April 20

April 20 in recent years

April 20 is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 255 days remaining 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.
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 the Battle of 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.
1752 – Start of Konbaung-Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in Burmese Civil War (1740–1757)
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 against the "King of Hungary and Bohemia", 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 that ended in a French victory.
1810 – The Governor of Caracas declares independence from Spain.
1818 – The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is 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 experiment falsifying the theory of spontaneous generation.
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 modern Bulgarian history, leading to the Russo-Turkish War and the liberation of Bulgaria from domination 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 in the New South Wales Rugby League.
1912 – Opening day for baseball's 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, 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.
1946 – The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
1951– Dan Gavriliu performs the first surgical replacement of a human organ.
1961 – Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
1964 – BBC Two launches with a 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, commanded by John Young, lands on the moon.
1978 – Korean Air Lines Flight 902 is shot down by the Soviet Union.
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 – The ATF raids 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 the 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 Columbine, Colorado.
2007 – Johnson Space Center Shooting:William Phillips 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 – The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.
2013 – A 6.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Lushan County, Ya'an, in China's Sichuan province, killing more than 150 people and injuring thousands.

Births

1492 – Pietro Aretino, Italian author, playwright, and poet (d. 1556)
1494 – Johannes Agricola, German reformer (d. 1566)
1586 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (d. 1617)
1633 – Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1654)
1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist (d. 1704)
1650 – William Bedloe, English fraudster (d. 1680)
1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (d. 1781)
1727 – Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)
1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826)
1748 – Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (d. 1831)
1808 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France (d. 1873)
1816 – Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (d. 1895)
1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and inventor (d. 1893)
1826 – Dinah Craik, English author (d. 1887)
1836 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American scientist (d. 1895)
1840 – Odilon Redon, French painter (d. 1916)
1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue (d. 1931)
1851 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (d. 1875)
1851 – Siegmund Lubin, Polish-American businessman, founded the Lubin Manufacturing Company (d. 1923)
1860 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (d. 1933)
1871 – Sydney Chapman, English economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
1875 – Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet (d. 1909)
1879 – Paul Poiret, French fashion designer (d. 1944)
1882 – Holland Smith, American general (d. 1967)
1884 – Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
1884 – Oliver Kirk, American boxer (d. 1960)
1884 – Daniel Varujan, Armenian poet (d. 1915)
1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (d. 1996)
1889 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian-German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1945)
1890 – Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor and producer (d. 1971)
1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter (d. 1983)
1893 – Edna Parker, American educator and super-centenarian (d. 2008)
1895 – Emile Christian, American trombonist and composer (d. 1973)
1895 – Henry de Montherlant, French author and playwright (d. 1972)
1896 – Wop May, Canadian pilot and captain (d. 1952)
1899 – Alan Arnett McLeod Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
1904 – George Stibitz, American computer scientist (d. 1995)
1907 – Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (d. 2010)
1908 – Lionel Hampton, American pianist, bandleader, and actor (d. 2002)
1913 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (d. 1986)
1913 – Willi Hennig, German biologist (d. 1976)
1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African-American psychotherapist (d. 1997)
1918 – Edward L. Beach, Jr., American captain and author (d. 2002)
1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian pilot, lieutenant, and author (d. 1943)
1920 – Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician (d. 2000)
1920 – Ronald Speirs, American colonel (d. 2007)
1920 – John Paul Stevens, American lieutenant and judge
1921 – Janine Sutto, French-Canadian actress
1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network
1923 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter (d. 2008)
1923 – Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (d. 2000)
1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (d. 2008)
1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor
1924 – Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic
1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (d. 2006)
1927 – Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician (d. 2005)
1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
1927 – K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1928 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (d. 2013)
1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (d. 2007)
1928 – Arvo Kruusement, Estonian actor and director
1929 – Harry Agganis, American baseball and football player (d. 1955)
1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician
1936 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2012)
1936 – Pat Roberts, American politician
1937 – George Takei, American actor
1937 – Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
1937 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician (d. 2011)
1938 – Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author and screenwriter
1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway
1939 – José Alves da Costa, Brazilian bishop (d. 2012)
1939 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter
1940 – James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)
1941 – David L. Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma
