What happened on March 20? There are more than 283 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 March 20

March 20 In HistoryMarch 20 is the 80th day of the year 2024. There are 286 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 12th week of the year 2024.

On this day in Chinook, Washington 98614 sunrise occured at 07:15 AM and sunset occured at 07:30 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Pisces. The modern birthstone for this month is Aquamarine while the mystical birthstone is Jade.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 315 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).

Birthday curiousity Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the March 31 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For March 20

  • 235
    Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed emperor. He is the first foreigner to hold the Roman throne.
  • 1208
    Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
  • 1600
    The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden.
  • 1602
    The Dutch East India Company is established.
  • 1616
    Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
  • 1760
    The “Great Fire” of Boston, Massachusetts, destroys 349 buildings.
  • 1815
    After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.
  • 1848
    Revolutions of 1848 in the German states: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
  • 1852
    Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
  • 1861
    An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
  • 1883
    The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
  • 1888
    The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia.
  • 1913
    Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
  • 1914
    In New Haven, Connecticut, the first international figure skating championship takes place.
  • 1916
    Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
  • 1922
    The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
  • 1923
    The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.
  • 1933
    Giuseppe Zangara is executed in Florida’s electric chair for fatally shooting Anton Cermak in an assassination attempt against President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  • 1942
    World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.
  • 1948
    With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
  • 1951
    Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.
  • 1952
    The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
  • 1956
    Tunisia gains independence from France.
  • 1964
    The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
  • 1974
    Ian Ball attempts, but fails, to kidnap Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips in The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace, London.
  • 1980
    The Radio Caroline ship, Mi Amigo founders in a gale off the English coast.
  • 1985
    Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
  • 1985
    Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
  • 1987
    The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
  • 1988
    Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
  • 1990
    Ferdinand Marcos’s widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
  • 1993
    An IRA bomb explodes, killing two children in Warrington, Northwest England.
  • 1995
    A sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway kills 12 and wounds 1,300 persons.
  • 1999
    Legoland California, the only Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California.
  • 2000
    Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after murdering Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English.
  • 2003
    2003 invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries begin military operations in Iraq.
  • 2005
    A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years. One person is killed, hundreds are injured and evacuated.
  • 2006
    Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country’s banana crop.
  • 2006
    Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Deby.

Who Were Born On March 20?

