1941 – Barend ter Haar, Dutch lawyer, dies in Buchenwald at 49
1974 – Richard Huelsenbeck, German Dada writer, dies at 81
1977 – Sepp Herberger, German football coach and manager (West German National Team), dies at 80
1999 – Victims and shooters of the Columbine High School massacre
1999 – Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist (his hand acts as a puppet) and comedian, dies at 103
2003 – Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
2015 – Sir Raymond Carr, English historian and warden (St Antony’s College Oxford), dies at 96
2016 – Victoria Wood, British comedian and actress, dies of cancer at 62
2016 – Chyna [Joanie Laurer], American professional wrestler and reality TV star, dies at 46
2017 – Cuba Gooding Sr., American singer (Everybody Plays the Fool), dies at 72
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 20th April 2020
295 – 8th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet
1903 – 7th Boston Marathon won by Irishman John Lorden in 2:41:29.8
1904 – Louisiana Purchase Exposition opens in St Louis
1914 – US President W Wilson, having dispatched more naval ships to Mexico, asks a joint session of Congress to approve armed force if necessary; Congress approves
1934 – Heinrich Himmler becomes inspector Prussian secret state police
1936 – Jews repel an Arab attack in Petach Tikvah Palestine
1969 – Bombs planted by Loyalists members of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Ulster Protestant Volunteers explode at Silent Valley reservoir in County Down and at an electricity pylon at Kilmore, County Armagh
1974 – ‘The Troubles’, the Northern Ireland conflict between republican and loyalist paramilitaries, British security forces, and civil rights groups, claims its 1000th victim
1982 – Atlanta Braves become 1st team to win 1st 12 games of the season
2012 – Plane crash near Islamabad, Pakistan, kills 127 people
Today in History for 20th April 2020
Historical Events
1944 – Dutch Communist Party resistance fighter John Postma sentence to death
1951 – Velsen city council demands investigation of police collaborators
1971 – US Supreme Court upholds use of busing to achieve racial desegregation
1976 – George Harrison sings lumberjack song with Monty Python
1981 – 85th Boston Marathon: Toshihiko Seko of Japan wins men’s race in 2:09:26; Allison Roe of New Zealand takes women’s title in 2:26:46
2018 – Mexican court bars sales of controversial Frida Kahlo Barbie doll
Famous Birthdays
1633 – Emperor Go-Kōmyō, 110th emperor of Japan, born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 1654)
1951 – Luther Vandross, American rock vocalist (Dance with my Father), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
1954 – Gilles Lupien, French Canadian ice hockey player, born in Lachute, Canada
1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman (Olympic gold 1984, 88; Stanley Cup 1997-98, Detroit Red Wings), born in Moscow, Russia
1963 – Mauricio Gugelmin, Brazilian racing driver, born in Joinville, Brazil
1971 – Tina Cousins, English singer (Mysterious Times), born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England
Famous Deaths
1314 – Clement V, [Bertrand Got], pope (1305-14) move papacy to Avignon, dies
1906 – Australian wombat; oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at 26
1968 – Mabel Stark, American tiger trainer “crazy Mabel”, found dead after her suicide at 79
1971 – Cecil Parker, British actor (The Lady Vanishes, Indiscreet, Tale of 2 Cities), dies at 73
1973 – Robert Armstrong, actor (Fall Guy, Exposed), dies at 82
2018 – Avicii [Tim Bergling], Swedish musician, DJ, remixer and record producer (Levels, Wake Me Up, Sunshine), commits suicide at 28
Famous Deaths for 19th April 2020
1588 – Paolo Veronese (Cagliari), painter, dies
1773 – Florian Johann Deller, Austrian composer, dies at 43
1947 – Charles Bidwill, American NFL team owner (Chicago Cardinals 1933-46), dies of pneumonia at 51
1957 – Johan W Albarda, 1st Dutch SDAP minister (1939-45), dies at 79
1972 – Billy Burke, American golfer (US Open 1931), dies at 69
1975 – Percy Lavon Julian, African American chemist who received 130 patents, pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants, dies at 76
1992 – Frankie Howerd, actor (Carry on Doctor, Up the Front), dies at 70
1994 – Michael Carreras, film Director, dies at 67
1998 – Octavio Paz, Mexican diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
2013 – Patrick Garland, British director (Doll House), dies at 78
Historical Events for 19th April 2020
1901 – In the Philippines, recently captured insurgent leader Emilio Aguinaldo issues a proclamation advising his countrymen to end their rebellion and use of peaceful means to work with the US toward independence.
1916 – Alderman Kelly reads the ‘Castle Order’ to a meeting of Dublin Corporation; this forged document supposedly from Dublin Castle, indicated that there was to be mass arrests of Irish Volunteers to prevent “trouble”
1924 – “National Barn Dance” premieres on WLS Chicago
1928 – Japanese troops occupies Sjantung-schiereiland
1928 – Yanks are out of 1st place for 1st time since May 1926
1964 – Rightist coup in Laos, Suvanna Phuma remains premier
1979 – FCC raids and shuts down pirate radio station WFAT (Brooklyn New York)
1997 – San Diego Padres and St Louis Cards play at Aloha Stadium Hawaii
2013 – Boston bombing suspects killed and captured in Boston after 4 days
2018 – Miguel Diaz-Canel is elected Cuba’s new president after former president Raúl Castro steps down
Today in History for 19th April 2020
Historical Events
1901 – In the Philippines, recently captured insurgent leader Emilio Aguinaldo issues a proclamation advising his countrymen to end their rebellion and use of peaceful means to work with the US toward independence.
