What are the important events that happened on December 20? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

December 20: Facts & Myths About This Day

December 20 is the 354^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 11 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 7, 2025 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,766,188,800 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 ‘trihectapentacontatetragon’ day.

Sagittarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 59 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 4,747 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

December 20 Historical Events

• 217 –
  The 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.
• 1192 –
  Richard the Lion-Heart 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.
• 1803 –
  The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
• 1917 –
  Cheka, the first Soviet secret police, is founded.
• 1951 –
  The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
• 1960 –
  National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
• 1989 –
  United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft.
• 1991 –
  A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
• 1995 –
  NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
• 2007 –
  Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

Who were born on December 20?

• 1833 –
  Dr Samuel A. Mudd, American physician (d. 1883)
• 1941 –
  Tommy Cole, American makeup artist, actor and singer
• 1946 –
  John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1952 –
  Jenny Agutter, English actress
• 1957 –
  Anna Vissi, Greek-Cypriot singer
• 1963 –
  Joel Gretsch, American actor
• 1965 –
  Robert Cavanah, Scottish actor
• 1970 –
  Grant Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1974 –
  Die, Japanese musician (Dir en grey)
• 1982 –
  David Wright, American baseball player

Who died on December 20?

• 1524 –
  Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician (b. 1460)
• 1856 –
  Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (b. 1820)
• 1862 –
  Robert Knox, Scottish surgeon and zoologist (b. 1791)
• 1915 –
  Upendrakishore Ray, Indian writer, painter and composer (b. 1863)
• 1974 –
  André Jolivet, French composer (b. 1905)
• 1988 –
  Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian television executive (b. 1908)
• 1999 –
  Riccardo Freda, Italian film director (b. 1909)
• 2001 –
  Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese politician (b. 1906)
• 2002 –
  Bernard King, Australian chef and television personality (b. 1934)
• 2009 –
  Arnold Stang, American comic actor (b. 1918)