  • 43 BC
    Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17 AD)
  • 1469
    Princess Cecily of York (d. 1507)
  • 1477
    Jerome Emser, German theologian (d. 1527)
  • 1502
    Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
  • 1639
    Ivan Mazepa, Hetman of Ukraine (d. 1709)
  • 1725
    Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1789)
  • 1735
    Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist (d. 1784)
  • 1737
    Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, King of Thailand (d. 1809)
  • 1741
    Jean Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (d. 1828)
  • 1770
    Friedrich Hölderlin, German writer (d. 1843)
  • 1799
    Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet (d. 1839)
  • 1800
    Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican Head of State (d. 1845)
  • 1811
    Napoleon II, Emperor of the French and King of Rome (d. 1832)
  • 1823
    Ned Buntline, American publisher (d. 1886)
  • 1828
    Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1906)
  • 1831
    Solomon L. Spink, U.S. Congressman (d. 1881)
  • 1834
    Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard University (d. 1926)
  • 1836
    Ferris Jacobs, Jr., American politician (d. 1886)
  • 1836
    Sir Edward Poynter, British painter (d. 1919)
  • 1840
    Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
  • 1856
    Frederick Winslow Taylor, American inventor (d. 1915)
  • 1856
    Sir John Lavery, Irish artist (d. 1941)
  • 1870
    Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
  • 1874
    Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (d. 1945)
  • 1876
    Payne Whitney, American businessman (d. 1927)
  • 1879
    Maud Menten, Canadian biochemist (d. 1960)
  • 1882
    René Coty, French President (d. 1962)
  • 1890
    Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor (d. 1957)
  • 1890
    Lauritz Melchior, Danish tenor (d. 1973)
  • 1895
    Fredric Wertham, German-born psychologist (d. 1981)
  • 1903
    Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1904
    B. F. Skinner, American psychologist (d. 1990)
  • 1905
    Jean Galia, French rugby footballer (d. 1949)
  • 1906
    Abraham Beame, American politician (d. 2001)
  • 1906
    Mickey Hirschl, Austrian wrestler (d. 1991)
  • 1906
    Ozzie Nelson, American bandleader and actor (d. 1975)
  • 1907
    Ruby Muhammad, American matriarch of Black Islam (d. 2011)
  • 1908
    Sir Michael Redgrave, English actor (d. 1985)
  • 1911
    Alfonso García Robles, Mexican diplomat and Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
  • 1914
    Wendell Corey, American actor (d. 1968)
  • 1915
    Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian politician, President (1974-1986) (d. 2000)
  • 1915
    Sviatoslav Richter, Soviet pianist (d. 1997)
  • 1916
    Pierre Messmer, French politician, Prime Minister (1972-1974) (d. 2007)
  • 1917
    Vera Lynn, English actress and singer
  • 1918
    Donald Featherstone, British writer and wargamer
  • 1918
    Jack Barry, American TV host (d. 1984)
  • 1918
    Marian McPartland, British jazz pianist
  • 1920
    Pamela Harriman, British-American diplomat (d. 1997)
  • 1921
    Dušan Pirjevec, Slovenian resistance fighter, philosopher and literary historian (d. 1977)
  • 1921
    Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer (d. 1973)
  • 1922
    Carl Reiner, American film director
  • 1922
    Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader
  • 1922
    Ray Goulding, American comedian (d. 1990)
  • 1923
    Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani author, journalist and political activist (d. 2006)
  • 1924
    Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (d. 1998)
  • 1925
    John Ehrlichman, American political figure (d. 1999)
  • 1927
    John Joubert, South African-born British composer
  • 1928
    Fred Rogers, American TV host (d. 2003)
  • 1929
    Germán Robles, Spanish actor
  • 1931
    Hal Linden, American actor
  • 1933
    Alexander Gorodnitsky, Russian geologist and poet
  • 1933
    George Altman, American baseball player
  • 1934
    David Malouf, Australian author
  • 1934
    Willie Brown, American politician
  • 1935
    Ted Bessell, American actor (d. 1996)
  • 1936
    Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jamaican Reggae artist
  • 1936
    Vaughn Meader, American comedian (d. 2004)
  • 1937
    Jerry Reed, American singer and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1937
    Lois Lowry, American children’s author
  • 1938
    Sergei Novikov, Russian Mathematician, Fields Medalist
  • 1939
    Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1940
    Stathis Chaitas, Greek fooballer
  • 1941
    Kenji Kimihara, Japanese long-distance runner
  • 1941
    Pat Corrales, American baseball player
  • 1943
    Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
  • 1943
    Naima Neidre, Estonian graphic artist
  • 1943
    Paul Junger Witt, American TV producer
  • 1945
    Henry Bartholomay, American fighter pilot
  • 1945
    Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
