April 20

April 20 in recent years

2024 (Saturday)

2023 (Thursday)

2022 (Wednesday)

2021 (Tuesday)

2020 (Monday)

2019 (Saturday)

2018 (Friday)

2017 (Thursday)

2016 (Wednesday)

2015 (Monday)

April 20 is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 255 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1303 – The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII.
• 1453 – The last naval battle in Byzantine history occurs, as three Genoese galleys escorting a Byzantine transport fight their way through the huge Ottoman blockade fleet and into the Golden Horn.
• 1526 – The last ruler of the Lodi Dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi was defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat.
• 1534 – Jacques Cartier begins the voyage during which he discovers Canada and Labrador.
• 1535 – The Sun Dog phenomenon observed over Stockholm and depicted in the famous painting "Vädersolstavlan"
• 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament.
• 1657 – Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
• 1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
• 1689 – The former King James II of England, now deposed, lays siege to Derry.
• 1770 – The Georgian king Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: the Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
• 1792 – France declares war on Austria, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
• 1809 – Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon I of France at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four day campaign which ended in a French victory.
• 1810 – The Governor of Caracas declares independence from Spain.
• 1818 – The case of Ashford v Thornton was concluded, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle was upheld.
• 1828 – René Caillié becomes the first non-Muslim to enter Timbouctou.
• 1836 – U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
• 1862 – Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the first pasteurization tests.
• 1865 – Astronomer Pietro Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX's yacht, the L’Immaculata Concezion.
• 1871 – The Civil Rights Act of 1871 becomes law.
• 1876 – The April Uprising - a key point in the new Bulgarian history, leading to the Russo-Turkish War and the liberation of Bulgaria from ottoman slavery, as an independent part of the Ottoman Empire.
• 1884 – Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum Genus.
• 1902 – Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
• 1908 – Opening day of competition of the New South Wales Rugby League.
• 1912 – Opening day for baseball stadiums Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1914 – 19 men, women, and children die in the Ludlow Massacre during a Colorado coal-miner's strike.
• 1916 – The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings
• 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day.
• 1922 – The Soviet government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian SSR.
• 1926 – Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.
• 1939 – Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in Nazi Germany
• 1939 – Billie Holiday records the first Civil Rights song "Strange Fruit".
• 1945 – World War II: US troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
• 1945 – World War II: Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
• 1961 – Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed troops against Cuba.
• 1964 – BBC Two launches with the power cut because of the fire at Battersea Power Station.
• 1968 – English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.
• 1972 – Apollo 16 landed on the moon commanded by John Young.
• 1978 – Korean Air Flight 902 is shot down by Soviets.
• 1980 – Climax of Berber Spring in Algeria as hundreds of Berber political activists are arrested.
• 1984 – The Good Friday Massacre, an extremely violent ice hockey playoff game, is played in Montreal, Canada.
• 1985 – ATF raid on The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord compound in northern Arkansas.
• 1986 – Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years.
• 1998 – German terrorist group Red Army Faction announces their dissolution after 28 years.
• 1999 – Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado.
• 2007 – Johnson Space Center Shooting: A man with a handgun barricades himself in NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself.
• 2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
• 2010 – Deepwater Horizon oil well explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last five months.

