September 20

Events

Pre-1600

*1058 – Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border territory of Burgenland.
*1066 – At the Battle of Fulford, Harald Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin.
* 1187 – Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.
* 1260 – The Great Prussian Uprising among the old Prussians begins against the Teutonic Knights.
*1378 – Cardinal Robert of Geneva is elected as Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.
* 1498 – The Nankai tsunami washes away the building housing the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in; it has been located outside ever since.
* 1519 – Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with about 270 men on his expedition which ultimately culminates in the first circumnavigation of the globe.
*1586 – A number of conspirators in the Babington Plot are hanged, drawn and quartered.

1601–1900

* 1602 – The Spanish-held Dutch town of Grave capitulates to a besieging Dutch and English army under the command of Maurice of Orange.
*1697 – The Treaty of Ryswick is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic, ending the Nine Years' War.
* 1737 – The Walking Purchase concludes, which forces the cession of of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.
*1792 – French troops stop an allied invasion of France at the Battle of Valmy.
* 1835 – The decade-long Ragamuffin War starts when rebels capture Porto Alegre in Brazil.
* 1854 – Crimean War: British and French troops defeat Russians at the Battle of Alma.
*1857 – The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.
*1860 – The future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom begins the first visit to North America by a Prince of Wales.
*1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga, in northwestern Georgia, ends in a Confederate victory.
*1870 – The ''Bersaglieri'' corps enter Rome through the ''Porta Pia'', and complete the unification of Italy.
*1871 – Bishop John Coleridge Patteson, first bishop of Melanesia, is martyred on Nukapu, now in the Solomon Islands.
* 1881 – U.S. President Chester A. Arthur is sworn in upon the death of James A. Garfield the previous day.
* 1893 – Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile.

1901–present

*1911 – The White Star Line's collides with the British warship .
*1920 – Irish War of Independence: British police known as "Black and Tans" burn the town of Balbriggan and kill two local men in revenge for an IRA assassination.
*1941 – The Holocaust in Lithuania: Lithuanian Nazis and local police begin a mass execution of 403 Jews in Nemenčinė.
*1946 – The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed for seven years due to World War II.
* 1946 – Six days after a referendum, King Christian X of Denmark annuls the declaration of independence of the Faroe Islands.
*1954 – The ''Moomin'' comics, created by Tove Jansson and Lars Jansson, is published internationally in the London newspaper '' The Evening News''.
* 1955 – The Treaty on Relations between the USSR and the GDR is signed.
*1961 – Greek general Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
*1962 – James Meredith, an African American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi.
*1965 – Following the Battle of Burki, the Indian Army captures Dograi in during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
*1967 – The Cunard Liner '' Queen Elizabeth 2'' is launched in Clydebank, Scotland.
*1971 – Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.
*1973 – Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome.
* 1973 – Singer Jim Croce, songwriter and musician Maury Muehleisen and four others die when their light aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Natchitoches Regional Airport in Louisiana.
*1977 – Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.
*1979 – A French-supported ''coup d'état'' in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokassa I.
*1982 – NFL season: American football players in the National Football League begin a 57-day strike.
*1984 – A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.
*1989 – USAir Flight 5050 crashes into Bowery Bay during a rejected takeoff from LaGuardia Airport, killing two people.
*1990 – South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.
*2000 – The United Kingdom's MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by individuals using a Russian-built RPG-22 anti-tank missile.
*2001 – In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a " War on Terror".
*2003 – Civil unrest in the Maldives breaks out after a prisoner is killed by guards.
*2007 – Between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters march on Jena, Louisiana, United States, in support of six black youths who had been convicted of assaulting a white classmate.
*2008 – A dump truck full of explosives detonates in front of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 54 people and injuring 266 others.
*2011 – The United States military ends its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.
*2017 – Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, resulting in 2,975 deaths, US$90 billion in damage, and a major humanitarian crisis.
*2018 – At least 161 people die after a ferry capsizes close to the pier on Ukara Island in Lake Victoria, Tanzania.
*2019 – Roughly four million people, mostly students, demonstrate across the world to address climate change. Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden leads the demonstration in New York City.

