 Today, we are familiar with various forms of walking, such as race, speed, brisk, power, marathons, and so on. Walking has even become a mode of worship. For example, thousands of people marched to Camino de Santiago in 2015, inspired by the movie “The Way,” which portrays an American father walking along the same route in France in search of his estranged son’s body. Who knew hiking could have such a glorious history?

 If you have a daily ritual, like getting your morning coffee, reading a book, listening to music, or sipping wine, club it with some walking. This way, you don’t have to find extra time for a walk in your busy schedule. Think about it.

 

Other Include

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days

Camcorder Day

Inauguration Day

International Day of Acceptance

National Buttercrunch Day

National Cheese Lover's Day

National Coffee Break Day

National Disc Jockey Day

National Use Your Gift Card Day

Penguin Awareness Day

Soup Swap Day

Underwater Parks Day (California)