December 20
December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 11 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 69 – Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of emperor.
- 217 – The papacy of Zephyrinus ends. Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, but is opposed by the theologian Hippolytus who accuses him of laxity and of being a Modalist, one who denies any distinction between the three persons of the Trinity.
- 1192 – Richard the Lion-Heart is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third crusade.
- 1522 – Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
- 1606 – The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
- 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
- 1808 – Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
- 1860 – South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States.
- 1915 – World War I: Last Australian troops evacuated from Gallipoli.
- 1917 – Cheka, the first Soviet secret police, is founded.
- 1924 – Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison
- 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.
- 1946 – The popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.
- 1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
- 1952 – United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.
- 1955 – Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
- 1959 – The Walker family murders are committed.
- 1960 – National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
- 1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
- 1971 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto takes over as the fourth President of Pakistan.
- 1973 – The Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
- 1977 – Djibouti and Vietnam join the United Nations.
- 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.
- 1987 – History's worst peacetime sea disaster, when the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
- 1988 – The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed in Vienna.
- 1989 – United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft.
- 1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
- 1995 – NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
- 1995 – American Airlines Flight 965, a 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.
- 2004 – A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of the largest bank robberies in UK history.
- 2005 – In Durrës, Albania was founded Aleksander Moisiu University.
- 2005 – US District Court Judge John E. Jones III rules against mandating the teaching of "intelligent design" in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.
- 2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
- 2007 – The painting Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, is stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art, along with O Lavrador de Café by the major Brazilian modernist painter Candido Portinari.
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)
- 1740 – Arthur Lee, American diplomat (d. 1792)
- 1786 – Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d. 1853)
- 1792 – Nicolas Charlet, French painter (d. 1845)
- 1833 – Dr Samuel A. 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)
- 1869 – Charles Grapewin, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Kanichi Asakawa, Japanese historian (d. 1948)
- 1881 – Branch Rickey, baseball executive (d. 1965)
- 1886 – Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (d. 1974)
- 1888 – Yitzhak Baer, German-born Israeli historian (d. 1980)
- 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 – Konstantinos Dovas, Greek Greek general and interim Prime Minister (d. 1973)
- 1898 – Irene Dunne, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1901 – Robert J. 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 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian writer (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Spud Davis, baseball player (d. 1984)
- 1905 – Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricket player (d. 1992)
- 1907 – Paul Francis Webster, songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1908 – Dennis Morgan, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian politician (d. 2000)
- 1911 – Hortense Calisher, American author (d. 2009)
- 1914 – Harry F. Byrd Jr, American politician
- 1916 – Michel Chartrand, Quebec union leader (d. 2010)
- 1917 – David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (d. 1992)
- 1918 – Jean Marchand, Canadian trade unionist and politician (d. 1988)
- 1918 – Audrey Totter, American actress
- 1922 – George Roy Hill, American film director (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Beverly Pepper, American sculptor and painter
- 1924 – Judy LaMarsh, Canadian politician and broadcaster (d. 1980)
- 1925 – Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Sir Geoffrey Howe, British politician
- 1926 – Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician
- 1927 – Charlie Callas, American comedian (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Kim Young-sam, 14th President of South Korea
- 1931 – Mala Powers, American film actress (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Terry Sanders, American filmmaker
- 1932 – John Hillerman, American actor (Magnum, P.I.)
