Donald Trump takes office as 45th US president (2017), and Protests over the financial crisis begin in Iceland (2009). Born on this day: Federico Fellini, André-Marie Ampère and Buzz Aldrin. Died: Audrey Hepburn, George V and St. Fabian.
33 events, 59 births and 73 deaths on this date.
Trump began his first term as the 45th president after winning the 2016 election against Democrat Hillary Clinton, having presented himself as a political outsider. A former businessman and television host, he served until 2021, when he lost to Joe Biden.
Daniel Torok · Public domainThousands gathered outside Parliament in Reykjavík to demand the government resign after the country's banks collapsed under heavy debt. The protests, which pushed the government out within weeks, made the crisis a turning point in Icelandic politics.
Sudan's military government extended Islamic law across the whole country, deepening a civil war that already pitted the mostly Muslim north against the largely Christian south. The move hardened divisions that would fuel decades of fighting.
Barack Obama took the oath of office in Washington, becoming the first African American to lead the United States. He took over from George W. Bush amid a deep financial crisis and two wars.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza · Public domain
The far-right Iron Guard staged a rebellion in Bucharest after a German officer was killed in the city. The uprising turned into a pogrom in which 125 Jews and 30 soldiers died.
Captain James Cook sighted the Hawaiian Islands and made the first recorded European visit to them, opening a contact that would shape the islands for generations. His later return there ended in his death in 1779.
Nathaniel Dance-Holland · Public domain
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Federico Fellini was an Italian film director whose dreamlike, baroque films, such as La Dolce Vita and 8½, made him one of cinema's most admired figures. He is remembered for blending fantasy with earthy, everyday life on screen.
Walter Albertin, World Telegram staff photographer · Public domain
Self-taught French physicist and mathematician who helped found the study of electromagnetism, which he called electrodynamics. The unit for measuring electric current bears his name, and he also coined the word solenoid.
Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain
Buzz Aldrin is a former astronaut who stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969, after Neil Armstrong. He holds a Doctor of Science from MIT in astronautics, which made him the first astronaut with that qualification, and is the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member.
NASA · Public domain
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress who won an Academy Award for Roman Holiday and later starred in Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. Later in life she gave much of her time to UNICEF, working for children in need around the world.
Anefo · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
George V reigned as king-emperor from 1910 until his death, steering the monarchy through the First World War and the rise of the Labour Party. He also renamed the royal house Windsor in 1917, a change made amid anti-German feeling.
Bassano Ltd · Public domain
Fabian led the Church in Rome from 236 until he was killed in 250, at the start of the Decian persecution. He is remembered for dividing the city into districts, sending missionaries to Gaul, and is a saint for both Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Giovanni di Paolo · Public domain
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