On January 20, ...

... 1981, minutes after the inauguration of Ronald Reagan to succeed Jimmy Carter as U.S. President, Iran released 52 hostages held since the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran 444 days earlier. The New York Times reported that Carter "look[ed] haggard and worn after spending two largely sleepless nights trying to resolve the hostage crisis as the final chapter of his Presidency." The ex-President planned "to fly to West Germany early tomorrow to greet the hostages personally at the invitation of" Reagan, "the man who defeated him for re-election."
... 1956, Maria Larsson (right) was born in Långasjö, Småland, Sweden. A onetime schoolteacher, Larsson eventually became active in Christian Democratic party politics in her country. She's served as Sweden's Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health, in the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, since 2006.
... 1951, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) was born in New York.