December 20 Historical Events
The following events took place on December 20. The list is arranged in chronological order.
Found 42 events. Showing 1 - 30.
- 69Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.
- 217The papacy of Zephyrinus ends. Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, but is opposed by the theologian Hippolytus who accuses him of laxity and of being a Modalist, one who denies any distinction between the three persons of the Trinity.
- 1192Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third Crusade.
- 1522Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
- 1606The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
- 1803The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
- 1808Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
- 1832HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands
- 1860South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States.
- 1915World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.
- 1917Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.
- 1924Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison
- 1941World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the “Flying Tigers” in Kunming, China.
- 1942World War II: Japanese air forcesDisambiguation needed date=April 2015 bomb Calcutta, India.
- 1946The popular Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.
- 1951The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
- 1952A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.
- 1955Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
- 1957The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.
- 1959Unknown attackers murder the Walker family in Osprey, Florida.
- 1960The National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
- 1967A Pennsylvania Railroad Budd Metroliner exceeds 155 mph on their New York Division, also present day Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
- 1968The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
- 1971The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.
- 1973The Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
- 1977Djibouti and Vietnam join the United Nations.
- 1984The Summit Tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines.
- 1985Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.
- 1987In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
- 1988The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed in Vienna, Austria.
12
Hey! How’s your lovelife today? Just for fun! Try your love match score with anyone. Even officemates, schoolmates, or find out the score for your parents and relatives. Don’t limit yourself – you can also pair yourself with any celebrity. It’s a FREE report. Nothing to buy!