What happened this day in history April 20

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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