1022 – Elvira Mendes, wife of Alfonso V of Castile (b. 996)
1073 – Domingo, Spanish monastery founder/abbot/saint, dies
1524 – Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician
1749 – Pakubuwono II, susuhunan of Mataram Java, dies
1916 – Manuel Giro, Spanish composer, dies at 68
1941 – Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887)
1956 – Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b. 1906)
1993 – W Edwards Deming, US economist (helped Japan after WW II), dies at 93
1994 – J C “Jody” Bateman, fiddler, dies at 75
2006 – Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 20th December 2020
1669 – 1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection and sentenced to flogging, branding and slavery
1862 – -Jan 3rd] Vicksburg campaign
1918 – Eugene O’Neill’s “Moon of the Caribees” premieres in NYC
1920 – Bert Collins scores 104 on Test Cricket debut v England SCG
1956 – Military coup under colonel Simbolon in Sumatra
1970 – Edward Gierek succeeds Wladyslaw Gomulka as Poland’s communist party leader
1971 – First preview issue of “Ms” magazine is published in the US launched by Gloria Steinem
1984 – 33 unknown Bach keyboard works found in Yale library
1989 – US troops invade Panama and oust Manuel Noriega, but don’t catch him
2005 – New York City’s Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike over pension and wage increases, shutting down all subway and bus services for three days
Today in History for 20th December 2020
Historical Events
1944 – Terence Rattigan’s “O Mistress Mine” premieres in London
1981 – Harry Krieger and Tom Eyen’s musical “Dreamgirls” opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 1522 performances
1983 – NY Islanders score their most goals (11) vs Pitts Penguins
1988 – Premier Ranasinghe Premadasa elected President of Sri Lanka
2002 – US Senator Trent Lott resigns as majority leader.
2002 – “Gangs of New York”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz, is released
Famous Birthdays
1890 – Yvonne Arnaud, French-born pianist, singer and actress (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre), born in Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitaine, France (d. 1958)
1924 – Errol John, Trinidadian actor and playwright (A Man from the Sun, The Nun’s Story, Assault on a Queen), born in Port of Spain, Trinidad (d. 1988)
1951 – Gilbert Montagné, French musician, born in Paris, France
1956 – Blanche Baker, American actress, Carroll Baker’s Daughter (French Postcard), born in NYC, New York
1967 – Duncan Kennedy, American luger (Olympics 1994), born in Burlington, California
1972 – Scott Slutzker, American football tight end (Indianapolis Colts), born in Oakland, California
Famous Deaths
1539 – Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer
1991 – Thomas Newman, actor/composer (Cape Fear), dies of heart attack at 60
1991 – Andries D Copier, Dutch glass designer (Guild glass), dies
1998 – Irene Hervey, American actress (b. 1910)
2001 – Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet and 1st President of Senegal (1960-80), dies at 95
2019 – Junior Johnson, American auto racer and team owner (Daytona 500 1960; NASCAR Hall of Fame), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 88
Famous Deaths for 19th December 2020
1751 – Louise of Great Britain, wife of Frederick V of Denmark (b. 1724)
1848 – Emily Brontë, English novelist (Wuthering Heights), dies of tuberculosis at 30
1932 – Yoon Bong-Gil, Korean activist (b. 1908)
1939 – Eric Fogg, English composer, dies under a train at 36
1951 – Barton Yarbrough, actor (Dragnet), dies at 51
1953 – Rudolf Leonhard, writer, dies
1959 – Walter Williams, claimed to be last survivor of Civil War, dies at 117
1966 – Ehm Welk [Thomas Trimm], German writer, dies at 82
1977 – Nellie Tayloe Ross, American politician and the 1st woman to serve as a governor (Wyoming, 1925-27), dies at 101
2012 – Robert Bork, American legal scholar/jurist, dies from heart disease at 85
Historical Events for 19th December 2020
1055 – Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad
1686 – Robinson Crusoe leaves his island after 28 years (as per Daniel Defoe)
1777 – Washington settles his troops at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania for the winter
1928 – 1st autogyro flight in US
1945 – Austrian Republic re-establishes
1951 – Nazi General Christiansen leaves Netherlands
1978 – Indira Gandhi ambushed in India
1986 – Michael Sergio, who parachuted into Shea Stadium during game 6 of the World Series, sentenced to 100 hrs of community service and fined $500
1986 – “Platoon” directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1987)
2014 – The Guardian newspaper calls 2014 ‘The year the people stood up’
Today in History for 19th December 2020
Historical Events
1551 – Dutch west coast hit by hurricane
1952 – Queen Juliana unveals statue “Docker”
1957 – “Music Man” opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 1375 performances
1986 – “Platoon” directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1987)
1993 – “Red Shoes” closes at Gershwin Theater NYC after 5 performances
2009 – Former Welsh and Lions captain Gareth Thomas is the first international rugby player to reveal he is gay
