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2020 was heavily defined by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, which led to global
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
and
economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
in the 1930s. ''Geospatial World'' also called 2020 "the worst year in terms of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
" in part due to major climate disasters worldwide, including major bushfires in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and the western United States, as well as extreme tropical cyclone activity affecting large parts of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
. A
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
progress report published in December 2020 indicated that none of the international
Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
for 2020 were achieved. ''Time'' magazine used its fifth ever Red X cover to declare 2020 "the worst year ever", although the cover article itself did not go as far, instead saying "There have been worse years in U.S. history, and certainly worse years in world history, but most of us alive today have seen nothing like this one."


Events


January

*
January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the ye ...
–
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
begins its term in the
presidency of the European Union The official title President of the European Union (or President of Europe) does not exist, but there are a number of presidents of European Union institutions, including: * the President of the European Council (since 1 December 2019, Charles ...
. *
January 2 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. * 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire ...
– The
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
are deployed to
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
and Victoria to assist mass evacuation efforts amidst the
2019–20 Australian bushfire season The 201920 Australian bushfire season (Black Summer), was a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, is considered a megafire. The Australian National ...
. *
January 3 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor. * 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
– A United States
drone strike Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakist ...
at
Baghdad International Airport Baghdad International Airport , previously Saddam International Airport ( ar, مطار بغداد الدولي, Maṭār Baġdād ad-Dawaliyy) is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in th ...
kills ten people, including the intended target, Iranian general
Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Qu ...
, and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. *
January 5 Events Pre-1600 * 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France. 1601–1900 *1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French a ...
**
Second Libyan Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Second Libyan Civil War , partof = the Arab Winter, Libyan Crisis, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, War on terror, and Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict , image ...
: President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...
announces the
deployment Deployment may refer to: Engineering and software Concepts * Blue-green deployment, a method of installing changes to a web, app, or database server by swapping alternating production and staging servers * Continuous deployment, a software e ...
of Turkish troops to Libya on behalf of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
-backed
Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...
. **
2019–20 Croatian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 22 December 2019. Social Democratic Party nominee Zoran Milanović narrowly defeated incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in a second round of voting. As no candidate received a majority ...
: The second round of voting is held and Zoran Milanović of the
Social Democratic Party of Croatia The Social Democratic Party of Croatia ( hr, Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, SDP) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the succes ...
defeats
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. *
January 8 Events Pre-1600 * 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying. * 871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an inv ...
**
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
launches ballistic missiles at two
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i military bases hosting U.S. soldiers, injuring multiple personnel. ** Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 is shot down by Iranian forces shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board. *
January 9 Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain. *1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin ...
** A rare,
circumbinary planet A circumbinary planet is a planet that orbits two stars instead of one. The two stars orbit each other in a binary system, while the planet typically orbits farther from the center of the system than either of the two stars. In contrast, circum ...
called TOI 1338-b is discovered. ** Islamic State in the Greater Sahara militants
assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...
a
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesChinagodrar, killing at least 89 Nigerien soldiers. *
January 10 Events Pre-1600 * 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. * 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the ...
–
Haitham bin Tariq Haitham bin Tariq Al Said ( ar, هيثم بن طارق آل سعيد, Heysem bin Târık Âl Saîd; born 13 October 1954) is the current Sultan of Oman, reigning since January 2020 following the death of his cousin, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. P ...
succeeds Qaboos bin Said as the Sultan of Oman. *
January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muha ...
– Presidential and legislative elections are held in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
.
Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
is reelected and the
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majorit ...
wins a majority of 67 out of 113 seats in the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
. *
January 12 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. * 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already rei ...
– The Taal Volcano in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
has its first major eruption since 1977. *
January 16 Events Pre-1600 * 27 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire. * 378 – General Siyaj K'ak' conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Sp ...
– The first impeachment trial of the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
, begins in the U.S. Senate. He is acquitted on
February 5 Events Pre-1600 * 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy. * 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion. * 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...
.'Not Guilty': Trump Acquitted On 2 Articles Of Impeachment As Historic Trial Closes
by Philip Ewing, NPR, February 5, 20204:33 PM ET *
January 18 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail. *1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chin ...
– Yemeni Civil War: 111 Yemeni soldiers and 5 civilians are killed in a drone and missile attack on a
military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...
near Maʼrib. *
January 20 Events Pre-1600 * 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. * 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom. * 1156 & ...
–
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: Chinese authorities publicly confirm
human-to-human transmission Human-to-human transmission (HHT) is an epidemiologic vector, especially in case the disease is borne by individuals known as superspreaders. In these cases, the basic reproduction number of the virus, which is the average number of additional pe ...
of
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
. *
January 22 Events Pre-1600 * 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor ('' Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople. * 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw ...
– The
Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the He ...
elects
Katerina Sakellaropoulou Katerina Sakellaropoulou ( el, Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου, Latn, el, Katerína Sakellaropoúlou, ; born 30 May 1956) is a Greek judge who has been the president of Greece since 13 March 2020. She was elected by the Hellenic ...
as
president of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...
. *
January 23 Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. * 1264 & ...
–
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: The Chinese city of
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
, the epicentre of the initial COVID-19 outbreak, is quarantined with all scheduled public transport services and intercity flights halted. *
January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. * 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. * 1564 – The Council of T ...
– The
2020 Peruvian parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in Peru on 26 January 2020.Congress of the Republic of Peru The Congress of the Republic of Peru ( es, Congreso de la República) is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Congress' composition is established by Chapter I of Title IV of the Constitution of Peru. Congress is compose ...
. *
January 28 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany. * 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
– A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes between the islands of
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
and
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
, resulting in some damage. It was the largest earthquake in the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
since
1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...
. *
January 29 Events Pre-1600 * 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. * 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, rul ...
– U.S. president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
signs the
United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement The Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) Commonly known as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the United States and the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CU ...
, a North American trade agreement set to replace
NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
. *
January 30 Events Pre-1600 * 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen. *1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom. 1601–1900 * 1607 – An estimat ...
–
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
(WHO) declares the outbreak of
the disease "The Disease" is the 111th episode of the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', the 17th episode of the fifth season. The episode focuses on a plot with Harry Kim (played by Garrett Wang) as '' USS Voyager'' encounters a un ...
as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the sixth time that this measure has been invoked since
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
. *
January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. *1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
– The
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...
formally withdraw from the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, beginning an 11-month
transition period The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...
.


February

*
February 8 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir. * 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of ...
– The
2020 Irish general election The 2020 Irish general election took place on Saturday 8 February, to elect the 33rd Dáil, the lower house of Ireland's parliament. The election was called following the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil by the president, at the request of the ...
is held to elect all 160 members of the 33rd
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland rea ...
, the
lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of the
Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): ** Dáil Éireann ...
. *
February 11 Events Pre-1600 *660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. * 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming ...
–
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
(WHO) names the disease
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
. *
February 13 Events Pre-1600 * 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome. * 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th. * 1462 – The ...
–
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
publishes a detailed study of
Arrokoth Arrokoth ( minor-planet designation 486958 Arrokoth; provisional designation ), formerly nicknamed Ultima Thule, is a trans-Neptunian object located in the Kuiper belt. Arrokoth became the farthest and most primitive object in the Solar Syste ...
, the most distant body ever explored by a spacecraft. *
February 19 Events Pre-1600 * 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. * 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of ...
– Hanau shootings: Eleven people are killed and five injured in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany. *
February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. * ...
– The
Pakatan Harapan The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the ...
coalition
government of Malaysia The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malays ...
collapses and is replaced by the
Perikatan Nasional The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coalition was ...
coalition.
Muhyiddin Yassin Tan Sri Dato' Haji Mahiaddin bin Md Yasin (born 15 May 1947), commonly known as Muhyiddin bin Muhammad Yassin ( ms, محيي الدين بن محمد ياسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ), is a Malaysian politician who serv ...
becomes the eighth
Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the f ...
on 1 March. *
February 27 Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. * 425 – The University of Constantin ...
–
2020 stock market crash On 20 February 2020, stock markets across the world suddenly crashed after growing instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ended on 7 April 2020. Beginning on 13 May 2019, the yield curve on U.S. Treasury securities inverted, and rem ...
: Triggered by
fears Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear in ...
of the spreading of COVID-19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plunges by 1,190.95 points, or 4.4%, to close at 25,766.64, its largest one-day point decline at the time. This follows several days of large falls, marking the worst week for the index since
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. *
February 28 Events Pre-1600 * 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. * 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes. * 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is execut ...
– Syrian Civil War:
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
expresses solidarity with
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
after 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in an
airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The off ...
by pro- Syrian government forces. * February 29 **A conditional peace agreement is signed between the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
. The U.S. begins gradually withdrawing combat troops from
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
on March 10. ** Barquisimeto shooting: During a demonstration, pro-government colectivos shoot at disputed President and Speaker of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas. On 23 January 2019, Guaid� ...
and his supporters in Barquisimeto,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, leaving five injured.


March

*
March 5 Events Pre-1600 * 363 – Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. *1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern j ...
– The
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...
authorizes the Afghanistan War Crimes inquiry to proceed, reportedly allowing for the first time for
U.S. citizens Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
to be investigated. *
March 9 Events Pre-1600 *141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China. *1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg. *1226 &ndas ...
**
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
:
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
becomes the first country to implement a nationwide quarantine in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. ** International share prices fall sharply in response to a Russo-Saudi oil price war and the impact of COVID-19. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
(DJIA) plunges more than 2,000 points, the largest fall in its history up to that point.
Oil prices The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPE ...
also plunge by as much as 30% in early trading, the biggest fall since
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
. * March 11 –
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
declares the COVID-19 outbreak a
pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of in ...
. *
March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. *1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the C ...
– Global stock markets crash due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
travel ban A travel ban is one of a variety of mobility restrictions imposed by governments. Bans can be universal or selective. The restrictions can be geographic, imposed by either the originating or destination jurisdiction. They can also be based on indiv ...
on the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
. The
DJIA The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indexe ...
goes into free fall, closing at over −2,300 points, the worst losses for the index since 1987. *
March 13 Events Pre-1600 * 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh. *1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War. *1591 – At the Battle of Ton ...
–
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: The government of Nepal announces that
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...
will be closed to climbers and the public for the rest of the season due to concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia. *
March 16 Events Pre-1600 * 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang. *1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York. * 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse ...
– The
Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
falls by 2,997.10, the single largest point drop in history and the second-largest percentage drop ever at 12.93%, an even greater crash than Black Monday (1929). This follows the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing that it will cut its target interest rate to 0–0.25%. *
March 17 Events Pre-1600 * 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. * 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of ei ...
**
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: *** The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
's external and
Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
borders are closed for at least 30 days in an effort to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. ***The
Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europ ...
and 2020 Copa América
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
tournaments are postponed until the summer of
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
by
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
and
CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Surina ...
respectively. *
March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
**
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
: *** The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 is cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe, the first cancellation in the contest's 64-year history. *** Solidarity trial, a WHO-sponsored clinical trial dedicated to finding a cure against COVID-19, is announced. *
March 20 Events Pre-1600 * 673 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Palace of Kiyomihara in Asuka. * 1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. * 1600 – The Link ...
** COVID-19 pandemic: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 10,000 as the total number of cases reaches a quarter of a million. ** The Bhadla Solar Park is commissioned and becomes the world's largest solar park. * March 24 ** COVID-19 pandemic: ***
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
go into lockdown to contain COVID-19. The total number of people in the world facing some form of pandemic-related movement restriction now exceeds 2.6 billion, a third of the
global population In demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently living. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded 8 billion in November 2022. It took over 200,000 years of human prehistory and history for ...
. *** Chinese Premier
Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affa ...
reports that the domestically transmitted epidemic is now under control. Two days later,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
temporarily suspends entry for foreign nationals with visas or residence permits, effective midnight March 28. *** The
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
postpone the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
to
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
. On March 30, the Summer Olympics are rescheduled from July 23 to August 8, 2021. *
March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. *1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, ...
** COVID-19 pandemic: *** Global COVID-19 cases reach 500,000, with nearly 23,000 deaths confirmed. The U.S. surpasses
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in total number of known COVID-19 cases, with at least 81,321 cases and more than 1,000 deaths. ***Militants in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
, and
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
agree to U.N. Secretary-General
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...
' call for a
ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state ac ...
; some accept medical aid for themselves and civilians in their communities.
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
and
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
discuss a common response to the global pandemic, and the UAE airlifts aid to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. *
March 27 Events Pre-1600 *1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom. * 1329 – Pope John XXII ...
–
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
becomes the 30th country to join
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
. * March 30 –
2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war On 8 March 2020, Saudi Arabia initiated a price war on oil with Russia, facilitating a 65% quarterly fall in the price of oil. In the first few weeks of March, US oil prices fell by 34%, crude oil fell by 26%, and Brent oil fell by 24%. The ...
: The price of Brent Crude falls 9% to $23 per barrel, the lowest level since November 2002.


