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Today March 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
1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden.
1602 – The Dutch East India Company is established.
1616 – Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
1739 – Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.
1760 – The Great Fire of Boston, Massachusetts destroys 349 buildings.
1815 – After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his Hundred Days rule.
1848 – Revolutions of 1848 in the German states: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe s Uncle Tom s Cabin is published.
1856 – Costa Rican troops rout Walker s soldiers.
1861 – An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
1883 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
1888 – The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta was staged in Moscow, Russia.
1913 – Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
1914 – In New Haven, Connecticut, the first international figure skating championship takes place.
1916 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
1922 – The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
1933 – Giuseppe Zangara is executed in Florida s electric chair for fatally shooting Anton Cermak in an assassination attempt against President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1942 – World War II: In Zgierz, Poland, 100 Poles are taken from a labor camp and shot by the Germans.
1942 – Holocaust: in Rohatyn, western Ukraine, the German SS murder 3,000 Jews, including 600 children, annihilating 70% of Rohatyn s Jewish ghetto.
1942 – 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.
1948 – With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
1951 – Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshu is founded.
1952 – The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France.
1964 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
1969 – John Lennon and Yoko ono were married.
1974 – Ian Ball attempts, but fails, to kidnap Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips in The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace, London.
1980 – The Radio Caroline ship, Mi Amigo founders in a gale off the English coast.
1985 – Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
1987 – The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People s Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
1990 – Ferdinand Marcos s widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
1993 – An IRA bomb explodes in Warrington, northwest England, killing two children.
1995 -A sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway kills 12 and wounds 1,300 persons.
1999 – Legoland California, the only Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California.
2000 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after a gun battle that leaves a Georgia sheriff s deputy dead.
2003 – 2003 invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries begin military operations in Iraq.
2004 – Stephen Harper wins the leadership of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada, becoming the party s first leader.
2005 – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years. One person is killed, hundreds are injured and evacuated.
2006 – Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country s banana crop.
2006 – Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Deby.
Births
43 BC – Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17)
1469 – Princess Cecily of York (d. 1507)
1477 – Jerome Emser, German theologian (d. 1527)
1502 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
1644 – Ivan Mazepa, Cossack Hetman of the Hetmanate (d. 1709)
1725 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1789)
1735 – Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist (d. 1784)
1737 – Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, King of Thailand (d. 1809)
1741 – Jean Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (d. 1828)
1770 – Friedrich Hölderlin, German writer (d. 1843)
1799 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet (d. 1839)
1811 – Napoleon II of France, (d. 1832)
1823 – Ned Buntline, American publisher (d. 1886)
1828 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1906)
1831 – Solomon L. Spink, U.S. Congressman (d. 1881)
1834 – Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard University (d. 1926)
1836 – Ferris Jacobs, Jr., American politician (d. 1886)
1836 – Sir Edward Poynter, British painter (d. 1919)
1840 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
1856 – Sir John Lavery, Irish artist (d. 1941)
1856 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American inventor (d. 1915)
1870 – Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
1874 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (d. 1945)
1876 – Payne Whitney, American businessman (d. 1927)
1879 – Maud Menten, Canadian biochemist (d. 1960)
1882 – René Coty, French President (d. 1962)
1890 – Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor (d. 1957)
1890 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish tenor (d. 1973)
1895 – Fredric Wertham, German-born psychologist (d. 1981)
1897 – Ruby Muhammad, American matriarch of Black Islam
1903 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
1904 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist (d. 1990)