  • 1945
    Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1947
    John Boswell, American historian (d. 1994)
  • 1948
    Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1948
    John de Lancie, American actor
  • 1948
    Marva Wright, American blues singer (d. 2010)
  • 1949
    Marcia Ball, American singer and pianist
  • 1950
    Carl Palmer, English drummer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
  • 1950
    William Hurt, American actor
  • 1951
    Curt Smith, American author and media host
  • 1951
    Jimmie Vaughan, American blues guitarist
  • 1952
    Geoff Brabham, Australian racing driver
  • 1954
    Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
  • 1954
    Louis Sachar, American author
  • 1954
    Mike Francesa, American sports talk show host
  • 1954
    Paul Mirabella, American baseball player
  • 1956
    Anne Donahue, Vermont state representative
  • 1956
    Catherine Ashton, British politician
  • 1957
    Chris Wedge, American animator
  • 1957
    David Foster, Australian woodchopper
  • 1957
    Spike Lee, American film director
  • 1957
    Theresa Russell, American actress
  • 1957
    Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
  • 1958
    Holly Hunter, American actress
  • 1958
    Phil Anderson, Australian cyclist
  • 1958
    Stephen Sommers, American film director
  • 1959
    Dave Beasant, English football goalkeeper
  • 1959
    Steve McFadden, British actor
  • 1959
    Sting, American professional wrestler
  • 1960
    Norbert Pohlmann, German computer scientist
  • 1960
    Norm Magnusson, American fine artist
  • 1961
    Ingrid Arndt-Brauer, German politician
  • 1961
    Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer
  • 1961
    Slim Jim Phantom, American musician (Stray Cats)
  • 1963
    David Thewlis, British actor
  • 1963
    Kathy Ireland, American model and actress
  • 1963
    Paul Annacone, American tennis player
  • 1963
    Yelena Romanova, Russian athlete (d. 2007)
  • 1964
    Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer
  • 1965
    William Dalrymple, Writer and Historian
  • 1966
    Alka Yagnik, Indian singer
  • 1967
    Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
  • 1968
    A. J. Jacobs, American journalist and author
  • 1968
    Liza Snyder, American actress
  • 1968
    Paul Merson, English footballer
  • 1969
    Caroline Brunet, Canadian kayaker
  • 1969
    Jean Labonté, Canadian sledge hockey player
  • 1969
    Mannie Fresh, American producer
  • 1970
    Michael Rapaport, American actor
  • 1970
    Michele Jaffe, American novelist
  • 1971
    Ingrid Kavelaars, Canadian actress
  • 1971
    Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
  • 1971
    Touré, American writer
  • 1972
    Alexander Kapranos, Greek-British musician (Franz Ferdinand)
  • 1973
    Cedric Yarbrough, American actor
  • 1973
    Jane March, English actress
  • 1973
    Jung Woo-sung, South Korean actor
  • 1974
    Andrzej Pilipiuk, Polish writer
  • 1974
    Paula Garces, Colombian actress
  • 1976
    Chester Bennington, American musician (Linkin Park)
  • 1979
    Bernard O'Connor, Gaelic Footballer
  • 1979
    Bianca Lawson, American actress
  • 1979
    Fiona Wade, British actress
  • 1979
    Freema Agyeman, British actress
  • 1979
    Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1979
    Molly Jenson, American musician
  • 1979
    Silvia Abascal, Spanish actress
  • 1980
    Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
  • 1980
    Ock Ju-Hyun, South Korean singer
  • 1981
    Ian Murray, Scottish football player
  • 1982
    José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
  • 1982
    Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1982
    Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
  • 1984
    Christy Carlson Romano, American actress
  • 1984
    Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
  • 1984
    Marcus Vick, American football player
  • 1984
    Markus Niemelä, Finnish racing driver
  • 1984
    Valtteri Filppula, Finnish ice-hockey player
  • 1984
    Winta, Norwegian musician
  • 1985
    Morgan Amalfitano, French footballer
  • 1985
    Nicolas Lombaerts, Belgian footballer
  • 1985
    Ronnie Brewer, American basketball player
  • 1985
    Yoan Merlo, French e-sport gamer
  • 1986
    Dean Geyer, Australian singer and actor
  • 1986
    Julián Magallanes, Argentine footballer
  • 1986
    Ruby Rose Langenheim, Australian VJ
  • 1987
    Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian football player
  • 1987
    Jô, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987
    Kangana Ranaut, Indian actress
  • 1987
    Patrick Boyle, Scottish footballer
  • 1987
    Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987
    Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian hockey player
  • 1988
    Louie Vito, American snowboarder
  • 1989
    André Bernardes Santos, Portuguese footballer
  • 1989
    Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi cricketer
  • 1991
    Mattia Destro, Italian footballer