April

*
April 1 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held. * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. *1081 – Alexios I Ko ...
** COVID-19 pandemic: ***
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
reports 130
asymptomatic In medicine, any disease is classified asymptomatic if a patient tests as carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms. Whenever a medical condition fails to show noticeable symptoms after a diagnosis it might be considered a ...
cases of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
, its first reported asymptomatic cases. ***
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
's internationally recognised
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
releases more than 470 of its prisoners amid concerns of the spread of the virus in Yemen's overcrowded jails. The
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
has called for the release of all political prisoners. *
April 2 Events Pre-1600 *1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Joh ...
– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
passes 1 million worldwide. *
April 5 Events Pre-1600 * 823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I. * 919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his ...
**COVID-19 pandemic: ***The first case of COVID-19 in a zoo animal is reported: a four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the
Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. * April 6 – The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
designates the Russian Imperial Movement as a
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
organization and imposes sanctions on its leaders; it is the first
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
group the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization. * April 7 – COVID-19 pandemic:
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
declares a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 and finalises a stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen (US$990 billion), equal to 20% of the country's GDP. *
April 8 Events Pre-1600 * 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. * 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids. *1139 – Ro ...
– COVID-19 pandemic: The Saudi–led coalition declares a unilateral ceasefire in its operations against Houthi forces in
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
in accordance with
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
-led efforts. *
April 10 Events Pre-1600 * 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. * 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). * 1407 ...
**
Kivu Ebola epidemic The Kivu Ebola epidemic was an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) that ravaged the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Central Africa from 2018 to 2020. Between 1 August 2018 and 25 June 2020 it resulted in 3,470 reported case ...
: The
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
reports the first case of
Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...
since February 2020. The outbreak has killed more than 2,200 people since August 2018. **The ESA/
JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...
space probe A space probe is an artificial satellite that travels through space to collect scientific data. A space probe may orbit Earth; approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; o ...
BepiColombo makes its final
gravity assist In orbital mechanics and aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist maneuver, or swing-by is the use of the relative movement (e.g. orbit around the Sun) and gravity of a planet or other astronomical object to alter the p ...
around
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...
and begins to depart for
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, where it will make several gravity assist maneuvers before finally arriving at Mercury in 2025. **COVID-19 pandemic: ***The death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 100,000 globally, a ten-fold increase from March 20. *** EU finance ministers agree on a €540 billion loan package to alleviate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. *
April 12 Events Pre-1600 * 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I. * 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to ...
** COVID-19 pandemic:
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...
livestreams the '' Urbi et Orbi'' blessing for
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
; it is the second blessing in a month, with the first taking place on
March 27 Events Pre-1600 *1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom. * 1329 – Pope John XXII ...
during a special prayer service for the end of the pandemic. **
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headqua ...
and allies strike a deal to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day, the largest such cut agreed upon, starting May 1. *
April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor O ...
**COVID-19 pandemic ***The
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) says it expects the world economy to shrink 3%, the worst contraction since the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the
1930s File:1930s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson shows the effects of the Great Depression; due to extreme drought conditions, farms across the south-central United States become dry an ...
. *** U.S. president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
announces that the U.S. will suspend funding towards the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
(WHO) pending an investigation of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with China. *
April 15 Events Pre-1600 * 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. * 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
**COVID-19 pandemic: ***The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 2 million worldwide. ***The 2020 Tour de France is delayed until August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ***The
2020 South Korean legislative election Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 15 April 2020. All 300 members of the National Assembly were elected, 253 from first-past-the-post constituencies and 47 from proportional party lists. They were the first elections held und ...
is held to elect all 300 members of the
National Assembly of South Korea The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years ...
and the
Democratic Party of Korea The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK; ), formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is a liberal political party in South Korea. Controlling the unicameral National Assembly as of 2022, the DPK is regarded as one of two m ...
-
Platform Party The Platform Party () was a political party and an electoral alliance under the Democratic Party in South Korea formed in 2020 in order to run for party-list proportional representation in 2020 South Korean legislative election. History The ...
alliance wins 180 out of 300 seats. *
April 17 Events Pre-1600 *1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. * 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Has ...
** The
China Securities Regulatory Commission The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is a government ministry of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the main regulator of the securities industry in China. History China's first Securities Law was ...
approves a transaction in which
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
's
Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...
will take a majority interest in a
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
securities firm, making Credit Suisse the first foreign bank to own a majority of such a company since the easing of foreign ownership rules in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
. **COVID-19 pandemic: ***China revises the COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan upward, adding 1,290 more fatalities to bring the country's reported COVID-19 deaths to 4,632. ***
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
surpasses 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths. ***The U.N. Human Rights Office accuses
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
of carrying out daily airstrikes in the Rakhine and
Chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible ( mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a well-developed chin is considered to be one ...
states and that at least 32 civilians have been killed since March 23. The separatist Arakan Army unilaterally declared a month-long ceasefire to fight the
pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of in ...
, but the military rejected the ceasefire claiming a previous ceasefire had been reneged by the insurgents. *
April 18 Events Pre-1600 * 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. *1428 – Peace of Ferrara bet ...
– 44 suspected
Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
members are found dead, apparently due to poisoning, inside a prison in
N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...
,
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
. *
April 19 Events Pre-1600 * AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Piso's plot to kill the Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested. * 531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persi ...
**COVID-19 pandemic: Unrest breaks out in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
and
Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located i ...
as opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns continue. *
April 20 Events Pre-1600 * 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. 1601–1900 *1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament. *1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroys ...
**Oil prices reach a record low, with West Texas Intermediate falling into negative values. **The
Industrial Bank of Korea Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK; ) is a state-owned bank headquartered in Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Under the Industrial Bank of Korea Act, IBK was established to promote small and medium-sized businesses and improve their economic status by pr ...
agrees to pay US$86 million and will enter a two-year deferred prosecution agreement to settle lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of New York over a
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
scheme to help transfer US$1 billion to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. ** Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
and Blue and White Alliance leader
Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel si ...
agree on a deal to form a unity government, thus ending more than a year of
political deadlock In politics, gridlock or deadlock or political stalemate is a situation when there is difficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people. A government is gridlocked when the ratio between bills passed and the agenda of the legislat ...
. As part of the deal, Netanyahu will hold onto his position for 18 more months, with Gantz replacing him afterwards. *
April 21 Events Pre-1600 * 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome ( traditional date). * 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered ...
– Mozambique police say 52 male villagers were killed by Islamist militants earlier this month in
Muidumbe District Muidumbe is a district of Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique. Its capital is the village of Muidumbe. The district of Muidumbe is limited to the north and the east by Mocimboa da Praia District, to the north and the west by Mueda District Mu ...
,
Cabo Delgado Province Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique. It has an area of and a population of 2,320,261 (2017). As well as bordering Mtwara Region in the neighboring country of Tanzania, it borders the provinces of Nampula and Niassa. The r ...
, after they refused to join their ranks. * April 22 – Iran's
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
deploys the country's first
military satellite A military satellite is an artificial satellite used for a military purpose. The most common missions are intelligence gathering, navigation and military communications. The first military satellites were photographic reconnaissance missions. ...
, using a new satellite carrier called " Ghased" ("Messenger"). *
April 23 Events Pre-1600 *215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. * 599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in sout ...
** Syrian Civil War: Two former high-ranking members of the
Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six-D ...
go on trial in
Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its nam ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, for alleged war crimes committed during the civil war. It is the first time that Syrian military officials are prosecuted for their roles in the conflict. **COVID-19 pandemic:
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
removes "
pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
" and "
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
" as options for targeted ads as criticism mounts against
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
for its role in spreading
misinformation about COVID-19 False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Investigations into the origin of COVID-19, origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been ...
. * April 25 ** Yemeni Civil War: The Southern Transitional Council (STC) announces the establishment of a self-rule administration in southern Yemen and deploys forces in
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...
. Governors of multiple southern Yemeni Governorates and
Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen� ...
island reject the STC's claim to self-rule and declare their loyalty to
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi ( ar, عبدربه منصور هادي, translit=ʿAbd Rabbih Manṣūr Hādī Yemeni pronunciation: ; born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the pres ...
. Months later on July 19, the STC accepts a Saudi-brokered peace deal and abandons its self-rule aspirations. **COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 200,000. The UK becomes the fifth country to report 20,000 deaths. * April 26 –
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Salman issues a royal decree, declaring that people will no longer be executed in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
for crimes they were convicted of when they were minors. *
April 27 Events Pre-1600 * 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''. * 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one of ...
– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases passes 3 million worldwide, while the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. passes 1 million. * April 28 **A fast radio burst is detected from the Magnetar
SGR 1935+2154 SGR 1935+2154 (or SGR J1935+2154) is a soft gamma repeater (SGR) that is an ancient stellar remnant, in the constellation Vulpecula, originally discovered in 2014 by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Currently, the SGR-phenomena and the r ...
, the first ever detected inside the
Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
, and the first to be linked to a known source. **
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
formalizes its membership with the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...
(OECD), becoming the 37th nation of the organization. **The Indian Ministry of External Affairs condemns the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom after its annual report recommends placing
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
on the "countries of particular concern" blacklist over the
Citizenship Amendment Act The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Banglade ...
, the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, and controversial comments made by Home Minister
Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...
, among others. * April 29 – (52768) 1998 OR2, a
near-Earth asteroid A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun ( perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU) ...
that is 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) wide, makes a close approach of 0.042 AU (6.3 million km; 16 LD) to
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...
. It will not approach closer than this until 2079. *
April 30 Events Pre-1600 *311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends. *1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois. *1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus hi ...
**
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
officially selects
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal o ...
,
Blue Origin Blue Origin, LLC is an American private spaceflight, privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Am ...
, and
Dynetics Dynetics is an American applied science and information technology company headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. Its primary customers are the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States Intelligence Community, and National Ae ...
to build its next-generation
lunar lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2021, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 19 ...
to carry American astronauts to the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
by 2024. **
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
applies for
ERM II The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as ...
(the "waiting room" for the
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU pol ...
), due to join along with
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
in July 2020.


