What happened on April 20? There are more than 270 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About April 20
April 20 is the 111th day of the year 2024. There are 255 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 16th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Nixon, Texas 78140 sunrise occured at 06:57 AM and sunset occured at 08:02 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aries. The modern birthstone for this month is Diamond while the mystical birthstone is Opal.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 284 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 26 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For April 20
- 1323The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII.
- 1453The 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.
- 1526The last ruler of the Lodi Dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat.
- 1534Jacques Cartier begins the voyage during which he discovers Canada and Labrador.
- 1535The Sun dog phenomenon observed over Stockholm and depicted in the famous painting “Vädersolstavlan”.
- 1653Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament.
- 1657Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
- 1657Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
- 1689The former King James II of England, now deposed, lays siege to Derry.
- 1770The Georgian king Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
- 1775American Revolutionary War: the Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
- 1792France declares war on Austria, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
- 1809Two 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.
- 1810The Governor of Caracas declares independence from Spain.
- 1818The 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.
- 1828René Caillié becomes the first non-Muslim to enter Timbouctou.
- 1836U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
- 1861American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
- 1862Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the first pasteurization tests.
- 1865Astronomer Pietro Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX’s yacht, the L’Immaculata Concezion.
- 1871The Civil Rights Act of 1871 becomes law.
- 1876The 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.
- 1884Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum Genus.
- 1902Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
- 1908Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.
- 1912Opening day for baseball’s Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 191419 men, women, and children die in the Ludlow Massacre during a Colorado coal-miner’s strike.
- 1916The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.
- 1918Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
- 1922The Soviet government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian SSR.
- 1926Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.
- 1939Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in Nazi Germany.
- 1939Billie Holiday records the first Civil Rights song “Strange Fruit”.
- 1945World War II: Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
- 1945World War II: US troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
- 1946The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
- 1961Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed troops against Cuba.
- 1964BBC Two launches with a power cut because of the fire at Battersea Power Station.
- 1968English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.
- 1972Apollo 16, commanded by John Young, lands on the moon.
- 1978Korean Air Flight 902 is shot down by the Soviet Union.
- 1980Climax of Berber Spring in Algeria as hundreds of Berber political activists are arrested.
- 1984The Good Friday Massacre, an extremely violent ice hockey playoff game, is played in Montreal, Canada.
- 1985The ATF raids The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord compound in northern Arkansas.
- 1986Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years.
- 1998German terrorist group the Red Army Faction announces their dissolution after 28 years.
- 1999Columbine 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.
- 2007Johnson 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.
- 2008Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
- 2010The Deepwater Horizon oil well explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last five months.
Who Were Born On April 20?
- 702Jafar Sadiq, Shi'a Imam and Muslim scholar (d. 765)
- 1494Johannes Agricola, German Protestant reformer (d. 1566)
- 1586Saint Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (d. 1617)
- 1633Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan (d. 1654)
- 1646Charles Plumier, French botanist (d. 1704)
- 1650William Bedloe, English informer (d. 1680)
- 1668Yuri Troubetzkoy, Governor of Belgorod (d. 1739)
- 1718David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
- 1723Cornelius Harnett, American Continental Congress delegate (d. 1781)
- 1727Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-born Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)
- 1745Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826)
- 1808Emperor Napoleon III of France (d. 1873)
- 1816Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian and lexicographer (d. 1895)
- 1818Heinrich Göbel, German-born inventor (d. 1893)
- 1826Dinah Craik, English author (d. 1887)
- 1850Daniel Chester French, American sculptor (d. 1931)
- 1851Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (d. 1875)
- 1870Maulvi Abdul Haq, Pakistani scholar (d. 1961)
- 1871Sydney Chapman, British economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
- 1875Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet (d. 1909)
- 1879Paul Poiret, French couturier (d. 1944)
- 1882Holland Smith, U.S. General (d. 1967)
- 1884Daniel Varujan, Armenian poet (d. 1915)
- 1884Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
- 1889Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1945)
- 1889Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish-born businessman and activist (d. 1996)
- 1890Maurice Duplessis, premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
- 1893Edna Parker, American supercentenarian (d. 2008)
- 1893Harold Lloyd, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1893Joan Miró, Spanish painter (d. 1983)
- 1895Emile Christian, American musician (d. 1973)
- 1896Henry de Montherlant, French writer (d. 1972)
- 1896Wilfrid R. “Wop” May, Canadian aviator (d. 1952)
- 1904Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1904George Stibitz, American scientist (d. 1995)