- 1933 – Jean Carnahan, U.S. Senator
- 1933 – Rik van Looy, Belgian cyclist
- 1935 – Khalid Ibadulla, Pakistani cricket player
- 1938 – John Harbison, American composer
- 1940 – Pat Chapman, English Author, Founder The Curry Club
- 1941 – Tommy Cole, American makeup artist, actor and singer
- 1942 – Rana Bhagwandas, Former Pakistani Chief Justice
- 1942 – Jean-Claude Trichet, French banker and economist
- 1944 – Bobby Colomby, American musician (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
- 1944 – Jean Fergusson, English actress
- 1945 – Peter Criss, American drummer and singer (Kiss)
- 1945 – Sivakant Tiwari, senior legal officer of the Singapore Legal Service (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Uri Geller, Israeli mentalist
- 1946 – Lesley Judd, English TV presenter and dancer
- 1946 – Lloyd Mumphord, NFL football player
- 1946 – John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Sonny Perdue, American politician, governor of Georgia
- 1946 – Dick Wolf, American television series creator
- 1947 – Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer
- 1948 – Alan Parsons, British music producer and artist
- 1948 – Stevie Wright, English-born Australian musician and songwriter
- 1949 – Soumaïla Cissé, Malian politician
- 1949 – Cecil Cooper, American baseball player
- 1949 – Oscar Gamble, American baseball player
- 1950 – Arturo Marquez, Mexican composer
- 1951 – Gilbert Montagné, French musician
- 1951 – Peter May, Scottish novelist and scriptwriter
- 1952 – Jenny Agutter, English actress
- 1952 – Sky Gilbert, Canadian writer
- 1954 – Michael Badalucco, American actor
- 1954 – Sandra Cisneros, American writer
- 1955 – David Breashears, American mountaineer
- 1955 – Ed Kuepper, German-born Australian musician (The Saints, Laughing Clowns)
- 1955 – Rory Markas, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
- 1956 – Blanche Baker, American actress
- 1956 – Junji Hirata, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1956 – Guy Babylon, American keyboardist
- 1957 – Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter
- 1957 – Mike Watt, American bassist
- 1957 – Stephen Bicknell, British organ builder (d. 2007)
- 1957 – Joyce Hyser, American actress
- 1957 – Anna Vissi, Greek-Cypriot singer
- 1958 – James Thomson, American biologist
- 1959 – Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Polish politician
- 1959 – Trent Tucker, American basketball player
- 1960 – Nalo Hopkinson, Canadian writer
- 1960 – Kim Ki-duk, Korean filmmaker
- 1961 – Mohammad Fouad, Arab singer and actor
- 1961 – Mike Keneally, American musician
- 1963 – Infanta Elena of Spain
- 1963 – Joel Gretsch, American actor
- 1964 – Mark Coleman, American mixed martial artist
- 1965 – Robert Cavanah, Scottish actor
- 1965 – Jim Carr (US), Digital Strategist
- 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
- 1969 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (d. 2000)
- 1970 – Nicole DeBoer, Canadian actress
- 1970 – Alister McRae, Scottish rally driver
- 1970 – Grant Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1971 – Roger J. Beaujard, American musician
- 1972 – Anders Odden, Norwegian musician
- 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, British businessman
- 1976 – Ramon Stoppelenburg, Dutch author
- 1977 – Saukrates, Canadian rapper
- 1978 – Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer
- 1978 – Andrei Markov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Tony Moore, American comic book artist
- 1979 – David DeJesus, American baseball player
- 1979 – George Lamb, English radio and TV presenter
- 1979 – Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist
- 1979 – Ramon Rodriguez (actor), Puerto-Rican American Actor
- 1980 – Ashley Cole, English footballer
- 1980 – Fitz Hall, English footballer
- 1980 – Tony, French-born Portuguese footballer
- 1980 – Martín Demichelis, Argentine footballer
- 1981 – Roy Williams, American football player
- 1981 – James Shields, American baseball player
- 1981 – Royal Ivey, American basketball player
- 1982 – David Cook, American singer
- 1982 – David Wright, American baseball player
- 1982 – David Tavaré, Spanish singer
- 1982 – Keny Arkana, French rapper & singer
- 1982 – Mohammed Asif, Pakistani cricket player
- 1982 – Kasper Klausen, Danish footballer
- 1983 – Jonah Hill, American actor
- 1983 – Chelsea Johnson, American pole vaulter
- 1983 – Lucy Pinder, British model
- 1983 – Darren Sammy, St. Lucian cricketer
- 1983 – Adrián Varela, Mexican singer
- 1983 – Lara Stone, Dutch model
- 1984 – Nikolaos Karabelas, Greek footballer
- 1986 – Benjamin Brierley, English-born German rugby player
- 1986 – Anoop Desai, American singer
- 1987 – Tariel Zintiridis, Greek judoka
- 1988 – Andrés Bottiglieri Italian–Argentine footballer
