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Today December 20th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
69 – Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of emperor.
1192 – Richard the Lion-Heart is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the crusade.
1522 – Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
1606 – The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
1835 – First signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence at Goliad, Texas.
1860 – South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States.
1915 – World War I: Last Australian troops evacuated from Gallipoli.
1917 – Cheka, the first Soviet secret police, is founded.
1941 – World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers in Kunming, China.
1942 – World War II: Bombing of Calcutta by the Japanese.
1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for the first time. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
1952 – United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.
1955 – Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
1960 – National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
1973 – The Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
1984 – The Summit tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million litres of petrol derails near the town of Todmorden in the Pennines.
1987 – History s worst peacetime sea disaster, when the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
1988 – The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed in Vienna.
1989 – United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega.
1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
1995 – NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
1995 – American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 160.
1995 – The Democratic Social Movement is founded in Greece.
1996 – NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.
1999 – Macau is handed over to the People s Republic of China by Portugal.
2001 – Argentine economic crisis: President of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa is forced out of office.
2002 – US Senator Trent Lott resigns as majority leader.
2005 – US District Court Judge John E. Jones III rules against mandating the teaching of intelligent design in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.
2005 – The first same sex civil partnerships in Scotland are celebrated.
2006 – A judge rules against the death penalty in the case of Naveed Haq, a man convicted in the shooting death and injuries at the Jewish Federation in Seattle.
2007 – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
2007 – The painting Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art, along with O Lavrador de Café, by the major Brazilian modernist painter Candido Portinari.
Births
1494 – Oronce Finé, French mathematician (d. 1555)
1537 – King John III of Sweden (d. 1592)
1566 – Edward Wightman, English Baptist preacher (d. 1612)
1579 – (baptized) John Fletcher, English playwright (d. 1625)
1626 – Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (d. 1692)
1629 – Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (d. 1684)
1717 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat (d. 1787)
1740 – Arthur Lee, American diplomat (d. 1792)
1786 – Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d. 1853)
1792 – Nicolas Charlet, French painter (d. 1845)
1833 – Samuel Mudd, American physician (d. 1883)
1838 – Edwin Abbott Abbott, English schoolmaster, theologian, and author (d. 1926)
1841 – Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1932)
1860 – Dan Leno, English entertainer (d. 1904)
1861 – Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (d. 1926)
1865 – Elsie De Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (d. 1950)
1868 – Harvey Firestone, American automobile pioneer (d. 1938)
1873 – Kwan-Ichi Asakawa, Japanese historian (d. 1948)
1881 – Branch Rickey, baseball executive (d. 1965)
1886 – Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (d. 1974)
1888 – Fred Merkle, American baseball figure (d. 1958)
1890 – Yvonne Arnaud, French-born actress (d. 1958)
1890 – Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
1894 – Sir Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1978)
1898 – Irene Dunne, American actress (d. 1990)
1901 – Robert Van de Graaff, American physicist and inventor (d. 1967)
1902 – Sidney Hook, American philosopher (d. 1989)
1902 – George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent (d. 1942)
1904 – Spud Davis, baseball player (d. 1984)
1905 – Bill O Reilly, Australian cricket player (d. 1992)
1907 – Paul Francis Webster, songwriter (d. 1984)
1908 – Dennis Morgan, American actor (d. 1994)
1909 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian politician (d. 2000)
1911 – Hortense Calisher, American author
1916 – Michel Chartrand, Quebec union leader
1917 – David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (d. 1992)
1918 – Jean Marchand, French Canadian trade unionist and politician (d. 1988)
1918 – Audrey Totter, American actress
1922 – George Roy Hill, American film director (d. 2002)
1922 – Beverly Pepper, American sculptor and painter
1924 – Charlie Callas, American comedian
1924 – Judy LaMarsh, Canadian politician and broadcaster (d. 1980)
1925 – Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (d. 2007)
1925 – Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia
1926 – Sir Geoffrey Howe, British politician
1926 – Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician
1927 – Kim Young-sam, President of South Korea
1931 – Mala Powers, American film actress (d. 2007)
1931 – Terry Sanders, American filmmaker
1932 – John Hillerman, American actor, Magnum P.I.
