20 January - Converted horse box for mail transportation in 1838

 

The use of a converted horse box for mail transportation on the Grand Junction Railway took place, on 20 January 1838. On this day, the first experimental mail train, using a converted horse box with letter sorting frames, successfully operated between Birmingham and Liverpool on the Grand Junction Railway. This event marked an early innovation in the transportation of mail by trains, eventually leading to the development of dedicated mail services and the integration of rail transport into postal systems.Specially built dedicated Travelling Post Office (TPO) carriages began running soon after. These TPOs continued to operate until the night of 9 January 2004.

More at

https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/victorian-mail-transport

20 January - First English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns in 1265

 

On 20 January 1265, The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament".

20 January - Jagdish Chandra Jain birth anniversary

 

Jagdish Chandra Jain (20 January 1909 – 28 July 1993) was a scholar, indologist, educationist, writer, and freedom fighter during the freedom struggle of India. He authored over 80 books on a variety of subjects, including Jain philosophy, Prakrit literature, and Hindi textbooks for children. Jain was the chief prosecution witness in Gandhi's murder trial. He repeatedly tried to warn the government of the conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi, which became to known to him after Madan Lal Pahwa, a Punjabi refugee and one of the conspirators of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, confided to him of their plan. Jain's attempts to warn the government met deaf ears. He recounted his personal experiences in two books: I Could Not Save Bapu and The Forgotten Mahatma. He died from cardiac arrest in July 1993 in Bombay at the age of 84. 

In July 1993, Jain died from cardiac arrest in Bombay (Mumbai).To pay tribute, the government of India released a commemorative postal stamp in his memory. The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) also named the street of his residence after his name.