Who Died On March 20?

  • 687
    St. Cuthbert, patron saint of Northumbria (b. c. 634)
  • 1239
    Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (b. c. 1179)
  • 1390
    Alexios III, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1338)
  • 1413
    King Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
  • 1549
    Lord High Admiral Thomas Seymour, widower of Queen Catherine Parr (b. 1508)
  • 1568
    Duke Albert of Prussia (b. 1490)
  • 1586
    Richard Maitland, Scottish statesman and historian (b. 1496)
  • 1619
    Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
  • 1673
    Augustyn Kordecki, Polish prior (b. 1603)
  • 1730
    Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
  • 1732
    Johann Ernst Hanxleden, German philologist (b. 1681)
  • 1746
    Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (b. 1656)
  • 1780
    Sir Benjamin Truman – English brewer
  • 1793
    William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (b. 1705)
  • 1809
    Mary Bateman, English woman executed for witchcraft, known as the “Yorkshire Witch”
  • 1835
    Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
  • 1849
    James Justinian Morier, British diplomat and novelist (b. 1780)
  • 1855
    Joseph Aspdin, English mason and inventor (b. 1788)
  • 1865
    Keisuke Yamanami, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
  • 1874
    Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (b. 1810)
  • 1878
    Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
  • 1890
    Alexander F. Mozhayskiy, Russian aviation pioneer (b. 1825)
  • 1897
    Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (b. 1821)
  • 1899
    Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist (b. 1822)
  • 1916
    Ota Benga, Congolese pygmy (b. 1884)
  • 1918
    Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (b. 1828)
  • 1925
    Lord George Nathaniel Curzon, British statesman, Viceroy of India (b. 1859)
  • 1929
    Ferdinand Foch, French commander of allied forces in World War I (b. 1851)
  • 1931
    Hermann Müller, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
  • 1933
    Giuseppe Zangara, attempted assassin of Franklin Roosevelt (b. 1900)
  • 1934
    Queen Emma of the Netherlands (b. 1858)
  • 1940
    Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
  • 1947
    Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and filmdirector (b. 1884)
  • 1958
    Adegoke Adelabu, Nigerian politician (b. 1915)
  • 1964
    Brendan Behan, Irish playwright and author (b. 1923)
  • 1968
    Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish film director (b. 1889)
  • 1969
    Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
  • 1970
    Manolis Chiotis, Greek bouzouki virtuoso and song writer (b. 1920)
  • 1972
    Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 1974
    Chet Huntley, American television journalist (b. 1911)
  • 1977
    Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (b. 1919)
  • 1981
    Gerry Bertier, American wheelchair Olympian (b. 1953)
  • 1983
    Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician (b. 1891)
  • 1990
    Lev Yashin, Soviet footballer (b. 1929)
  • 1991
    Conor Clapton, son of Eric Clapton (b. 1986)
  • 1992
    Georges Delerue, French film composer (b. 1925)
  • 1993
    Polykarp Kusch, German-born American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1911)
  • 1994
    Lewis Grizzard, American humorist (b. 1946)
  • 1995
    Big John Studd, American professional wrestler (b. 1948)
  • 1997
    Tony Zale, American boxer (b. 1913)
  • 1997
    V. S. Pritchett, British writer and critic (b. 1900)
  • 1998
    George Howard, American jazz saxophone musician (b. 1956)
  • 2000
    Gene Eugene, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1961)
  • 2001
    Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1949)
  • 2003
    Sailor Art Thomas, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
  • 2004
    Pierre Sévigny, Canadian military officer and politician (b. 1917)
  • 2004
    Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
  • 2005
    Armand Lohikoski, Finnish film director (b. 1912)
  • 2007
    Gilbert E. Patterson, presiding bishop of COGIC (b. 1939)
  • 2007
    Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
  • 2007
    Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician (b. 1938)
  • 2008
    Brian Wilde, English actor (b. 1921)
  • 2008
    Eric Ashton, English rugby league footballer (b. 1935)
  • 2008
    Klaus Dinger, German musician (b. 1946)
  • 2008
    Shoban Babu, Indian actor (b. 1937)
  • 2009
    Mel Brown, American/Canadian blues guitarist (b. 1939)
  • 2010
    Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepalese politician (b. 1925)
  • 2010
    Harry Carpenter, English television sports commentator (b. 1925)
  • 2010
    Liz Carpenter, American feminist writer (b. 1920)
  • 2010
    Stewart Udall, American politician, environmentalist (b. 1920)
  • 2011
    Johnny Pearson, British Composer (b. 1925)

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