By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 20, the 20th day of 2021. There are 345 days left in the year.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On Jan. 20, 1986, the United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

On this date:

In 1265, Englandís first representative Parliament met for the first time.

In 1801, Secretary of State John Marshall was nominated by President John Adams to be chief justice of the United States. (Marshall would be sworn in on Feb. 4, 1801.)

In 1887, the U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first chief executive to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 instead of March 4.

In 1942, Nazi officials held the notorious Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their ìfinal solutionî that called for exterminating Europeís Jews.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States.

In 1964, Capitol Records released the album ìMeet the Beatles!î

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 1994, Shannon Faulkner became the first woman to attend classes at The Citadel in South Carolina. (Faulkner joined the cadet corps in Aug. 1995 under court order but soon dropped out, citing isolation and stress from the legal battle.)

In 2007, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., launched her first campaign for the White House, saying in a videotaped message on her website: ìIím in, and Iím in to win.î

In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the nationís 44th, as well as first African-American, president.

In 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, pledging emphatically to empower Americaís ìforgotten men and women.î Protesters registered their rage against the new president in a chaotic confrontation with police just blocks from the inaugural parade.

Ten years ago: In a luncheon speech to American business executives in Washington, Chinese President Hu Jintao denied his country was a military threat despite its arms buildup and pressed the U.S. for closer cooperation between the global powers. 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.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama hailed the revival of the nationís auto industry during a visit to Detroit while acknowledging the water crisis in nearby Flint, Michigan. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and NASA announced that 2015 was by far the hottest year in 136 years of record keeping. Kathryn Smith was promoted by the Buffalo Bills to take over as special teams quality control coach, making her the NFLís first full-time female coach.