(Redirected from 20 December)
Events
★
69 -
Vespasian, a former general under
Nero, enters
Rome to claim the title of
emperor.
★
1192 -
Richard the Lion-Heart was captured and imprisoned by
Leopold V of
Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with
Saladin ending the
crusade.
★
1522 -
Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving
Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually re-settle on
Malta and become known as the
Knights of Malta.
★
1606 - The
Virginia Company loaded three ships with settlers and set sail to establish
Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent
English settlement in the Americas
★
1803 -
Louisiana Purchase completed at a ceremony in
New Orleans.
★
1835 - First signing of the
Texas Declaration of Independence at
Goliad, Texas.
★
1860 -
South Carolina becomes the first state to
secede from the
United States.
★
1915 -
World War I: Last
Australian troops evacuated from
Gallipoli.
★
1917 -
Cheka, first
Soviet secret police, founded.
★
1941 -
World War II: First battle of the
American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in
Kunming, China.
★
1942 -
World War II: Bombing of
Calcutta by the Japanese.
★
1951 - Nuclear power first harvested when
EBR-1 powers four light bulbs.
★
1952 -
United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in
Moses Lake,
Washington killing 87.
★
1955 -
Cardiff was proclaimed as the capital city of
Wales,
United Kingdom
★
1960 -
National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
★
1973 - The Spanish
Prime Minister,
Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a
car bomb attack in
Madrid
★
1981 - The first ever on-stage
performance of the award-winning
Broadway musical Dreamgirls at
Imperial Theatre on
Broadway.
★
1984 - The
Summit tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million litres of petrol derails near the town of
Todmorden in the
Pennines.
★
1988 - The
United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed at
Vienna.
★
1989 -
United States invasion of Panama: United States sends troops into
Panama to overthrow government of
Manuel Noriega.
★
1991 -
Paul Keating becomes the 24th
Prime Minister of Australia.
★ 1991 - A Missouri court passes the
death sentence on Palestinian militant
Zein Isa and his wife Maria for the
honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
★
1995 -
NATO begins peacekeeping in
Bosnia.
★ 1995 - An
American Airlines Flight 965 Boeing 757 crashes into a mountain 50 km north of
Cali,
Colombia killing 160.
★
1996 -
NeXT merges with
Apple Computer, starting the path to
Mac OS X.
★ 1999 -
Macau is handed over to the
People's Republic of China by
Portugal.
★
2001 -
Argentine economic crisis (1999-2002):
President of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa is forced out of office.
★
2002 - US Senator
Trent Lott resigns as
majority leader.
★
2005 -
2005 New York City transit strike:
New York City's
Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike, shutting down all
New York City Subway and
Bus services.
★ 2005 -
US District Court Judge
John E. Jones III ruled against mandating teaching "intelligent design" in his ruling of
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.
★
2006 - A
judge rules against the
death penalty in the case of
Naveed Haq, a man convicted in the shooting death and injuries at the
Jewish Federation in
Seattle.
Births
★
1494 -
Oronce Finé, French
mathematician (d.
1555)
★
1537 - King
John III of Sweden (d.
1592)
★
1566 -
Edward Wightman, English Baptist preacher (d.
1612)
★
1579 - (baptized)
John Fletcher, English playwright (d.
1625)
★
1626 -
Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (d.
1692)
★
1629 -
Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (d.
1684)
★
1717 -
Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat (d.
1787)
★
1786 -
Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d.
1853)
★
1792 -
Nicolas Charlet, French painter (d.
1845)
★
1833 -
Samuel Mudd, American physician (d.
1883)
★
1838 -
Edwin Abbott Abbott, English schoolmaster, theologian, and author (d.
1926)
★
1841 -
Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (d.
1932)
★
1860 -
Dan Leno, English entertainer (d.
1904)
★
1861 -
Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (d.
1926)
★
1865 -
Elsie De Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (d.
1950)
★
1868 -
Harvey Firestone, American automobile pioneer (d.