- 1990 – JoJo, American singer
- 1991 – Hunter Gomez, American actor
- 1992 – Ksenia Makarova, Russian-American figure skater
Deaths
- 217 – Pope Zephyrinus
- 860 – King Ethelbald of Wessex (b. 834)
- 910 – Alfonso III of Leon (b. 848)
- 1022 – Elvira Mendes, wife of Alfonso V of Castile (b. 996)
- 1355 – Stefan Dušan, Emperor of Serbia (b. 1308)
- 1494 – Matteo Maria Boiardo, Italian poet (b. 1434)
- 1524 – Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician (b. 1460)
- 1539 – Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer (b. 1506)
- 1590 – Ambroise Paré, French physician (b. 1510)
- 1695 – John Bowne, English-born American pioneer of religious liberty (b. 1627)
- 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)
- 1765 – Louis, Dauphin of France, son of Louis XV; father of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X (b. 1729)
- 1768 – Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, Italian poet (b. 1692)
- 1783 – Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (b. 1729)
- 1786 – Hannah Ocuish, Native American convicted murderer (b. 1774)
- 1812 – Sacagawea, Native American member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (b. 1788)
- 1856 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (b. 1820)
- 1862 – Robert Knox, Scottish surgeon and zoologist (b. 1791)
- 1915 – Upendrakishore Ray, Indian writer, painter and composer (b. 1863)
- 1917 – Lucien Petit-Breton, French racing cyclist (b. 1882)
- 1921 – Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general (b. 1850)
- 1927 – Roshan Singh, Indian nationalist (date of birth unknown)
- 1929 – Émile Loubet, French statesman (b. 1838)
- 1935 – Martin O'Meara, Australian soldier (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Erich Ludendorff, German general (b. 1865)
- 1938 – Annie Armstrong, American missionary (b. 1850)
- 1941 – Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887)
- 1954 – James Hilton, British author (b. 1900)
- 1956 – Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist (b. 1906)
- 1961 – Moss Hart, American dramatist (b. 1904)
- 1961 – Earle Page, Australian politician (b. 1880)
- 1968 – John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1971 – Roy O. Disney, American entertainment industry executive (b. 1893)
- 1973 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish statesman (b. 1904)
- 1973 – Bobby Darin, American singer (b. 1936)
- 1974 – André Jolivet, French composer (b. 1905)
- 1976 – Richard J. Daley, American politician (b. 1902)
- 1981 – Dimitris Rontiris, Greek actor and director (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-born American pianist (b. 1887)
- 1984 – Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1946)
- 1986 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (b. 1959)
- 1988 – Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian television executive (b. 1908)
- 1989 – Kurt Böhme, German bass (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Simone Beck, French chef (b. 1904)
- 1991 – Albert Van Vlierberghe, Belgian cyclist (b. 1942)
- 1994 – Dean Rusk, American diplomat (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Carl Sagan, American astronomer and writer (b. 1934)
- 1997 – Denise Levertov, English-born American 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. 1909)
- 1998 – Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1916)
- 1998 – C. P. Lyons, Canadian naturalist and author (b. 1915)
- 1999 – Hank Snow, Canadian singer (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Riccardo Freda, Italian film director (b. 1909)
- 2000 – Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, Bangladeshi statesman and philanthropist (b. 1920)
- 2001 – Foster Brooks, American actor and comedian (b. 1912)
- 2001 – Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese politician (b. 1906)
- 2002 – Bernard King, Australian chef and television personality (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Maniam Moorthy, Malaysian climber
- 2006 – Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer (b. 1970)
- 2006 – Anne Rogers Clark, American dog breeder and trainer (b. 1929)
- 2006 – Piergiorgio Welby, Italian poet and activist (b.1945)
- 2007 – Nataline Sarkisyan, American medical patient (b. 1990)
- 2009 – Jack Hixon, English football talent scout (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Brittany Murphy, American actress (b. 1977)
- 2009 – Arnold Stang, American comic actor (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Mairoon Ali, Trinidadian comedienne and actress (b. 1954)
- 2010 – Brian Hanrahan, British journalist (b. 1949)
- 2010 – Steve Landesberg, American actor and comedian (b. 1936)
- 2010 – James R. Mann, American attorney and politician (b. 1920)
Holidays and observances
External links