May

* May 1 **COVID-19 pandemic: The total number of recovered COVID-19 patients reaches 1 million worldwide, according to data from
The Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
. ** Guanare prison riot: A riot and attempted escape attempt leaves 47 dead and 75 injured in the ''Centro Penitenciario de los Llanos'' in Guanare,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. *
May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. *1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprison ...
– The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
publishes a report stating that Russia's indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Syria constitutes a war crime. *
May 3 Events Pre-1600 * 752 – Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico, assumes the throne. * 1481 – The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties. ...
– 4 – Venezuelan dissidents and a North American-based private military company, Silvercorp USA, unsuccessfully attempt to infiltrate Venezuela and forcibly remove President
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...
from office. *
May 4 Events Pre-1600 * 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull ''Licet ecclesiae catholicae''. * 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus ar ...
– A team of British and
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
n scientists announce the discovery of Microsporidia MB, a
parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
microbe in the
Microsporidia Microsporidia are a group of spore-forming unicellular parasites. These spores contain an extrusion apparatus that has a coiled polar tube ending in an anchoring disc at the apical part of the spore. They were once considered protozoans or pr ...
fungi group that blocks
mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
s from carrying
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
, potentially paving the way for the control of malaria. * May 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: The U.K. death toll from COVID-19 becomes the highest in Europe at 32,313 after exceeding the death toll of 29,029 in Italy. * May 6 **Astronomers announce the discovery of the first
black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...
located in a star system visible to the naked eye. **COVID-19 pandemic: New evidence indicates that an
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
n-born
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
fishmonger, who had not traveled to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and did not have contact with any Chinese nationals, was treated for
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
from an unknown source on December 27, 2019, now identified as
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
. *
May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. * 1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. *1386 – England and Portugal formally r ...
– Several Chinese and
Indian soldiers The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...
are injured in a cross-border clash at the
Nathu La Nathu La (, ) is a mountain pass in the Dongkya Range of the Himalayas between China's Yadong County in Tibet, and the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal in Bengal, South Asia. The pass, at , connects the towns of Kalimpong and Gangtok to ...
crossing. About 150 troops participated in the face-off, which involved fistfights and stone-throwing. *
May 10 Events Pre-1600 * 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. * 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of ...
**The
Iranian Navy , ''Daryādelān''"Seahearts" , patron = , motto = fa, راه ما، راه حسین است, ''Rāh-e ma, rāh-e hoseyn ast''"''Our Path, Is Hussain's Path''" , colors = ...
frigate ''
Jamaran Jamaran( fa, جماران) is a neighbourhood located north of the city of Tehran in Iran. Jamaran was once an independent village; it is now a part of the North Tehran region. It is best known for being the home of Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini' ...
'' accidentally strikes the Iranian support vessel '' Konarak'' with a missile, killing nineteen sailors. This is the first
friendly fire incident In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
since February 2019, when an Indian
Mil Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian service. ...
helicopter was mistakenly shot down by Indian air defense forces. **COVID-19 pandemic:
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
reports its first coronavirus cases in more than a month. An 89-year-old man is confirmed positive, but his wife and several members of the community are recorded as asymptomatic cases. *
May 11 Events 1601–1900 * 1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons. * 1813 – William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route acr ...
– The
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (german: Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie, shortened to MPI EVA) is a research institute based in Leipzig, Germany, that was founded in 1997. It is part of the Max Plan ...
publishes the result of
radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and c ...
and
DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
from the
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s that has been found in the
Bacho Kiro cave The Bacho Kiro cave () is situated west of the town Dryanovo, Bulgaria, only away from the Dryanovo Monastery. It is embedded in the canyons of the Andaka and Dryanovo River. It was opened in 1890 and the first recreational visitors entered the ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. The result, showing that the fossils belong to ''
Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture ...
'' instead of
Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an Extinction, extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ag ...
, indicates that modern humans may have arrived in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
thousands of years earlier than previously thought. * May 12 – Gunmen
storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
a maternity hospital and kill 24 people, including two newborn babies, in
Dashte Barchi Dashte Barchi ( prs, دشت برچی) is a settlement located in western Kabul, Afghanistan. Previously barren and agricultural, Dashte Barchi became populated in the early 2000s by newcomers from the provinces, mostly ethnic Hazaras from Maidan W ...
, a majority-
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
neighborhood of
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
. In a separate incident in Kuz Kunar, 32 people are killed at a funeral by a
suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
. *
May 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1027 – Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks. *1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade. * 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and f ...
**COVID-19 pandemic: ***The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 300,000. ***The UN warns of a global
mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...
crisis caused by isolation, fear, uncertainty and economic turmoil. **
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
says the
military alliance A military alliance is a formal agreement between nations concerning national security. Nations in a military alliance agree to active participation and contribution to the defense of others in the alliance in the event of a crisis. (Online) ...
is "ready to support" the UN-recognized
Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...
while
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
, a member state of NATO, strongly criticizes Stoltenberg's remarks, saying his recognition of the "
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( '), is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic studies, Islamic scholar and scho ...
government" does not reflect the positions of the military alliance. * May 15 – Researchers announce a 2.5 cm
millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
belonging to the '' Kampecaris'' genus, discovered on the island of
Kerrera Kerrera (; gd, Cearara or ''Cearrara'') is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, close to the town of Oban. In 2016 it had a population of 45, divided into two communities in the north and south of the island. Geology The oldest bedrock ...
in the Scottish
Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whi ...
, is the world's oldest-known land animal, which lived 425 million years ago in the
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleoz ...
period. *
May 16 Events Pre-1600 * 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan. * 1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. * 1 ...
–
Félicien Kabuga Félicien Kabuga (born 1 March 1933) is a Rwandan businessman and génocidaire who played a major role in the run-up to the Genocide of the Rwandan Tutsis. A multimillionaire,
, a
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
n businessman responsible for supporting the
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
, is arrested in
Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, after 26 years as a fugitive. * May 18 **The
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...
announces that nearly 1 million people are affected and at least 24 people have died in
flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ...
s that have hit
Beledweyne Beledweyne ( so, Beledweyne, ar, بلد وين, it, Belet Uen) is a city in central Somalia. Beledweyne District is the capital city of the Hiran region. The city is situated in the Shebelle Valley riverine near the Ethiopian border, 210 miles ...
and Jowhar,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
. **In a historic move, the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
holds its annual World Health Assembly using video conferencing instead of in-person meetings. * May 19 – Palestinian
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Nati ...
announces the termination of all agreements, including security ones, with
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in response to Israel's plans to annex the Jordan Valley. * May 21 ** Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in
eastern India East India is a List of regions of India, region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the histo ...
and
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It causes over US$13 billion in damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the
North Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
, shattering the record previously held by Nargis. **The U.S. announces it will withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty within six months, alleging continuous violations by
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. **COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 5 million worldwide, with 106,000 new cases recorded over the past 24 hours, the highest single-day figure so far. *
May 22 Events Pre-1600 * 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu. * 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. *11 ...
** Flight PK8303, a
Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Aviation Secretary of Pakistan, Secretary to the Governme ...
passenger aircraft, crashes in a residential area near
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, in Pakistan, killing 97 of the 99 total people on board and injuring dozens on the ground. **COVID-19 pandemic:
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
overtakes
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
to become the country with the second highest number of COVID-19 cases, with over 330,000 reported. President Jair Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the threat of the virus. * May 23 – COVID-19 pandemic: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, China reports no new cases for the first time since the pandemic began, according to the National Health Commission. * May 24 **Mining corporation Rio Tinto (corporation), Rio Tinto admits to blowing up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves in the Pilbara area of Western Australia. The firm later issues an apology to the two Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples who are the traditional owners of the site. ** President of Egypt, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pardons 3,157 prisoners to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and, two days later, President of Zambia Edgar Lungu pardons nearly 3,000 inmates to commemorate Africa Day, Africa Freedom Day. *May 25 – The 2020 Surinamese general election is held to elect all 51 members of the National Assembly (Suriname), National Assembly of Suriname. * May 26 **George Floyd protests, Protests caused by the murder of George Floyd break out across List of George Floyd protests in the United States, hundreds of cities in the U.S. and List of George Floyd protests outside the United States, around the world. These are followed by further protests and rallies on June 6 against racism and police brutality List of George Floyd protests outside the United States, around the world. ** Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalise Same-sex marriage in Costa Rica, same-sex marriage. ** LATAM Airlines Group, LATAM Airlines, the largest air carrier in Latin America, files for Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code, Chapter 11 bankruptcy. *May 27 **The National People's Congress, Chinese National People's Congress votes in favour of National People's Congress Decision on Hong Kong national security legislation, national security legislation that criminalizes "Hong Kong independence, secession", "subversion", "terrorism" and foreign interference in Hong Kong; the legislation grants sweeping powers to the Chinese central government to suppress the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Hong Kong democracy movement, including banning activist groups and curtailing civil liberties. The U.S. government responds by declaring Hong Kong is "no longer autonomous" under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act. **COVID-19 pandemic: The U.S. death toll passes 100,000 – more Americans than were killed in the Vietnam War and Korean War combined, and approaching that of the World War I, First World War, where 116,000 Americans died in combat. The total number of cases continues to rise, although the rate is slowing. *May 30 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2, first crewed flight of the SpaceX Dragon 2 (initially scheduled for May 27 but delayed due to weather) is launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first crewed spacecraft to take off from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in STS-135, 2011.


June

* June 1 – Kivu Ebola epidemic: The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
reports six new cases of
Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...
, and UNICEF reports five deaths, in a renewed outbreak of the disease in Mbandaka, Province of Équateur, Équateur Province,
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. * June 2 – A United States dollar, US$5 billion class action lawsuit is filed against Alphabet Inc. and Google, alleging the company violates users' right to privacy by tracking them in Google Chrome, Chrome's Private browsing, incognito mode. * June 3 ** Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the United Kingdom, UK will change United Kingdom immigration law, immigration laws to offer a pathway to UK citizenship for all Hong Kong citizens who are eligible for British National (Overseas), BN(O) status if the government of China imposes National People's Congress Decision on Hong Kong national security legislation, new security laws on the territory. **
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal o ...
successfully launches and deploys 60 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, bringing the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to 482. ** President of Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into the Ambarnaya River near the Siberian city of Norilsk within the Arctic Circle on May 26, 2020. The World Wildlife Fund said the accident is believed to be the Environmental issues in Russia, second-largest in modern Russian history. * June 4 ** Libya's
Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...
(GNA) says they are in full control of the capital, Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli, after forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) retreat from the territory following 2019–2020 Western Libya campaign, months of intense fighting in the city. ** Hong Kong legislative council passed the controversial National Anthem Ordinance. *June 5 – The 2020 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election is held to elect all 15 members of the National Assembly (Saint Kitts and Nevis), National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis. * June 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 400,000. * June 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 7 million worldwide. * June 9 – COVID-19 pandemic: A Harvard University study suggests that COVID-19 may have been spreading in China as early as 2019#August, August 2019, based on hospital car park usage and web search trends. * June 15 **At least 20 Indian soldiers and over 40 Chinese forces are killed or injured in 2020 China–India skirmishes#Galwan Valley clash, skirmishes in the disputed Galwan River, Galwan Valley, the largest escalation along the Sino-Indian border dispute, Sino-Indian border in five decades. ** Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish and Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian forces commence Operation Claw-Eagle (2020), air and artillery strikes against Kurdistan Workers' Party forces in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey launches a Operation Claw-Tiger, land operation in the region on June 17. * June 16 **COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 8 million worldwide. ** North Korea demolishes the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong, established in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
to improve relations. * June 21 ** An Solar eclipse of June 21, 2020, annular solar eclipse occurs. ** The 2020 Serbian parliamentary election is held to elect all 250 members of the National Assembly (Serbia), National Assembly of Serbia and the ruling Together We Can Do Everything, For Our Children coalition won 188 out of 250 seats. * June 22 ** COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 9 million worldwide. ** The 2020 Kiribati presidential election is held and
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
President of Kiribati, president Taneti Maamau is reelected. * June 23 ** A 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico and kills at least four people. It is felt more than away in Mexico City. ** The 2020 Malawian presidential election is held and Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party is elected President of Malawi, president. *June 24 – The 2020 Mongolian legislative election is held to elect the State Great Khural and the ruling Mongolian People's Party wins 62 out of 76 seats. *June 27 **Micheál Martin succeeds Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach of Ireland, with Varadkar becoming Tánaiste in a historic three-party coalition government. **The 2020 Icelandic presidential election is held and
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
President of Iceland, president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson is reelected. * June 28 **COVID-19 pandemic: ***The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 10 million worldwide. The U.S. continues to report the highest number of any country as it reaches 2.5 million, a quarter of all cases globally. ***The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 500,000. ***The first round of voting of the 2020 Polish presidential election is held. * June 30 –
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
passes the controversial Hong Kong national security law, allowing China to crack down on opposition to Beijing at home or abroad.


