On this day | April 20th

On this day: April 20th

Credit/Source: Wikipedia

1303 The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a papal bull of Pope Boniface VIII.

1653 Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament.

1657 English Admiral Robert Blake (admiral) destroys a Spanish silver fleet, under heavy fire from the shore, at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1657).

1657 Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).

1752 Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57).

1770 The Georgia (country) king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian Empire ally Gottlieb Heinrich Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman Empire at Battle of Aspindza.

1775 American Revolutionary War: The Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Battles of Lexington and Concord.

1789 George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, while en route to Manhattan for his first inauguration of George Washington.

1792 France declares war against the "Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor", the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars.

1800 The Septinsular Republic is established.

1809 Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.

1828 René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Alexander Gordon Laing. He would also be the first to return alive.

1836 United States 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.

1861 Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, attempting to display the value of balloons, makes record journey, flying 900 miles from Cincinnati to South Carolina.

1862 Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.

1865 Astronomer Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX's yacht, the ''L'Immaculata Concezion''.

1876 The April Uprising of 1876 begins. Its suppression shocks European opinion, and Bulgarian independence becomes a condition for ending the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78).

1884 Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical ''Humanum genus'', condemning Freemasonry.

1898 U.S. President William McKinley signs a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.

1902 Pierre Curie and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.

1908 Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.

1914 Nineteen men, women, and children participating in a strike are killed in the Ludlow Massacre during the Colorado Coalfield War.

1918 Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.

1922 The Soviet Union government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.

1945 World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.

1945 World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.

1945 Twenty Jewish children used in Nazi human experimentation at Neuengamme concentration camp are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school.

1946 The League of Nations officially dissolution (law), giving most of its power to the United Nations.

1961 Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.

1968 English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.

1968 South African Airways Flight 228 crashes near the Hosea Kutako International Airport in South West Africa (now Namibia), killing 123 people.

1972 Apollo program: Apollo 16 Apollo Lunar Module, commanded by John Young (astronaut) and piloted by Charles Duke, lands on the Moon.

1998 Air France Flight 422 crashes after taking off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, killing all 53 people on board.

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.

2004 - The Nicoll Highway in Singapore Nicoll Highway collapse, killing four workers.

2007 Johnson Space Center shooting: William Phillips barricades himself with a handgun 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 American Championship car racing race.

2010 The ''Deepwater Horizon'' drilling rig Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

2012 One hundred twenty-seven people are killed when a Bhoja Air Flight 213 in a residential area near the Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Islamabad, Pakistan.

2013 A 6.6-Moment magnitude scale 2013 Lushan earthquake strikes Lushan County, Sichuan, Ya'an, in China's Sichuan province, killing at least 193 people and injuring thousands.

2015 Ten people are killed in a 2015 Garowe attack on a convoy carrying food supplies to a United Nations compound in Garowe in the Somali region of Puntland.

2020 For the first time in history, Price of oil drop Negative pricing, an effect of the 2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war.

2021 State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin: Derek Chauvin is found guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd by the District Court of Minnesota.

2023 SpaceX Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, launches for the first time. It explodes 4 minutes into flight.

1494 Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (d. 1566)

1544 Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (d. 1602)

1586 Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (d. 1617)

1633 Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1654)

1646 Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (d. 1704)

1650 William Bedloe, English spy (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 minister and diplomat (d. 1794)

1745 Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (d. 1826)

1748 Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (d. 1831)

1808 Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France, Emperor of Second French Empire (d. 1873)

1816 Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (d. 1895)

1818 Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (d. 1893)

1826 Dinah Craik, English author and poet (d. 1887)

1839 Carol I of Romania, King of Romania (d. 1914)

1840 Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (d. 1916)

1850 Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Abraham Lincoln (1920 statue) (d. 1931)

1851 Alexander Dianin, Russian chemist (d. 1918)

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 (economist), English economist and civil servant (d. 1951)

1873 James Harcourt, English character actor (d. 1951)

1875 Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet and lawyer (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 Varoujan, Armenian poet and educator (d. 1915)

1889 Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (d. 1996)

1889 Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (d. 1918)

1889 Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, French mystic (d. 1918)

1889 Adolf Hitler, Austrian-born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (d. 1945)

1889 Tonny Kessler, Dutch footballer (d. 1960)

1890 Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (d. 1959)

1890 Adolf Schärf, Austrian soldier and politician, 6th President of Austria (d. 1965)

1891 Dave Bancroft, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)

1893 Harold Lloyd, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1971)

1893 Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1983)

1895 Henry de Montherlant, French essayist, novelist, and dramatist (d. 1972)

1896 Wop May, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1952)

1899 Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)

