December 20th in History
The Christmas perennial It’s a Wonderful Life premiers, December 20, 1946
Today in History
- Vespasian becomes Emperor of Rome (69)
- Richard I Lionheart is captured on his way home to England following the end of the Third Crusade (1192)
- The Louisiana Purchase is completed (1803)
- South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States (1860)
- Adolf Hitler is released from prison following his role in the Beer Hall Putch (1924)
- World War II: The American Volunteer Group (“Flying Tigers”) go into battle for the first time (1941)
- It’s a Wonderful Life premiers (1946)
- A nuclear power plant generates electricity for the first time — enough to power four lightbulbs (1951)
- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes president of Pakistan (1971)
- The US invades Panama (1989)
- NATO begins its peacekeeping operation in Bosnia (1995)
- NeXT merges with Apple Computers, returning Steve Jobs to the leadership of the company (1996)
- Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria (2007)
Birthdays
- Samuel Mudd, physician and convicted Lincoln assassination conspirator (1833)
- Edwin A. Abbott, author of Flatland (1838)
- Harvey S. Firestone, tire maker (1868)
- Branch Rickey, baseball manager (1881)
- Irene Dunne, actress and singer (1898)
- Robert Van de Graaff, physicist and generator inventor (1901)
- Dennis Morgan, actor and singer (1908)
- George Roy Hill, filmmaker (1922)
- Charlie Callas, actor and comedian (1927)
- John Hillerman, actor (1932)
- Uri Geller, self-proclaimed psychic (1946)
- Alan Parsons, musician (1948)
Deaths
- Sacagawea, Native American interpreter and guide, member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1812)
- Erich Ludendorff, German general (1937)
- James Hilton, author (1954)
- Moss Hart, director and playwright (1961)
- John Steinbeck, author and Nobel laureate (1968)
- Roy O. Disney, business executive (1971)
- Bobby Darrin, singer-songwriter (1973)
- Richard J. Daley, mayor of Chicago (1976)
- Arthur Rubinstein, pianist (1982)
- W. Edwards Deming, management theorist and statistician (1993)
- Dean Rusk, US secretary of state (1994)
- Carl Sagan, astronomer (1996)
- Hank Snow, country musician (1999)
- Foster Brooks, drunk actor (2001)
- Brittany Murphy, actress (2009)
- Steve Landesberg, actor (2010)
Holidays and Celebrations
- Bo Aung Kyaw Day (Myanmar)
- Fête des Cafres (Abolition of Slavery Day) (Réunion, French Guiana)
- International Human Solidarity Day (International)
- Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Macau)
Informal and made-up holidays include Go Caroling Day, Mudd Day, and National Sangria Day.
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December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years). There are 11 days remaining until the end of the year.