July

* July 1 – Russian voters back a 2020 Russian constitutional referendum, constitutional amendment that, among other things, enables Vladimir Putin to seek two further six-year terms when his current term ends in 2024, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036. * July 5 ** The 2020 Croatian parliamentary election is held to elect all 151 members of the Croatian Parliament. ** 2020 Dominican Republic general election: Modern Revolutionary Party candidate Luis Abinader is elected president of the Dominican Republic, the Modern Revolutionary Party wins 17 out of 32 seats in the Senate of the Dominican Republic, Senate and 86 out of 190 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic, Chamber of Deputies. * July 7 ** 2020–2021 Bulgarian protests, Protests begin throughout
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
with the goal of removing Third Borisov Government, Borisov's cabinet and Office of the General Prosecutor of Bulgaria, Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev from office. ** COVID-19 pandemic: 2018–2020 Serbian protests, Thousands of people rally outside the House of the National Assembly of Serbia in Belgrade in response to stricter lockdown measures proposed by Aleksandar Vučić, President Aleksandar Vučić following an increase of COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia, cases in the city. * July 8 – At least 180 bodies are found in mass graves in Djibo, Burkina Faso, where Burkina Faso Armed Forces, soldiers are fighting jihadists. It is suspected that Government of Burkina Faso, government forces were involved in mass extrajudicial executions. * July 10 ** The European Central Bank, ECB accepts Bulgaria and the euro, Bulgaria and Croatia and the euro, Croatia into
ERM II The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as ...
, a mandatory stage for countries wishing to adopt the euro. This is the Eurozone, currency union's first Enlargement of the eurozone, major expansion in half a decade. ** Turkey's President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...
orders the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to be Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques, reverted to a mosque following a Council of State (Turkey), supreme court annulment of a 1934 presidential decree that made it into a museum. ** The 2020 Singaporean general election is held to elect all 93 members of the Parliament of Singapore and the People's Action Party, led by Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong wins 83 out of 93 seats. *July 12 – The second round of voting for the 2020 Polish presidential election is held and
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
President of Poland, president Andrzej Duda is reelected. * July 15 – The Twitter accounts of prominent political figures, CEOs, and celebrities are 2020 Twitter bitcoin scam, hacked to promote a bitcoin scam. * July 19 – Flooding of the Brahmaputra River kills 189 and leaves 4 million homeless in India and Nepal. * July 21 – COVID-19 pandemic: European leaders agree to create a €750 billion (US$858 billion) recovery fund to rebuild Economy of the European Union, EU economies impacted by the Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, pandemic. * July 22 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 15 million worldwide. * July 25 – COVID-19 pandemic: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convenes an emergency meeting, declares a state of emergency, and orders the lockdown of Kaesong after a person suspected of having COVID-19 returned from COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, South Korea. If confirmed, it would be the first case to be officially COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea, acknowledged by North Korea. * 28 July – Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is found guilty of all seven charges in the first of five trials on the 1MDB scandal, being jailed 12 years and fined Malaysian ringgit, RM210 million as a result. * July 30 –
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
successfully launches its Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of Life on Mars, ancient life and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission includes technology demonstrations to prepare for Colonization of Mars, future human missions.


August

* August 1 – The Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE becomes operational following delays since 2017. It is the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab world. * August 2 – COVID-19 pandemic: In rare talks, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (United Arab Emirates), Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran), Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hold a video call to discuss various regional issues, including combating COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, COVID-19 in their respective countries. * August 4 – 2020 Beirut explosion, An explosion caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kills at least 218 people, injures thousands, and severely damages Port of Beirut, the port in Beirut, Lebanon. Damage is estimated at $10–15 billion, and an estimated 300,000 people are left homeless. The following day, the Lebanese government declares a two-week state of emergency. * August 5 – United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar travels to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
, the highest Taiwan–United States relations, U.S. official visit to the country in 40 years. The China, PRC condemns the visit. * August 7 – Air India Express Flight 1344 crashes after overrunning the runway at Calicut International Airport in Kerala,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, killing 19 of the 191 people on board. * August 9 – A 2020 Belarusian presidential election, presidential election in Belarus which led to incumbent Alexander Lukashenko's reelection sparks 2020–21 Belarusian protests, protests throughout the country after major opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya rejected the results. Seven days later, the largest political march in History of Belarus, Belarusian history takes place, with an estimated 300,000 people in Minsk and 200,000 in other List of cities and largest towns in Belarus, Belarusian cities and towns. * August 10 **August 2020 Midwest derecho, Midwest Derecho: Costliest and one of the strongest thunderstorms in U.S. history. **COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 20 million worldwide. **The 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election is held to elect all 41 members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago), House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago, the
lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago and the People's National Movement party, led by List of prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago, prime minister Keith Rowley won 22 out of 41 seats. * August 11 – COVID-19 pandemic: Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, Russia has approved the Gam-COVID-Vac, world's first COVID-19 vaccine. * August 13 –
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and the UAE agree to Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement, normalise relations, marking the third Israeli–Palestinian peace process, Israel–Arab peace deal. * August 15 – The
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
ese bulk carrier ''Wakashio'', which stranded on a reef in Mauritius last month, breaks in half. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil are MV Wakashio oil spill, spilled into the ocean, becoming the largest environmental disaster in the history of Mauritius. * August 18 – A mutiny in a military base by soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces develops into 2020 Malian coup d'état, a coup d'état. President of Mali, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister of Mali, Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, among other senior governmental and military officers, are arrested. The next day, Keïta announces his resignation on state television. * August 19 – The Special Tribunal for Lebanon convicts ''Trial in absentia, in absentia'' Salim Ayyash, a senior member of Hezbollah, for the 2005 Assassination of Rafic Hariri, assassination of former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. * August 22 – COVID-19 pandemic: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 800,000. *August 23 – FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich wins the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League by beating Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain in the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final, final 1–0. * August 25 – Africa is declared free of wild polio, the second virus to be eradicated from the continent since Eradication of smallpox, smallpox 40 years previously. * August 26 – Amazon (company), Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos becomes the List of wealthiest historical figures, first person in history to have a net worth exceeding US$200 billion, according to ''Forbes''. *August 27 – Hurricane Laura makes landfall in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lake Charles, Louisiana with winds of 150 mph, making it the strongest hurricane to ever strike the state in terms of windspeed, tied with the 1856 Last Island hurricane, 1856 Last Island Hurricane. * August 28 – Prime Minister of Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the List of prime ministers of Japan, longest-serving prime minister in the history of Japan, announces his resignation from office, citing ill health. * August 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 25 million worldwide. India continues to record COVID-19 pandemic in India, the highest daily increase of cases.


September

*September 3 **Prime Minister of Sudan, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdelaziz al-Hilu, the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM–N), sign an agreement to transition Sudan, the country into a secular state. The agreement comes three days after the signing of a Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, peace deal between 2019–2022 Sudanese transition to democracy, Sudan's transitional government and the Sudan Revolutionary Front, which the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, SPLM–N opted out of. Weeks later on October 3, the transitional government signed a peace deal with the main rebel groups, including the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, which had refused to engage in previous talks. **The skeletons of 200 mammoths and 30 other animals are unearthed at a construction site for the Mexico City Santa Lucía Airport. It is the largest find of mammoth bones to date, surpassing The Mammoth Site in the U.S. which had 61 skeletons. *September 4 **Pope Benedict XVI becomes the longest-lived pope at 93 years, four months, and 16 days, surpassing Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903. **The La Línea (Road Pass), La Línea highway tunnel, the longest road tunnel in South America at a length of 8.65 kilometres (5.37 mi), is opened in
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
after 14 years of construction and several delays. **Kosovo–Serbia relations, Kosovo and Serbia announce that they will 2020 Kosovo–Serbia agreement, normalize economic relations. The two countries will also move their Foreign relations of Israel, Israeli embassies to Jerusalem, becoming List of positions on Jerusalem, the third and fourth countries to Status of Jerusalem, recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. **Bahrain and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
agree to Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement, normalise relations, marking the fourth Israeli–Palestinian peace process, Israel–Arab peace deal. *September 6 – Typhoon Haishen makes landfall on Japan and then South Korea as a strong category 2-equivalent typhoon. It later makes landfall on North Korea where widespread flooding occurs. *September 14 **Former
Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the f ...
Najib Razak is listed on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) online database of corruption offenders convicted locally. His name at the top of the first page of the MACC Corruption Offenders Database. **The Royal Astronomical Society announces the detection of phosphine in
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
' atmosphere, which is known to be a strong predictor for the presence of microbial life. **The first discovery of the perfectly preserved remains of a cave bear, believed to be 22,000 to 39,500 years old (Late Pleistocene), is made in Lyakhovsky Islands, Siberia in the thawing permafrost. *September 16 **A
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
fact-finding mission formally accuses the Government of Venezuela, Venezuelan government of crimes against humanity, including cases of killings, torture, violence against political opposition and disappearances since 2014. President
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...
and other senior Venezuelan officials are among those implicated in the charges. **Yoshihide Suga becomes the new Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Shinzo Abe. **Hurricane Sally makes landfall on the Alabama coast as a high-end Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, Category 2 hurricane, causing over $8 billion in damages and killing 8 people. *September 17 **
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
issue a joint ''Diplomatic correspondence, note verbale'' to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
rejecting Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, China's claims to the South China Sea, and supporting the ruling in ''Philippines v. China'' that said the historic rights per the nine-dash line ran counter to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However the statement says that on "territorial sovereignty" they "take no position". **COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 30 million worldwide. *September 19 – A 1634 edition of ''The Two Noble Kinsmen'', the last Shakespeare's plays, play by English playwright William Shakespeare, is discovered at the Royal Scots College's library in Salamanca, Spain. It is believed to be the oldest copy of any of his works in the country. *September 20 – ''BuzzFeed News'' and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) release the FinCEN Files, a collection of 2,657 documents relating to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network describing over 200,000 suspicious transactions valued at over trillion that occurred from 1999 to 2017 across multiple global financial institutions. *September 21 – Microsoft agrees to buy video game holding company ZeniMax Media, including Bethesda Softworks and their following subsidiaries for US$7.5 billion, in what was the biggest and most expensive takeover in the history of the video game industry. *September 27 – 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Deadly clashes erupt in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armed Forces of Armenia, Armenian and Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Azerbaijani forces. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Artsakh introduce martial law and Mobilization, mobilize forces. *September 29 ** COVID-19 pandemic: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 exceeds one million. ** The Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah dies at the age of 91. Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is named his successor.


