September 20
September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 102 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 1058 – Agnes de Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border-zone in present-day Burgenland.
- 1187 – Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.
- 1260 – the Great Prussian Uprising among the old Prussians begins against the Teutonic Knights.
- 1378 – Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the Butcher of Cesena, is elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.
- 1498 – The 1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake generates a tsunami that washes away the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan; since then the Buddha has sat in the open air.
- 1519 – Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with about 270 men on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
- 1596 – Diego de Montemayor founds the city of Monterrey in New Spain.
- 1697 – The Treaty of Rijswijk is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic ending the Nine Years' War (1688–97).
- 1737 – The finish of the Walking Purchase which forces the cession of 1.2 million acres (4,860 km²) of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.
- 1792 – French troops stop allied invasion of France, during the War of the First Coalition at Valmy.
- 1835 – Ragamuffin rebels capture Porto Alegre, then capital of the Brazilian imperial province of Rio Grande do Sul, triggering the start of ten-year-long Farroupilha Revolution.
- 1848 – The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created.
- 1854 – Battle of Alma: British and French troops defeat Russians in the Crimea.
- 1857 – The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.
- 1860 – The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) visits the United States.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga ends.
- 1870 – Bersaglieri corps enter Rome through the Porta Pia and complete the unification of Italy.
- 1871 – Bishop John Coleridge Patteson is martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. He is the first bishop of Melanesia.
- 1881 – Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States following the assassination of James Garfield.
- 1893 – Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile.
- 1906 – Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
- 1909 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the South Africa Act 1909, creating the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony.
- 1910 – The ocean liner SS France, later known as the "Versailles of the Atlantic", is launched.
- 1911 – White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with british warship HMS Hawke.
- 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
- 1930 – Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is formed by Archbishop Mar Ivanios.
- 1942 – Holocaust in Letychiv, Ukraine. In the course of two days the German SS murders at least 3,000 Jews.
- 1961 – Greek general Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
- 1962 – James Meredith, an African-American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi.
- 1967 – RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland. It is operated by the Cunard Line.
- 1970 – Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen.
- 1971 – Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.
- 1973 – Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in The Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
- 1977 – The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.
- 1979 – A coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokasa I.
- 1982 – The National Football League players begin a 57-day strike.
- 1984 – A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.
- 1990 – South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.
- 2000 – The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by unapprehended forces using a Russian-built RPG-22 anti-tank missile.
- 2001 – In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror".
- 2002 – The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide.
- 2003 – Maldives civil unrest: the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé.
- 2007 – Between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters marched on Jena, Louisiana, in support of six black youths who had been convicted of assaulting a white classmate.
- 2008 – A dump truck full of explosives detonates in front of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 54 people and injuring 266 others.
- 2011 – The United States ends its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.
Births
- 524 – Kan B'alam I, ruler of Maya state of Palenque (d. 583)
- 1486 – Prince Arthur Tudor, son of King Henry VII of England (d. 1502)
- 1599 – Christian the Younger, German Protestant military leader (d. 1623)
