On This Day: April 20 - Historical Events, Births & Deaths

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46 Events 155 Births 80 Deaths

2023 SpaceX's Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, launches for the first time. It explodes four minutes into flight. ↗
2021 State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin: Derek Chauvin is found guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd by the Fourth Judicial District Court of Minnesota. ↗
2020 For the first time in history, oil prices drop below zero, an effect of the 2020 Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war. ↗
2015 Ten people are killed in a bomb attack on a convoy carrying food supplies to a United Nations compound in Garowe in the Somali region of Puntland. ↗
2013 A 6.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Lushan County, Ya'an, in China's Sichuan province, killing at least 193 people and injuring thousands. ↗
2012 One hundred twenty-seven people are killed when a plane crashes in a residential area near the Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Islamabad, Pakistan. ↗
2010 The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that lasted six months. ↗
2008 Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race. ↗
2007 Johnson Space Center shooting: William Phillips barricades himself with a handgun in NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself. ↗
2004 The Nicoll Highway in Singapore collapsed, killing four workers. ↗
1999 Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 14 people and injure 23 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. ↗
1998 Air France Flight 422 crashes after taking off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, killing all 53 people on board. ↗
1972 Apollo program: Apollo 16 Lunar Module, commanded by John Young and piloted by Charles Duke, lands on the Moon. ↗
1968 English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech. ↗
1968 South African Airways Flight 228 crashes near J.G. Strijdom Airport in South West Africa (now Hosea Kutako International Airport in Namibia), killing 123 people. ↗
1961 Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba. ↗
1949 Amethyst incident: The People's Liberation Army attacks HMS Amethyst (F116) travelling to the British embassy in Nanjing during the Chinese Civil War. ↗
1946 The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations. ↗
1945 World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union. ↗
1945 World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth. ↗
1945 Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school. ↗
1922 The Soviet government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian SSR. ↗
1918 Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day. ↗
1914 Nineteen men, women, and children participating in a strike are killed in the Ludlow Massacre during the Colorado Coalfield War. ↗
1908 Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League. ↗
1902 Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride. ↗
1898 U.S. President William McKinley signs a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War. ↗
1884 Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus, condemning Freemasonry. ↗
1876 The April Uprising begins. Its suppression shocks European opinion, and Bulgarian independence becomes a condition for ending the Russo-Turkish War. ↗
1865 Astronomer Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX's yacht, the L'Immaculata Concezion. ↗
1862 Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation. ↗
1861 American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia. ↗
1861 Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, attempting to display the value of balloons, makes record journey, flying 900 miles from Cincinnati to South Carolina. ↗
1836 U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory. ↗
1828 René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing. He would also be the first to return alive. ↗
1809 Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory. ↗
1800 The Septinsular Republic is established. ↗
1792 France declares war against the "King of Hungary and Bohemia", the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. ↗
1789 George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration. ↗
1770 The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza. ↗
1752 Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57). ↗
1657 English Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet, under heavy fire from the shore, at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. ↗
1657 Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City). ↗
1653 Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament. ↗
1303 The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. ↗
1152 After an eight-year conflict, Baldwin III of Jerusalem wins sole control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende. ↗

2005 Tallyn Da Silva, Australian rugby league player ↗
1997 Alexander Zverev, German tennis player ↗
1991 Luke Kuechly, American football player ↗
1990 Kyle Higashioka, American baseball player ↗
1990 Jason Behrendorff, Australian cricketer ↗