October

* October 1 – The EU began legal proceedings against the UK after it ignored their deadline to drop controversial sections from its United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, internal market Bill. * October 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 35 million worldwide. The news coincides with the World Health Organization estimating that total worldwide cases may be around 760 million; roughly a tenth of the global population. * October 10 – Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on a ceasefire in the ongoing 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. * October 15 **2020 Thai protests: The Government of Thailand declares a "severe" state of emergency banning gatherings of five or more people, initiating a crackdown on demonstrations and imposing media censorship. **President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigns from office after weeks of 2020 Kyrgyzstan protests, massive protests in the wake of the October 2020 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, October 2020 parliamentary election; opposition leader Sadyr Japarov assumes office as both the acting president and Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan. * October 17 – 2020 New Zealand general election: Jacinda Ardern's New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party wins a landslide second term in office, defeating the New Zealand National Party, National Party led by Judith Collins and gaining the country's first New Zealand Parliament, parliamentary majority since the introduction of the Mixed-member proportional representation, MMP voting system. * October 19 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 40 million worldwide. * October 20 – NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches down on 101955 Bennu, Bennu, becoming the agency's first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid, with its cargo due for Sample-return mission, return to Earth in 2023. * October 21 – Heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Linfa, tropical storm Linfa caused landslides at the Rao Trang 3 hydroelectric plant in Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam, killing 17 construction workers and 13 soldiers who were on a rescue mission. * October 22 – The Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women's Health and Strengthening the Family is signed by government representatives from 34 countries. * October 23 **At the end of an 11-year demining process, the Falkland Islands are declared Land mines in the Falkland Islands, free of land mines, 38 years after the end of the Falklands War, 1982 war. **
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Sudan agree to Israel–Sudan normalization agreement, normalise relations, marking the fifth Israeli–Palestinian peace process, Israel–Arab peace deal. * October 26 – NASA confirms the existence of Lunar water, molecular water on the sunlit side of the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, near Clavius (crater), Clavius crater, at concentrations of up to 412 parts per million. * October 29 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirms the death of least 140 migrants who drowned off the coast of Senegal on a vessel bound for the Spanish Canary Islands. It is the deadliest shipwreck of 2020 so far. *October 30 **2020 Aegean Sea earthquake: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Turkey and Greece, killing 119 people and injuring over 1,000. **COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 45 million worldwide. * October 31 – Typhoon Goni (2020), Typhoon Goni makes landfall in the Philippines, becoming the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in history, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and killing dozens of people in the region.


November

*November 1 – 2020 Moldovan presidential election: Former Prime Minister of Moldova, Prime Minister and Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (Moldova), Minister of Education Maia Sandu is elected as the 6th President of Moldova, becoming the first woman to ever hold the post. *November 3 – November 7 **2020 United States presidential election: The election of Joe Biden as the 46th
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
is called by many news media organizations after remaining vote counts (November 7) come in from key states delayed by an influx of mail-in ballots caused by the pandemic, defeating incumbent President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. **2020 United States Senate elections take place, ending in an overall success for the Democratic party. **Hurricane Eta makes landfall in Nicaragua, killing over 100 people in Central America as a category 4. *November 4 ** The United States formally United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, exits the Paris Agreement on
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. ** Ethiopia Tigray War, launches offensive on Tigray Region, Tigray following heavy clashes in the region. *November 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 50 million worldwide. *November 9 – COVID-19 pandemic: The first successful Phases of clinical research, phase III trial of a COVID-19 vaccine is announced by drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech, which is 90% effective according to interim results. *November 10 – Apple Inc., Apple releases the first Macintosh, Mac computers (a new MacBook Air (Apple silicon), MacBook Air, Mac Mini, Mac mini and MacBook Pro) powered by Apple silicon chips. *November 11 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Sputnik V vaccine is proven to be 92% effective against COVID-19 according to interim results. *November 12 – Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse, in response to four lawmakers' disqualification made by the government. *November 15 **The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries to form the world's largest free-trade bloc, covering a third of the world's population. **
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
and
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal o ...
launch the SpaceX Crew-1 mission from Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, Launch Complex 39A to the International Space Station, ISS, the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule. *November 16 **COVID-19 pandemic: The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is proven to be 94.5% effective against COVID-19 based on interim results, including severe illnesses. The vaccine has been cited as being among those that are easier to distribute as no ultra-cold storage is required. **Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane just two weeks after Hurricane Eta made landfall, devastating the same areas. *November 17 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 55 million worldwide, with around a million cases recorded every two days on average. *November 18 – COVID-19 pandemic: Pfizer and BioNTech complete trials on their COVID-19 vaccine, with an overall effectiveness rate of 95% without adverse events. *November 19 **The Brereton Report into Australian war crimes during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War in Afghanistan is released. **''Shuggie Bain'' by Douglas Stuart (writer), Douglas Stuart wins the 2020 Booker Prize. *November 22 – The United States withdraws from the Treaty on Open Skies. *November 23 – COVID-19 pandemic: AstraZeneca's AZD1222 vaccine, developed in collaboration with Oxford University, is shown to be 70% effective in protecting against COVID-19. The efficacy can be raised to 90% if an initial half dose is followed by a full dose a month later, based on interim data. *November 25 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 60 million worldwide. *November 27 – Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is assassinated near Tehran. *November 28 – Koshobe massacre:
Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
jihadists attack a farm in Jere, Borno, Jere, Nigeria, killing at least 43 people. * November 30 **A November 2020 lunar eclipse, penumbral lunar eclipse occurs; the last of four lunar eclipses in 2020. **Protein folding, one of the biggest mysteries in biology, is solved by AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence algorithm developed by DeepMind. **COVID-19 pandemic: Moderna files an application for Emergency Use Authorization in the United States after its vaccine achieved an efficacy of 94.1% from full trials without safety concerns. It also plans to do the same in EU soon.


December

* December 1 ** COVID-19 pandemic: Pfizer and BioNTech announced an Emergency Use Authorization application to the European Medicines Agency. ** The Arecibo Telescope of the Arecibo Observatory collapses, just weeks after the announcement of its planned demolition. * December 2 ** COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom approves Pfizer-BioNTech's Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2 vaccine, being the first country in the world to do so. ** Three activists in Hong Kong were jailed for their roles in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, with Joshua Wong getting the heaviest at 13.5 months. **The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Commission on Narcotic Drugs votes to remove Cannabis (drug), cannabis from the Removal of cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on narcotic drugs, 1961, treaty list of dangerous drugs in recognition of its medical value, although some controls will remain. * December 4 ** COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 65 million worldwide, with the global death toll exceeding 1.5 million. Figures reflect that, in the last week, over 10,000 people worldwide have died on average every day, with one death every nine seconds. According to the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
,
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
had caused more deaths in 2020 than tuberculosis in 2019, as well as four times the number of deaths than
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
. ** Somali Civil War (2009-present), Somali Civil War: The United States announces its withdrawal from the conflict over the next month. * December 5 – COVID-19 pandemic:
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
begins mass vaccination against COVID-19 with the Gam-COVID-Vac, Sputnik V candidate. * December 6 – The 2020 Venezuelan parliamentary election takes place. * December 8 ** COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom becomes the first nation to begin a mass inoculation campaign using a clinically authorised, fully tested vaccine, Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Margaret Keenan, 90, becomes the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer vaccine after trials. ** Nepal and China officially agree on
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...
's actual height, which is 8,848.86m. *December 10 **COVID-19 pandemic: The United States and Saudi Arabia approve the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, while Argentina approves Sputnik V. **Western Sahara conflict, Arab–Israeli conflict:
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Morocco normalise diplomatic relations. Simultaneously, the United States reaffirms its previous recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara and announces plans to build a consulate there. **The Nicolas Sarkozy corruption trial concludes in France. * December 11 – The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
agrees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% over the next decade. * December 12 ** COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 70 million worldwide. ** Bhutan and Israel normalise diplomatic relations. * December 14 **COVID-19 pandemic: The United States and Canada begin mass vaccination with the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, Singapore approves the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, with other companies to provide vaccines progressively. **Sudan–United States relations: The United States removes Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. **Turkey–United States relations: The United States places sanctions on
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
in retaliation for their purchase of a S-400 missile system from Russia, marking the first time they have sanctioned a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
ally. **A Solar eclipse of December 14, 2020, total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean. * December 18 **Media outlets report that astronomers have detected a radio signal, BLC1, apparently from the direction of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. Astronomers have stated that this and other, yet unpublished, signals, are thought to likely be "interference that we cannot fully explain" and that it appears to be among the two strongest candidates for a radio signal humanity received from extraterrestrial intelligence so far. **COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 75 million worldwide. **COVID-19 pandemic: The United States approves Moderna's vaccine for emergency use, the second brand available there. * December 20 – COVID-19 pandemic: Variant of Concern 202012/01, A highly infectious new strain of SARS-CoV-2 spreading in Europe and Australia provokes international border closures. * December 21 ** COVID-19 pandemic: 36 cases are reported on the Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme in the Chilean Antarctic Territory, marking the first infections in Antarctica, the last continent to report infections. ** A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623. * December 24 **The
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
agree to a comprehensive UK - EU Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, free trade agreement prior to the end of the
transition period The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...
. **COVID-19 pandemic: Sinovac's CoronaVac, vaccine reached a rate of 91.25% efficacy in trials in Turkey. * December 27 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 80 million worldwide. *December 29 – The 2020 Petrinja earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 strikes Croatia, killing seven and injuring more than 20. * December 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom approves AstraZeneca-Oxford's AZD1222, vaccine, the second one available. The vaccine is easier to store as it only requires normal fridge temperatures, making distribution easier. * December 31 – The transition period following Brexit, the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020 expires.


Date unknown

During the summer of 2020, 2020–21 North American drought, the worst drought in almost a decade hits the Western United States, Western, Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Northeastern United States.


Births

*
May 10 Events Pre-1600 * 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. * 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of ...
– Prince Charles of Luxembourg (born 2020), Prince Charles of Luxembourg


Deaths


January

*
January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the ye ...
– David Stern, American businessman and Commissioner of the NBA, NBA commissioner (b. 1942) *
January 2 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. * 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire ...
– John Baldessari, American conceptual artist (b. 1931) *
January 3 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor. * 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
** Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iraqi-Iranian military commander (b. 1954) **
Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Qu ...
, Iranian general (b. 1957) *
January 5 Events Pre-1600 * 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France. 1601–1900 *1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French a ...
** Tafazzul Haque Habiganji, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician (b. 1938) ** Anri Jergenia, 4th Prime Minister of Abkhazia (b. 1941) ** Hans Tilkowski, German football goalkeeper and manager (b. 1935) * January 6 – Luís Morais, Brazilian football player (b. 1930) * January 7 ** Silvio Horta, American screenwriter and television producer (b. 1974) ** Neil Peart, Canadian drummer and lyricist (b. 1952) ** Elizabeth Wurtzel, American writer and journalist (b. 1967) *
January 8 Events Pre-1600 * 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying. * 871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an inv ...
** Edd Byrnes, American actor (b. 1932) ** Buck Henry, American actor, screenwriter and television producer (b. 1930) ** Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz, Infanta Pilar de Borbón, Spanish royal (b. 1936) *
January 9 Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain. *1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin ...
– Mike Resnick, American science fiction author (b. 1942) *
January 10 Events Pre-1600 * 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. * 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the ...
** Neda Arnerić, Serbian film actress (b. 1953) ** Marino Bollini, former Captain Regent of San Marino (b. 1933) ** Guido Messina, Italian racing cyclist (b. 1931) ** Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman (b. 1940) *
January 12 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. * 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already rei ...
– Roger Scruton, British philosopher and writer (b. 1944) * January 15 ** Rocky Johnson, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1944) ** Christopher Tolkien, British academic and editor (b. 1924) *
January 16 Events Pre-1600 * 27 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire. * 378 – General Siyaj K'ak' conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Sp ...
– Efraín Sánchez, Colombian footballer and manager (b. 1926) * January 19 ** Jimmy Heath, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1926) ** Shin Kyuk-ho, South Korean businessman (b. 1921) * January 21 ** Hédi Baccouche, 6th Prime Minister of Tunisia (b. 1930) ** Terry Jones, Welsh actor and comedian (b. 1942) ** Tengiz Sigua, 2nd Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1934) *
January 23 Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. * 1264 & ...
** Frederick Ballantyne, 7th Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (b. 1936) ** Gudrun Pausewang, German writer (b. 1928) * January 24 – Rob Rensenbrink, Dutch footballer (b. 1947) *
January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. * 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. * 1564 – The Council of T ...
** Kobe Bryant, American professional basketball player (b. 1978) ** Louis Nirenberg, Canadian-American mathematician (b. 1925) *
January 30 Events Pre-1600 * 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen. *1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom. 1601–1900 * 1607 – An estimat ...
** John Andretti, American race car driver (b. 1963) *
January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. *1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
** Mary Higgins Clark, American novelist (b. 1927) ** Janez Stanovnik, 12th President of Slovenia, President of SR of Slovenia (b. 1922)


