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| December 20 in recent years |
| 2017 (Wednesday) |
| 2016 (Tuesday) |
| 2015 (Sunday) |
| 2014 (Saturday) |
| 2013 (Friday) |
| 2012 (Thursday) |
| 2011 (Tuesday) |
| 2010 (Monday) |
| 2009 (Sunday) |
| 2008 (Saturday) |
December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 11 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- AD 69 – Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.
- 217 – Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, although Hippolytus of Rome is soon thereafter elected as a rival pope.
- 1192 – Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade.
- 1334 – Pope Benedict XII is elected.
- 1522 – Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
- 1606 – The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
- 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
- 1808 – Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
- 1808 - The original Covent Garden Theatre in London is destroyed by a fire, along with most of the scenery, costumes and scripts.
- 1832 – HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands
- 1860 – South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States.
- 1915 – World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.
- 1917 – Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.
- 1924 – Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison.
- 1941 – World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.
- 1946 – The popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.
- 1948 – Indonesian National Revolution: The Dutch military captures Yogyakarta, the temporary capital of the newly-formed Republic of Indonesia.
- 1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
- 1952 – A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.
- 1955 – Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
- 1957 – The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.
- 1967 – A Pennsylvania Railroad Budd Metroliner exceeds 155 mph on their New York Division, also present day Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
- 1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
- 1971 – The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.
- 1973 – The Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
- 1984 – The Summit Tunnel fire, one of the largest transportation tunnel fires in history, burns after a freight train carrying over 1 million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines.
- 1985 – Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.
- 1987 – In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
- 1989 – The United States invasion of Panama deposes Manuel Noriega.
- 1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
- 1995 – NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
- 1995 – American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 159.
- 1999 – Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.
- 2004 – A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.
- 2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
- 2007 – The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art.
- 2013 – China successfully launches the Bolivian Túpac Katari 1 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
Births
- 1494 – Oronce Finé, French mathematician and cartographer (d. 1555)
- 1496 – Joseph ha-Kohen, historian and physician (d. 1575)
- 1537 – John III, king of Sweden (d. 1592)
- 1576 – John Sarkander, Moravian priest and saint (d. 1620)
- 1626 – Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German scholar and politician (d. 1692)
- 1629 – Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (d. 1684)
- 1641 – Urban Hjärne, Swedish chemist, geologist, and physician (d. 1724)
- 1719 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French politician and diplomat, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1787)
- 1740 – Arthur Lee, American physician and diplomat (d. 1792)
- 1786 – Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d. 1853)
- 1792 – Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, French painter and educator (d. 1845)
- 1812 – Laura M. Hawley Thurston, American poet and educator (d. 1842)[1]
- 1838 – Edwin Abbott Abbott, English theologian, author, and educator (d. 1926)
- 1841 – Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
- 1861 – Ferdinand Bonn, German actor (d. 1933)
- 1861 – Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (d. 1926)
- 1865 – Elsie de Wolfe, American actress and interior decorator (d. 1950)
- 1868 – Harvey Samuel Firestone, American businessman, founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (d. 1938)
- 1869 – Charley Grapewin, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1871 – Henry Kimball Hadley, American composer and conductor (d. 1937)
- 1873 – Kan'ichi Asakawa, Japanese historian, author, and academic (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Turkish poet, academic, and politician (d. 1936)
- 1881 – Branch Rickey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
- 1886 – Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player and businessman (d. 1974)
- 1888 – Yitzhak Baer, German-Israeli historian and academic (d. 1980)
- 1888 – Fred Merkle, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
- 1890 – Yvonne Arnaud, French pianist, actress and singer (d. 1958)