1904 Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)

1907 Miran Bakhsh, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1991)

1907 Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (d. 2010)

1908 Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player, pianist, bandleader, and actor (d. 2002)

1910 Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Turkish diplomat and politician (d. 1961)

1913 Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (d. 1986)

1913 Willi Hennig, German biologist and entomologist (d. 1976)

1914 Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)

1915 Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist and physician (d. 1997)

1916 Nasiba Zeynalova, Azerbaijani actress (d. 2004)

1918 Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (d. 2007)

1919 Richard Hillary, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1943)

1920 Frances Ames, South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist (d. 2002)

1920 Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician, List of Governors of Cross River State (d. 2000)

1920 John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2019)

1921 Katarína Kolníková, Slovak actress (d. 2006)

1923 Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network (d. 2016)

1923 Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (d. 2008)

1923 Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (d. 2000)

1924 Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (d. 2008)

1924 Leslie Phillips, English actor and producer (d. 2022)

1924 Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic

1925 Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (d. 2006)

1925 Elena Verdugo, American actress (d. 2017)

1927 Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician, 1st Minister of Employment and Immigration (Canada) (d. 2005)

1927 Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)

1927 K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (d. 2023)

1928 Robert Byrne (chess player), American chess player and author (d. 2013)

1928 Johnny Gavin (footballer), Irish international footballer (d. 2007)

1930 Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)

1930 Antony Jay, English director and screenwriter (d. 2016)

1931 Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)

1931 John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician

1932 Myriam Bru, French actress

1936 Lisa Davis (actress), English-American actress

1936 Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese technician, surveyor, and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2012)

1936 Pat Roberts, American captain, journalist, and politician

1937 Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Czechoslovakia) (d. 2011)

1937 Harvey Quaytman, American painter and educator (d. 2002)

1937 George Takei, American actor

1938 Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter (d. 2017)

1938 Manfred Kinder, German runner

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 Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter

1940 James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)

1941 Ryan O'Neal, American actor (d. 2023)

1943 Alan Beith, English academic and politician

1943 John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor and director

1944 Toivo Aare, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1999)

1945 Michael Brandon, American actor and director

1945 Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer

1945 Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma

1945 Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (d. 2003)

1945 Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach

1946 Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor

1947 Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician

1947 Viktor Suvorov, Russian intelligence officer, historian, and author

1948 Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (d. 2015)

1949 Veronica Cartwright, English-American actress

1949 Toller Cranston, Canadian-Mexican figure skater and painter (d. 2015)

1949 Massimo D'Alema, Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy

1949 Jessica Lange, American actress

1950 Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)

1950 N. Chandrababu Naidu, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

1951 Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)

1952 Louka Katseli, Greek economist and politician

1953 Sebastian Faulks, English journalist and author

1955 Donald Pettit, American engineer and astronaut

1955 Svante Pääbo, Swedish geneticist and Nobel Laureate

1956 Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Minister for Justice (Sweden)

1956 Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor

1956 Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician (d. 2014)

1958 Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player and coach

1960 Debbie Flintoff-King, Australian hurdler and coach

1961 Don Mattingly, American baseball player, coach, and manager

1961 Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor

1963 Rachel Whiteread, English sculptor

1964 John Carney (American football), American football player

1964 Crispin Glover, American actor and filmmaker

1964 Andy Serkis, English actor and director

1964 Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater

1965 Kostis Chatzidakis, Greek politician, Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism

1965 Léa Fazer, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actress

1966 David Chalmers, Australian philosopher and academic

1966 David Filo, American businessman, co-founded Yahoo!

1967 Mike Portnoy, American drummer and songwriter

1968 Julia Morris, Australian entertainer

1969 Felix Baumgartner, Austrian daredevil

1969 Will Hodgman, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Tasmania

1970 Shemar Moore, American actor

1971 Allan Houston, American basketball player

1972 Carmen Electra, American model and actress

1972 Stephen Marley (musician), Jamaican-American musician

1973 Julie Powell, American food writer and memoirist (d. 2022)

1975 Killer Mike, American rapper

1978 Carl Greenidge, English cricketer

1980 Emma Husar, Australian politician

1983 Miranda Kerr, Australian model

1987 Jorge Pinto, Portuguese politician

1988 Brandon Belt, American baseball player

1989 Vannesa Rosales, Venezuelan activist and teacher

1990 Jason Behrendorff, Australian cricketer

1991 Luke Kuechly, American football player

1997 Alexander Zverev, German tennis player

689 Cædwalla of Wessex, king of Wessex (b. 659)

AD 888 Emperor Xizong of Tang, Chinese emperor (b. 862)