1989 Vannesa Rosales, Venezuelan activist and teacher ↗
1988 Brandon Belt, American baseball player ↗
1987 Jorge Pinto, Portuguese politician ↗
1984 Harris Wittels, American comedian (died 2015) ↗
1983 Miranda Kerr, Australian model ↗
1980 Emma Husar, Australian politician ↗
1978 Carl Greenidge, English cricketer ↗
1975 Killer Mike, American rapper ↗
1973 Julie Powell, American food writer and memoirist (died 2022) ↗
1972 Carmen Electra, American model and actress ↗
1972 Stephen Marley, Jamaican-American musician ↗
1971 Allan Houston, American basketball player ↗
1970 Shemar Moore, American actor ↗
1969 Felix Baumgartner, Austrian daredevil (died 2025) ↗
1969 Will Hodgman, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Tasmania ↗
1968 Julia Morris, Australian entertainer ↗
1967 Lara Jill Miller, American actress ↗
1967 Mike Portnoy, American drummer and songwriter ↗
1966 David Chalmers, Australian philosopher and academic ↗
1966 David Filo, American businessman, co-founded Yahoo! ↗
1965 Kostis Chatzidakis, Greek politician, Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism ↗
1965 Léa Fazer, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actress ↗
1965 Mark Mallia, Maltese painter and sculptor (died 2024) ↗
1964 John Carney, American football player ↗
1964 Crispin Glover, American actor and filmmaker ↗
1964 Andy Serkis, English actor and director ↗
1964 Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater ↗
1963 Rachel Whiteread, English sculptor ↗
1961 Don Mattingly, American baseball player, coach, and manager ↗
1961 Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor ↗
1960 Debbie Flintoff-King, Australian hurdler and coach ↗
1959 Perry Haddock, Australian rugby league player ↗
1958 Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player and coach ↗
1956 Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice ↗
1956 Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor ↗
1956 Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician (died 2014) ↗
1955 Donald Pettit, American engineer and astronaut ↗
1955 Svante Pääbo, Swedish geneticist and Nobel Laureate ↗
1953 Sebastian Faulks, English journalist and author ↗
1953 James Chance, American musician (died 2024) ↗
1952 Louka Katseli, Greek economist and politician ↗
1951 Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2005) ↗
1950 Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (died 2002) ↗
1950 N. Chandrababu Naidu, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh ↗
1949 Veronica Cartwright, English-American actress ↗
1949 Toller Cranston, Canadian-Mexican figure skater and painter (died 2015) ↗
1949 Massimo D'Alema, Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy ↗
1949 Jessica Lange, American actress ↗
1948 Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (died 2015) ↗
1947 Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician ↗
1947 Viktor Suvorov, Russian intelligence officer, historian, and author ↗
1947 Niko Lekishvili, Georgian politician (died 2025) ↗
1946 Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor ↗
1945 Michael Brandon, American actor and director ↗
1945 Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer ↗
1945 Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma ↗
1945 Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (died 2003) ↗
1945 Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach ↗
1944 Toivo Aare, Estonian journalist and author (died 1999) ↗
1943 Alan Beith, English academic and politician ↗
1943 John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor and director ↗
1941 Ryan O'Neal, American actor (died 2023) ↗
1940 James Gammon, American actor (died 2010) ↗
1939 Peter S. Beagle, American author and screenwriter ↗
1939 Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway– ↗
1938 Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter (died 2017) ↗
1938 Manfred Kinder, German runner ↗
1938 Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress (died 1991) ↗
1938 Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter (died 2025) ↗
1937 Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2011) ↗
1937 Harvey Quaytman, American painter and educator (died 2002) ↗
1937 George Takei, American actor ↗
1936 Lisa Davis, English-American actress ↗
1936 Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese technician, surveyor, and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (died 2012) ↗
1936 Pat Roberts, American captain, journalist, and politician ↗
1932 Myriam Bru, French actress ↗
1931 Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby, English lieutenant and politician (died 2014) ↗
1931 John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician ↗
1930 Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (died 2014) ↗
1930 Antony Jay, English director and screenwriter (died 2016) ↗
1928 Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (died 2013) ↗
1928 Johnny Gavin, Irish international footballer (died 2007) ↗
1927 Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Employment and Immigration (died 2005) ↗
1927 Phil Hill, American race car driver (died 2008) ↗
1927 K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2023) ↗
1925 Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (died 2006) ↗
