What are the important events that happened on April 20? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
April 20: Facts & Myths About This Day
April 20 is the 111th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 255 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is April 7, 2024 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,713,571,200 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectadecahenagon’ day.
Aries is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Diamond is the modern birthstone for this month. Opal is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 284 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,138 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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April 20 Historical Events
1657 –
Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
1818 –
The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is upheld.
1828 –
René Caillié becomes the first non-Muslim to enter Timbouctou.
1836 –
U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
1862 –
Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the first pasteurization tests.
1884 –
Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum Genus.
1916 –
The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.
1978 –
Korean Air Flight 902 is shot down by the Soviet Union.
1999 –
Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado.
2010 –
The Deepwater Horizon oil well explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last five months.
Who were born on April 20?
1718 –
David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
1745 –
Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826)
1913 –
Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor (d. 1986)
1947 –
David Leland, British actor, director and screenwriter
1950 –
Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
1957 –
Geraint Wyn Davies, Welsh-born Canadian actor
1976 –
Chris Mason, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
1979 –
Quinn Weng, Taiwanese singer (Seraphim)
1980 –
Arin Paul, Indian film director
1984 –
Edixon Perea Valencia, Colombian football player
Who died on April 20?
1314 –
Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
1769 –
Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawa (b. 1720)
1873 –
William Tite, English architect (b. 1798)
1899 –
Joseph Wolf, German artist (b. 1820)
1929 –
Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia (b. 1862)
1991 –
Don Siegel, American film director (b. 1912)
2001 –
Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
2005 –
Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player (b. 1943)
2007 –
Fred Fish, a computer programmer on the GNU Debugger and “Fish disks” (b. 1952)
2011 –
Tim Hetherington, British-American photojournalist (b. 1970)
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