Births

• 702 – Jafar Sadiq, Shi'a Imam and Muslim scholar (d. 765)
• 1494 – Johannes Agricola, German Protestant reformer (d. 1566)
• 1586 – Saint Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (d. 1617)
• 1633 – Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan (d. 1654)
• 1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist (d. 1704)
• 1650 – William Bedloe, English informer (d. 1680)
• 1668 – Yuri Troubetzkoy, Governor of Belgorod (d. 1739)
• 1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
• 1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American Continental Congress delegate (d. 1781)
• 1727 – Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-born Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)
• 1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826)
• 1808 – Emperor Napoleon III of France (d. 1873)
• 1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-born inventor (d. 1893)
• 1826 – Dinah Craik, English author (d. 1887)
• 1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor (d. 1931)
• 1851 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (d. 1875)
• 1870 – Maulvi Abdul Haq, Pakistani scholar (d. 1961)
• 1871 – Sydney Chapman, British economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
• 1879 – Paul Poiret, French couturier (d. 1944)
• 1882 – Holland Smith, U.S. General (d. 1967)
• 1884 – Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
• 1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish-born businessman and activist (d. 1996)
• 1889 – Adolf Hitler, German politician, Chancellor of Germany, (d. 1945)
• 1890 – Maurice Duplessis, premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
• 1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor (d. 1971)
• 1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter (d. 1983)
• 1893 – Edna Parker, American supercentenarian (d. 2008)
• 1895 – Emile Christian, American musician (d. 1973)
• 1896 – Wop May, Canadian aviator (d. 1952)
• 1896 – Henry de Montherlant, French writer (d. 1972)
• 1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
• 1904 – George Stibitz, American scientist (d. 1995)
• 1907 – Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek Orthodox bishop of Florina (d. 2010)
• 1908 – Lionel Hampton, American musician (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor (d. 1986)
• 1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African–born psychotherapist (d. 1997)
• 1918 – Edward L. Beach, Jr., American naval officer, author (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian pilot and author (d. 1943)
• 1920 – Ronald Speirs, WWII Veteran (d. 2007)
• 1920 – John Paul Stevens, American jurist
• 1921 – Janine Sutto, French-Canadian actress
• 1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster
• 1923 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-born painter (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Tito Puente, American musician (d. 2000)
• 1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-born American actress (d. 2008)
• 1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor
• 1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Karl Alexander Müller, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Gerald S. Hawkins, English astronomer (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Harry Agganis, Greek-American baseball and football player (d. 1955)
• 1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, British businessman and peer
• 1936 – Pat Roberts, American politician
• 1937 – Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
• 1937 – George Takei, American actor
• 1938 – Tamási Eszter, Hungarian TV announcer and actress (d. 1991)
• 1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author
• 1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway
• 1939 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer
• 1940 – James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor
• 1942 – Arto Paasilinna, Finnish writer
• 1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor
• 1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor
• 1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
• 1946 – Julien Poulin, French Canadian actor
• 1946 – Gordon Smiley, American racecar driver (d. 1982)
• 1947 – David Leland, British actor, director and screenwriter
• 1947 – Ken Scott, English record producer and recording engineer
• 1947 – Björn Skifs, Swedish singer (Blue Swede)
• 1947 – Andrew Tobias, American journalist and author
• 1948 – Craig Frost, American musician (Grand Funk & Bob Seger)
• 1948 – Gregory Itzin, American actor
• 1948 – Rémy Trudel, French Canadian politician
• 1949 – Veronica Cartwright, American actress
• 1949 – Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater and artist
• 1949 – Massimo D'Alema, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
• 1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
• 1950 – Steve Erickson, American novelist
• 1950 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
• 1950 – Chandra Babu Naidu, Indian politician
• 1951 – Luther Vandross, American singer (d. 2005)
• 1952 – Louka Katseli, Greek Minister for Labour and Social Security
• 1952 – Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball coach
• 1953 – Sebastian Faulks, British novelist
• 1954 – Gilles Lupien, French-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1955 – Don Pettit, American astronaut and inventor
• 1956 – Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician
• 1957 – Geraint Wyn Davies, Welsh-born Canadian actor
• 1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1959 – Clint Howard, American actor
• 1961 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
• 1961 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player
• 1961 – Barry Smolin, American radio host, writer, and musician
• 1961 – Nicholas Lyndhurst, British actor
• 1962 – Henry Joseph Nasiff Jr. (AKA: Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf), American radio personality (d. 2001)
• 1963 – Aubrey de Grey, British biomedical gerontologist
• 1963 – Maurício Gugelmin, Brazilian racing driver
• 1964 – Crispin Glover, American actor
• 1964 – Andy Serkis, English actor
• 1964 – Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
• 1965 – Adrian Fernández, Mexican racing driver
• 1965 – Kostas Hatzidakis, Greek politician
• 1965 – April March, American musician
• 1966 – David Chalmers, Australian philosopher
• 1967 – Raymond van Barneveld, Dutch darts player
• 1967 – Lara Jill Miller, American actress
• 1967 – Mike Portnoy, American drummer (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold)
• 1968 – J. D. Roth, American game show host and television personality
• 1968 – Yelena Välbe, Russian cross-country skier
• 1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor
• 1970 – Adriano Moraes, Brazilian rodeo performer
• 1970 – Saraa, Mongolian singer
• 1971 – Tina Cousins, English singer
• 1971 – Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer
• 1971 – Allan Houston, American basketball player
• 1971 – Nikos Kyzeridis, Greek footballer
• 1972 – Le Huynh Đuc, Vietnamese footballer
• 1972 – Carmen Electra, American actress
• 1972 – Željko Joksimović, Serbian singer, songwriter and producer
• 1972 – Marko Kon, Serbian singer, composer, songwriter and producer
• 1972 – Stephen Marley, Jamaican musician
• 1973 – Geoff Lloyd, British radio presenter
• 1973 – Lamond Murray, American basketball player
• 1976 – Shay Given, Irish footballer
• 1976 – Joey Lawrence, American actor
• 1976 – Chris Mason, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
• 1977 – Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli, professional wrestler
• 1978 – Mirei Kuroda, Japanese gravure idol
• 1979 – Nathan Marquardt, American mixed martial artist
• 1979 – Quinn Weng, Taiwanese singer (Seraphim)
• 1980 – Chris Duffy, American baseball player
• 1980 – Arin Paul, Indian Film Director
• 1980 – Jasmin Wagner, German singer
• 1983 – Danny Granger, American basketball player
• 1983 – Miranda Kerr, Australian supermodel
• 1983 – Joanne King, Irish/English actress
• 1983 – Fabio Staibano, Italian rugby player
• 1984 – Tyson Griffin, American mixed martial artist
• 1985 – Ehsan Jami, Dutch-Iranian politician and activist.
• 1986 – Cameron Duncan, New Zealand director (d. 2003)
• 1987 – John Patrick Amedori, American actor