1925 Elena Verdugo, American actress (died 2017) ↗
1924 Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (died 2008) ↗
1924 Leslie Phillips, English actor and producer (died 2022) ↗
1924 Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic (died 2025) ↗
1923 Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network (died 2016) ↗
1923 Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (died 2008) ↗
1923 Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (died 2000) ↗
1921 Katarína Kolníková, Slovak actress (died 2006) ↗
1920 Frances Ames, South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist (died 2002) ↗
1920 Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician, Governor of Cross River State (died 2000) ↗
1920 John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 2019) ↗
1919 Richard Hillary, Australian lieutenant and pilot (died 1943) ↗
1918 Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2007) ↗
1916 Nasiba Zeynalova, Azerbaijani actress (died 2004) ↗
1915 Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist and physician (died 1997) ↗
1914 Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (died 1999) ↗
1913 Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (died 1986) ↗
1913 Willi Hennig, German biologist and entomologist (died 1976) ↗
1910 Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Turkish diplomat and politician (died 1961) ↗
1908 Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player, pianist, bandleader, and actor (died 2002) ↗
1907 Miran Bakhsh, Pakistani cricketer (died 1991) ↗
1907 Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (died 2010) ↗
1904 Bruce Cabot, American actor (died 1972) ↗
1899 Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1918) ↗
1895 Henry de Montherlant, French essayist, novelist, and dramatist (died 1972) ↗
1893 Harold Lloyd, American actor, comedian, and producer (died 1971) ↗
1893 Joan Miró – Spanish painter and sculptor (died 1983) ↗
1891 Dave Bancroft, American baseball player and manager (died 1972) ↗
1890 Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (died 1959) ↗
1890 Adolf Schärf, Austrian soldier and politician, 6th President of Austria (died 1965) ↗
1889 Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (died 1996) ↗
1889 Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (died 1918) ↗
1889 Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, French mystic (died 1918) ↗
1889 Adolf Hitler, Austrian-born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (died 1945) ↗
1889 Tonny Kessler, Dutch footballer (died 1960) ↗
1884 Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (died 1966) ↗
1884 Oliver Kirk, American boxer (died 1960) ↗
1884 Daniel Varoujan, Armenian poet and educator (died 1915) ↗
1882 Holland Smith, American general (died 1967) ↗
1879 Paul Poiret, French fashion designer (died 1944) ↗
1875 Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet and lawyer (died 1909) ↗
1873 James Harcourt, English character actor (died 1951) ↗
1871 Sydney Chapman, English economist and civil servant (died 1951) ↗
1860 Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (died 1933) ↗
1851 Alexander Dianin, Russian chemist (died 1918) ↗
1851 Siegmund Lubin, Polish-American businessman, founded the Lubin Manufacturing Company (died 1923) ↗
1850 Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue (died 1931) ↗
1840 Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (died 1916) ↗
1839 Carol I of Romania, King of Romania (died 1914) ↗
1826 Dinah Craik, English author and poet (died 1887) ↗
1818 Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (died 1893) ↗
1816 Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (died 1895) ↗
1808 Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France, Emperor of French Second Empire (died 1873) ↗
1748 Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (died 1831) ↗
1745 Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (died 1826) ↗
1727 Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian minister and diplomat (died 1794) ↗
1723 Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (died 1781) ↗
1718 David Brainerd, American missionary (died 1747) ↗
1650 William Bedloe, English spy (died 1680) ↗
1646 Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (died 1704) ↗
1633 Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (died 1654) ↗
1586 Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (died 1617) ↗
1544 Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (died 1602) ↗
1494 Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (died 1566) ↗

2025 Hugo Gatti, Argentine footballer (born 1944) ↗
2024 Antonio Cantafora, Italian film and television actor (born 1944) ↗
2024 Andrew Davis, English conductor (born 1944) ↗
2024 Roman Gabriel, Filipino-American NFL American footballer ↗
2024 Lourdes Portillo, Mexican film director, producer, and writer (born 1943) ↗
2022 Gavin Millar, Scottish film director (born 1938) ↗
2021 Idriss Déby, Chadian politician and military officer (born 1952) ↗
2021 Monte Hellman, American film director (born 1929) ↗
2021 Les McKeown, Scottish pop singer (born 1955) ↗
2018 Avicii, Swedish DJ and musician (born 1989) ↗
