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 110th day of the year 2019 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, 2019 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 432,144 hours 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 ‘hectadecagon’ day.
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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 280 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 2,311 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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April 20 Historical Events
- 1453 –The last naval battle in Byzantine history occurs, as three Genoese galleys escorting a Byzantine transport fight their way through the huge Ottoman blockade fleet and into the Golden Horn.
- 1657 –Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
- 1770 –The Georgian king Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
- 1792 –France declares war on Austria, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
- 1810 –The Governor of Caracas declares independence from Spain.
- 1836 –U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
- 1865 –Astronomer Pietro Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX’s yacht, the L’Immaculata Concezion.
- 1916 –The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.
- 1986 –Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years.
- 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.
Who were born on April 20?
- 1586 –Saint Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (d. 1617)
- 1745 –Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826)
- 1818 –Heinrich Göbel, German-born inventor (d. 1893)
- 1882 –Holland Smith, U.S. General (d. 1967)
- 1925 –Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (d. 2006)
- 1936 –Pat Roberts, American politician
- 1947 –Ken Scott, English record producer and recording engineer
- 1952 –Louka Katseli, Greek Minister for Labour and Social Security
- 1963 –Maurício Gugelmin, Brazilian racing driver
- 1975 –Benjamin Butler (artist), painter
Who died on April 20?
- 1769 –Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawa (b. 1720)
- 1918 –Karl Ferdinand Braun, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
- 1969 –Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian war criminal (b. 1911)
- 1996 –Tran Van Tra, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1918)
- 1999 –Cassie Bernall, Columbine High School massacre victim (b. 1981)
- 2003 –Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
- 2003 –Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
- 2007 –Fred Fish, a computer programmer on the GNU Debugger and “Fish disks” (b. 1952)
- 2008 –Monica Lovinescu, Romanian essayist, literary critic and journalist (b. 1923)
- 2010 –Dorothy Height, American civil rights activist (b. 1912)
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