February

* February 1 – Andy Gill, English musician (b. 1956) * February 2 – Mike Moore (New Zealand politician), Mike Moore, 34th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1949) * February 3 – George Steiner, French-American literary critic and essayist (b. 1929) * February 4 ** José Luis Cuerda, Spanish filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1947) ** Daniel arap Moi, 2nd President of Kenya (b. 1924) *
February 5 Events Pre-1600 * 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy. * 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion. * 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...
** Stanley Cohen (biochemist), Stanley Cohen, American Nobel biochemist (b. 1922) ** Kirk Douglas, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1916) * February 6 – Jhon Jairo Velásquez, Colombian hitman and drug dealer (b. 1962) * February 7 ** Orson Bean, American actor, comedian, and producer (b. 1928) ** Li Wenliang, Chinese ophthalmologist (b. 1986) ** Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer and actress (b. 1933) *
February 8 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir. * 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of ...
– Robert Conrad, American actor (b. 1935) * February 9 – Mirella Freni, Italian soprano (b. 1935) *
February 11 Events Pre-1600 *660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. * 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming ...
– Joseph Shabalala, South African musician (b. 1940) * February 12 – Geert Hofstede, Dutch social psychologist (b. 1928) *
February 13 Events Pre-1600 * 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome. * 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th. * 1462 – The ...
– Rajendra K. Pachauri, Indian scientist (b. 1940) * February 14 – Lynn Cohen, American actress (b. 1933) * February 15 – Caroline Flack, English television and radio presenter (b. 1979) * February 16 ** Zoe Caldwell, Australian actress (b. 1933) ** Larry Tesler, American computer scientist (b. 1945) * February 17 ** Mário da Graça Machungo, 1st List of prime ministers of Mozambique, Prime Minister of Mozambique (b. 1940) ** Kizito Mihigo, Rwandan gospel singer, organist and peace activist (b. 1981) ** Andrew Weatherall, English music DJ and producer (b. 1963) ** Sonja Ziemann, German actress (b. 1926) * February 18 ** José Bonaparte, Argentine paleontologist (b. 1928) *
February 19 Events Pre-1600 * 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. * 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of ...
– Pop Smoke, American rapper (b. 1999) * February 22 – Kiki Dimoula, Greek poet (b. 1931) *
February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. * ...
** Clive Cussler, American author (b. 1931) ** Katherine Johnson, American mathematician (b. 1918) ** Diana Serra Cary, American child actress (b. 1918) * February 25 ** Mario Bunge, Argentine philosopher (b. 1919) ** Hosni Mubarak, 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, Prime Minister and 4th President of Egypt (b. 1928) ** Dmitry Yazov, Soviet and Russian marshal (b. 1924) * February 26 – Nexhmije Hoxha, Albanian politician (b. 1921) *
February 28 Events Pre-1600 * 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. * 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes. * 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is execut ...
– Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923) * February 29 ** Éva Székely, Hungarian swimmer, Olympic champion (b. 1927) ** Luis Alfonso Mendoza, Mexican voice actor, voice director and announcer (b. 1964)


March

File:Manolis_Glezos_with_LAE_2.jpg, upright=0.5, Manolis Glezos * March 1 ** Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan poet and priest (b. 1925) ** Jack Welch, American business executive and writer (b. 1935) * March 2 – James Lipton, American writer, lyricist and actor (b. 1926) * March 3 – Stanisław Kania, Polish head of state, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party (b. 1927) * March 4 ** Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, 137th Prime Minister of Peru and 5th United Nations Secretary-General (b. 1920) ** Robert Shavlakadze, Georgian high jumper (b. 1933) * March 6 ** Henri Richard, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame ice hockey player (b. 1936) ** McCoy Tyner, American jazz pianist (b. 1938) * March 8 – Max von Sydow, Swedish-French actor (b. 1929) * March 11 ** Charles Wuorinen, American composer (b. 1938) ** Michel Roux, French chef and restaurateur (b. 1941) *
March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. *1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the C ...
– Tonie Marshall, French-American actress, screenwriter, and film director (b. 1951) *
March 13 Events Pre-1600 * 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh. *1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War. *1591 – At the Battle of Ton ...
– Dana Zátopková, Czech javelin thrower (b. 1922) * March 14 – Genesis P-Orridge, English singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and occultist (b. 1950) *
March 16 Events Pre-1600 * 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang. *1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York. * 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse ...
– Stuart Whitman, American actor (b. 1928) *
March 17 Events Pre-1600 * 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. * 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of ei ...
** Eduard Limonov, Russian writer, poet, publicist, and political dissident (b. 1943) ** Roger Mayweather, American professional boxer and trainer (b. 1961) ** Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo, Acting President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1958) ** Betty Williams (peace activist), Betty Williams, Northern Ireland Nobel peace activist (b. 1943) *
March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
** Catherine Hamlin, Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist (b. 1924) ** Alfred Worden, American astronaut (b. 1932) *
March 20 Events Pre-1600 * 673 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Palace of Kiyomihara in Asuka. * 1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. * 1600 – The Link ...
** Amadeo Carrizo, Argentine footballer (b. 1926) ** Kenny Rogers, American country singer and songwriter (b. 1938) * March 21 – Lorenzo Sanz, Spanish sports executive (b. 1943) * March 23 – Lucia Bosè, Italian actress and beauty pageant winner (b. 1931) * March 24 ** Manu Dibango, Cameroonian saxophonist (b. 1933) ** Stuart Gordon, American film director (b. 1947) ** Terrence McNally, American playwright (b. 1938) ** Albert Uderzo, French comic book artist (b. 1927) *
March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. *1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, ...
** Princess María Teresa of Bourbon-Parma, Spanish-French royal (b. 1933) ** Michel Hidalgo, French footballer and manager (b. 1933) *
March 27 Events Pre-1600 *1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom. * 1329 – Pope John XXII ...
– Hamed Karoui, 7th Prime Minister of Tunisia (b. 1927) * March 29 ** Philip W. Anderson, American Nobel physicist (b. 1923) ** Yuri Bondarev, Soviet and Russian writer and screenwriter (b. 1924) ** Krzysztof Penderecki, Polish composer and conductor (b. 1933) * March 30 ** Manolis Glezos, Greek politician and resistance fighter (b. 1922) ** Hau Pei-tsun, 13th Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1919) ** Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938) ** Joachim Yhombi-Opango, 4th List of presidents of the Republic of the Congo, President and 12th List of prime ministers of the Republic of the Congo, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1939) * March 31 – Abdul Halim Khaddam, Acting President of Syria (b. 1932)


April

File:Honor_Blackman_2000.jpg, upright=0.5, Honor Blackman File:Mahmoud Jibril (World Economic Forum Special Meeting 2011).jpg, upright=0.5, Mahmoud Jibril File:Luis Sepúlveda 2014 (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Luis Sepúlveda File:Florian Schneider headshot.JPG, 110px, Florian Schneider File:The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Padma Shri Award to Shri Sahabzade Irrfan Ali Khan, at an Investiture Ceremony II, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 01, 2011 (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Irrfan Khan File:FraGiacomoDallaTorre (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, Giacomo dalla Torre *
April 1 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held. * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. *1081 – Alexios I Ko ...
** Nur Hassan Hussein, 12th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1937) ** Ellis Marsalis Jr., American jazz pianist (b. 1934) ** Adam Schlesinger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967) *
April 2 Events Pre-1600 *1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Joh ...
– William Frankland (immunologist), William Frankland, British immunologist (b. 1912) * April 4 – Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero, 31st President of Honduras (b. 1943) *
April 5 Events Pre-1600 * 823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I. * 919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his ...
** Honor Blackman, English actress (b. 1925) ** Margaret Burbidge, English-born American astrophysicist (b. 1919) ** Shirley Douglas, Canadian actress and civil rights activist (b. 1934) ** Mahmoud Jibril, former Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1952) ** Pentti Linkola, Finnish deep ecologist and writer (b. 1932) * April 6 – James Drury, American actor (b. 1934) * April 7 – John Prine, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946) *
April 8 Events Pre-1600 * 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. * 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids. *1139 – Ro ...
** Abdul Momin Imambari, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar (b. 1930) ** Valeriu Muravschi, 1st Prime Minister of Moldova (b. 1949) *
April 10 Events Pre-1600 * 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. * 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). * 1407 ...
** Enrique Múgica, Spanish politician (b. 1932) ** Nobuhiko Obayashi, Japanese filmmaker (b. 1938) * April 11 ** John Horton Conway, English mathematician (b. 1937) ** Edem Kodjo, 3rd Prime Minister of Togo (b. 1938) *
April 12 Events Pre-1600 * 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I. * 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to ...
** Stirling Moss, English Formula One, F1 driver (b. 1929) ** Chung Won-shik, 21st Prime Minister of South Korea (b. 1928) ** Tim Brooke-Taylor, English comic performer (b. 1940) * April 13 ** Ryo Kawasaki, Japanese jazz fusion guitarist and composer (b. 1947) ** Landelino Lavilla Alsina, Landelino Lavilla, Spanish politician (b. 1934) *
April 15 Events Pre-1600 * 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. * 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
** Brian Dennehy, American actor (b. 1938) ** Lee Konitz, American jazz composer and alto saxophonist (b. 1927) * April 16 ** Gene Deitch, American-Czech animator and film director (b. 1924) ** Luis Sepúlveda, Chilean writer (b. 1949) *
April 17 Events Pre-1600 *1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. * 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Has ...
** Filipe Duarte (actor), Filipe Duarte, Portuguese actor (b. 1973) ** Norman Hunter (footballer), Norman Hunter, English international footballer (b. 1943) *
April 21 Events Pre-1600 * 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome ( traditional date). * 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered ...
** Abdurrahim El-Keib, Acting Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1950) ** Laisenia Qarase, 6th Prime Minister of Fiji (b. 1941) ** Florian Schneider, German electronic musician (b. 1947) * April 22 ** Hartwig Gauder, German Olympic champion (b. 1954) ** Shirley Knight, American actress (b. 1936) * April 25 – Per Olov Enquist, Swedish author (b. 1934) *
April 27 Events Pre-1600 * 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''. * 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one of ...
– Dragutin Zelenović, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1928) * April 28 – Robert May, Baron May of Oxford, Australian scientist (b. 1936) * April 29 **Trevor Cherry, English footballer (b. 1948) ** Denis Goldberg, South African social campaigner (b. 1933) ** Yahya Hassan, Danish poet and political activist (b. 1995) ** Irrfan Khan, Indian actor (b. 1967) ** Jānis Lūsis, Latvian Olympic champion (b. 1939) ** Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, 80th List of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (b. 1944) ** Maj Sjöwall, Swedish writer (b. 1935) *
April 30 Events Pre-1600 *311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends. *1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois. *1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus hi ...
**Tony Allen (musician), Tony Allen, Nigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter (b. 1940) ** Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor (b. 1952)


