✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 110th day of the year

April 20

A look at April 20 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Adolf Hitler and Phil Hill, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2008

    Danica Patrick

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

    American racing driver (born
  2. 1968

    Enoch Powell

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

    British politician (1912–1998)
  3. 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.

    1968 aviation accident
  4. 1945

    World War II

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

    1939–1945 global conflict
  5. 1922

    Soviet Union

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

    Country in Eurasia from
  6. 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.

    1914–1918 global conflict
  7. 1862

    Louis Pasteur

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

    French chemist, pharmacist and
  8. 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.

    French explorer (1799–1838)
  9. 1789

    George Washington

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

    U.S. Founding Father, president
  10. 1770

    Georgia (country)

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

    Country in Eastern Europe
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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, German-English biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1918K. Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1912Bram Stoker, Anglo-Irish novelist and critic, created Count Dracula
  • 1521Zhengde Emperor, Chinese emperor
  • 1248Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
  • 888AD 888, Chinese emperor

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

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