December 20

Events

• 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of emperor.
• 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 crusade.
• 1522 - 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.
• 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, the first Soviet secret police, is 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 - The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for the first time. 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.
• 1960 - National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
• 1968 - The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
• 1973 - The Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
• 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 in Vienna.
• 1989 - United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega.
• 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.
• 1995 - The Democratic Social Movement is founded in Greece.
• 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: 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 rules against mandating the teaching of "intelligent design" in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.
• 2005 - The first same sex civil partnerships in Scotland are celebrated.
• 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.
• 2007 - Her Majesty Queen 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, was 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)
• 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)
• 1873 - Kwan-Ichi Asakawa, Japanese historian(d. 1948)
• 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)
• 1905 - Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricket player
• 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
• 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)
• 1922 - Beverly Pepper, American sculptor and painter
• 1924 - Charlie Callas, American comedian
• 1924 - Judy LaMarsh, Canadian politician and broadcaster (d. 1980)
• 1925 - Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (d. 2007)
• 1925 - Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia
• 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)
• 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
• 1942 - Rana Bhagwandas, Former Pakistani Chief Justice
• 1944 - Bobby Colomby, American musician (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• 1944 - Jean Fergusson, English actress
• 1945 - Peter Criss, 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
• 1948 - Stevie Wright, English-born Australian musician and songwriter
• 1949 - Soumaïla Cissé, Malian politician
• 1949 - Cecil Cooper, American 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
• 1955 - Ed Kuepper, German-born Australian musician (The Saints, Laughing Clowns)
• 1956 - Blanche Baker, American actress
• 1956 - Junji Hirata, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1957 - Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter
• 1957 - Mike Watt, American bassist
• 1957 - Stephen Bicknell, British organ builder and scholar (d. 2007)
• 1957 - Joyce Hyser, American actress
• 1957 - Anna Vissi, Greek-Cypriot singer
• 1958 - Steve Sailer, American political commentator
• 1959 - Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Prime Minister of Poland
• 1960 - Nalo Hopkinson, Canadian writer
• 1961 - Mohammad Fouad, Arab singer and actor
• 1963 - Infanta Elena of Spain
• 1963 - Joel Gretsch, American actor
• 1964 - Mark Coleman, American Mixed Martial Artist, UFC Hall of Famer
• 1965 - Robert Cavanah, Scottish actor
• 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
• 1970 - Grant Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 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, Neopets creator
• 1976 - Ramon Stoppelenburg, world traveler and Dutch author
• 1977 - Saukrates, Canadian rapper
• 1978 - Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer
• 1978 - Andrei Markov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1979 - David DeJesus, American baseball player
• 1979 - Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist
• 1980 - Ashley Cole, English footballer
• 1980 - Fitz Hall, English footballer
• 1980 - Tony, French-born Portuguese footballer
• 1981 - Roy Williams, American football player
• 1981 - James Shields, American baseball player
• 1981 - Chris Edwards, British musician (Kasabian)
• 1982 - David Cook, American singer, winner of American Idol.
• 1982 - David Wright, American baseball player
• 1982 - Mohammed Asif, Pakistani cricket player
• 1982 - Kasper Klausen, Danish footballer
• 1983 - Jonah Hill, American actor
• 1983 - Lucy Pinder, British model
• 1983 - Darren Sammy, St. Lucian West Indies cricketer
• 1983 - Lara Stone, Dutch model
• 1983 - Adrián Varela, Mexican singer
• 1984 - David Tavaré, Spanish singer
• 1987 - Tariel Zintiridis, Greek judoka
• 1989 - Virgilio Falco, Italian politician
• 1989 - Fred Reid, professional Squash player
• 1990 - JoJo, American 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. 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, American Shoshone explorer
• 1856 - Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (b. 1820)
• 1862 - Robert Knox
• 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)
• 1938 - Annie Armstrong, American missionary leader (b. 1850)
• 1941 - Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887)
• 1954 - James Hilton, British 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, American politician (b. 1902)
• 1981 - Dimitris Rontiris, Greek actor and director (b. 1899)
• 1982 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-born pianist (b. 1887)
• 1984 - Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1946)
• 1986 - Joe DeSa, American baseball player (b. 1959)
• 1988 - Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian television pioneer (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, 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)
• 1998 - Chester 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, Bangladesh 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, Malaysian climber
• 2006 - Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer
• 2007 - Nataline Sarkisyan, American medical patient (b. 1990)

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