20 April

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 a Spanish silver fleet, under heavy fire from the shore, at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
* 1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
*1752 – Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57).
*1770 – The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
*1789 – George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration.
*1792 – France declares war against the " King of Hungary and Bohemia", the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars.
*1800 – The Septinsular Republic is established.
*1809 – Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
*1828 – René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing. He would also be the first to return alive.
*1836 – U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
*1861 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
* 1861 – Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, attempting to display the value of balloons, makes record journey, flying 900 miles from Cincinnati to South Carolina.
*1862 – Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.
*1865 – Astronomer Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX's yacht, the ''L'Immaculata Concezion''.
*1876 – The April Uprising begins. Its suppression shocks European opinion, and Bulgarian independence becomes a condition for ending the Russo-Turkish War.
*1884 – Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical '' Humanum genus'', condemning Freemasonry.
*1898 – U.S. President William McKinley signs a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.

1901–present

*1902 – Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
*1908 – Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.
*1914 – Nineteen men, women, and children participating in a strike are killed in the Ludlow Massacre during the Colorado Coalfield War.
*1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
*1922 – The Soviet government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian SSR.
*1945 – World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
* 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
* 1945 – Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school.
*1946 – The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
* 1949 – Amethyst incident: The People's Liberation Army attacks travelling to the British embassy in Nanjing during the Chinese Civil War.
*1961 – Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
*1968 – English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech.
* 1968 – South African Airways Flight 228 crashes near J.G. Strijdom Airport in South West Africa (now Hosea Kutako International Airport in Namibia), killing 123 people.
*1972 – Apollo program: Apollo 16 Lunar Module, commanded by John Young and piloted by Charles Duke, lands on the Moon.
*1998 – Air France Flight 422 crashes after taking off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, killing all 53 people on board.
*1999 – Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 14 people and injure 23 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
*2004 – The Nicoll Highway in Singapore collapsed, killing four workers.
*2007 – Johnson Space Center shooting: William Phillips barricades himself with a handgun in NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself.
*2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
*2010 – The ''Deepwater Horizon'' drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.
*2012 – One hundred twenty-seven people are killed when a plane crashes in a residential area near the Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Islamabad, Pakistan.
*2013 – A 6.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Lushan County, Ya'an, in China's Sichuan province, killing at least 193 people and injuring thousands.
*2015 – Ten people are killed in a bomb attack on a convoy carrying food supplies to a United Nations compound in Garowe.
*2020 – For the first time in history, oil prices drop below zero, an effect of the 2020 Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war.
*2021 – '' State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin'': Derek Chauvin is found guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd by the Fourth Judicial District Court of Minnesota.
*2023 – SpaceX's Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, launches for the first time. It explodes four minutes into flight.

Births

Pre-1600

* 1494 – Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (died 1566)
*1544 – Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (died 1602)
*1586 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (died 1617)

1601–1900

*1633 – Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (died 1654)
* 1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (died 1704)
* 1650 – William Bedloe, English spy (died 1680)
* 1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (died 1747)
*1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (died 1781)
*1727 – Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian minister and diplomat (died 1794)
*1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (died 1826)
* 1748 – Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (died 1831)
*1808 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France, Emperor of French Second Empire (died 1873)
*1816 – Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (died 1895)
*1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (died 1893)
*1826 – Dinah Craik, English author and poet (died 1887)
*1839 – Carol I of Romania, King of Romania (died 1914)
*1840 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (died 1916)
*1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue (died 1931)
*1851 – Alexander Dianin, Russian chemist (died 1918)
* 1851 – Siegmund Lubin, Polish-American businessman, founded the Lubin Manufacturing Company (died 1923)
*1860 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (died 1933)
*1871 – Sydney Chapman, English economist and civil servant (died 1951)
*1873 – James Harcourt, English character actor (died 1951)
*1875 – Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet and lawyer (died 1909)
*1879 – Paul Poiret, French fashion designer (died 1944)
*1882 – Holland Smith, American general (died 1967)
*1884 – Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (died 1966)
* 1884 – Oliver Kirk, American boxer (died 1960)
* 1884 – Daniel Varoujan, Armenian poet and educator (died 1915)
*1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (died 1996)
* 1889 – Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (died 1918)
* 1889 – Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, French mystic (died 1918)
* 1889 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian-born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (died 1945)
* 1889 – Tonny Kessler, Dutch footballer (died 1960)
*1890 – Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (died 1959)
* 1890 – Adolf Schärf, Austrian soldier and politician, 6th President of Austria (died 1965)
*1891 – Dave Bancroft, American baseball player and manager (died 1972)
* 1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, comedian, and producer (died 1971)
* 1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (died 1983)
*1895 – Henry de Montherlant, French essayist, novelist, and dramatist (died 1972)
*1899 – Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1918)

