What happened on September 20? There are more than 290 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 September 20
September 20 is the 264th day of the year 2024. There are 102 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 38th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Albany, Ohio 45710 sunrise will occur at 07:14 AM and sunset will occur at 07:29 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Virgo. The modern birthstone for this month is Sapphire while the mystical birthstone is Agate.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 131 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 27 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For September 20
- 1058Agnes de Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border-zone in present-day Burgenland.
- 1187Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.
- 1260the Great Prussian Uprising among the old Prussians begins against the Teutonic Knights.
- 1378Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the Butcher of Cesena, is elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.
- 1498The 1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake generates a tsunami that washes away the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan; since then the Buddha has sat in the open air.
- 1519Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with about 270 men on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
- 1596Diego de Montemayor founds the city of Monterrey in New Spain.
- 1697The Treaty of Rijswijk is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic ending the Nine Years’ War (1688–97).
- 1737The finish of the Walking Purchase which forces the cession of 1.2 million acres (4,860 km²) of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.
- 1792French troops stop allied invasion of France, during the War of the First Coalition at Valmy.
- 1835Ragamuffin rebels capture Porto Alegre, then capital of the Brazilian imperial province of Rio Grande do Sul, triggering the start of ten-year-long Farroupilha Revolution.
- 1848The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created.
- 1854Battle of Alma: British and French troops defeat Russians in the Crimea.
- 1857The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.
- 1860The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) visits the United States.
- 1863American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga ends.
- 1870Bersaglieri corps enter Rome through the Porta Pia and complete the unification of Italy.
- 1871Bishop John Coleridge Patteson is martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. He is the first bishop of Melanesia.
- 1881Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States following the assassination of James Garfield.
- 1893Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile.
- 1906Cunard Line’s RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
- 1909The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the South Africa Act 1909, creating the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony.
- 1910The ocean liner SS France, later known as the “Versailles of the Atlantic”, is launched.
- 1911White Star Line’s RMS Olympic collides with british warship HMS Hawke.
- 1920Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
- 1930Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is formed by Archbishop Mar Ivanios.
- 1942Holocaust in Letychiv, Ukraine. In the course of two days the German SS murders at least 3,000 Jews.
- 1961Greek general Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
- 1962James Meredith, an African-American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi.
- 1967RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland. It is operated by the Cunard Line.
- 1970Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen.
- 1971Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.
- 1973Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in The Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
- 1977The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.
- 1979A coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokasa I.
- 1982The National Football League players begin a 57-day strike.
- 1984A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.
- 1990South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.
- 2000The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by unapprehended forces using a Russian-built RPG-22 anti-tank missile.
- 2001In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a “war on terror”.
- 2002The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide.
- 2003Maldives civil unrest: the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé.
- 2007Between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters marched on Jena, Louisiana, in support of six black youths who had been convicted of assaulting a white classmate.
- 2008A dump truck full of explosives detonates in front of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 54 people and injuring 266 others.
- 2011The United States ends its “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.
Who Were Born On September 20?