Deaths

• 1176 – Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English military leader (b. 1130)
• 1314 – Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
• 1521 – Zhengde, Emperor of China (b. 1491)
• 1534 – Elizabeth Barton, English nun (executed)
• 1558 – Johannes Bugenhagen, German reformer (b. 1485)
• 1643 – Christoph Demantius, German composer (b. 1567)
• 1703 – Lancelot Addison, English royal chaplain (b. 1632)
• 1769 – Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawa (b. 1720)
• 1831 – John Abernethy, English surgeon (b. 1764)
• 1873 – William Tite, English architect (b. 1798)
• 1874 – Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (b. 1817)
• 1887 – Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Egyptian statesman (b. 1826)
• 1899 – Joseph Wolf, German artist (b. 1820)
• 1902 – Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet who designed the flag of the State of Maranhão (b. 1833)
• 1912 – Bram Stoker, Irish author (b. 1847)
• 1918 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
• 1929 – Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia (b. 1862)
• 1932 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (b. 1858)
• 1944 – Elmer Gedeon, one of two Major League Baseball fatal casualties during World War II.
• 1945 – Erwin Bumke, German jurist (b. 1874)
• 1947 – King Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
• 1951 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
• 1964 – Eddie Dyer, American baseball player (b. 1899)
• 1977 – Sepp Herberger, German football coach (b. 1897)
• 1982 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet and Librarian of Congress (b. 1892)
• 1986 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist, journalist and writer (b. 1916)
• 1989 – Doru Davidovici, Romanian writer and fighter pilot (b. 1945)
• 1991 – Steve Marriott, British singer and songwriter (The Small Faces) (Humble Pie) (b. 1947)
• 1991 – Don Siegel, American film director (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Benny Hill, British comedian (b. 1924)
• 1993 – Cantinflas, Mexican comedian and actor (b. 1911)
• 1994 – Jean Carmet, French actor (b. 1920)
• 1996 – Christopher Robin Milne, son of A.A. Milne (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
• 1999 – Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist and comedian (b. 1896)
• 1999 – Eric David Harris, perpetrator of the Columbine High massacre (b. 1981)
• 1999 – Dylan Klebold, perpetrator of the Columbine High massacre (b. 1981)
• 1999 – Cassie Bernall, Columbine High School massacre victim (b. 1981)
• 1999 – Rachel Joy Scott, Columbine High School massacre victim (b. 1981)
• 2001 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
• 2002 – Alan Dale, American singer (b. 1925)
• 2003 – Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
• 2003 – Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Fumio Niwa, Japanese novelist (b. 1904)
• 2005 – Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player (b. 1943)
• 2007 – Andrew Hill, American jazz composer and pianist (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931).
• 2007 – Fred Fish, a computer programmer on the GNU Debugger and "Fish disks" (b. 1952)
• 2008 – VL Mike, American rapper (b. 1976)
• 2008 – Monica Lovinescu, Romanian essayist, literary critic and journalist (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Beata Asimakopoulou, Greek actress (b. 1932)
• 2010 – Dorothy Height, American civil rights activist (b. 1912)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Agnes of Montepulciano
  • Blessed Oda of Brabant
  • Theotimos
  • April 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Ridván begins at sunset (Bahá'í Faith)
• 4-20 national smoke weed day

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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