1941 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor
1942 – Arto Paasilinna, Finnish journalist and author
1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor
1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American model and actress (d. 1971)
1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor
1945 – Judith O'Dea, American actress
1945 – Thein Sein, Burmese politician, 8th President of Burma
1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
1946 – Tommy Hutton, American baseball player and sportscaster
1946 – Julien Poulin, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1946 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (d. 1982)
1947 – Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician
1947 – David Leland, English actor, director, and screenwriter
1947 – Ken Scott, English record producer
1947 – Björn Skifs, Swedish singer-songwriter, actor, and screenwriter (Blue Swede and Slam Creepers’)
1947 – Andrew Tobias, American journalist and author
1948 – Craig Frost, American pianist and songwriter (Grand Funk)
1948 – Gregory Itzin, American actor
1948 – Rémy Trudel, Canadian educator and politician
1949 – Veronica Cartwright, English-American actress
1949 – Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater and painter
1949 – Massimo D'Alema, Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
1950 – Steve Erickson, American author
1950 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
1950 – N. Chandrababu Naidu, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
1950 – Milt Wilcox, American baseball player
1951 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (d. 2005)
1952 – Louka Katseli, Greek politician
1952 – Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball coach
1953 – Robert Crais, American author
1953 – Sebastian Faulks, English journalist and author
1954 – Gilles Lupien, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 – Donald Pettit, American astronaut and engineer
1956 – Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician
1957 – Geraint Wyn Davies, Welsh-Canadian actor
1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
1959 – Clint Howard, American actor
1960 – Rodney Holman American football player and coach
1961 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
1961 – Nicholas Lyndhurst, English actor
1961 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1961 – Corrado Micalef, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 – Barry Smolin, American radio host and composer
1962 – Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf, American comedian (d. 2001)
1963 – Aubrey de Grey, English gerontologist and author
1963 – Maurício Gugelmin, Brazilian race car driver
1964 – Crispin Glover, American actor, singer, director, and screenwriter
1964 – Andy Serkis, English actor, director, and author
1964 – Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
1964 – John Carney American football player
1965 – Adrián Fernández, Mexican race car driver
1965 – Kostis Chatzidakis, Greek politician
1965 – April March, American singer-songwriter and animator
1966 – David Chalmers, Australian philosopher
1966 – David Filo, American businessman and the co-founded Yahoo!
1966 – Vincent Riendeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1967 – Lara Jill Miller, American actress and lawyer
1967 – Mike Portnoy, American drummer (Dream Theater, Transatlantic, Liquid Tension Experiment, and Flying Colors)
1967 – Raymond van Barneveld, Dutch darts player
1968 – Julia Morris, Australian comedian, actress, and producer
1968 – J.D. Roth, American television host and actor
1968 – Yelena Välbe, Russian skier
1969 – Felix Baumgartner, Austrian skydiver
1970 – Sarantuya, Mongolian soprano
1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor
1970 – Adriano Moraes, Brazilian bull rider
1971 – Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer
1971 – Allan Houston, American basketball player and manager
1971 – Nikos Kyzeridis, Greek footballer
1972 – Le Huynh Duc, Vietnamese footballer, coach, and manager
1972 – Carmen Electra, American model, actress, and singer
1972 – Željko Joksimović, Serbian singer-songwriter, and producer
1972 – Marko Kon, Serbian singer-songwriter
1972 – Stephen Marley, American singer, guitarist, and producer (Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers)
1973 – Todd Hollandsworth American baseball player and sportscaster
1973 – Geoff Lloyd, English radio host
1973 – Lamond Murray, American basketball player
1974 – Tina Cousins, English singer-songwriter and model
1975 – Benjamin Butler, American painter
1976 – Aldo Bobadilla, Paraguayan footballer
1976 – Shay Given, Irish footballer
1976 – Joey Lawrence, American actor
1976 – Chris Mason, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Lenka Němečková, Czech tennis player
1977 – Jon Hugger, American wrestler
1978 – Clayne Crawford, American actor
1978 – Mirei Kuroda, Japanese model
1979 – Ludovic Magnin, Swiss footballer
1979 – Nate Marquardt, American mixed martial artist
1979 – Gregor Tait, Scottish swimmer
1979 – Quinn Weng, Taiwanese singer (Seraphim)
1980 – Chris Duffy, American baseball player
1980 – Arin Paul, Indian director and screenwriter
1980 – Jasmin Wagner, German singer, actress, and model
1981 – Saša Tabaković, Slovenian actor
1982 – Jacqueline Govaert, Dutch singer-songwriter and pianist (Krezip)
1982 – Sayaka Kamiya, Japanese actress and model
1982 – Dario Knežević, Croatian footballer
1983 – Danny Granger, American basketball player
1983 – Miranda Kerr, Australian model
1983 – Joanne King, Irish-English actress
1983 – Patrice M'Bock, Cameroonian footballer
1983 – Erik Segerstedt, Swedish singer (E.M.D.)
1983 – Fabio Staibano, Italian rugby player
1983 – Yuri van Gelder, Dutch gymnast
1984 – Nelson Évora, Ivorian-Portuguese triple jumper
1984 – Anthony Fasano, American football player
1984 – Tyson Griffin, American mixed martial artist
1984 – Edixon Perea, Colombian footballer
1984 – Jenna Shoemaker, American triathlete
1984 – Harris Wittels, American actor
1985 – Amanda Fahy, English actress
1985 – Curt Hawkins, American wrestler
1985 – Ehsan Jami, Dutch-Iranian politician and activist
1985 – Billy Magnussen, American actor
1985 – Jadyn Maria, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter
1985 – Brent Seabrook, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Cameron Duncan, New Zealand director (d. 2003)
1987 – John Patrick Amedori, American actor
1987 – Thorsten Kirschbaum, German footballer
1987 – Michael Klauß, German footballer
1987 – Anna Rossinelli, Swiss singer-songwriter
1988 – Brandon Belt, American baseball player
1989 – Alex Black, American actor
1989 – Heejun Han, South Korean-American singer
1991 – Thomas Curtis, American actor
1991 – Marissa King, English gymnast
1991 – Ondřej Kraják, Czech footballer
1991 – Allie Will, American tennis player
1992 – Kristian Álvarez, Mexican footballer
1999 – Carly Rose Sonenclar, American actress and singer