1938)
★
1881 -
Branch Rickey, baseball executive (d.
1965)
★
1886 -
Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (d.
1974)
★
1888 -
Fred Merkle, American baseball figure (d.
1958)
★
1890 -
Yvonne Arnaud, French-born actress (d.
1958)
★ 1890 -
Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1967)
★
1894 - Sir
Robert Menzies, twelfth
Prime Minister of Australia (d.
1978)
★
1898 -
Irene Dunne, American actress (d.
1990)
★
1901 -
Robert Van de Graaff, American physicist and inventor (d.
1967)
★
1902 -
Sidney Hook, American philosopher (d.
1989)
★ 1902 -
George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent (d.
1942)
★
1904 -
Spud Davis, baseball player (d.
1984)
★
1907 -
Paul Francis Webster, musician (d.
1984)
★
1909 -
Vakkom Majeed, Indian politician (d.
2000)
★
1911 -
Hortense Calisher, American author
★
1916 -
Michel Chartrand, Quebec union leader
★
1917 -
David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (d.
1992)
★
1918 -
Jean Marchand, French Canadian
trade unionist and politician (d.
1988)
★ 1918 -
Audrey Totter, American actress
★
1922 -
George Roy Hill, American film director (d.
2002)
★
1924 -
Judy LaMarsh, Canadian politician and broadcaster (d.
1980)
★ 1924 -
Beverly Pepper, American artist
★
1925 -
Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (d.
2007)
★
1926 - Sir
Geoffrey Howe, British politician
★ 1926 -
Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician
★
1927 -
Kim Young-sam,
President of South Korea
★
1931 -
Mala Powers, American film actress (d.
2007)
★
1933 -
Jean Carnahan, U.S. Senator
★ 1933 -
Rik Van Looy, Belgian cyclist
★
1938 -
John Harbison, American composer
★
1944 -
Bobby Colomby, American musician (
Blood, Sweat & Tears)
★
1945 -
Peter George Criscoula, American drummer and singer (
Kiss)
★
1946 -
Uri Geller, Israeli psychic
★ 1946 -
John Spencer, American actor (d.
2005)
★ 1946 -
Dick Wolf, American television series creator
★
1947 -
Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer
★
1948 -
Alan Parsons, British music producer and artist
★
1949 -
Soumaïla Cissé, Malian politician
★ 1949 -
Cecil Cooper,
Major League baseball player
★
1951 -
Gilbert Montagné, French musician
★ 1951 -
Peter May, Scottish novelist and scriptwriter
★
1952 -
Jenny Agutter, English actress
★
1954 -
Michael Badalucco, American actor
★ 1954 -
Sandra Cisneros, American writer
★
1956 -
Junji Hirata, Japanese professional wrestler
★
1957 -
Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter
★ 1957 -
Mike Watt, American bassist
★ 1957 -
Joyce Hyser, American actress
★ 1957 -
Anna Vissi, Greek singer
★
1958 -
Steve Sailer, American political commentator
★
1960 -
Nalo Hopkinson, Canadian writer
★
1963 -
Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo
★
1965 -
Rich Gannon, American football player
★
1966 -
Matt Neal , British Race Driver
★ 1966 -
Chris Robinson, American singer (
Black Crowes)
★ 1966 -
Myrra Malmberg, Swedish singer
★
1968 -
Karl Wendlinger, Austrian racing driver
★ 1968 -
Joe Cornish, British comedian
★ 1968 -
Phil Andrews, British racing driver
★
1970 -
Nicole DeBoer, Canadian actress
★
1973 -
Cory Stillman, National Hockey League forward
★
1974 -
Die, Japanese musician (
Dir en grey)
★
1975 -
Bartosz Bosacki, Polish footballer
★ 1975 -
Jaydy Michel, Mexican model
★
1976 -
Jang Hyuk, Korean actor
★ 1976 -
Aubrey Huff, American baseball player
★ 1976 -
Adam Powell, Neopets creator
★
1977 -
Saukrates, Canadian rapper
★
1978 -
Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer
★ 1978 -
Andrei Markov, Russian hockey player
★
1979 -
Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist
★
1980 -
Ashley Cole, English footballer
★ 1980 -
Anthony da Silva (Tony), French-Portuguese footballer
★
1981 -
Roy Williams, American football player
★ 1981 -
James Shields, American baseball player
★
1982 -
David Wright, baseball player
★
1983 -
Lucy Pinder, British model
★ 1983 -
Lara Stone, Dutch model
★
1990 -
Joanna "JoJo" Levesque, American pop/R&B Singer
Deaths
★
217 -
Pope Zephyrinus
★
860 - King
Ethelbald of Wessex
★
910 -
Alfonso III of Leon
★
1022 -
Elvira Mendes, wife of
Alfonso V of Castile (b.
