December 20 in recent years
2009 (Sunday)
2008 (Saturday)
2007 (Thursday)
2006 (Wednesday)
2005 (Tuesday)
2004 (Monday)
2003 (Saturday)
2002 (Friday)
2001 (Thursday)
2000 (Wednesday)
December 20 leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 10 days remaining until the end of the year.
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 , the first permanent English settlement in the Americas1803 - Louisiana Purchase completed at a ceremony in New Orleans .1835 - First signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence at Goliad .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 .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.
1995 - The Democratic Social Movement is founded in Greece .
1996 - American astronomer and Astrophysicist Carl Edward Sagan dies at age 62.1996 - 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 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 , 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 author1916 - Michel Chartrand , Quebec union leader1917 - 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 - 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 politician1926 - 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. Senator1933 - Rik Van Looy , Belgian cyclist
1938 - John Harbison , American composer1944 - Bobby Colomby , American musician (Blood )1945 - Peter George Criscoula , American drummer and singer (Kiss )1946 - Uri Geller , Israeli psychic1946 - John Spencer , American actor (d. 2005 )
1946 - Dick Wolf , American television series creator
1947 - Gigliola Cinquetti , Italian singer1948 - Alan Parsons , British music producer and artist1949 - Soumaïla Cissé , Malian politician1949 - Cecil Cooper , Major League baseball player
1951 - Gilbert Montagné , French musician1951 - Peter May , Scottish novelist and scriptwriter
1952 - Jenny Agutter , English actress1954 - Michael Badalucco , American actor1954 - Sandra Cisneros , American writer
1955 - Ed Kuepper , German-born Australian musician (The Saints , Laughing Clowns )1956 - Junji Hirata , Japanese professional wrestler1957 - Billy Bragg , English singer and songwriter1957 - Mike Watt , American bassist
1957 - Stephen Bicknell , leading British organ expert (d. 2007 )
1957 - Joyce Hyser , American actress
1957 - Anna Vissi , Greek-Cypriot singer
1958 - Steve Sailer , American political commentator1960 - Nalo Hopkinson , Canadian writer1963 - Infanta Elena of Spain , Duchess of Lugo1965 - Rich Gannon , American football player1966 - Matt Neal , British Race Driver1966 - Chris Robinson , American singer (Black Crowes )
1966 - Myrra Malmberg , Swedish singer
1968 - Karl Wendlinger , Austrian racing driver1968 - Joe Cornish , British comedian
1968 - Phil Andrews , British racing driver
1970 - Nicole DeBoer , Canadian actress1972 - Raymond I. Herrera , Mexican/American drummer for Fear Factory, producer, entrepreneur1973 - Cory Stillman , National Hockey League forward1974 - Die , Japanese musician (Dir en grey )1975 - Bartosz Bosacki , Polish footballer1975 - Christian Filippella , Italian film director
1975 - Jaydy Michel , Mexican model
1976 - Jang Hyuk , Korean actor1976 - Aubrey Huff , American baseball player
1976 - Adam Powell , Neopets creator
1976 - Ramon Stoppelenburg , world traveler and Dutch author
1977 - Saukrates , Canadian rapper1978 - Geremi Njitap , Cameroon footballer1978 - Andrei Markov , Russian hockey player
1979 - Michael Rogers , Australian cyclist1980 - Ashley Cole , English footballer1980 - Anthony da Silva , French-Portuguese footballer
1981 - Roy Williams , American football player1981 - James Shields , American baseball player
1982 - David Wright , baseball player1983 - Jonah Hill , American actor1983 - Lara Stone , Dutch model
1983 - Lucy Pinder , British model
1987 - Tariel Zintiridis , Greek judoka1990 - Joanna "JoJo" Levesque American pop/R&B SingerDeaths [ ] 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 poet1524 - Thomas Linacre , English scholar and physician1539 - Johannes Lupi , Flemish composer1590 - Ambroise Paré , French physician (b. 1510 )1722 - Kangxi Emperor of China (b. 1654 )1723 - Augustus Quirinus Rivinus (b. 1652 )1740 - Richard Boyle , 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 Expedition1917 - 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 , 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 , member of the first Malaysian team to summit Mount Everest Holidays and observances [ ] External links [ ]
120 Familypedia people were born on December 20
144 Familypedia people died on December 20
100 Familypedia people were first married on December 20