- 524Kan B'alam I, ruler of Maya state of Palenque (d. 583)
- 1486Prince Arthur Tudor, son of King Henry VII of England (d. 1502)
- 1599Christian the Younger, German Protestant military leader (d. 1623)
- 1608Jean-Jacques Olier, French catholic priest, founder of The Sulpicians (d. 1657)
- 1746Móric Benyovszky Hungarian count (d. 1786)
- 1758Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Emperor of Haiti (d. 1806)
- 1778Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian naval officer and explorer (d. 1852)
- 1800Benjamin Franklin White, shape note “singing master”, and compiler of the shape note tunebook known as The Sacred Harp (d. 1879)
- 1820John F. Reynolds, American Civil War general (d. 1863)
- 1831Kate Harrington, American teacher, writer and poet (d. 1917)
- 1833Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1918)
- 1842Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist (d. 1923)
- 1844William H. Illingworth, American photographer (d. 1893)
- 1851Henry Arthur Jones, English writer (d. 1929)
- 1853Chulalongkorn, King of Thailand (d. 1910)
- 1861Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress (d. 1955)
- 1872Maurice Gamelin, French army general (d. 1958)
- 1873Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian race car driver (d. 1944)
- 1873Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (d. 1949)
- 1878Upton Sinclair, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1880Louise Peete, American murderess (d. 1947)
- 1884Maxwell Perkins, American editor and publisher (d. 1947)
- 1885Jelly Roll Morton, American jazz pianist, bandleader and composer (d. 1941)
- 1886Charles Williams, British author (d. 1945)
- 1889Charles Reidpath, American athlete (d. 1975)
- 1892Roy Turk, U.S. songwriter/lyricist (d. 1934)
- 1893Hermann Lux, German footballer (d. 1962)
- 1899Leo Strauss, German-born philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1902Stevie Smith, British poet (d. 1971)
- 1906Jean Dréville, French Film director (d. 1997)
- 1911Shriram Sharma Acharya, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1991)
- 1913John Collins, jazz guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1914Kenneth More, English actor (d. 1982)
- 1916Malik Meraj Khalid, Former Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 2003)
- 1917Clarice Taylor, American actress (d. 2011)
- 1917Don Starr, American-born actor (d. 2005)
- 1917Fernando Rey, Spanish-born actor (d. 1994)
- 1917Red Auerbach, American basketball coach (d. 2006)
- 1920Alberto de Lacerda, Portuguese poet (d. 2007)
- 1920Jay Ward, American animated cartoonist (d. 1989)
- 1921Chico Hamilton, American jazz drummer and bandleader
- 1922William Kapell, American pianist (d. 1953)
- 1923Geraldine Clinton Little, Irish-born poet (d. 1997)
- 1923Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (d. 1992)
- 1924Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Indian actor
- 1924Gogi Grant, American singer
- 1925Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand (d. 1946)
- 1925Bobby Nunn, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 1986)
- 1925James Bernard, English film composer (d. 2001)
- 1926Jackie Paris, American jazz singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1927Colette Bonheur, Canadian singer (d. 1966)
- 1927Johnny Dankworth, English musician and composer (d. 2010)
- 1927Rachel Roberts, Welsh actress (d. 1980)
- 1927Red Mitchell, American jazz bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet(d. 1992)
- 1928Donald Hall, American poet and US Poet Laureate
- 1928Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (d. 2000)
- 1929Anne Meara, American comic and actress
- 1930Eddie Bo, American singer and pianist (d. 2009)
- 1931Cherd Songsri, Thai filmmaker (d. 2006)
- 1933Dennis Viollet, English former footballer (d. 1999)
- 1933Steve McCall, American jazz drummer (d. 1989)
- 1934Sophia Loren, Italian actress
- 1934Takayuki Kubota, Japanese martial artist
- 1935David Pegg, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1935Jim Taylor, American football player
- 1935Keith Roberts, British science fiction author (d. 2000)
- 1937Birgitta Dahl, Swedish politician
- 1937Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (d. 2005)
- 1938Eric Gale, American jazz and session guitarist and record producer (d. 1994)
- 1939Robert L. Gerry III, American businessman
- 1940Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan
- 1941Dale Chihuly, American glass artist
- 1941Jim Cullum, Jr., American jazz cornetist noted for his contributions to the Dixieland jazz tradition
- 1942Gérald Tremblay, Canadian politician
- 1946Pete Coors, American businessman
- 1947Billy Bang, American jazz violinist and composer (d. 2011)
