Today in History: January 20, physician hastens King George V’s death
Today is Monday, Jan. 20, the 20th day of 2025. There are 345 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 20, 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.
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 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for his second term 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.”
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 killed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation’s first Black president.
In 2011, 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.
In 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, as protesters registered their rage against the new president in a chaotic confrontation with police just blocks from the inaugural parade.
Today’s birthdays:
- Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin is 95.
- Olympic figure skating gold medalist Carol Heiss Jenkins is 85.
- Film director David Lynch is 79.
- Rock musician Paul Stanley (KISS) is 73.
- Comedian Bill Maher is 69.
- Olympic swimming gold medalist John Naber is 69.
- Country singer John Michael Montgomery is 60.
- Actor Rainn Wilson is 59.
- Political consultant Kellyanne Conway is 58.
- Actor Skeet Ulrich is 55.
- Musician Questlove (The Roots) is 54.
- Politician Nikki Haley is 53.
- Country singer Brantley Gilbert is 40.