1901–present

*1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (died 1972)
*1907 – Miran Bakhsh, Pakistani cricketer (died 1991)
* 1907 – Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (died 2010)
*1908 – Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player, pianist, bandleader, and actor (died 2002)
*1910 – Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Turkish diplomat and politician (died 1961)
*1913 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (died 1986)
* 1913 – Willi Hennig, German biologist and entomologist (died 1976)
*1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (died 1999)
*1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist and physician (died 1997)
*1916 – Nasiba Zeynalova, Azerbaijani actress (died 2004)
*1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2007)
*1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian lieutenant and pilot (died 1943)
*1920 – Frances Ames, South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist (died 2002)
* 1920 – Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician, Governor of Cross River State (died 2000)
* 1920 – John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 2019)
*1921 – Katarína Kolníková, Slovak actress (died 2006)
*1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network (died 2016)
* 1923 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (died 2008)
* 1923 – Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (died 2000)
*1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (died 2008)
* 1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor and producer (died 2022)
* 1924 – Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic
*1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (died 2006)
* 1925 – Elena Verdugo, American actress (died 2017)
*1927 – Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Employment and Immigration (died 2005)
* 1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (died 2008)
* 1927 – K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2023)
*1928 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (died 2013)
* 1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish international footballer (died 2007)
*1930 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (died 2014)
* 1930 – Antony Jay, English director and screenwriter (died 2016)
*1931 – Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby, English lieutenant and politician (died 2014)
* 1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician
*1932 – Myriam Bru, French actress
*1936 – Lisa Davis, English-American actress
* 1936 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese technician, surveyor, and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (died 2012)
* 1936 – Pat Roberts, American captain, journalist, and politician
*1937 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2011)
* 1937 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter and educator (died 2002)
* 1937 – George Takei, American actor
*1938 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter (died 2017)
* 1938 – Manfred Kinder, German runner
* 1938 – Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress (died 1991)
* 1938 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter (died 2025)
*1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author and screenwriter
* 1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway–
*1940 – James Gammon, American actor (died 2010)
*1941 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor (died 2023)
*1943 – Alan Beith, English academic and politician
* 1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor and director
*1944 – Toivo Aare, Estonian journalist and author (died 1999)
*1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor and director
* 1945 – Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer
* 1945 – Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma
* 1945 – Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (died 2003)
* 1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
*1946 – Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor
*1947 – Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician
* 1947 – Viktor Suvorov, Russian intelligence officer, historian, and author
* 1947 – Niko Lekishvili, Georgian politician (died 2025)
*1948 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (died 2015)
*1949 – Veronica Cartwright, English-American actress
* 1949 – Toller Cranston, Canadian-Mexican figure skater and painter (died 2015)
* 1949 – Massimo D'Alema, Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
* 1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
*1950 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (died 2002)
* 1950 – N. Chandrababu Naidu, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
*1951 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2005)
*1952 – Louka Katseli, Greek economist and politician
*1953 – Sebastian Faulks, English journalist and author
* 1953 – James Chance, American musician (died 2024)
*1955 – Donald Pettit, American engineer and astronaut
* 1955 – Svante Pääbo, Swedish geneticist and Nobel Laureate
*1956 – Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice
* 1956 – Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor
* 1956 – Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician (died 2014)
*1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
*1959 – Perry Haddock, Australian rugby league player
*1960 – Debbie Flintoff-King, Australian hurdler and coach
*1961 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player, coach, and manager
* 1961 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
*1963 – Rachel Whiteread, English sculptor
*1964 – John Carney, American football player
* 1964 – Crispin Glover, American actor and filmmaker
* 1964 – Andy Serkis, English actor and director
* 1964 – Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
*1965 – Kostis Chatzidakis, Greek politician, Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism
* 1965 – Léa Fazer, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actress
* 1965 – Mark Mallia, Maltese painter and sculptor (died 2024)
*1966 – David Chalmers, Australian philosopher and academic
* 1966 – David Filo, American businessman, co-founded Yahoo!
* 1967 – Lara Jill Miller, American actress
*1967 – Mike Portnoy, American drummer and songwriter
*1968 – Julia Morris, Australian entertainer
*1969 – Felix Baumgartner, Austrian daredevil
* 1969 – Will Hodgman, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Tasmania
*1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor
*1971 – Allan Houston, American basketball player
*1972 – Carmen Electra, American model and actress
* 1972 – Stephen Marley, Jamaican-American musician
*1973 – Julie Powell, American food writer and memoirist (died 2022)
*1975 – Killer Mike, American rapper
*1978 – Carl Greenidge, English cricketer
*1980 – Emma Husar, Australian politician
*1983 – Miranda Kerr, Australian model
*1984 – Harris Wittels, American comedian
*1987 – Jorge Pinto, Portuguese politician
*1988 – Brandon Belt, American baseball player
*1989 – Vannesa Rosales, Venezuelan activist and teacher
*1990 – Kyle Higashioka, American baseball player
*1990 – Jason Behrendorff, Australian cricketer
*1991 – Luke Kuechly, American football player
*1997 – Alexander Zverev, German tennis player
*2005 – Tallyn Da Silva, Australian rugby league player