- 1947Bruce Pasternack, American CEO
- 1947Chris Ortloff, former New York state Republican politician and admitted pedophile
- 1947Mia Martini, Italian singer (d. 1995)
- 1947Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, French TV journalist and writer
- 1947Steve Gerber, American comics writer (d. 2008)
- 1948Chuck Panozzo, American musician (Styx)
- 1948George R. R. Martin, American writer
- 1948John Panozzo, American musician (Styx) (d. 1996)
- 1949Anthony Denison, American actor
- 1949Mahesh Bhatt, Indian film director
- 1951Cornelia Behm, German politician
- 1951Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1951Javier Marías, Spanish author, translator and academic
- 1954Henry Samueli, American NHL team owner
- 1956Debbi Morgan, American actress
- 1956Gary Cole, American actor
- 1956John Harle, English saxophonist/composer
- 1956Steve Coleman, African American saxophone player, spontaneous composer, composer and band leader
- 1957Alannah Currie, New Zealander musician (Thompson Twins)
- 1957Michael Hurst, New Zealand actor
- 1957Rich DiSilvio, American new media developer & artist
- 1958Arn Anderson, American wrestler
- 1959Danny Devos, Belgian artist
- 1959Joanna Domańska, Polish classical pianist and music teacher
- 1960Dave Hemingway, British musician, songwriter, and vocalist
- 1960Deborah Roberts, American journalist and TV reporter
- 1961Lisa Bloom, American lawyer and television personality
- 1963Velcrow Ripper, Canadian documentary filmmaker
- 1964Maggie Cheung, Hong Kong actress
- 1964Randy Bradbury, American musician (Pennywise)
- 1965Robert Rusler, American actor
- 1966Nuno Bettencourt, Portuguese rock musician
- 1967Gunnar Nelson, American musician (Nelson)
- 1967Kristen Johnston, American actress
- 1967Martin Harrison, American football player
- 1967Matthew Nelson, American musician (Nelson)
- 1968Ben Shepherd, American bassist (Soundgarden)
- 1968Darrell Russell, American race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1968Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress
- 1968Van Jones, American attorney and activist
- 1969Megumi Kudo, Japanese pro-wrestler
- 1969Patrick Pentland, Canadian musician (Sloan)
- 1969Richard Witschge, former Dutch footballer
- 1969Tim Rogers, Australian musician
- 1969Victoria Dillard, American actress
- 1971Dominika Peczynski, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)
- 1971Henrik Larsson, Swedish footballer
- 1971Masashi Hamauzu, Japanese composer
- 1971Sebastian Roth, German musician
- 1971Todd Blackadder, New Zealand rugby player
- 1973Ronald McKinnon, American football player
- 1974Michael Waddington, American defense lawyer
- 1975Asia Argento, Italian actress
- 1975Jason Robinson, American jazz saxophonist, electronic musician, and composer
- 1975Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian race car driver
- 1975Moon Bloodgood, American actress
- 1976Agata Buzek, Polish actress
- 1976Enuka Okuma, Canadian actress
- 1976Jon Bernthal, American actor
- 1976Reuben Singh, British entrepreneur
- 1976Yo Hitoto, Japanese pop singer
- 1976Yui Horie, Japanese seiyuu
- 1977Chris Mooney, American writer
- 1977Namie Amuro, Japanese pop singer
- 1978Dante Hall, American football player
- 1978Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player
- 1978Patrizio Buanne, Italian singer
- 1978Sarit Hadad, Israeli singer
- 1978T.J. Tucker, American baseball player
- 1979Dan Gillespie Sells, British musician The Feeling
- 1979Sean Davis, English footballer
- 1980Jonathan Le Billon, British actor
- 1980Madison Young, American pornographic actress
- 1980Mariacarla Boscono, Italian fashion model
- 1980Mehrzad Marashi, German singer
- 1980Ryan Donowho, American actor
- 1980Vladimir Karpets, Russian cyclist
- 1981Feliciano López, Spanish tennis player
- 1981Joanie Dodds, American model
- 1981Jordan Tata, American baseball player
- 1982Aaron Burkart, German rally driver
- 1982Athanasios Tsigas, Greek footballer
- 1982Brian Fortuna, American dancer
- 1982Jason Bacashihua, American ice hockey player
- 1982Sarah Glendening, American actress
- 1983Ángel Sánchez, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1983Freya Murray, Scottish athlete
- 1983Yuna Ito, Japanese singer and actress
- 1984Brian Joubert, French figure skater
- 1986Aldis Hodge, American actor
- 1987Jack Lawless, American drummer
- 1987Tito Tebaldi, Italian rugby player
- 1990Erich Gonzales, Filipina actress
- 1990John Tavares, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990Marilou, Canadian pop singer
- 1991Spencer Locke, American actress
- 1995Laura Dekker, Dutch sailor
- 1995Sammi Hanratty, American actress
Who Died On September 20?