- 1907Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek Orthodox bishop of Florina (d. 2010)
- 1908Lionel Hampton, American musician (d. 2002)
- 1913Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor (d. 1986)
- 1914Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1915Joseph Wolpe, South African–born psychotherapist (d. 1997)
- 1918Edward L. Beach, Jr., American naval officer, author (d. 2002)
- 1918Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
- 1919Richard Hillary, Australian pilot and author (d. 1943)
- 1920John Paul Stevens, American jurist
- 1920Ratko Zvrko, Croatian author, journalist and boxer (d. 1998)
- 1920Ronald Speirs, WWII Veteran (d. 2007)
- 1921Janine Sutto, French-Canadian actress
- 1923Irene Lieblich, Polish-born painter (d. 2008)
- 1923Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster
- 1923Tito Puente, American musician (d. 2000)
- 1924Leslie Phillips, English actor
- 1924Nina Foch, Dutch-born American actress (d. 2008)
- 1925Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (d. 2006)
- 1927Karl Alexander Müller, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
- 1928Gerald S. Hawkins, English astronomer (d. 2003)
- 1928Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (d. 2007)
- 1929Harry Agganis, Greek-American baseball and football player (d. 1955)
- 1931John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, British businessman and peer
- 1936Pat Roberts, American politician
- 1937Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
- 1937George Takei, American actor
- 1938Johnny Tillotson, American singer and songwriter
- 1938Tamási Eszter, Hungarian TV announcer and actress (d. 1991)
- 1939Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway
- 1939Peter S. Beagle, American author
- 1940James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1941Ryan O'Neal, American actor
- 1942Arto Paasilinna, Finnish writer
- 1943Edie Sedgwick, American actress (d. 1971)
- 1943John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor
- 1945Judith O'Dea, American actress
- 1945Michael Brandon, American actor
- 1945Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
- 1946Gordon Smiley, American racecar driver (d. 1982)
- 1946Julien Poulin, French Canadian actor
- 1947Andrew Tobias, American journalist and author
- 1947Björn Skifs, Swedish singer (Blue Swede)
- 1947David Leland, British actor, director and screenwriter
- 1947Ken Scott, English record producer and recording engineer
- 1948Craig Frost, American musician (Grand Funk & Bob Seger)
- 1948Gregory Itzin, American actor
- 1948Rémy Trudel, French Canadian politician
- 1949Jessica Lange, American actress
- 1949Massimo D'Alema, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1949Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater and artist
- 1949Veronica Cartwright, American actress
- 1950Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
- 1950Chandra Babu Naidu, Indian politician
- 1950Steve Erickson, American novelist
- 1951Luther Vandross, American singer (d. 2005)
- 1952Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball coach
- 1952Louka Katseli, Greek Minister for Labour and Social Security
- 1953Robert Crais, American author
- 1953Sebastian Faulks, British novelist
- 1954Gilles Lupien, French-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1955Don Pettit, American astronaut and inventor
- 1956Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician
- 1957Geraint Wyn Davies, Welsh-born Canadian actor
- 1958Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1959Clint Howard, American actor
- 1961Barry Smolin, American radio host, writer, and musician
- 1961Don Mattingly, American baseball player
- 1961Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
- 1961Nicholas Lyndhurst, British actor
- 1962Henry Joseph Nasiff Jr. (AKA: Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf), American radio personality (d. 2001)
- 1963Aubrey de Grey, British biomedical gerontologist
- 1963Maurício Gugelmin, Brazilian racing driver
- 1964Andy Serkis, English actor
- 1964Crispin Glover, American actor
- 1964Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
- 1965Adrian Fernández, Mexican racing driver
- 1965April March, American musician
- 1965Kostas Hatzidakis, Greek politician
- 1966David Chalmers, Australian philosopher
- 1967Lara Jill Miller, American actress
- 1967Mike Portnoy, American drummer (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold)
- 1967Raymond van Barneveld, Dutch darts player
- 1968J. D. Roth, American game show host and television personality
- 1968Julia Morris, Australian comedian and television presenter
- 1968Yelena Välbe, Russian cross-country skier
- 1970Adriano Moraes, Brazilian rodeo performer
- 1970Saraa, Mongolian singer
- 1970Shemar Moore, American actor
- 1971Allan Houston, American basketball player
- 1971Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer
- 1971Nikos Kyzeridis, Greek footballer
- 1972Željko Joksimović, Serbian singer, songwriter and producer
- 1972Carmen Electra, American actress
- 1972Le Huynh Đuc, Vietnamese footballer
- 1972Marko Kon, Serbian singer, composer, songwriter and producer
- 1972Stephen Marley, Jamaican musician
- 1973Geoff Lloyd, British radio presenter
- 1973Lamond Murray, American basketball player
- 1974Tina Cousins, English singer
- 1975Benjamin Butler (artist), painter
- 1976Aldo Bobadilla, Paraguayan football player
- 1976Chris Mason, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- 1976Joey Lawrence, American actor
- 1976Shay Given, Irish footballer
- 1977Johnny “The Bull” Stamboli, professional wrestler
- 1978Clayne Crawford, American actor
- 1978Mirei Kuroda, Japanese gravure idol
- 1979Ludovic Magnin, Swiss football player
- 1979Nathan Marquardt, American mixed martial artist
- 1979Quinn Weng, Taiwanese singer (Seraphim)
- 1980Arin Paul, Indian film director
- 1980Chris Duffy, American baseball player
- 1980Jasmin Wagner, German singer
- 1982Dario Knežević, Croatian football player
- 1983Danny Granger, American basketball player
- 1983Fabio Staibano, Italian rugby player
- 1983Joanne King, Irish/English actress
- 1983Miranda Kerr, Australian supermodel
- 1983Patrice M'Bock, Cameroonian footballer
- 1983Sebastian Ingrosso, Swedish DJ and producer
- 1984Edixon Perea Valencia, Colombian football player
- 1984Tyson Griffin, American mixed martial artist
- 1985Ehsan Jami, Dutch-Iranian politician and activist
- 1986Cameron Duncan, New Zealand director (d. 2003)
- 1987John Patrick Amedori, American actor
- 1987Michael Klauß, German footballer
- 1991Ondřej Kraják, Czech footballer
Who Died On April 20?
