◆ On this day

January 20

3 sourced moments from January 20 in history: England's First Elected Parliament Meets (1265); Britain took Hong Kong under a treaty both sides rejected (1841); and The first U.S. federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed (1986).

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3 things happened on January 20

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1986 Society & Economy · Politics & Law

The first U.S. federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed

It took fifteen years of petitions, debate, and a Stevie Wonder anthem before America paused to honor King.

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1841 History · Empires & Civilizations

Britain took Hong Kong under a treaty both sides rejected

The January 1841 Chuenpi deal ceding Hong Kong Island was disowned by London and Beijing; an envoy's disobedience made it permanent.

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1265 Society & Economy · Politics & Law

England's First Elected Parliament Meets

In 1265 a rebel earl summoned townsmen and knights to Westminster, planting the seed of the House of Commons.

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