1921 – Funeral of last German Emperoress, Augusta Victoria
1927 – “Vagabond King” opens in London
1973 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1974 – Oriole Al Bumbry hits an inside-the-park HR against NY Yankees
1975 – India launches 1st satellite with help of USSR
Famous Birthdays
1798 – Heinrich Maria von Hess, German historical painter, born in Düsseldorf, Germany (d. 1863)
1832 – José Echegaray, Spanish dramatist (Nobel 1904), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1916)
1954 – Trevor Francis, British football player and manager, born in Plymouth, England
1970 – Luis Miguel, Puerto Rican-Mexican spanish singer (Me Gustas Tal Como Eres), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
1972 – Jeff Wilkins, American NFL kicker (SF 49ers, St Louis Rams), born in Youngstown, Ohio
1977 – Joe Beimel, American baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in St. Marys, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
1588 – Paolo Veronese (Cagliari), painter, dies
1876 – Samuel Sebastian Wesley, English organist and composer, dies at 65
1983 – Lorene Scott, actress (Faraway Hill), dies at 74
1986 – Dag Wirén, Swedish composer, dies at 80
2004 – Norris McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (b. 1925)
2010 – Carl Williams, Australian criminal (b. 1970)
Famous Deaths for 18th April 2020
1679 – Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau, German poet, dies at 62
1690 – Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Austrian field marshal, dies at 47
1802 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician writer and botanist (grandfather of Charles Darwin), dies at 70
1888 – Roscoe Conkling, American politician (U.S. Senator from New York 1867-81), dies at 58
1906 – Luis Martín, Spanish Superior-General of the Society of Jesus, dies at 59
1943 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese WWII Marshall Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese fleet who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, killed in action at 59 by a US ambush after the “Magic” code-breaking team intercepted and decoded his flight plan
1947 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak politician (President of the First Slovak Republic), dies at 59
1984 – Arvi Kivimaa, Finnish writer (Groenende Cross), dies at 79
2004 – Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, first Prime Minister of Fiji and President of Fiji, dies at 83
2013 – Cordell “Boogie” Mosson, American musician (Parliament-Funkadelic collective), dies of liver failure at 60
Historical Events for 18th April 2020
1775 – Paul Revere and William Dawes ride from Charlestown to Lexington warning the “regulars are coming!”
1943 – Operation Vengeance: US Army Air Force P-38G fighter aircraft from Kukum Field on Guadalcanal ambush and shoot down the transport bomber aircraft of Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy and mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack
1950 – Sam Jethroe is 1st African American to play for Boston Braves
1966 – 70th Boston Marathon: Kenji Kimihara of Japan wins in 2:17:11; American Bobbi Gibb first woman in 3:21:40 (unsanctioned)
1968 – 1st ABA basketball championship began
1972 – The Widgery Report on ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Northern Ireland is published, causing outrage among the people of Derry who call it the “Widgery Whitewash”
1995 – Quarterback Joe Montana announces his retirement from football
1999 – Wayne Gretzky plays his last game in the NHL, as his New York Rangers lose 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins
2004 – 50th British Academy Television Awards: “Little Britain” Best Comedy, “Buried” Best Drama
2015 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Lou Reed, Ringo Starr, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Green Day, Bill Withers, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the 5 Royales
Today in History for 18th April 2020
Historical Events
1945 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Bolivia established
1962 – 16th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3
1972 – “Lost in the Stars” based on the novel “Cry the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 39 performances
1983 – Pulitzer Prize awarded to Alice Walker for the novel “The Color Purple”
1987 – Bob Land wins his 6th straight Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race
1987 – Pat Knauff, France sets 1-leg downhill ski speed record (115.012 mph)
Famous Birthdays
1910 – Sylvia Fisher, Australian operatic soprano (Albert Herring Opera), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1996)
1946 – Hayley Mills, English actress (Parent Trap, Pollyanna), born in London, England
1963 – Eric McCormack, Canadian-American actor (Will and Grace), born in Toronto, Ontario
1966 – Trine Hattestad, Norwegian javelin thrower (Olympic gold 2000), born in Lørenskog, Norway
1969 – Sayako Kuroda, Japanese Imperial Shinto priestess and Supreme Priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine who gave up her imperial title for marriage, born in Chiyoda, Tokyo
1985 – Karl Reindler, Australian racing driver, born in Perth, Australia
Famous Deaths
1873 – Justus von Liebig, German agricultural and biological chemist who is considered the founder of organic chemistry, dies at 69
1888 – Roscoe Conkling, American politician (U.S. Senator from New York 1867-81), dies at 58
1906 – Luis Martín, Spanish Superior-General of the Society of Jesus, dies at 59
1936 – Seaborn McDaniel Denson, American composer, dies at 82
1944 – Cécile Chamindale, French composer and pianist, dies at 86
2019 – Mark Medoff, American playwright, director, actor and professor (Children of a Lesser God), dies at 79
Famous Deaths for 17th April 2020
326 – Alexander of Alexandria, Patriarch of Alexandria
1539 – George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony (1500-39), dies at 67
1574 – Joachim Camerarius [Liebhard Kammerer], German classical scholar, dies at 74
1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, French writer (b. 1626)
1870 – Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry, Italian princess of the House of Bourbon, dies at 71
1945 – Walter Model, German fieldmarshal, commits suicide at 54
1998 – Linda McCartney, American-born photographer and wife of Paul McCartney, dies of breast cancer at 56
2003 – John Paul Getty Jr., American-born British oil magnate and billionaire (Getty Oil), dies of a chest infection at 70
2011 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1948)
2013 – Deanna Durbin [Edna Mae Durbin], Canadian actress and vocalist (Every Sunday, Three Smart Girls, 100 Men and a Girl), dies at 91