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 689 – Cædwalla, king of Wessex (born 659)
* 888 – Xi Zong, Chinese emperor (born 862)
*1099 – Peter Bartholomew (born 1061)
* 1164 – Antipope Victor IV
*1176 – Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English-Irish politician, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (born 1130)
*1248 – Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (born 1206)
* 1284 – Hōjō Tokimune, regent of Japan (born 1251)
*1314 – Pope Clement V (born 1264)
*1322 – Simon Rinalducci, Italian Augustinian friar
* 1502 – Mary of Looz-Heinsberg, Dutch noble (born 1424)
*1521 – Zhengde, Chinese emperor (born 1491)
*1534 – Elizabeth Barton, English nun and martyr (born 1506)
*1558 – Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (born 1485)

1601–1900

*1643 – Christoph Demantius, German composer and poet (born 1567)
*1703 – Lancelot Addison, English clergyman and educator (born 1632)
*1769 – Chief Pontiac, American tribal leader (born 1720)
*1831 – John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (born 1764)
*1873 – William Tite, English architect, designed the Royal Exchange (born 1798)
*1874 – Alexander H. Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1817)
*1881 – William Burges, English architect and designer (born 1827)
*1886 – Charles-François-Frédéric, marquis de Montholon-Sémonville, French general and diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (born 1814)
*1887 – Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Greek-Egyptian politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1826)
*1899 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (born 1820)

1901–present

*1902 – Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet and educator (born 1833)
*1912 – Bram Stoker, Anglo-Irish novelist and critic, created Count Dracula (born 1847)
*1918 – Jussi Merinen, Finnish politician (born 1873)
*1918 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1850)
*1927 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and educator (born 1866)
*1929 – Prince Henry of Prussia (born 1862)
*1931 – Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet, Scottish-English fencer and businessman (born 1862)
*1932 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (born 1858)
*1935 – John Cameron, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1872)
* 1935 – Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer (born 1863)
*1942 – Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, 6th State Elder of Estonia (born 1870)
*1944 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and pilot (born 1917)
*1945 – Erwin Bumke, Polish-German jurist and politician (born 1874)
*1946 – Mae Busch, Australian actress (born 1891)
*1947 – Christian X of Denmark (born 1870)
*1951 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Italian politician, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1873)
*1967 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (born 1896)
*1968 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (born 1877)
*1969 – Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian Ustaše official and concentration camp administrator (born 1914)
*1978 – Lord Richard Cecil, British soldier and journalist in the Rhodesian Bush War
*1980 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (born 1924)
*1982 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (born 1892)
*1986 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (born 1916)
*1991 – Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and producer (born 1947)
* 1991 – Don Siegel, American director and producer (born 1912)
*1992 – Marjorie Gestring, American springboard diver (born 1922)
* 1992 – Benny Hill, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1924)
*1993 – Cantinflas, Mexican actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1911)
*1995 – Milovan Đilas, Yugoslav communist, politician, theorist and author (born 1911)
*1996 – Trần Văn Trà, Vietnamese general and politician (born 1918)
*1999 – Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (born 1958)
*1999 – Rachel Scott, American victim of Columbine High School massacre (born 1981)
*1999 – Cassie Bernall, American victim of Columbine High School massacre (born 1981)
*2001 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (born 1946)
*2002 – Alan Dale, American singer (born 1925)
*2003 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)
*2004 – Lizzy Mercier Descloux, French musician, singer-songwriter, composer, actress, writer and painter (born 1956)
*2005 – Fumio Niwa, Japanese journalist and author (born 1904)
*2007 – Andrew Hill, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (born 1931)
* 2007 – Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (born 1931)
*2008 – Monica Lovinescu, Romanian journalist and author (born 1923)
*2010 – Dorothy Height, American educator and activist (born 1912)
*2011 – Tim Hetherington, English photographer and journalist (born 1970)
*2012 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist and songwriter (born 1920)
*2014 – Neville Wran, Australian politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales (born 1926)
*2016 – Victoria Wood, British comedian, actress and writer (born 1953)
*2018 – Avicii, Swedish DJ and musician (born 1989)
*2021 – Idriss Déby, Chadian politician and military officer (born 1952)
* 2021 – Monte Hellman, American film director (born 1929)
* 2021 – Les McKeown, Scottish pop singer (born 1955)
*2022 – Gavin Millar, Scottish film director (born 1938)
*2024 – Antonio Cantafora, Italian film and television actor (born 1944)
*2024 – Andrew Davis, English conductor (born 1944)
*2024 – Roman Gabriel, Filipino-American NFL American footballer
*2024 – Lourdes Portillo, Mexican film director, producer, and writer (born 1943)
*2025 – Hugo Gatti, Argentine footballer (born 1944)

Holidays and observances

* Christian feast day:
** Agnes of Montepulciano
**Beuno
**Johannes Bugenhagen (Lutheran)
** Theotimos
** April 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* 420 (cannabis culture)
* UN Chinese Language Day (United Nations)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on April 20

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Days of April