- 1176Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English military leader (b. 1130)
- 1314Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
- 1521Zhengde Emperor of China (b. 1491)
- 1534Elizabeth Barton, English nun (executed)
- 1558Johannes Bugenhagen, German reformer (b. 1485)
- 1643Christoph Demantius, German composer (b. 1567)
- 1703Lancelot Addison, English royal chaplain (b. 1632)
- 1769Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawa (b. 1720)
- 1831John Abernethy, English surgeon (b. 1764)
- 1873William Tite, English architect (b. 1798)
- 1874Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (b. 1817)
- 1887Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Egyptian statesman (b. 1826)
- 1899Joseph Wolf, German artist (b. 1820)
- 1902Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet who designed the flag of the State of Maranhão (b. 1833)
- 1912Bram Stoker, Irish author (b. 1847)
- 1918Karl Ferdinand Braun, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
- 1929Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia (b. 1862)
- 1932Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (b. 1858)
- 1944Elmer Gedeon, one of two Major League Baseball fatal casualties during World War II.
- 1945Erwin Bumke, German jurist (b. 1874)
- 1947King Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
- 1951Ivanoe Bonomi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
- 1964Eddie Dyer, American baseball player (b. 1899)
- 1969Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian war criminal (b. 1911)
- 1977Sepp Herberger, German football coach (b. 1897)
- 1982Archibald MacLeish, American poet and Librarian of Congress (b. 1892)
- 1986Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist, journalist and writer (b. 1916)
- 1989Doru Davidovici, Romanian writer and fighter pilot (b. 1945)
- 1991Don Siegel, American film director (b. 1912)
- 1991Steve Marriott, British singer and songwriter (The Small Faces) (Humble Pie) (b. 1947)
- 1992Benny Hill, British comedian (b. 1924)
- 1993Cantinflas, Mexican comedian and actor (b. 1911)
- 1994Jean Carmet, French actor (b. 1920)
- 1996Christopher Robin Milne, son of A. A. Milne (b. 1920)
- 1996Tran Van Tra, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1918)
- 1999Cassie Bernall, Columbine High School massacre victim (b. 1981)
- 1999Dylan Klebold, perpetrator of the Columbine High massacre (b. 1981)
- 1999Eric David Harris, perpetrator of the Columbine High massacre (b. 1981)
- 1999Rachel Joy Scott, Columbine High School massacre victim (b. 1981)
- 1999Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
- 1999Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist and comedian (b. 1896)
- 2001Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
- 2002Alan Dale, American singer (b. 1925)
- 2003Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911)
- 2003Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
- 2003Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
- 2005Fumio Niwa, Japanese novelist (b. 1904)
- 2005Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player (b. 1943)
- 2007Andrew Hill, American jazz composer and pianist (b. 1931)
- 2007Fred Fish, a computer programmer on the GNU Debugger and “Fish disks” (b. 1952)
- 2007Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931).
- 2008Monica Lovinescu, Romanian essayist, literary critic and journalist (b. 1923)
- 2008VL Mike, American rapper (b. 1976)
- 2009Beata Asimakopoulou, Greek actress (b. 1932)
- 2010Dorothy Height, American civil rights activist (b. 1912)
- 2011Chris Hondros, American photographer (b. 1970)
- 2011Tim Hetherington, British-American photojournalist (b. 1970)
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