Famous Birthdays
1896 – John Seldon Whale, theologian
1926 – Jeanne Kirkpatrick, US ambassador to UN
1934 – Casper R. Taylor, Jr., American politician
1948 – Ken Brown, Canadian ice hockey player
1966 – Eric Weinrich, Roanoke, NHL defenseman (Chicago Blackhawks)
1967 – Frankie Lam, Hong Kong actor
Famous Deaths
1807 – Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm, German writer (b. 1723)
1813 – James McGill, Scottish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, dies at 69
1867 – Jean-Georges Kastner, French composer, dies at 57
1989 – Dorothea “Stella” Gibbons, English journalist and author (Cold Comfort Farm), dies at 87
1996 – Yuli Borisovich Khariton, scientist, dies at 82
2005 – Vincent Gigante, Italian-American mafioso, dies at 77
Famous Deaths for 18th December 2020
1495 – Alphonso II, King of Naples (1494-95), dies at 47
1751 – Kilian I von Dientzenhofer, builder (Nepomukkerk, Prague), dies at 62
1865 – Francisco Manuel da Silva, composer, dies at 70
1919 – Horatio Parker, American organist and composer, dies at 56
1928 – Lucien Capet, French composer and violinist, dies at 55
1968 – Joan Tabor, American actress (Teenage Millionaire), dies at 36 after accidentally overdosing on influenza medication
1977 – Louis Untermeyer, American poet and critic (Immortal Poems, Story Poems), dies at 92
1991 – June Storey, Canadian-born American actress (South of the Border), dies of cancer at 73
2002 – Wayne Owens, former U.S. Congressman (D-Utah) (b. 1937)
2007 – Bill Strauss, American writer on generations, satirist, and founder of the Capitol Steps (b. 1947)
Historical Events for 18th December 2020
1832 – HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin aboard reaches Tierra del Fuego for the first time
1900 – The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook Narrow-gauge (2 ft 6 in or 762 mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia is opened for traffic.
1961 – Britain’s EMI Records originally rejects the Beatles
1964 – “The Pink Panther” cartoon series premieres (Pink Phink)
1970 – Polish uprising fails
1977 – Dutch Antilles: premier Boy Rozendal points independence off
1987 – Ivan F Boesky sentenced to 3 years for insider trading
1988 – Seattle Seahawks win their 1st ever division title with 9-7 record
1989 – “I Love Lucy” Christmas episode, shown for 1st time in over 30 years
2019 – US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198)
Today in History for 18th December 2020
Historical Events
1773 – A skirmish at Grass Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound results in the deaths of two Māori and nine members of James Cook’s expedition, New Zealand
1858 – Passy, at Paris: 1st “Samedi soir” i/d villa of lovers Rossini
1962 – USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1971 – US dollar devalued 7.9% in Holland ($1=Ÿ3,245)
1980 – IRA’s Sean McKenna becomes critically ill, ends hunger strike
1990 – NL announces Buffalo, Denver, Miami, Orlando, Tampa-St Petersburg, and Washington, D.C. as 6 finalist for 1993 expansion (Miami and Denver win)
Famous Birthdays
1811 – Alexander Sandor Asboth, Hungarian-American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Keszthely, Hungary (d. 1868)
1816 – Alfred Elzey Jones, Major General (Confederate Army), (d. 1871)
1867 – Antoon van Welie, Dutch painter
1916 – Betty Grable, American singer, dancer, pin-up girl and actress (I Wake Up Screaming, How to Marry a Millionaire, Gay Divorcee), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1973)
1931 – Alison Plowden, English historian (d. 2007)
1974 – Kari Byron, artist and television personality
Famous Deaths
1577 – Anna, duchess of Saxon/wife of prince Willem of Orange, dies at 32
1879 – Charley Parkhurst, American stagecoach driver who disguised herself as a women for 30 years, dies at 67
1932 – Eduard “Ede” Bernstein, German marxist/revisionist, dies at 82
1973 – Julio César Brero [or Giulio Cesare], Italian-born Argentine composer and lawyer (Novella), dies at 64
2004 – John W. Downey, American composer, dies at 77
2010 – Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian banker and economist (b. 1940)
Famous Deaths for 17th December 2020
1830 – Simón Bolívar, South American revolutionary and president (Colombia), dies at 47 in Santa Marta, Colombia
1847 – Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma and second wife of Napoleon, dies at 56
1990 – Mieke Verstraete [Maria Augustina De Graef], Belgian-Dutch actress (Pleasantly Settled), dies at 79
2008 – Dave Smith, American baseball player (b. 1955)
2010 – Walt Dropo, American baseball player (b. 1923)
2013 – Leland Smith, American composer, bassoonist and computer coder who led music publishing into the digital age (SCORE), dies at 88
2014 – Fritz Rudolf Fries, German writer and informant, dies at 79
2017 – Robert G Wilmers, American banker (MandT Bank), billionaire and philanthropist, dies at 83
2018 – Penny Marshall, American actress and director (Laverne and Shirley, Big), dies at 75
2019 – Hayden Fry, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (SMU 1962-72, North Texas State University 1973-78, University of Iowa 1979-98), dies from cancer at 90