- 1608 – Jean-Jacques Olier, French catholic priest, founder of The Sulpicians (d. 1657)
- 1746 – Móric Benyovszky Hungarian count (d. 1786)
- 1758 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Emperor of Haiti (d. 1806)
- 1778 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian naval officer and explorer (d. 1852)
- 1800 – Benjamin Franklin White, shape note "singing master", and compiler of the shape note tunebook known as The Sacred Harp (d. 1879)
- 1820 – John F. Reynolds, American Civil War general (d. 1863)
- 1831 – Kate Harrington, American teacher, writer and poet (d. 1917)
- 1833 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1918)
- 1842 – Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist (d. 1923)
- 1844 – William H. Illingworth, American photographer (d. 1893)
- 1851 – Henry Arthur Jones, English writer (d. 1929)
- 1853 – Chulalongkorn, King of Thailand (d. 1910)
- 1861 – Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress (d. 1955)
- 1872 – Maurice Gamelin, French army general (d. 1958)
- 1873 – Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (d. 1949)
- 1873 – Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian race car driver (d. 1944)
- 1878 – Upton Sinclair, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1880 – Louise Peete, American murderess (d. 1947)
- 1884 – Maxwell Perkins, American editor and publisher (d. 1947)
- 1885 – Jelly Roll Morton, American jazz pianist, bandleader and composer (d. 1941)
- 1886 – Charles Williams, British author (d. 1945)
- 1889 – Charles Reidpath, American athlete (d. 1975)
- 1892 – Roy Turk, U.S. songwriter/lyricist (d. 1934)
- 1893 – Hermann Lux, German footballer (d. 1962)
- 1899 – Leo Strauss, German-born philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Stevie Smith, British poet (d. 1971)
- 1906 – Jean Dréville, French Film director (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Shriram Sharma Acharya, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1991)
- 1913 – John Collins, jazz guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1914 – Kenneth More, English actor (d. 1982)
- 1916 – Malik Meraj Khalid, Former Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Red Auerbach, American basketball coach (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Fernando Rey, Spanish-born actor (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Don Starr, American-born actor (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Alberto de Lacerda, Portuguese poet (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Jay Ward, American animated cartoonist (d. 1989)
- 1921 – Chico Hamilton, American jazz drummer and bandleader
- 1922 – William Kapell, American pianist (d. 1953)
- 1923 – Geraldine Clinton Little, Irish-born poet (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Gogi Grant, American singer
- 1924 – Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Indian actor
- 1925 – James Bernard, English film composer (d. 2001)
- 1925 – Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand (d. 1946)
- 1925 – Bobby Nunn, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 1986)
- 1926 – Jackie Paris, American jazz singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1927 – Colette Bonheur, Canadian singer (d. 1966)
- 1927 – Johnny Dankworth, English musician and composer (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Red Mitchell, American jazz bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet(d. 1992)
- 1927 – Rachel Roberts, Welsh actress (d. 1980)
- 1928 – Donald Hall, American poet and US Poet Laureate
- 1928 – Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (d. 2000)
- 1929 – Anne Meara, American comic and actress
- 1930 – Eddie Bo, American singer and pianist (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Cherd Songsri, Thai filmmaker (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Dennis Viollet, English former footballer (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Steve McCall, American jazz drummer (d. 1989)
- 1934 – Takayuki Kubota, Japanese martial artist
- 1934 – Sophia Loren, Italian actress
- 1935 – David Pegg, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1935 – Keith Roberts, British science fiction author (d. 2000)
- 1935 – Jim Taylor, American football player
- 1937 – Birgitta Dahl, Swedish politician
- 1937 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Eric Gale, American jazz and session guitarist and record producer (d. 1994)
- 1939 – Robert L. Gerry III, American businessman
- 1940 – Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan
- 1941 – Dale Chihuly, American glass artist
- 1941 – Jim Cullum, Jr., American jazz cornetist noted for his contributions to the Dixieland jazz tradition
- 1942 – Gérald Tremblay, Canadian politician
- 1946 – Pete Coors, American businessman