- 1890 – Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- 1891 – Erik Almlöf, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1971)
- 1894 – Robert Menzies, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1978)
- 1898 – Konstantinos Dovas, Greek general and politician, 156th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1973)
- 1898 – Irene Dunne, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
- 1899 – Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Welsh preacher and physician (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Lissy Arna, German film actress (d. 1964)
- 1901 – Robert J. Van de Graaff, American physicist and academic, invented the Van de Graaff generator (d. 1967)
- 1902 – Prince George, Duke of Kent (d. 1942)
- 1902 – Sidney Hook, American philosopher and author (d. 1989)
- 1904 – Spud Davis, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian author (d. 1977)
- 1905 – Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1992)
- 1907 – Paul Francis Webster, American soldier and songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1908 – Dennis Morgan, American actor and singer (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian journalist and politician (d. 2000)
- 1911 – Hortense Calisher, American author (d. 2009)
- 1914 – Harry F. Byrd, Jr., American lieutenant, publisher, and politician (d. 2013)
- 1915 – Aziz Nesin, Turkish author and poet (d. 1995)
- 1916 – Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader and activist (d. 2010)
- 1917 – David Bohm, American-English physicist, neuropsychologist, and philosopher (d. 1992)
- 1917 – Cahit Külebi, Turkish poet and author (d. 1997)
- 1917 – Audrey Totter, American actress (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Jean Marchand, Canadian trade union leader and politician, 43rd Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1988)
- 1922 – George Roy Hill, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Beverly Pepper, American sculptor and painter
- 1924 – Charlie Callas, American actor and comedian (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Judy LaMarsh, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 42nd Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1980)
- 1925 – Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Geoffrey Howe, Welsh lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of Economics (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Michael Beaumont, 22nd Seigneur of Sark, English engineer and politician (d. 2016)
- 1927 – Jim Simpson, American sportscaster (d. 2016)
- 1927 – Kim Young-sam, South Korean soldier and politician, 7th President of South Korea (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Mala Powers, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1932 – John Hillerman, American actor (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Jean Carnahan, American author and politician
- 1933 – Olavi Salonen, Finnish runner
- 1933 – Rik Van Looy, Belgian cyclist
- 1935 – Khalid Ibadulla, Pakistani cricketer and sportscaster
- 1939 – Kathryn Joosten, American actress (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Kim Weston, American soul singer
- 1940 – Pat Chapman, English chef and author, founded The Curry Club
- 1942 – Rana Bhagwandas, Pakistani lawyer and judge, Chief Justice of Pakistan (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Bob Hayes, American sprinter and football player (d. 2002)
- 1942 – Michael P. Johnson, American sociologist
- 1942 – Jean-Claude Trichet, French banker and economist
- 1944 – Bobby Colomby, American drummer and producer
- 1944 – Ray Martin, Australian television host and journalist
- 1945 – Peter Criss, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
- 1945 – Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and author (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Uri Geller, Israeli-English magician and psychic
- 1946 – Lloyd Mumphord, American football player
- 1946 – Sonny Perdue, American captain and politician, 81st Governor of Georgia
- 1946 – Dick Wolf, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1947 – Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer-songwriter
- 1948 – Alan Parsons, English keyboard player and producer
- 1948 – Carol Smart, English sociologist and academic
- 1948 – Mitsuko Uchida, Japanese-British pianist
- 1949 – Soumaïla Cissé, Malian engineer and politician
- 1949 – Oscar Gamble, American baseball player (d. 2018)
- 1950 – Arturo Márquez, Mexican-American composer
- 1951 – Nuala O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan, Northern Irish academic and police ombudsman
- 1951 – Marta Russell, American author and activist (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Jenny Agutter, English actress
- 1954 – Michael Badalucco, American actor
- 1954 – Sandra Cisneros, American author and poet
- 1955 – David Breashears, American mountaineer, director, and producer
- 1955 – Binali Yıldırım, Turkish lawyer and politician, Turkish Minister of Transport
- 1955 – Martin Schulz, German politician
- 1956 – Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Mauritanian general and politician, President of Mauritania
- 1956 – Guy Babylon, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2009)
- 1956 – Blanche Baker, American actress and screenwriter
- 1956 – Junji Hirata, Japanese wrestler
