On January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration
as the 40th president of the United States, the 52 U.S. captives
held at the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran, are released, ending
the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis.

On January 20, 1961, on the newly renovated east front of
the United States Capitol, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was
inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States.

It was a cold and clear day, and the nation’s capital was
covered with a snowfall from the previous night.

The ceremony began with a religious invocation and prayers,
and then African American opera singer Marian Anderson
sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and Robert Frost recited
his poem “The Gift Outright.” Kennedy was administered the
oath of office by Chief Justice Earl Warren.       
        

The federal government under Roosevelt (above) decided
to limit the production of certain crops such as wheat to “stabilize” supplies and prices.

On this day in 1943 In a wartime rationing effort, the US
government banned the sale of sliced bread—in theory,
to conserve wax paper and the steel used in bread-
slicing machines.

After huge backlash, they rescind the order in less than
two months.

    
CARLATA BRADLEY

Martin Luther King Jr.  (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

On January 13, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed
the first African American cabinet member, making Robert C.
Weaver head of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). The agency that develops and
implements national housing policy and enforces fair
housing laws.
 

In keeping with his vision for a Great Society, Johnson
sought to improve race relations and eliminate urban
blight.

As many of the country’s African Americans lived in run-
down inner-city areas, appointing Weaver was an attempt
to show his African American constituency that he meant
business on both counts.