DECEMBER 20

(Redirected from 20 December)

Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

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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