Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
April 20
| 1139 | The Second Lateran Council opens in Rome. | |
| 1657 | English Admiral Robert Blake fights his last battle when he destroys the Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay. | |
| 1769 | Ottawa Chief Pontiac is murdered by an Indian in Cahokia. | |
| 1770 | Captain Cook discovers Australia. | |
| 1775 | British troops begin the siege of Boston. | |
| 1792 | France declares war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. | |
| 1809 | Napoleon defeats Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria. | |
| 1836 | The Territory of Wisconsin is created. | |
| 1841 | Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story is published. | |
| 1861 | Robert E. Lee resigns from the U.S. Army. | |
| 1879 | The first mobile home (horse-drawn) is used in a journey from London to Cyprus. | |
| 1916 | Wrigley Field opens in Chicago. | |
| 1919 | The Polish Army captures Vilno, Lithuania from the Soviets. | |
| 1940 | The first electron microscope is demonstrated. | |
| 1942 | Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of "true reconciliation with Germany." | |
| 1945 | Soviet troops begin their attack on Berlin. | |
| 1951 | General MacArthur addresses a joint session of Congress after being relieved by President Truman. | |
| 1953 | Operation Little Switch begins in Korea, the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war. | |
| 1962 | The New Orleans Citizens Committee gives free one-way ride to blacks to move North. | |
| 1967 | U.S. planes bomb Haiphong for first time during the Vietnam War. | |
| 1999 | Two students enter Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and open fire with multiple firearms, killing 13 students and teachers, wounding 25 and eventually shooting themselves. | |
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Born on April 20 |
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| 121 | Marcus Aurelius, 16th Roman emperor, philosopher. | |
| 1745 | Philippe Pinel, founder of psychiatry. | |
| 1807 | Aloysius Bertrand ("Gaspard de la Nuit"), French poet. | |
| 1808 | Louis-Napoleon (Napoleon III), emperor of France. | |
| 1850 | Daniel Chester French, sculptor. | |
| 1889 | Adolf Hitler, Facist dictator of Nazi Germany (1933-1945). | |
| 1893 | Harold Lloyd, film comedian. | |
| 1893 | Joan Miró, Spanish painter. | |
| 1927 | Alex Muller, Nobel Prize-winning physicist. | |
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