May

File:Millie Small (1964).jpg, upright=0.5, Millie Small File:Little Richard (1967).png, upright=0.5, Little Richard File:AdolfoNicolas.jpg, upright=0.5, Adolfo Nicolás File:Nobel Prize 2009-Press Conference KVA-42.jpg, upright=0.5, Oliver E. Williamson File:Stanleyho2006.jpg, upright=0.5, Stanley Ho * May 1 – Tun Tin, 6th Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1920) *
May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. *1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprison ...
– Idir (singer), Idir, Algerian singer (b. 1949) * May 5 ** Didi Kempot, Indonesian prominent singer-songwriter of campursari genre (b. 1966) ** Millie Small, Jamaican singer-songwriter (b. 1946) * May 8 – Siegfried & Roy, Roy Horn, German-American magician (b. 1944) *
May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. * 1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. *1386 – England and Portugal formally r ...
– Little Richard, American musician (b. 1932) *
May 10 Events Pre-1600 * 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. * 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of ...
– Betty Wright, American soul singer (b. 1953) *
May 11 Events 1601–1900 * 1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons. * 1813 – William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route acr ...
– Jerry Stiller, American comedian (b. 1927) * May 12 ** Sisavath Keobounphanh, 13th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1928) ** Astrid Kirchherr, German photographer and artist (b. 1938) ** Michel Piccoli, French actor, producer and film director (b. 1925) * May 13 ** Rolf Hochhuth, German author and playwright (b. 1931) ** Chedli Klibi, 4th List of Secretaries General of the Arab League, Secretary General of the Arab League (b. 1925) * May 15 ** Lynn Shelton, American filmmaker (b. 1965) ** Fred Willard, American actor and comedian (b. 1933) * May 17 – José Cutileiro, 8th List of Secretaries General of the Western European Union, Secretary General of the Western Europe Union (b. 1934) * May 19 – Ravi Zacharias, Indian-born Canadian-American Christian apologist (b. 1946) * May 20 ** Adolfo Nicolás, Spanish priest (b. 1936) ** Gianfranco Terenzi, former Captain Regent of San Marino (b. 1941) * May 21 – Oliver E. Williamson, American Nobel economist (b. 1932) *
May 22 Events Pre-1600 * 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu. * 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. *11 ...
** Ashley Cooper (tennis), Ashley Cooper, Australian tennis player (b. 1936) ** Mory Kanté, Guinean singer and musician (b. 1950) ** Luigi Simoni, Italian football player and manager (b. 1939) ** Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and head coach (b. 1942) * May 23 – Hana Kimura, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1997) * May 24 – Jimmy Cobb, American jazz drummer (b. 1929) * May 25 ** Hyun Soong-jong, 22nd Prime Minister of South Korea (b. 1919) ** Balbir Singh Sr., Indian field hockey player and manager (b. 1923) ** Vadão, Brazilian football manager (b. 1956) * May 26 – Stanley Ho, Hong Kong-Macau business magnate, investor and philanthropist (b. 1921) * May 27 – Larry Kramer, American author and LGBT rights activist (b. 1935) * May 29 – Abderrahmane Youssoufi, 12th Prime Minister of Morocco (b. 1924) * May 30 **Yawovi Agboyibo, 8th Prime Minister of Togo (b. 1943) ** Bobby Morrow, American athlete (b. 1935) * May 31 – Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Christo, Bulgarian-American artist (b. 1935)


June

File:Pierre_Nkurunziza_2014_press_conference_(cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Pierre Nkurunziza File:Sushant Singh Rajput (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Sushant Singh Rajput File:Vera Lynn (1962).jpg, upright=0.5, Dame Vera Lynn File:Carl_Reiner_1960_still.jpg, upright=0.5, Carl Reiner * June 2 ** Carlo Ubbiali, Italian motorcycle road racer (b. 1929) ** Wes Unseld, American basketball player and coach (b. 1946) * June 4 – Pete Rademacher, American Olympic heavyweight boxing champion (b. 1928) * June 5 – Boris Gaganelov, Bulgarian footballer and manager (b. 1941) * June 8 ** Tony Dunne, Irish footballer (b. 1941) ** Pierre Nkurunziza, 8th President of Burundi (b. 1964) * June 11 **Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet, 10th Prime Minister of Gabon (b. 1961) ** Dennis O'Neil, American comic book writer (b. 1939) ** Rosa Maria Sardà, Spanish actress (b. 1941) * June 13 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer (b. 1925) * June 14 **Aarón Padilla Gutiérrez, Mexican footballer (b. 1942) ** Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor (b. 1986) ** Keith Tippett, British pianist and composer (b. 1947) * June 16 – Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan politician and guerrilla (b. 1937) * June 17 ** Marlene Ahrens, Chilean athlete (b. 1933) ** György Kárpáti, Hungarian water polo player (b. 1935) * June 18 ** Tibor Benedek, Hungarian water polo player (b. 1972) **Dame Vera Lynn, English singer (b. 1917) ** Jules Sedney, 5th Prime Minister of Suriname (b. 1922) * June 19 **Sir Ian Holm, English actor (b. 1931) ** Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Spanish novelist (b. 1964) * June 20 ** Ema Derossi-Bjelajac, 6th President of the Presidency of Croatia, President of the Presidency of the SR of Croatia (b. 1926) ** Pedro Lima (actor), Pedro Lima, Portuguese actor (b. 1971) * June 21 ** Ahmed Radhi, Iraqi footballer and manager (b. 1964) ** Zeev Sternhell, Polish-born Israeli historian and political scientist (b. 1935) * June 22 – Joel Schumacher, American film director (b. 1939) * June 26 – Milton Glaser, American graphic designer (b. 1929) * June 27 ** Belaid Abdessalam, 7th Prime Minister of Algeria (b. 1928) ** Linda Cristal, Argentine actress (b. 1931) ** Ilija Petković, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1945) * June 29 – Carl Reiner, American actor, film director and comedian (b. 1922) * June 30 – Ida Haendel, Polish-born English violinist (b. 1928)


July

File:Ennio Morricone Cannes 2007 (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Ennio Morricone File:Zizi Jeanmaire (1963).jpg, upright=0.5, Zizi Jeanmaire File:Benjamin_Mkapa_2010-05-07.jpg, upright=0.5, Benjamin Mkapa File:Fleetwood Mac peter green.jpg, upright=0.5, Peter Green (musician), Peter Green File:Olivia_DeHavilland-2.JPG, upright=0.5, Dame Olivia de Havilland File:Arthurowen.jpg, upright=0.5, Owen Arthur File:總統李登輝先生玉照_(國民大會實錄).jpg, upright=0.5, Lee Teng-hui * July 1 ** Emmanuel Rakotovahiny, 15th Prime Minister of Madagascar (b. 1938) ** Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer (b. 1925) * July 3 – Saroj Khan, Indian choreographer (b. 1948) * July 5 ** Willi Holdorf, German athlete and Olympic champion (b. 1940) ** Volodymyr Troshkin, Soviet and Ukrainian footballer (b. 1947) * July 6 ** Charlie Daniels, American country singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1936) ** Ennio Morricone, Italian composer, orchestrator and conductor (b. 1928) * July 8 ** Amadou Gon Coulibaly, 10th List of heads of government of Ivory Coast, Prime Minister of Ivory Coast (b. 1959) ** Finn Christian Jagge, Norwegian alpine skier and Olympic champion (b. 1966) ** Alex Pullin, Australian Olympic snowboarder (b. 1987) ** Naya Rivera, American actress, model and singer (b. 1987) * July 9 – Miloš Jakeš, 5th List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (b. 1922) * July 10 ** Jack Charlton, English footballer and manager (b. 1935) ** Paik Sun-yup, South Korean military officer (b. 1920) ** Lara van Ruijven, Dutch short track speed skater (b. 1992) * July 12 ** Hassan Abshir Farah, 9th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1945) ** Kelly Preston, American actress and model (b. 1962) ** Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer (b. 1945) ** Lajos Szűcs (footballer, born 1943), Lajos Szűcs, Hungarian footballer (b. 1943) * July 13 ** Grant Imahara, American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host (b. 1970) ** Hasan al-Lawzi, Acting Prime Minister of Yemen (b. 1952) * July 15 – Toke Talagi, 5th Premier of Niue (b. 1951) * July 17 ** Zizi Jeanmaire, French ballet dancer (b. 1924) ** John Lewis, American civil rights leader and politician (b. 1940) ** Silvio Marzolini, Argentine footballer (b. 1940) ** Ron Tauranac, British-Australian engineer and racing car designer (b. 1925) * July 18 ** Juan Marsé, Spanish novelist, journalist and screenwriter (b. 1933) ** Haruma Miura, Japanese actor (b. 1990) * July 19 ** Sapardi Djoko Damono, Indonesian poet and literary figure (b. 1940) ** Seydou Diarra, 4th Prime Minister of Ivory Coast (b. 1933) ** Nikolai Tanayev, 8th Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan (b. 1945) * July 21 ** Francisco Rodríguez Adrados, Spanish philologist (b. 1922) ** Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress (b. 1930) * July 23 – Jean Brankart, Belgian racing cyclist (b. 1930) * July 24 ** Ben Jipcho, Kenyan athlete, Olympic silver medallist (b. 1943) ** Benjamin Mkapa, 3rd President of Tanzania (b. 1938) * July 25 – Peter Green (musician), Peter Green, English blues rock singer-songwriter (b. 1946) * July 26 – Dame Olivia de Havilland, British-American actress (b. 1916) * July 27 – Owen Arthur, 5th Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1949) * July 28 ** Bent Fabric, Danish pianist and composer (b. 1924) ** Gisèle Halimi, Tunisian-French lawyer and feminist (b. 1927) * July 30 – Lee Teng-hui, 13th President of the Republic of China (b. 1923) * July 31 ** Alan Parker, English filmmaker (b. 1944) ** Stephen Tataw, Cameroonian footballer (b. 1963)


August

File:John Hume 2008.jpg, upright=0.5, John Hume File:Allen_mg_2528-3750K-b.jpg, upright=0.5, Frances Allen File:Chadwick Boseman by Gage Skidmore July 2017 (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Chadwick Boseman File:Pranab Mukherjee Portrait (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Pranab Mukherjee * August 1 – Wilford Brimley, American actor and singer (b. 1934) * August 2 ** Leon Fleisher, American pianist (b. 1928) ** Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, Kazakh Olympic wrestling champion (b. 1951) * August 3 ** Ernesto Brambilla, Grand Prix motorcycle road racer (b. 1934) ** John Hume, Northern Irish Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Peace laureate politician (b. 1937) * August 4 – Frances Allen, American computer scientist (b. 1932) * August 6 – Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher (b. 1952) * August 7 ** Lê Khả Phiêu, 10th General-Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (b. 1931) ** Adin Steinsaltz, Israeli rabbi and philosopher (b. 1937) * August 8 – Pedro Casaldáliga, Spanish-Brazilian prelate and human rights activist (b. 1928) *August 9 ** Martin Birch, British music producer and engineer (b. 1948) ** Franca Valeri, Italian actress and playwright (b. 1920) * August 10 – Vladica Popović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1935) * August 11 – Trini Lopez, American singer and actor (b. 1937) * August 14 ** Julian Bream, English classical guitarist and lutenist (b. 1933) ** Ewa Demarczyk, Polish singer and poet (b. 1941) * August 17 – Mário de Araújo Cabral, Portuguese Formula One driver (b. 1934) * August 18 **Ben Cross, English actor (b. 1947) **Cesare Romiti, Italian manager and businessman (b. 1923) * August 19 – Borys Paton, Soviet and Ukrainian scientist (b. 1918) * August 20 – Branko Kostić, acting President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (b. 1939) * August 21 – Ken Robinson (educationalist), Ken Robinson, English educationalist and author (b. 1950) * August 24 – Pascal Lissouba, 6th President of the Republic of Congo, President and 2nd Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo (b. 1931) * August 26 – Gerald Carr (astronaut), Gerald Carr, American astronaut and aeronautical engineer (b. 1932) * August 28 – Chadwick Boseman, American actor and playwright (b. 1976) * August 31 **Nina Bocharova, Soviet and Ukrainian Olympic gymnast (b. 1924) ** Pranab Mukherjee, 13th President of India (b. 1935)