1905 – Jean Galia, French rugby footballer (d. 1949)
1906 – Abraham Beame, American politician (d. 2001)
1906 – Ozzie Nelson, American bandleader and actor (d. 1975)
1908 – Michael Redgrave, English actor (d. 1985)
1911 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican diplomat and Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
1914 – Wendell Corey, American actor (d. 1968)
1915 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, President of Austria (d. 2000)
1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Soviet pianist (d. 1997)
1916 – Pierre Messmer, French politician and Prime Minister (d. 2007)
1917 – Vera Lynn, English actress and singer
1918 – Jack Barry, American TV host (d. 1984)
1918 – Donald Featherstone, British writer and wargamer
1918 – Marian McPartland, British jazz pianist
1920 – Pamela Harriman, British-American diplomat (d. 1997)
1921 – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer (d. 1973)
1922 – Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader
1922 – Ray Goulding, American comedian (d. 1990)
1922 – Carl Reiner, American film director
1923 – Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani Author, Journalist and Political Activist (d. 2006)
1924 – Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (d. 1998)
1925 – John Ehrlichman, American political figure (d. 1999)
1927 – John Joubert, South African-born British composer
1928 – Fred Rogers, American TV host (d. 2003)
1929 – Germán Robles, Spanish actor
1931 – Hal Linden, American actor
1933 – George Altman, American baseball player
1933 – Alexander Gorodnitsky, Russian geologist and poet
1934 – Willie Brown, American politician
1934 – David Malouf, Australian author
1935 – Ted Bessell, American actor (d. 1996)
1936 – Lee Scratch Perry, Jamaican Reggae artist
1936 – Vaughn Meader, American comedian (d. 2004)
1937 – Lois Lowry, American children s author
1937 – Jerry Reed, American singer and actor
1938 – Sergei Petrovich Novikov, Russian Mathematician, Fields Medalist
1939 – Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada
1941 – Pat Corrales, American baseball player
1941 – Kenji Kimihara, Japanese long-distance runner
1943 – Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
1943 – Naima Neidre, Estonian graphic artist
1943 – Paul Junger Witt, American TV producer
1945 – Henry Bartholomay, American fighter pilot
1945 – Rick Berman, American TV and film producer
1945 – Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
1945 – Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
1947 – John Boswell, American historian (d. 1994)
1948 – John de Lancie, American actor
1948 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
1949 – Marcia Ball, American singer and pianist
1950 – William Hurt, American actor
1950 – Carl Palmer, English drummer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
1951 – Curt Smith, American author and media host
1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, American blues guitarist
1952 – Geoff Brabham, Australian racing driver
1954 – Mike Francesa, American sports talk show host
1954 – Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
1957 – Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
1957 – David Foster, Australian woodchopper
1957 – Spike Lee, American film director
1957 – Theresa Russell, American actress
1957 – Chris Wedge, American animator
1958 – Phil Anderson, Australian cyclist
1958 – Holly Hunter, American actress
1959 – Dave Beasant, English football goalkeeper
1959 – Steve McFadden, British actor
1959 – Sting, American professional wrestler
1961 – Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer
1961 – Slim Jim Phantom, American musician (Stray Cats)
1962 – Stephen Sommers, American film director
1963 – Paul Annacone, American tennis player
1963 – Yelena Romanova, Russian athlete (d. 2007)
1963 – Manabu Suzuki, Japanese racing driver and broadcaster
1963 – David Thewlis, British actor
1964 – Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer
1965 – William Dalrymple, Writer and Historian
1966 – Alka Yagnik, Indian singer
1967 – Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
1969 – Caroline Brunet, Quebec kayaker
1969 – Mannie Fresh, American producer
1970 – Michael Rapaport, American actor
1971 – Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
1971 – Touré, American writer
1972 – Alexander Kapranos, Greek-British musician (Franz Ferdinand)
1973 – Christopher Heinz, American businessman; son of Teresa Heinz
1973 – Jane March, English actress
1973 – Jung Woo-sung, South Korean actor
1973 – Cedric Yarbrough, American actor
1974 – Paula Garces, Colombian actress
1974 – Andrzej Pilipiuk, Polish writer
1976 – Chester Bennington, American musician (Linkin Park)
1979 – Silvia Abascal, Spanish actress
1979 – Freema Agyeman, British actress
1979 – Bianca Lawson, American actress
1979 – Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
1979 – Bernard O Connor, Gaelic Footballer
1979 – Molly Jenson, American musician
1980 – Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
1980 – Ock Ju-Hyun, South Korean singer
1982 – Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
1982 – Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
1982 – Nick Wheeler, American guitarist (The All-American Rejects)
1982 – José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
1984 – Justine Ezarik, American Internet personality