- 1246Mikhail of Chernigov of Kiev (b. 1185)
- 1384King Louis I of Naples (b. 1339)
- 1460Gilles Binchois, Flemish composer (b. 1400)
- 1586Chidiock Tichborne, English conspirator and poet (b. 1558)
- 1586John Ballard, English Jesuit priest and conspirator
- 1590Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer (b. 1534)
- 1625Heinrich Meibom, German historian and critic (b. 1555)
- 1627Jan Gruter, Dutch critic (b. 1560)
- 1630Claudio Saracini, Italian composer (b. 1586)
- 1639Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1579)
- 1643Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland, English politician and writer (b. 1610)
- 1721Thomas Doggett, Irish actor (b. 1640)
- 1803Robert Emmet, Irish patriot (b. 1780)
- 1810Mir Taqi Mir Urdu poet (b. 1723)
- 1815Nicolas Desmarest, French geologist (b. 1725)
- 1839Sir Thomas Hardy, Royal Navy Vice-Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty (b. 1769)
- 1840José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguay dictator and National Hero (b. 1766)
- 1852Philander Chase, American university founder (b. 1775)
- 1855José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran Catholic priest and educator (b. 1797)
- 1863Jacob Grimm, German writer and folklorist (b. 1785)
- 1884Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (b. 1802)
- 1898Theodor Fontane, German writer (b. 1819)
- 1906Robert R. Hitt, American politician (b. 1834)
- 1908Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (b. 1844)
- 1927George Nichols, American actor and film director (b. 1864)
- 1930Gombojab Tsybikov, Russian explorer (b. 1873)
- 1932Wovoka, American Northern Paiute religious leader (b. 1856)
- 1933Annie Besant, English suffragette (b. 1847)
- 1939Paul Bruchési, French Canadian Catholic archbishop (b. 1855)
- 1945Augusto Tasso Fragoso, Brazilian president (b. 1869)
- 1945Eduard Wirths, Nazi physician (b. 1909)
- 1945William Buehler Seabrook, American occultist (b. 1884)
- 1946Raimu, French actor (b. 1883)
- 1947Fiorello La Guardia, American politician (b. 1882)
- 1948Husain Salaahuddin, Maldivian writer (b. 1881)
- 1957Heino Kaski, Finnish composer (b. 1885)
- 1957Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (b. 1865)
- 1958Oscar O'Brien, Canadian catholic priest and folklorist (b. 1892)
- 1970Alexandros Othonaios, Greek general, 126h Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1879)
- 1971Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
- 1972Pierre-Henri Simon, French historian, essayist and novelist (b. 1903)
- 1973Jim Croce, American singer and songwriter (b. 1943)
- 1975Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1979Ludvík Svoboda, Czech politician (b. 1895)
- 1980Sanpei Hayashiya, Japanese comedian (b. 1925)
- 1984Steve Goodman, American folk music singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
- 1987Michael Stewart, American playwright (b. 1924)
- 1989Richie Ginther, American race car driver (b. 1930)
- 1993Erich Hartmann, German fighter pilot (b. 1922)
- 1994Abioseh Nicol, Sierra Leonean diplomat (b. 1924)
- 1994Jule Styne, American songwriter (b. 1905)
- 1996Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1913)
- 1996Paul Weston, American arranger and conductor (b. 1912)
- 1997Nick Traina, American singer (Link 80) (b. 1978)
- 1998Muriel Humphrey Brown, American politician (b. 1912)
- 1999Raisa Gorbachova, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1932)
- 1999Robert Lebel, Quebec ice hockey administrator (b. 1905)
- 2000Gherman Titov, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1935)
- 2002Sergei Bodrov, Jr., Russian actor (b. 1971)
- 2003Gordon Mitchell, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2003Lord Williams of Mostyn, British politician (b. 1941)
- 2003Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwe politician (b. 1922)
- 2004Brian Clough, English footballer and football manager (b. 1935)
- 2004Townsend Hoopes, American politician (b. 1922)
- 2005Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Nazi hunter (b. 1908)
- 2006Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (b. 1932)
- 2006John W. Peterson, American songwriter (b. 1921)
- 2007Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (b. 1928)
- 2010Kenny McKinley, American football player (b. 1987)
- 2010Leonard Skinner, American high school gym teacher; namesake of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd (b. 1933)
- 2011Burhanuddin Rabbani, President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. (b. 1940)
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