Date·Lore

On This Day · The 110th day of the year

April 20

April 20 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1770 and 2008. The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneDiamond ❀Birth flowerDaisy

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on April 20?

April 20 is the 110th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1770 and 2008. Famous people born on April 20 include Adolf Hitler, Phil Hill and Felix Baumgartner.

The shape of the day

April 20's recorded history is unusually compressed, gathered within recent centuries rather than reaching into antiquity. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

Taurus is the sign for April 20 — read more on the Taurus page, or see April's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on April 20

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege
  • Game Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch

2025

  • TV My Stubborn

2023

  • Game OTXO
  • TV Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1770

    Georgia (country)

    The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.

  2. 1789

    George Washington

    George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration.

  3. 1828

    René Caillié

    René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing. He would also be the first to return alive.

  4. 1862

    Louis Pasteur

    Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.

  5. 1918

    World War I

    World War I: 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.

  6. 1922

    Soviet Union

    The Soviet government creates the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian SSR.

  7. 1945

    World War II

    World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.

  8. 1968

    Enoch Powell

    English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech.

  9. 1968

    South African Airways Flight 228

    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.

  10. 2008

    Danica Patrick

    Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.

Famous birthday twins

Born on April 20

Adolf Hitler

b. 1889

Austrian-born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany

Phil Hill

b. 1927

American race car driver

Felix Baumgartner

b. 1969

Austrian daredevil

Napoleon III

b. 1808

French politician, 1st President of France, Emperor of French Second Empire

John Paul Stevens

b. 1920

American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Thein Sein

b. 1945

Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma

Massimo D'Alema

b. 1949

Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy

Carol I of Romania

b. 1839

King of Romania

Deaths

  • 2003Bernard Katz
  • 1918K. Ferdinand Braun
  • 1912Bram Stoker
  • 1521Zhengde Emperor
  • 1248Güyük Khan

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Agnes of Montepulciano
  • —Christian feast day: Pope Anicetus
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Anastazy Jakub Pankiewicz
  • —Christian feast day: Beuno
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed James Bell and John Finch
  • —Christian feast day: Johannes Bugenhagen (Lutheran)
  • —Christian feast day: Marcellinus of Gaul
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Muiris Mac Ionrachtaigh

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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