1933 – Jean Carnahan, U.S. Senator
1933 – Rik van Looy, Belgian cyclist
1935 – Khalid Ibadulla, Pakistani cricket player
1938 – John Harbison, American composer
1942 – Rana Bhagwandas, Former Pakistani Chief Justice
1944 – Bobby Colomby, American musician (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
1944 – Jean Fergusson, English actress
1945 – Peter Criss, American drummer and singer (Kiss)
1946 – Uri Geller, Israeli psychic
1946 – John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
1946 – Sonny Perdue, American politician, govenor of Georgia
1946 – Dick Wolf, American television series creator
1946 – Lesley Judd, BBC Blue Peter presenter
1947 – Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer
1948 – Alan Parsons, British music producer and artist
1948 – Stevie Wright, English-born Australian musician and songwriter
1949 – Soumaïla Cissé, Malian politician
1949 – Cecil Cooper, American baseball player
1951 – Gilbert Montagné, French musician
1951 – Peter May, Scottish novelist and scriptwriter
1952 – Jenny Agutter, English actress
1954 – Michael Badalucco, American actor
1954 – Sandra Cisneros, American writer
1955 – Ed Kuepper, German-born Australian musician (The Saints, Laughing Clowns)
1956 – Blanche Baker, American actress
1956 – Junji Hirata, Japanese professional wrestler
1957 – Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter
1957 – Mike Watt, American bassist
1957 – Stephen Bicknell, British organ builder and scholar (d. 2007)
1957 – Joyce Hyser, American actress
1957 – Anna Vissi, Greek-Cypriot singer
1958 – Steve Sailer, American political commentator
1959 – Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Prime Minister of Poland
1960 – Nalo Hopkinson, Canadian writer
1961 – Mohammad Fouad, Arab singer and actor
1961 – Mike Keneally, American musician
1963 – Infanta Elena of Spain
1963 – Joel Gretsch, American actor
1964 – Mark Coleman, American Mixed Martial Artist, UFC Hall of Famer
1965 – Robert Cavanah, Scottish actor
1965 – Rich Gannon, American football player
1966 – Matt Neal , British Race Driver
1966 – Chris Robinson, American singer (Black Crowes)
1966 – Myrra Malmberg, Swedish singer
1968 – Karl Wendlinger, Austrian racing driver
1968 – Joe Cornish, British comedian
1968 – Phil Andrews, British racing driver
1970 – Nicole DeBoer, Canadian actress
1970 – Grant Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
1972 – Anders Odden, Norwegian musician
1973 – Cory Stillman, National Hockey League forward
1974 – Die, Japanese musician (Dir en grey)
1975 – Bartosz Bosacki, Polish footballer
1975 – Jaydy Michel, Mexican model
1976 – Jang Hyuk, Korean actor
1976 – Aubrey Huff, American baseball player
1976 – Adam Powell, Neopets creator
1976 – Ramon Stoppelenburg, world traveler and Dutch author
1977 – Saukrates, Canadian rapper
1978 – Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer
1978 – Andrei Markov, Russian ice hockey player
1979 – David DeJesus, American baseball player
1979 – Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist
1980 – Ashley Cole, English footballer
1980 – Fitz Hall, English footballer
1980 – Tony, French-born Portuguese footballer
1981 – Roy Williams, American football player
1981 – James Shields, American baseball player
1981 – Chris Edwards, British musician (Kasabian)
1982 – David Cook, American singer, winner of American Idol.
1982 – David Wright, American baseball player
1982 – David Tavaré, Spanish singer
1982 – Mohammed Asif, Pakistani cricket player
1982 – Kasper Klausen, Danish footballer
1983 – Jonah Hill, American actor
1983 – Lucy Pinder, British model
1983 – Darren Sammy, St. Lucian West Indies cricketer
1983 – Lara Stone, Dutch model
1983 – Adrián Varela, Mexican singer
1987 – Tariel Zintiridis, Greek judoka
1990 – JoJo, American singer
Deaths
217 – Pope Zephyrinus
860 – King Ethelbald of Wessex (b. 834)
910 – Alfonso III of Leon
1022 – Elvira Mendes, wife of Alfonso V of Castile (b. 996)
1355 – Stefan Dušan, Serb king and tsar (b. 1308)
1494 – Matteo Maria Boiardo, Italian poet
1524 – Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician
1539 – Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer
1590 – Ambroise Paré, French physician (b. 1510)
1722 – Kangxi Emperor of China (b. 1654)
1723 – Augustus Quirinus Rivinus (b. 1652)
1740 – Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, English military officer and statesman (b. 1675)
1768 – Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, Italian poet (b. 1692)
1783 – Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (b. 1729)
1812 – Sacagawea, American Shoshone explorer (b. 1788)
1856 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (b. 1820)
1862 – Robert Knox, Scottish surgeon, anatomist and zoologist (b. 1791)
1915 – Upendrakishore Ray, Indian writer, painter and composer (b. 1863)
1917 – Lucien Petit-Breton, Argentine-French cyclist (b. 1882)
1921 – Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general (b. 1850)
1929 – Émile Loubet, 7th President of France (b. 1838)
1935 – Martin O Meara, Australian soldier (b. 1882)
1937 – Erich Ludendorff, German general (b. 1865)
1938 – Annie Armstrong, American missionary leader (b. 1850)
1941 – Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887)
1954 – James Hilton, British author (b. 1900)
1956 – Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b. 1906)
1961 – Moss Hart, American dramatist (b. 1904)
1961 – Earle Page, eleventh Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880)
1968 – John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
1973 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Prime Minister of Spain (assassinated) (b. 1903)
1973 – Bobby Darin, American singer (b. 1936)
1974 – André Jolivet, French composer (b. 1905)
1976 – Richard J. Daley, American politician (b. 1902)
1981 – Dimitris Rontiris, Greek actor and director (b. 1899)
1982 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-born pianist (b. 1887)
1984 – Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1946)
1986 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (b. 1959)
1988 – Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian television pioneer (b. 1908)
1989 – Kurt Böhme, German bass (b. 1908)
1991 – Simone Beck, French chef (b. 1904)
1991 – Albert Van Vlierberghe, Belgian cyclist (b. 1942)
1994 – Dean Rusk, United States Secretary of State (b. 1909)
1996 – Carl Sagan, American astronomer and writer (b. 1934)
1997 – Denise Levertov, English-born poet (b. 1923)
1997 – Juzo Itami, Japanese actor and director (b. 1933)
1997 – Dawn Steel, American film producer (b. 1946)
1998 – Irene Hervey, American actress (b. 1910)
1998 – Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1916)
1998 – Chester P. Lyons, Canadian naturalist and author (b. 1915)
1999 – Hank Snow, Canadian singer (b. 1914)
1999 – Riccardo Freda, Italian film director (b. 1909)
2000 – Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, Bangladeshi statesman and philanthropist (b. 1920)
2001 – Foster Brooks, American actor and comedian (b. 1912)
2001 – Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese politician (b. 1906)
2005 – Maniam Moorthy, Malaysian climber
2006 – Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer (b. 1970)
2006 – Anne Rogers Clark, American dog breeder and trainer (b. 1929)
2007 – Nataline Sarkisyan, American medical patient (b. 1990)
Holidays and observances
R.C. Saints – Saint Dominic of Silos, O Clavis, Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne
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