- 1956 – Andrew Mackenzie, Scottish geologist and businessman
- 1956 – Anita Ward, American disco/R&B singer
- 1957 – Billy Bragg, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Anna Vissi, Cypriot singer-songwriter and actress
- 1957 – Mike Watt, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1958 – Doug Nordquist, American high jumper
- 1958 – James Thomson, American biologist and academic
- 1959 – George Coupland, Scottish scientist
- 1959 – Hildegard Körner, German runner
- 1959 – Jackie Fox, American bass player (The Runaways)
- 1959 – Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Polish physicist and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1959 – Trent Tucker, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Nalo Hopkinson, Jamaican-Canadian author and educator
- 1960 – Kim Ki-duk, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Mohammad Fouad, Egyptian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1961 – Mike Keneally, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 – Freddie Spencer, American motorcycle racer
- 1963 – Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo
- 1964 – Mark Coleman, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
- 1965 – Robert Cavanah, Scottish actor and director
- 1965 – Rich Gannon, American football player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Matt Neal, English race car driver
- 1966 – Veronica Pershina, Russian-American figure skater and coach
- 1966 – Chris Robinson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1968 – Joe Cornish, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Karl Wendlinger, Austrian race car driver
- 1969 – Alain de Botton, Swiss-English philosopher and author
- 1969 – Zahra Ouaziz, Moroccan runner
- 1969 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (d. 2000)
- 1970 – Grant Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
- 1970 – Alister McRae, Scottish race car driver
- 1970 – Jörg Schmidt, German footballer
- 1971 – Roger J. Beaujard, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1972 – Sarah Jones, British politician
- 1972 – Anders Odden, Norwegian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1972 – Anja Rücker, German sprinter
- 1972 – Gen Urobuchi, Japanese writer
- 1973 – Maarja Kangro, Estonian author and poet
- 1973 – David Nedohin, Canadian curler and sportscaster
- 1973 – Cory Stillman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1974 – Die, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1974 – Paul Linger, English footballer
- 1974 – Jacqui Oatley, British Sports presenter
- 1975 – Bartosz Bosacki, Polish footballer
- 1976 – Nenad Vučković, Croatian footballer
- 1978 – Andrei Markov, Russian-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer
- 1978 – Bouabdellah Tahri, French runner
- 1978 – Yoon Kye-sang, South Korean singer (g.o.d)
- 1979 – David DeJesus, American baseball player
- 1979 – Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist
- 1979 – Ramón Rodríguez, Puerto Rican-American actor and dancer
- 1980 – Israel Castro, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Ashley Cole, English footballer
- 1980 – Anthony da Silva, French-Portuguese footballer
- 1980 – Martín Demichelis, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Fitz Hall, English footballer
- 1981 – Royal Ivey, American basketball player
- 1981 – Darya Pchelnik, Belarusian hammer thrower
- 1981 – James Shields, American baseball player
- 1982 – Mohammad Asif, Pakistani cricketer
- 1982 – David Cook, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Kasper Klausen, Danish footballer
- 1982 – David Wright, American baseball player
- 1983 – Jonah Hill, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Bell Nuntita, Thai actress and singer[2]
- 1983 – Darren Sammy, Saint Lucian cricketer
- 1983 – Lara Stone, Dutch super model
- 1984 – Nikolaos Karabelas, Greek footballer
- 1990 – JoJo, American singer and actress
- 1991 – Jillian Rose Reed, American actress
- 1991 – Fabian Schär, Swiss footballer
- 1992 – Ksenia Makarova, Russian-American figure skater
- 1993 – Robeisy Ramírez, Cuban boxer
- 1997 – Suzuka Nakamoto, Japanese singer
- 1998 – Kylian Mbappé, French footballer
Deaths
- 217 – Zephyrinus, pope of the Catholic Church
- 860 – Æthelbald, king of Wessex (b. 834)
- 910 – Alfonso III, king of Asturias
- 977 – Fujiwara no Kanemichi, Japanese statesman (b. 925)
- 1295 – Margaret of Provence, French queen (b. 1221)
- 1326 – Peter of Moscow, Russian metropolitan bishop
- 1340 – John I, duke of Bavaria (b. 1329)
- 1355 – Stefan Dušan, emperor of Serbia (b. 1308)
- 1539 – Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer (b. 1506)
- 1552 – Katharina von Bora, wife of Martin Luther (b. 1499)
- 1590 – Ambroise Paré, French physician and surgeon (b. 1510)
- 1658 – Jean Jannon, French designer and typefounder (b. 1580)
- 1722 – Kangxi, emperor of the Qing Dynasty (b. 1654)
- 1723 – Augustus Quirinus Rivinus, German physician and botanist (b. 1652)
- 1740 – Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Portsmouth (b. 1675)
- 1765 – Louis, dauphin of France (b. 1729)
- 1768 – Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni, Italian poet and academic (b. 1692)
- 1783 – Antonio Soler, Spanish priest and composer (b. 1729)
- 1812 – Sacagawea, American explorer (b. 1788)
- 1820 – John Bell, American farmer (b. 1750)
