Today is Tuesday, Jan. 20, the 20th day of 2026. There are 345 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 20, 1981, Iran released 52 Americans it had held hostage for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president of the United States, succeeding Jimmy Carter.
Also 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 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 was sworn in for his second of four terms as president, becoming the first chief executive to be inaugurated on Jan. 20; prior to the adoption of the 20th Amendment in 1933, presidential terms began on March 4.
In 1961, in his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy urged Americans, ''ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.''