Births

Pre-1600

* 917 – Kyunyeo, Korean poet (died 973)
* 1161 – Emperor Takakura of Japan (died 1181)
* 1449 – Philipp I, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1500)
*1486 – Arthur, Prince of Wales (died 1502)
* 1504 – Philip III, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (died 1559)
* 1514 – Philipp IV, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (died 1590)
* 1593 – Gottfried Scheidt, German organist and composer (died 1661)
* 1599 – Christian the Younger of Brunswick (died 1623)

1601–1900

*1608 – Jean-Jacques Olier, French priest and mystic, founder of the Society of Saint-Sulpice (died 1657)
*1614 – Martino Martini, Italian missionary, cartographer and historian (died 1661)
* 1685 – Giuseppe Matteo Alberti, Italian violinist and composer (died 1751)
* 1685 – Mateo de Toro Zambrano, 1st Count of La Conquista, President of the First Government Junta of Chile (died 1811)
*1746 – Maurice, Count de Benyovszky, Slovak-Hungarian explorer (died 1786)
*1758 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian emperor (died 1806)
*1778 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian admiral, cartographer, and explorer (died 1852)
*1800 – Benjamin Franklin White, American singer and composer (died 1879)
*1815 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (died 1869)
* 1819 – Frederick Ellsworth Sickels, American inventor (died 1895)
*1820 – John F. Reynolds, American general (died 1863)
* 1831 – Kate Harrington, American poet and educator (died 1917)
*1833 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian soldier and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1918)
* 1842 – James Dewar, Scottish-English chemist and physicist (died 1923)
*1844 – William H. Illingworth, English-American photographer (died 1893)
* 1847 – Susanna Rubinstein, Austrian psychologist (died 1914)
*1851 – Henry Arthur Jones, English playwright and critic (died 1929)
*1853 – Chulalongkorn, Siamese king (died 1910)
* 1861 – Herbert Putnam, American lawyer and publisher, 8th Librarian of Congress (died 1955)
*1872 – Maurice Gamelin, French general (died 1958)
*1873 – Sidney Olcott, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1949)
* 1873 – Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian race car driver (died 1944)
*1875 – Matthias Erzberger, German publicist and politician (died 1921)
*1876 – Carleton Ellis, American inventor and chemist (died 1941)
*1878 – Upton Sinclair, American novelist, critic, and essayist (died 1968)
* 1878 – Francisco Lagos Cházaro, acting president of Mexico (died 1932)
*1880 – Ildebrando Pizzetti, Italian composer, musicologist and critic (died 1968)
*1884 – Maxwell Perkins, American editor (died 1947)
* 1885 – Enrico Mizzi, Maltese lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (died 1950)
*1886 – Charles Williams, English author, poet, and critic (died 1945)
*1889 – Oskar Kaplur, Estonian wrestler (died 1962)
* 1889 – Charles Reidpath, American runner and general (died 1975)
*1890 – Linda Eenpalu, Estonian activist and politician (died 1967)
* 1891 – Tomás Garrido Canabal, Mexican revolutionary (died 1943)
* 1893 – Colin Fraser Barron, Scottish-Canadian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1958)
* 1893 – Hermann Lux, German footballer and manager (died 1962)
* 1895 – Walter Dubislav, German logician and philosopher of science (died 1937)
*1899 – Leo Strauss, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (died 1973)