2016 Victoria Wood, British comedian, actress and writer (born 1953) ↗
2014 Neville Wran, Australian politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales (born 1926) ↗
2012 Bert Weedon, English guitarist and songwriter (born 1920) ↗
2011 Tim Hetherington, English photographer and journalist (born 1970) ↗
2010 Dorothy Height, American educator and activist (born 1912) ↗
2008 Monica Ali – Romanian journalist and author (born 1923) ↗
2007 Andrew Hill, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (born 1931) ↗
2007 Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (born 1931) ↗
2005 Fumio Niwa, Japanese journalist and author (born 1904) ↗
2004 Lizzy Mercier Descloux, French musician, singer-songwriter, composer, actress, writer and painter (born 1956) ↗
2003 Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911) ↗
2002 Alan Dale, American singer (born 1925) ↗
2001 Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (born 1946) ↗
1999 Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (born 1958) ↗
1999 Rachel Scott, American victim of Columbine High School massacre (born 1981) ↗
1999 Cassie Bernall, American victim of Columbine High School massacre (born 1981) ↗
1996 Trần Văn Trà, Vietnamese general and politician (born 1918) ↗
1995 Milovan Đilas, Yugoslav communist, politician, theorist and author (born 1911) ↗
1993 Cantinflas, Mexican actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1911) ↗
1992 Marjorie Gestring, American springboard diver (born 1922) ↗
1992 Benny Hill, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1924) ↗
1991 Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and producer (born 1947) ↗
1991 Don Siegel, American director and producer (born 1912) ↗
1986 Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (born 1916) ↗
1982 Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (born 1892) ↗
1980 M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (born 1924) ↗
1978 Lord Richard Cecil, British soldier and journalist in the Rhodesian Bush War ↗
1969 Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian Ustaše official and concentration camp administrator (born 1914) ↗
1968 Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (born 1877) ↗
1967 Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (born 1896) ↗
1951 Ivanoe Bonomi, Italian politician, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1873) ↗
1947 Christian X of Denmark (born 1870) ↗
1946 Mae Busch, Australian actress (born 1891) ↗
1945 Erwin Bumke, Polish-German jurist and politician (born 1874) ↗
1944 Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and pilot (born 1917) ↗
1942 Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, 6th State Elder of Estonia (born 1870) ↗
1935 John Cameron, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1872) ↗
1935 Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer (born 1863) ↗
1932 Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (born 1858) ↗
1931 Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet, Scottish-English fencer and businessman (born 1862) ↗
1929 Prince Henry of Prussia (born 1862) ↗
1927 Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and educator (born 1866) ↗
1918 Jussi Merinen, Finnish politician (born 1873) ↗
1918 Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1850) ↗
1912 Bram Stoker – Anglo-Irish novelist and critic, created Count Dracula (born 1847) ↗
1902 Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet and educator (born 1833) ↗
1899 Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (born 1820) ↗
1887 Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Greek-Egyptian politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1826) ↗
1886 Charles-François-Frédéric, marquis de Montholon-Sémonville, French general and diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (born 1814) ↗
1881 William Burges, English architect and designer (born 1827) ↗
1874 Alexander H. Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1817) ↗
1873 William Tite, English architect, designed the Royal Exchange (born 1798) ↗
1831 John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (born 1764) ↗
1769 Chief Pontiac, American tribal leader (born 1720) ↗
1703 Lancelot Addison, English clergyman and educator (born 1632) ↗
1643 Christoph Demantius, German composer and poet (born 1567) ↗
1558 Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (born 1485) ↗
1534 Elizabeth Barton, English nun and martyr (born 1506) ↗
1521 Zhengde, Chinese emperor (born 1491) ↗
1502 Mary of Looz-Heinsberg, Dutch noble (born 1424) ↗
1344 Gersonides, French Jewish philosopher, Talmudist, mathematician, physician, and astronomer (born 1288) ↗
1322 Simon Rinalducci, Italian Augustinian friar ↗
1314 Pope Clement V (born 1264) ↗
1284 Hōjō Tokimune, regent of Japan (born 1251) ↗
1248 Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (born 1206) ↗
1176 Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English-Irish politician, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (born 1130) ↗
1164 Antipope Victor IV ↗
1099 Peter Bartholomew (born 1061) ↗
888 Xi Zong, Chinese emperor (born 862) ↗
689 Cædwalla, king of Wessex (born 659) ↗