996)
★
1355 -
Stefan Dušan, Serb king and tsar (b. circa
1308)
★
1494 -
Matteo Maria Boiardo, Italian poet
★
1524 -
Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician
★
1539 -
Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer
★
1590 -
Ambroise Paré, French physician (b.
1510)
★
1722 -
Kangxi Emperor of China (b.
1654)
★
1723 -
Augustus Quirinus Rivinus (b.
1652)
★
1740 -
Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, English military officer and statesman (b.
1675)
★
1768 -
Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, Italian poet (b.
1692)
★
1783 -
Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (b.
1729)
★
1812 -
Sacagawea, Shoshone guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
★
1917 -
Lucien Petit-Breton, Argentine-French cyclist (b.
1882)
★
1921 -
Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general (b.
1850)
★
1929 -
Émile Loubet, 7th
President of France (b.
1838)
★
1935 -
Martin O'Meara, Australian soldier (b.
1882)
★
1937 -
Erich Ludendorff, German general (b.
1865)
★
1941 -
Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b.
1887)
★
1954 -
James Hilton, American author (b.
1900)
★
1956 -
Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b.
1906)
★
1961 -
Moss Hart, American dramatist (b.
1904)
★ 1961 -
Earle Page, eleventh
Prime Minister of Australia (b.
1880)
★
1968 -
John Steinbeck, American writer,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1902)
★
1973 -
Luis Carrero Blanco,
Prime Minister of Spain (assassinated) (b.
1903)
★ 1973 -
Bobby Darin, American singer (b.
1936)
★
1974 -
André Jolivet, French composer (b.
1905)
★
1976 -
Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago (b.
1902)
★
1982 -
Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-born pianist (b.
1887)
★
1984 -
Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan
Major League Baseball player (b.
1946)
★
1986 -
Joe DeSa, baseball player (b.
1959)
★
1988 -
Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian television pioneer, president of the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (b.
1908)
★
1989 -
Kurt Böhme, German bass (b.
1908)
★
1991 -
Simone Beck, French chef (b.
1904)
★
1994 -
Dean Rusk,
United States Secretary of State (b.
1909)
★
1996 -
Carl Sagan, American astronomer and writer (b.
1934)
★
1997 -
Denise Levertov, English-born poet (b.
1923)
★ 1997 -
Juzo Itami, Japanese actor and director (b.
1933)
★ 1997 -
Dawn Steel, American film producer (b.
1946)
★
1998 -
Irene Hervey, American actress (b.
1910)
★ 1998 -
Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b.
1916)
★
1999 -
Hank Snow, Canadian singer (b.
1914)
★ 1999 -
Riccardo Freda, Italian film director (b.
1909)
★
2000 -
Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, Indian statesman, politician, and philanthropist (b.
1920)
★
2001 -
Foster Brooks, American actor and comedian (b.
1912)
★ 2001 -
Léopold Sédar Senghor, first
President of Senegal (b.
1906)
★
2005 -
Maniam Moorthy, member of the first
Malaysian team to
summit Mount Everest
Holidays and observances
★
R.C. Saints - Saint
Dominic of Silos,
O Clavis,
Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne
External links
★
BBC: On This Day
★
★
On This Day in Canada
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