1901–present

* 1902 – Stevie Smith, English author and poet (died 1971)
*1906 – Jean Dréville, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1997)
* 1906 – Vera Faddeeva, Russian mathematician (died 1983)
*1910 – Dorothy Vaughan, American mathematician (died 2008)
*1913 – Sidney Dillon Ripley, American ornithologist and academic (died 2001)
*1914 – Kenneth More, English actor (died 1982)
* 1915 – Malik Meraj Khalid, Pakistani politician, Prime Minister of Pakistan (died 2003)
*1917 – Red Auerbach, American basketball player and coach (died 2006)
* 1917 – Olga Dahl, Swedish genealogist (died 2009)
* 1917 – Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (died 1994)
* 1917 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (died 2011)
* 1917 – Obdulio Varela, Uruguayan footballer (died 1996)
*1920 – Jay Ward, American animator, producer, and screenwriter, founded Jay Ward Productions (died 1989)
*1921 – Chico Hamilton, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (died 2013)
*1923 – Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Indian actor and producer (died 2014)
* 1923 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist, academic, and politician (died 1992)
* 1924 – Gogi Grant, American singer (died 2016)
* 1924 – Albert Marre, American director, and producer (died 2012)
* 1924 – Jackie Paris, American singer and guitarist (died 2004)
*1925 – James Bernard, English composer and screenwriter (died 2001)
* 1925 – Ananda Mahidol, King Rama VIII of Thailand (died 1946)
*1926 – Libero Liberati, Italian motorcycle racer (died 1962)
*1927 – Colette Bonheur, Canadian singer (died 1966)
* 1927 – John Dankworth, English saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (died 2010)
* 1927 – Red Mitchell, American bassist, composer, and poet (died 1992)
* 1927 – Rachel Roberts, Welsh actress (died 1980)
*1928 – Alberto de Lacerda, Mozambican-Portuguese poet and radio host (died 2007)
* 1928 – Olga Ferri, Argentinian dancer and choreographer (died 2012)
* 1928 – Donald Hall, American poet, editor, and critic (died 2018)
* 1929 – Anne Meara, American actress and playwright (died 2015)
* 1929 – Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (died 2018)
* 1929 – Joe Temperley, Scottish saxophonist and clarinet player (died 2016)
* 1930 – Richard Montague, American mathematician and philosopher (died 1971)
*1931 – Cherd Songsri, Thai director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2006)
*1933 – Dennis Viollet, English footballer and manager (died 1999)
*1934 – Hamit Kaplan, Turkish World and Olympic champion sports wrestler (died 1976)
* 1934 – Sophia Loren, Italian actress
* 1934 – David Marquand, Welsh academic and politician (died 2024)
* 1934 – Jeff Morris, American actor (died 2004)
* 1934 – Rajinder Puri, Indian cartoonist, journalist, and activist (died 2015)
*1935 – David Pegg, English footballer (died 1958)
* 1935 – Keith Roberts, English author and illustrator (died 2000)
* 1935 – Jim Taylor, American football player and sportscaster (died 2018)
*1936 – Andrew Davies, Welsh author, screenwriter, and producer
* 1936 – Salvador Reyes Monteón, Mexican footballer and manager (died 2012)
*1937 – Birgitta Dahl, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for the Environment
* 1937 – Garry Johnson, English general
* 1937 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (died 2005)
*1938 – Eric Gale, American guitarist and producer (died 1994)
* 1938 – Jane Manning, English soprano and educator (died 2021)
*1940 – Tarō Asō, Japanese target shooter and politician, 92nd Prime Minister of Japan
* 1940 – William Finley, American actor (died 2012)
* 1940 – Anna Pavord, Welsh-English journalist and author
*1941 – Dale Chihuly, American sculptor and educator
* 1941 – Sammy McMillan, Irish footballer
*1942 – Rose Francine Rogombé, Gabonese lawyer and politician, President of Gabon (died 2015)
*1944 – Paul Madeley, English footballer (died 2018)
*1946 – Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, Spiritual Master, Head of Science of Spirituality
* 1946 – Pete Coors, American businessman and politician
* 1946 – Markandey Katju, Indian lawyer and judge
*1947 – Mia Martini

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases