Historical Events on December 20, Facts & Special Events On This Day

AD 69

Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.

217

Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, although Hippolytus of Rome is soon thereafter elected as a rival pope.

1192

Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade.

1334

Pope Benedict XII is elected.

1522

Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.

1606

The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.

1803

The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

1808

Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.

1832

HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands

1860

South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States.

1915

World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.

1916

World War I: The battle of Verdun results in a French victory after more than 9 months of intense fighting.

1917

Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.

1924

Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison

1941

World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.

1942

World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.

1946

The popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.

1951

The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.

1952

A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.

1955

Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.

1957

The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.

1967

A Pennsylvania Railroad Budd Metroliner exceeds 155 mph on their New York Division, also present day Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.

1968

The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.

1971

The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.

1973

The Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.

1984

The Summit Tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines.

1985

Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.

1987

In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).

1989

The United States invasion of Panama deposes Manuel Noriega.

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.

1995

American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 159.

1999

Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.

2004

A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.

2007

Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

2007

The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art.

2013

December 20 in History

Historical Events on December 20

Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.

Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, although Hippolytus of Rome is soon thereafter elected as a rival pope.

Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade.

Pope Benedict XII is elected.

Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.

The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.

The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.

HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands

South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States.

World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.

World War I: The battle of Verdun results in a French victory after more than 9 months of intense fighting.

Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.

Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison

World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.

World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.

The popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.

The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.

A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.

Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.

The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.

A Pennsylvania Railroad Budd Metroliner exceeds 155 mph on their New York Division, also present day Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.

The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.

The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.

The Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.

The Summit Tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines.

Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.

In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).

The United States invasion of Panama deposes Manuel Noriega.

A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.

NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.

American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 159.

Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.

A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.

Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art.

China successfully launches the Bolivian Túpac Katari 1 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

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