1984 – Valtteri Filppula, Finnish professional ice-hockey player
1984 – Rami Malek, Egyptian-born actor
1984 – Markus Niemelä, Finnish racing driver
1984 – Christy Carlson Romano, American actress
1984 – Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
1984 – Marcus Vick, American football player
1984 – Winta, Norwegian musician
1986 – Dean Geyer, Australian singer/actor
1986 – Ruby Rose Langenheim, Australian MTV VJ
1986 – Lady GaGa, American Singer and Songwriter
1987 – Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian football player
1987 – Patrick Boyle, Scottish footballer
1987 – Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian hockey player
1987 – Jô, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Rollo Weeks, English actor
1989 – Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi cricketer
1990 – Joaquin Maria Gutierrez, Filipino violinist
Deaths
687 – St. Cuthbert, patron saint of Northumbria (b. c. 634)
1239 – Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (c. [[1179)
1413 – King Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
1549 – Lord High Admiral Thomas Seymour, 4th. husband of Queen Catherine Parr (executed) (b. 1508)
1568 – Duke Albert of Prussia (b. 1490)
1586 – Richard Maitland, Scottish statesman and historian (b. 1496)
1619 – Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
1673 – Augustyn Kordecki, Polish prior (b. 1603)
1730 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
1732 – Johann Ernst Hanxleden, German philologist (b. 1681)
1746 – Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (b. 1656)
1780 – Sir Benjamin Truman – English brewer
1793 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (b. 1705)
1835 – Louis-Leopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
1855 – Joseph Aspdin, English mason and inventor (b. 1788)
1865 – Keisuke Yamanami, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (b. 1810)
1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
1890 – Alexander F. Mozhaiski, aviation pioneer (b. 1825)
1897 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (b. 1821)
1899 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist (b. 1822)
1916 – Ota Benga, Congolese pygmy (b. 1884)
1918 – Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (b. 1828)
1925 – George Nathaniel Curzon, British statesman (b. 1859)
1929 – Ferdinand Foch, French commander of allied forces in World War I (b. 1851)
1931 – Hermann Müller, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
1934 – Queen Emma of the Netherlands (b. 1858)
1940 – Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
1947 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and filmdirector (b. 1884)
1964 – Brendan Behan, Irish playwright and author (b. 1923)
1969 – Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
1970 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek bouzouki virtuoso and song writer (b. 1920)
1972 – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
1974 – Chet Huntley, American television journalist (b. 1911)
1982 – Randy Rhoads, American guitarist for Ozzy osbourne and Ex Quiet Riot guitarist (b. 1956)
1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician (b. 1891)
1990 – Lev Yashin, Soviet footballer (b. 1929)
1991 – Conor Clapton, son of Eric Clapton (b. 1986)
1992 – Georges Delerue, French film composer (b. 1925)
1993 – Polykarp Kusch, German-born American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1911)
1994 – Lewis Grizzard, American humorist (b. 1946)
1995 – Big John Studd, American professional wrestler (b. 1948)
1997 – Tony Zale, American boxer (b. 1913)
1997 – V. S. Pritchett, British writer and critic (b. 1900)
1998 – George Howard, American jazz saxophone musician
2000 – Gene Eugene, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1961)
2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1949)
2003 – Sailor Art Thomas, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
2004 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
2004 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian military officer and politician (b. 1917)
2005 – Armand Lohikoski, Finnish film director (b. 1912)
2007 – Gilbert E. Patterson, presiding bishop of COGIC (b. 1939)
2007 – Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician (b. 1938)
2007 – Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
2008 – Eric Ashton, English rugby league footballer (b. 1935)
2008 – Shoban Babu, Indian actor (b. 1937)
2008 – Brian Wilde, English actor (b. 1921)
2008 – Klaus Dinger, German Musician (b. 1946)
Holidays and observances
The second day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva.
The vernal equinox usually occurs on this day. This is a national holiday of Japan.
Though dependent on the exact day of the vernal equinox, New Year of Iranian Calendar: Norouz is sometimes celebrated on March 20 if the equinox falls on this day.
Though dependent on the exact day of the vernal equinox, International Astrology Day is sometimes celebrated on March 20 if the equinox falls on this day.
World Storytelling Day is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, celebrated every year on March 20.
Feast of St. Cuthbert, patron saint of Northumbria (d.687)
Feast of Abdon and Sennen celebrated in Soissons, France
Saint Herbert (d.687)
Saint Wulfram (d.704)
Saint Alexandra
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