Deaths

1176 – Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English-Irish military leader (b. 1130)
1314 – Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
1517 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed, Romanian son of Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1470)
1521 – Zhengde Emperor of China (b. 1491)
1534 – Elizabeth Barton, English nun (b. 1506)
1558 – Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (b. 1485)
1643 – Christoph Demantius, German composer and poet (b. 1567)
1703 – Lancelot Addison, English educator (b. 1632)
1769 – Chief Pontiac, American tribal leader (b. 1720)
1831 – John Abernethy, English surgeon (b. 1764)
1873 – William Tite, English architect, designed the Royal Exchange (b. 1798)
1874 – Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (b. 1817)
1887 – Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Greek-Egyptian politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1826)
1899 – Joseph Wolf, German illustrator (b. 1820)
1902 – Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet (b. 1833)
1912 – Bram Stoker, Irish author (b. 1847)
1918 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
1927 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter (b. 1866)
1929 – Prince Henry of Prussia (b. 1862)
1931 – Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet, Scottish fencer and businessman (b. 1862)
1932 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (b. 1858)
1935 – Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer (b. 1863)
1944 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and pilot (b. 1917)
1945 – Erwin Bumke, German jurist (b. 1874)
1947 – Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
1951 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Italian politician, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
1964 – Eddie Dyer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1899)
1967 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1896)
1968 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (b. 1877)
1969 – Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian general (b. 1911)
1982 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet (b. 1892)
1986 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (b. 1916)
1989 – Doru Davidovici, Romanian pilot (b. 1945)
1991 – Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Small Faces and Humble Pie) (b. 1947)
1991 – Don Siegel, American director and producer (b. 1912)
1992 – Benny Hill, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
1993 – Cantinflas, Mexican actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
1994 – Jean Carmet, French actor (b. 1920)
1996 – Tran Van Tra, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1918)
1996 – Christopher Robin Milne, English bookseller (b. 1920)
1999 people of the Columbine High School massacre
- – Cassie Bernall, American student (b. 1981)
- – Eric Harris, American student and murderer (b. 1981)
- – Dylan Klebold, American student and murderer (b. 1981)
- – Rachel Joy Scott, American student, inspired the Rachel's Challenge (b. 1981)
- – William David Sanders, American educator (b. 1951)
1999 – Rick Rude, American wrestler (b. 1958)
1999 – Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist and comedian (b. 1896)
2001 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
2002 – Alan Dale, American singer (b. 1925)
2002 – Pierre Rapsat, Belgian singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
2003 – Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
2003 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
2003 – Bernard Katz, German biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
2005 – Zygfryd Blaut, Polish footballer (b. 1943)
2005 – Fumio Niwa, Japanese author(b. 1904)
2007 – Andrew Hill, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1931)
2007 – Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931)
2007 – Fred Fish, American computer programmer (b. 1952)
2008 – VL Mike, American rapper (Chopper City Boyz) (b. 1976)
2008 – Monica Lovinescu, Romanian journalist and author (b. 1923)
2009 – Beata Asimakopoulou, Greek actress (b. 1932)
2010 – Dorothy Height, American educator and activist (b. 1912)
2011 – Tim Hetherington, English-American photographer and journalist (b. 1970)
2011 – Chris Hondros, American photographer (b. 1970)
2011 – Gerard Smith, American guitarist (TV on the Radio) (b. 1974)
2012 – Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro, Mexican general (b. 1942)
2012 – Jack Ashley, Baron Ashley of Stoke, English politician (b. 1922)
2012 – Matt Branam, American academic (b. 1954)
2012 – George Cowan, American chemist, businessman, and philanthropist (b. 1920)
2012 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1920)
2013 – Günseli Başar, Turkish model, Miss Europe 1952 (b. 1932)
2013 – Glenn Cannon, American actor and director (b. 1932)
2013 – Peter Kane Dufault, American poet (b. 1923)
2013 – Huang Wenyong, Malaysia-Singaporean actor (b. 1952)
2013 – Jocasta Innes, Chinese-English journalist and author (b. 1934)
2013 – Rick Mather, American-English architect (b. 1937)
2013 – Howard Phillips, American politician (b. 1941)
2013 – Nosher Powell, English actor and stuntman (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

4/20 (International cannabis culture holiday)
Christian Feast Day:
Ridván begins at sunset (Bahá'í Faith)
UN Chinese Language Day (United Nations)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: April 20

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