- 1856 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian activist (b. 1820)
- 1862 – Robert Knox, Scottish surgeon and zoologist (b. 1791)
- 1880 – Gaspar Tochman, Polish-American colonel and lawyer (b. 1797)
- 1893 – George C. Magoun, American businessman (b. 1840)
- 1915 – Upendrakishore Ray, Indian painter and composer (b. 1863)
- 1916 – Arthur Morgan, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Queensland (b. 1856)
- 1917 – Lucien Petit-Breton, French-Argentinian cyclist (b. 1882)
- 1917 – Eric Campbell, British actor (b. 1879)
- 1919 – Philip Fysh, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1835)
- 1920 – Linton Hope, English sailor and architect (b. 1863)
- 1921 – Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general and politician (b. 1850)
- 1927 – Frederick Semple, American golfer and tennis player (b. 1872)
- 1929 – Émile Loubet, French lawyer and politician, 8th President of France (b. 1838)
- 1935 – Martin O'Meara, Irish-Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Erich Ludendorff, German general (b. 1865)
- 1938 – Annie Armstrong, American missionary (b. 1850)
- 1938 – Matilda Howell, American archer (b. 1859)
- 1939 – Hans Langsdorff, German captain (b. 1894)
- 1941 – Igor Severyanin, Russian-Estonian poet and author (b. 1887)
- 1950 – Enrico Mizzi, Maltese lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1885)
- 1954 – James Hilton, English-American author and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- 1956 – Ramón Carrillo, Argentinian neurologist and physician (b. 1906)
- 1959 – Juhan Simm, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1885)
- 1961 – Moss Hart, American director and playwright (b. 1904)
- 1961 – Earle Page, Australian soldier and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880)
- 1968 – John Steinbeck, American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1971 – Roy O. Disney, American banker and businessman, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (b. 1893)
- 1972 – Adolfo Orsi, Italian businessman (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (b. 1904)
- 1973 – Bobby Darin, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1936)
- 1974 – R. A. Bevan, English advertiser (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Rajani Palme Dutt, English journalist and politician (b. 1896)
- 1974 – André Jolivet, French guitarist and composer (b. 1905)
- 1976 – Richard J. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 48th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1902)
- 1981 – Dimitris Rontiris, Greek actor and director (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist and composer (b. 1887)
- 1984 – Stanley Milgram, American psychologist and academic (b. 1933)
- 1984 – Dmitry Ustinov, Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union (1976-84) (b. 1908)
- 1986 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (b. 1959)
- 1991 – Simone Beck, French chef and author (b. 1904)
- 1991 – Sam Rabin, English wrestler, singer, and sculptor (b. 1903)
- 1991 – Albert Van Vlierberghe, Belgian cyclist (b. 1942)
- 1993 – W. Edwards Deming, American statistician, author, and academic (b. 1900)
- 1993 – Nazife Güran, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1921)
- 1994 – Dean Rusk, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (b. 1909)
- 1995 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (b. 1938)
- 1996 – Carl Sagan, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and cosmologist (b. 1934)
- 1997 – Denise Levertov, English-American poet and translator (b. 1923)
- 1997 – Dick Spooner, English cricketer (b. 1919)
- 1997 – Dawn Steel, American film producer (b. 1946)
- 1998 – Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 1999 – Riccardo Freda, Egyptian-Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1909)
- 1999 – Hank Snow, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet and politician, 1st President of Senegal (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Raoul Bott, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Anne Rogers Clark, American dog breeder and trainer (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Adrian Mitchell, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Robert Mulligan, American director and producer (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Igor Troubetzkoy, Russian aristocrat and racing driver (b. 1912)
- 2009 – Brittany Murphy, American actress (b. 1977)
- 2009 – Arnold Stang, American actor (b. 1918)
- 2010 – James Robert Mann, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1920)
- 2010 – K. P. Ratnam, Sri Lankan academic and politician (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Barry Reckord, Jamaican playwright and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Stan Charlton, English footballer and manager (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Robert Juniper, Australian painter and sculptor (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Eagle Keys, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Victor Merzhanov, Russian pianist and educator (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Pyotr Bolotnikov, Russian runner (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Per-Ingvar Brånemark, Swedish surgeon and academic (b. 1929)
- 2014 – John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (b. 1915)
