Births on January 20

Ger McDonnell

Born on January 20, 1971

Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)

Gerard McDonnell (20 January 1971 – 2 August 2008), mountaineer and engineer, was the first Irishman to reach the summit of K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth, in August 2008. He lost his life along with 10 other mountaineers following an avalanche on the descent, in the deadliest accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.

References

Ger McDonnell

Choose Another Date

Events on 1971

8 Jan

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh.
7 Jun

First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
11 Jul

Chile
Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
21 Sep

Bhutan
Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.
24 Nov

D. B. Cooper
During a severe thunderstorm over Washington state, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper (aka D. B. Cooper) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane with $200,000 in ransom money. He has never been found.

Births on January 20

Ger McDonnell

Born on January 20, 1971

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1971

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

Chile

Bhutan

D. B. Cooper