- 1947 – Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, French TV journalist and writer
- 1947 – Steve Gerber, American comics writer (d. 2008)
- 1947 – Mia Martini, Italian singer (d. 1995)
- 1947 – Billy Bang, American jazz violinist and composer (d. 2011)
- 1947 – Chris Ortloff, former New York state Republican politician and admitted pedophile
- 1947 – Bruce Pasternack, American CEO
- 1948 – George R. R. Martin, American writer
- 1948 – Chuck Panozzo, American musician (Styx)
- 1948 – John Panozzo, American musician (Styx) (d. 1996)
- 1949 – Mahesh Bhatt, Indian film director
- 1949 – Anthony Denison, American actor
- 1951 – Cornelia Behm, German politician
- 1951 – Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1951 – Javier Marías, Spanish author, translator and academic
- 1954 – Henry Samueli, American NHL team owner
- 1956 – Gary Cole, American actor
- 1956 – Debbi Morgan, American actress
- 1956 – John Harle, English saxophonist/composer
- 1956 – Steve Coleman, African American saxophone player, spontaneous composer, composer and band leader
- 1957 – Alannah Currie, New Zealander musician (Thompson Twins)
- 1957 – Rich DiSilvio, American new media developer & artist
- 1957 – Michael Hurst, New Zealand actor
- 1958 – Arn Anderson, American wrestler
- 1959 – Danny Devos, Belgian artist
- 1959 – Joanna Domańska, Polish classical pianist and music teacher
- 1960 – Deborah Roberts, American journalist and TV reporter
- 1960 – Dave Hemingway, British musician, songwriter, and vocalist
- 1961 – Lisa Bloom, American lawyer and television personality
- 1963 – Velcrow Ripper, Canadian documentary filmmaker
- 1964 – Randy Bradbury, American musician (Pennywise)
- 1964 – Maggie Cheung, Hong Kong actress
- 1965 – Robert Rusler, American actor
- 1966 – Nuno Bettencourt, Portuguese rock musician
- 1967 – Martin Harrison, American football player
- 1967 – Kristen Johnston, American actress
- 1967 – Gunnar Nelson, American musician (Nelson)
- 1967 – Matthew Nelson, American musician (Nelson)
- 1968 – Van Jones, American attorney and activist
- 1968 – Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress
- 1968 – Ben Shepherd, American bassist (Soundgarden)
- 1968 – Darrell Russell, American race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1969 – Victoria Dillard, American actress
- 1969 – Megumi Kudo, Japanese pro-wrestler
- 1969 – Tim Rogers, Australian musician
- 1969 – Patrick Pentland, Canadian musician (Sloan)
- 1969 – Richard Witschge, former Dutch footballer
- 1971 – Todd Blackadder, New Zealand rugby player
- 1971 – Masashi Hamauzu, Japanese composer
- 1971 – Henrik Larsson, Swedish footballer
- 1971 – Dominika Peczynski, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)
- 1971 – Sebastian Roth, German musician
- 1973 – Ronald McKinnon, American football player
- 1974 – Michael Waddington, American defense lawyer
- 1975 – Asia Argento, Italian actress
- 1975 – Moon Bloodgood, American actress
- 1975 – Jason Robinson, American jazz saxophonist, electronic musician, and composer
- 1975 – Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian race car driver
- 1976 – Jon Bernthal, American actor
- 1976 – Agata Buzek, Polish actress
- 1976 – Yo Hitoto, Japanese pop singer
- 1976 – Yui Horie, Japanese seiyuu
- 1976 – Enuka Okuma, Canadian actress
- 1976 – Reuben Singh, British entrepreneur
- 1977 – Namie Amuro, Japanese pop singer
- 1977 – Chris Mooney, American writer
- 1978 – Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player
- 1978 – Patrizio Buanne, Italian singer
- 1978 – Sarit Hadad, Israeli singer
- 1978 – Dante Hall, American football player
- 1978 – T.J. Tucker, American baseball player
- 1979 – Sean Davis, English footballer
- 1979 – Dan Gillespie Sells, British musician The Feeling
- 1980 – Mariacarla Boscono, Italian fashion model
- 1980 – Vladimir Karpets, Russian cyclist
- 1980 – Jonathan Le Billon, British actor
- 1980 – Mehrzad Marashi, German singer
- 1980 – Madison Young, American pornographic actress
- 1980 – Ryan Donowho, American actor
- 1981 – Joanie Dodds, American model
- 1981 – Feliciano López, Spanish tennis player
- 1981 – Jordan Tata, American baseball player
- 1982 – Jason Bacashihua, American ice hockey player
- 1982 – Aaron Burkart, German rally driver
- 1982 – Brian Fortuna, American dancer
- 1982 – Sarah Glendening, American actress
- 1982 – Athanasios Tsigas, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Yuna Ito, Japanese singer and actress
- 1983 – Freya Murray, Scottish athlete
- 1983 – Ángel Sánchez, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1984 – Brian Joubert, French figure skater
- 1986 – Aldis Hodge, American actor
- 1987 – Tito Tebaldi, Italian rugby player
- 1987 – Jack Lawless, American drummer
- 1990 – Erich Gonzales, Filipina actress
- 1990 – Marilou, Canadian pop singer