1099 Peter Bartholomew (b. 1061)

1164 Antipope Victor IV (1159–1164)

1176 Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English-Irish politician, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (b. 1130)

1248 Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan (b. 1206)

1284 Hōjō Tokimune, regent of Japan (b. 1251)

1314 Pope Clement V (b. 1264)

1322 Simon Rinalducci, Italian Augustinian friar

1502 Mary of Looz-Heinsberg, Dutch noble (b. 1424)

1521 Zhengde Emperor, Chinese emperor (b. 1491)

1534 Elizabeth Barton, English nun and martyr (b. 1506)

1558 Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (b. 1485)

1643 Christoph Demantius, German composer and poet (b. 1567)

1703 Lancelot Addison, English clergyman and educator (b. 1632)

1769 Chief Pontiac, American tribal leader (b. 1720)

1831 John Abernethy (surgeon), English surgeon and anatomist (b. 1764)

1873 William Tite, English architect, designed the Royal Exchange, London (b. 1798)

1874 Alexander H. Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1817)

1881 William Burges, English architect and designer (b. 1827)

1886 Charles-François-Frédéric, marquis de Montholon-Sémonville, French general and diplomat, List of French ambassadors to the United States (b. 1814)

1887 Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Greek-Egyptian politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1826)

1899 Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (b. 1820)

1902 Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet and educator (b. 1833)

1912 Bram Stoker, Anglo-Irish novelist and critic, created Count Dracula (b. 1847)

1918 Jussi Merinen, Finnish politician (b. 1873)

1918 Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1850)

1927 Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1866)

1929 Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929) (b. 1862)

1931 Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet, Scottish-English fencer and businessman (b. 1862)

1932 Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1858)

1935 John Cameron (footballer, born 1872), Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1872)

1935 Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer (b. 1863)

1942 Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, 6th Head of State of Estonia (b. 1870)

1944 Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and pilot (b. 1917)

1945 Erwin Bumke, Polish-German jurist and politician (b. 1874)

1946 Mae Busch, Australian actress (b. 1891)

1947 Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)

1951 Ivanoe Bonomi, Italian politician, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)

1967 Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1896)

1968 Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (b. 1877)

1969 Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian Ustaše official and concentration camp administrator (b. 1914)

1980 M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1924)

1982 Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (b. 1892)

1986 Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (b. 1916)

1991 Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)

1991 Don Siegel, American director and producer (b. 1912)

1992 Marjorie Gestring, American springboard diver (b. 1922)

1992 Benny Hill, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1924)

1993 Cantinflas, Mexican actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)

1995 Milovan Đilas, Yugoslav communist, politician, theorist and author (b. 1911)

1996 Trần Văn Trà, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1918)

1999 Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)

1999 Rachel Scott, American victim of Columbine High School massacre (b. 1981)

1999 Cassie Bernall, American victim of Columbine High School massacre (b. 1981)

2001 Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)

2002 Alan Dale (singer), American singer (b. 1925)

2003 Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1911)

2004 Lizzy Mercier Descloux, French musician, singer-songwriter, composer, actress, writer and painter (b. 1956)

2005 Fumio Niwa, Japanese journalist and author (b. 1904)

2007 Andrew Hill (jazz musician), American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1931)

2007 Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931)

2008 Monica Lovinescu, Romanian journalist and author (b. 1923)

2010 Dorothy Height, American educator and activist (b. 1912)

2011 Tim Hetherington, English photographer and journalist (b. 1970)

2012 Bert Weedon, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1920)

2014 Neville Wran, Australian politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1926)

2016 Victoria Wood, British comedian, actress and writer (b. 1953)

2018 Avicii, Swedish DJ and musician (b. 1989)

2021 Idriss Déby, Chadian politician and military officer (b. 1952)

2021 Monte Hellman, American film director (b. 1929)

2021 Les McKeown, Scottish pop singer (b. 1955)

2022 Gavin Millar, Scottish film director (b. 1938)

2024 Antonio Cantafora, Italian film and television actor (b. 1944)

2024 Andrew Davis (conductor), English conductor (b. 1944)

2024 Roman Gabriel, Filipino-American NBA American footballer

2024 Lourdes Portillo, Mexican film director, producer, and writer (b. 1943)

Christian Calendar of saints:

- Agnes of Montepulciano

- Beuno

- Johannes Bugenhagen (Lutheran)

- Theotimos

- April 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

420 (cannabis culture)

UN Chinese Language Day (United Nations)

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/20 BBC: On This Day]

[https://www.onthisday.com/events/april/20 Historical Events on April 20]