September

File:Diana Rigg 1973 Cropped.jpg, upright=0.5, Diana Rigg File:Moussa_Traoré_(1989)_(cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Moussa Traoré File:Turner 1968 cropped.jpg, upright=0.5, John Turner File:Arthur Ashkin EM1B5678 (44417135450).jpg, upright=0.5, Arthur Ashkin File:Juliette Greco voor het programma Domino in de Cinebone Studio in Duivendrecht, Bestanddeelnr 914-9574 (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Juliette Gréco File:Sheikh Sabah IV (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah * September 1 ** Vladislav Krapivin, Soviet and Russian children's literature writer (b. 1938) ** Erick Morillo, Colombian-American DJ and music producer (b. 1971) * September 2 ** David Graeber, American anthropologist and anarchist author (b. 1961) ** Kang Kek Iew, Cambodian prison commander and war criminal (b. 1942) * September 4 ** Annie Cordy, Belgian actress and singer (b. 1928) ** Joe Williams (Cook Islands politician), Joe Williams, 5th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1934) * September 5 – Jiří Menzel, Czech film director, actor and screenwriter (b. 1938) * September 6 ** Vaughan Jones, New Zealand mathematician (b. 1952) ** Dragoljub Ojdanić, Serbian military officer and war criminal (b. 1941) * September 7 – Abdul Qadir Bajamal, 5th Prime Minister of Yemen (b. 1946) * September 8 ** Ronald Harwood, South African-born English screenwriter (b. 1934) ** Alfred Riedl, Austrian football player and manager (b. 1949) * September 9 – Shere Hite, American-born German feminist and sex educator (b. 1942) * September 10 – Diana Rigg, English actress (b. 1938) * September 11 – Toots Hibbert, Jamaican singer and songwriter (b. 1942) * September 15 ** Momčilo Krajišnik, Bosnian Serb political leader and war criminal (b. 1945) ** Moussa Traoré, 2nd President of Mali (b. 1936) * September 17 – Terry Goodkind, American novelist (b. 1948) * September 18 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American jurist, and gender equality pioneer (b. 1933) * September 19 – John Turner, 17th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1929) * September 20 – Michael Chapman (cinematographer), Michael Chapman, American cinematographer and film director (b. 1935) * September 21 ** Arthur Ashkin, American Nobel physicist (b. 1922) ** Tommy DeVito (musician), Tommy DeVito, American musician and singer (b. 1928) ** Michael Lonsdale, French actor (b. 1931) * September 22 – Agne Simonsson, Swedish footballer and manager (b. 1935) * September 23 ** Juliette Gréco, French singer and actress (b. 1927) ** Gale Sayers, American gridiron football player (b. 1943) * September 24 ** Dean Jones (cricketer), Dean Jones, Australian cricketer (b. 1961) ** Corine Rottschäfer, Dutch model and beauty contestant (b. 1938) * September 25 ** S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Indian playback singer (b. 1946) ** Goran Paskaljević, Serbian film director (b. 1947) * September 27 ** John D. Barrow, English cosmologist, theoretical physicist and mathematician (b. 1952) ** Yūko Takeuchi, Japanese actress (b. 1980) * September 29 ** Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1942) ** Helen Reddy, Australian singer and actress (b. 1941) ** Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1929) * September 30 ** Ali Bozer, Acting Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1925) ** Quino, Argentine cartoonist (b. 1932)


October

File:Eddie Van Halen (Cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Eddie Van Halen File:Mario Molina 1c389 8385 (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Mario Molina File:Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri portrait (cropped) (2).png, upright=0.5, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri File:Sean Connery (1983).jpg, 110px, Sir Sean Connery * October 2 – Bob Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1935) * October 4 – Kenzō Takada, Japanese-born French fashion designer (b. 1939) * October 6 ** Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940) ** Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American musician and songwriter (b. 1955) * October 7 – Mario Molina, Mexican Nobel chemist (b. 1943) * October 8 ** Whitey Ford, American baseball player (b. 1928) ** Ali Khalif Galaydh, 8th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1941) **Charles Moore (athlete), Charles Moore, American athlete and Olympic champion (b. 1929) ** Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, Iranian classical singer (b. 1940) * October 12 – Litokwa Tomeing, 4th President of the Marshall Islands (b. 1939) * October 14 ** Rhonda Fleming, American actress (b. 1923) ** Kuniwo Nakamura, 6th President of Palau (b. 1943) * October 18 – René Felber, 81st President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1933) * October 19 – Spencer Davis, Welsh musician (b. 1939) * October 20 ** Bruno Martini, French footballer (b. 1962) ** James Randi, Canadian-American magician and skeptic (b. 1928) ** Irina Skobtseva, Soviet and Russian actress (b. 1927) * October 21 – Marge Champion, American actress and dancer (b. 1919) * October 25 ** Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 6th Vice President of Iraq (b. 1942) ** Diane di Prima, American poet, playwright and activist (b. 1934) ** Lee Kun-hee, South Korean electronics executive (b. 1942) * October 28 – Anthony Soter Fernandez, Malaysian Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1932) * October 29 – Angelika Amon, Austrian-American molecular and cell biologist (b. 1967) * October 30 ** Robert Fisk, English writer and journalist (b. 1946) ** Nobby Stiles, English footballer and manager (b. 1942) ** Mesut Yılmaz, 21st Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1947) ** Amfilohije Radović, 50th Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral (b. 1938) * October 31 ** Sean Connery, Scottish actor (b. 1930) ** MF Doom, British-American rapper (b. 1971)


November

File:Amadou Toure cropped.jpg, upright=0.5, Amadou Toumani Touré File:Masatoshi Koshiba 2002 (headshot).jpg, upright=0.5, Masatoshi Koshiba File:Jerry Rawlings (headshot).jpg, upright=0.5, Jerry Rawlings File:Soumitra Chatterjee - Kolkata 2011-05-09 2865 (headshot).JPG, upright=0.5, Soumitra Chatterjee File:Patrijarh Irinej na obeležavanju 70. godišnjice Novosadske racije (1) (cropped).JPG, upright=0.5, Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, Irinej File:Maradona 2010-1.jpg, upright=0.5, Diego Maradona * November 2 ** Ahmed Laraki, 6th Prime Minister of Morocco (b. 1931) ** Gigi Proietti, Italian actor and comedian (b. 1940) * November 4 – Ken Hensley, English singer and songwriter (b. 1945) * November 6 ** Jim Marurai, 8th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1947) ** Fernando Solanas, Argentine film director and politician (b. 1936) * November 8 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host (b. 1940) *November 9 – Tom Heinsohn, American basketball player and coach (b. 1934) * November 10 ** Saeb Erekat, Palestinian diplomat (b. 1955) ** Amadou Toumani Touré, 3rd President of Mali (b. 1948) * November 11 ** Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, 1st Prime Minister of Bahrain (b. 1935) ** Jorge Llopart, Spanish athlete (b. 1952) * November 12 ** Masatoshi Koshiba, Japanese Nobel physicist (b. 1926) ** Jerry Rawlings, President of Ghana (b. 1947) * November 13 – Peter Sutcliffe, English serial killer (b. 1946) *November 14 ** Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Soviet, Armenian and Russian actor (b. 1935) ** Peter Florjančič, Slovene inventor and athlete (b. 1919) ** Hasan Muratović, 4th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (b. 1940) ** Des O'Connor, English television presenter, comedian and singer (b. 1932) * November 15 ** Soumitra Chatterjee, Indian actor (b. 1935) ** Ray Clemence, English football goalkeeper (b. 1948) ** Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, Ecuadorian cardinal (b. 1934) * November 16 ** Henryk Gulbinowicz, Polish cardinal (b. 1923) ** Walid Muallem, Syrian diplomat (b. 1941) **Bruce Swedien, American audio engineer and record producer (b. 1934) * November 18 - Umar Ghalib, 7th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1930) * November 20 – Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, Irinej, Serbian Patriarch (b. 1930) * November 22 ** Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, 7th Heads of state of Mauritania, President of Mauritania (b. 1938) ** Mustafa Nadarević, Bosnian-Croatian actor (b. 1943) * November 23 – Anele Ngcongca, South African footballer (b. 1987) * November 24 – Mamadou Tandja, 7th List of heads of state of Niger, President of Niger (b. 1938) * November 25 ** Diego Maradona, Argentine football player and manager (b. 1960) ** James Wolfensohn, 9th President of the World Bank Group (b. 1933) * November 26 ** Sadiq al-Mahdi, 7th List of heads of government of Sudan, Prime Minister of Sudan (b. 1935) ** Tevita Momoedonu, 5th Prime Minister of Fiji (b. 1946) ** Daria Nicolodi, Italian actress and screenwriter (b. 1950) *November 27 – Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iranian nuclear physicist and academic (b. 1958) * November 28 – David Prowse, English bodybuilder and actor (b. 1935) * November 29 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer (b. 1978)


December

File:Valéry Giscard d’Estaing 1978(2).jpg, upright=0.5, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing File:Visita Oficial del Presidente de Uruguay 2 (cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Tabaré Vázquez File:Kim_Ki-duk_at_the_69th_Venice_International_Film_Festival_(cropped).jpg, upright=0.5, Kim Ki-duk File:Pierre Buyoya at Chatham House 2013 crop.jpg, upright=0.5, Pierre Buyoya File:Pierre Cardin (headshot).jpg, upright=0.5, Pierre Cardin *December 1 ** Eduardo Lourenço, Portuguese philosopher and writer (b. 1923) ** Arnie Robinson, American athlete (b. 1948) *December 2 ** Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 20th President of France (b. 1926) ** Zafarullah Khan Jamali, 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1944) ** Rafer Johnson, American decathlete and actor (b. 1934) ** Pat Patterson (wrestler), Pat Patterson, Canadian–American professional wrestler and producer (b. 1941) * December 5 – Viktor Ponedelnik, Soviet and Russian footballer and manager (b. 1937) * December 6 – Tabaré Vázquez, 39th and 41st President of Uruguay (b. 1940) * December 7 – Chuck Yeager, American Air Force officer and test pilot (b. 1923) * December 8 – Alejandro Sabella, Argentine football player and manager (b. 1954) * December 9 ** Vyacheslav Kebich, 1st Prime Minister of Belarus (b. 1936) ** Paolo Rossi, Italian footballer (b. 1956) * December 10 ** Tommy Lister Jr., American actor and professional wrestler (b. 1958) ** Barbara Windsor, English actress (b. 1937) * December 11 **Kim Ki-duk, South Korean director and screenwriter (b. 1960) **James Flynn (academic), James Flynn, New Zealand intelligence researcher (b. 1934) * December 12 ** John le Carré, English author (b. 1931) ** Charley Pride, American singer, musician, and guitarist (b. 1934) ** Fikre Selassie Wogderess, 9th List of heads of government of Ethiopia, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (b. 1945) ** Jack Steinberger, German-born American Nobel physicist (b. 1921) * December 13 – Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, 10th Prime Minister of Eswatini (b. 1968) * December 14 – Gérard Houllier, French footballer and manager (b. 1947) * December 15 – Saufatu Sopoanga, 8th Prime Minister of Tuvalu (b. 1952) * December 16 – Flavio Cotti, 80th President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1939) * December 17 – Pierre Buyoya, 3rd President of Burundi (b. 1949) * December 18 ** Michael Jeffery, 24th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1937) ** Òscar Ribas Reig, 1st Prime Minister of Andorra (b. 1936) * December 19 – Mekere Morauta, 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1946) * December 20 – Doug Anthony, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929) * December 22 – Muhammad Mustafa Mero, 62nd Prime Minister of Syria (b. 1941) * December 24 ** John Cremona, Acting President of Malta (b. 1918) ** Ivry Gitlis, Israeli violinist (b. 1922) * December 25 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1932) * December 26 ** George Blake, British spy and double agent (b. 1922) ** Brodie Lee, American professional wrestler and actor (b. 1979) * December 28 – Armando Manzanero, Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1935) * December 29 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-born French fashion designer (b. 1922) * December 30 – Eugene Wright, American jazz bassist (b. 1923) * December 31 – Tommy Docherty, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1928)


Nobel Prizes

File:Nobel medal.png, 120px, Nobel medal * Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna * Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Economics – Paul Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Louise Glück * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – World Food Programme * Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea M. Ghez * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton (virologist), Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice


References


External links

{{2020s in political history 2020, Leap years in the Gregorian calendar 2020s,