- 1990 – John Tavares, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1991 – Spencer Locke, American actress
- 1995 – Laura Dekker, Dutch sailor
- 1995 – Sammi Hanratty, American actress
Deaths
- 1246 – Mikhail of Chernigov of Kiev (b. 1185)
- 1384 – King Louis I of Naples (b. 1339)
- 1460 – Gilles Binchois, Flemish composer (b. 1400)
- 1586 – Chidiock Tichborne, English conspirator and poet (b. 1558)
- 1586 – John Ballard, English Jesuit priest and conspirator
- 1590 – Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer (b. 1534)
- 1625 – Heinrich Meibom, German historian and critic (b. 1555)
- 1627 – Jan Gruter, Dutch critic (b. 1560)
- 1630 – Claudio Saracini, Italian composer (b. 1586)
- 1639 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1579)
- 1643 – Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland, English politician and writer (b. 1610)
- 1721 – Thomas Doggett, Irish actor (b. 1640)
- 1803 – Robert Emmet, Irish patriot (b. 1780)
- 1810 – Mir Taqi Mir Urdu poet (b. 1723)
- 1815 – Nicolas Desmarest, French geologist (b. 1725)
- 1839 – Sir Thomas Hardy, Royal Navy Vice-Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty (b. 1769)
- 1840 – José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguay dictator and National Hero (b. 1766)
- 1852 – Philander Chase, American university founder (b. 1775)
- 1855 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran Catholic priest and educator (b. 1797)
- 1863 – Jacob Grimm, German writer and folklorist (b. 1785)
- 1884 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (b. 1802)
- 1898 – Theodor Fontane, German writer (b. 1819)
- 1906 – Robert R. Hitt, American politician (b. 1834)
- 1908 – Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (b. 1844)
- 1927 – George Nichols, American actor and film director (b. 1864)
- 1930 – Gombojab Tsybikov, Russian explorer (b. 1873)
- 1932 – Wovoka, American Northern Paiute religious leader (b. 1856)
- 1933 – Annie Besant, English suffragette (b. 1847)
- 1939 – Paul Bruchési, French Canadian Catholic archbishop (b. 1855)
- 1945 – William Buehler Seabrook, American occultist (b. 1884)
- 1945 – Augusto Tasso Fragoso, Brazilian president (b. 1869)
- 1945 – Eduard Wirths, Nazi physician (b. 1909)
- 1946 – Raimu, French actor (b. 1883)
- 1947 – Fiorello La Guardia, American politician (b. 1882)
- 1948 – Husain Salaahuddin, Maldivian writer (b. 1881)
- 1957 – Heino Kaski, Finnish composer (b. 1885)
- 1957 – Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (b. 1865)
- 1958 – Oscar O'Brien, Canadian catholic priest and folklorist (b. 1892)
- 1970 – Alexandros Othonaios, Greek general, 126h Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1879)
- 1971 – Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
- 1972 – Pierre-Henri Simon, French historian, essayist and novelist (b. 1903)
- 1973 – Jim Croce, American singer and songwriter (b. 1943)
- 1975 – Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1979 – Ludvík Svoboda, Czech politician (b. 1895)
- 1980 – Sanpei Hayashiya, Japanese comedian (b. 1925)
- 1984 – Steve Goodman, American folk music singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
- 1987 – Michael Stewart, American playwright (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Richie Ginther, American race car driver (b. 1930)
- 1993 – Erich Hartmann, German fighter pilot (b. 1922)
- 1994 – Jule Styne, American songwriter (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Abioseh Nicol, Sierra Leonean diplomat (b. 1924)
- 1996 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1913)
- 1996 – Paul Weston, American arranger and conductor (b. 1912)
- 1997 – Nick Traina, American singer (Link 80) (b. 1978)
- 1998 – Muriel Humphrey Brown, American politician (b. 1912)
- 1999 – Raisa Gorbachova, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1932)
- 1999 – Robert Lebel, Quebec ice hockey administrator (b. 1905)
- 2000 – Gherman Titov, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1935)
- 2002 – Sergei Bodrov, Jr., Russian actor (b. 1971)
- 2003 – Lord Williams of Mostyn, British politician (b. 1941)
- 2003 – Gordon Mitchell, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwe politician (b. 1922)
- 2004 – Brian Clough, English footballer and football manager (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Townsend Hoopes, American politician (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Nazi hunter (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (b. 1932)
- 2006 – John W. Peterson, American songwriter (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Kenny McKinley, American football player (b. 1987)
- 2010 – Leonard Skinner, American high school gym teacher; namesake of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Burhanuddin Rabbani, President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances
External links