✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 79th day of the year

March 20

A look at March 20 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Ovid and Maud Menten, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♓ZodiacPisces ◈BirthstoneAquamarine ❀Birth flowerDaffodil
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2014

    Taliban

    Four suspected Taliban members attack the Kabul Serena Hotel, killing at least nine people.

    Afghan Islamist militant organization
  2. 2010

    Eyjafjallajökull

    Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland begins eruptions that would last for three months, heavily disrupting air travel in Europe.

    Glacier and volcano in
  3. 1993

    The Troubles

    The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb kills two children in Warrington, England. It leads to mass protests in both Britain and Ireland.

    1960s–1998 conflict in Northern
  4. 1942

    World War II

    World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: "I came out of Bataan and I shall return".

    1939–1945 global conflict
  5. 1926

    Chiang Kai-shek

    Chiang Kai-shek initiates a purge of communist elements within the National Revolutionary Army in Guangzhou.

    Military leader and President
  6. 1923

    Arts Club of Chicago

    The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso's first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.

    Private club in Chicago,
  7. 1861

    1861 Mendoza earthquake

    An earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina.

    Violent earthquake in Argentina
  8. 1854

    Republican Party (United States)

    The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin, US.

    Political party in the
  9. 1852

    Harriet Beecher Stowe

    Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is published.

    American abolitionist and author
  10. 1602

    Dutch East India Company

    The Dutch East India Company is established.

    1602–1799 Dutch trading company
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Famous birthday twins

Born on March 20

Ovid

b. -43

Roman poet

Maud Menten

b. 1879

Canadian physician and biochemist

Napoleon II

b. 1811

French emperor

Henrik Ibsen

b. 1828

Norwegian poet, playwright, and director

Fernando Torres

b. 1984

Spanish footballer

Sting (wrestler)

b. 1959

American wrestler

Spike Lee

b. 1957

American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck

b. 1870

German general

Deaths

  • 2017David Rockefeller, American billionaire and philanthropist
  • 1968Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter
  • 1931Hermann Müller (politician, born 1876), German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany
  • 1930Arthur F. Andrews, American cyclist
  • 1878Julius von Mayer, German physician and physicist
  • 1568Albert, Duke of Prussia, Duke of Prussia from 1525 to 1568

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Alexandra
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed John of Parma
  • —Christian feast day: Clement of Ireland
  • —Christian feast day: Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
  • —Christian feast day: Herbert of Derwentwater
  • —Christian feast day: John of Nepomuk
  • —Christian feast day: Józef Bilczewski
  • —Christian feast day: María Josefa Sancho de Guerra

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