December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in Leap Year s) in the Gregorian Calendar . There are 11 days remaining.
- 217 - The papacy of Pope Zephyrinus ends.
- 1522 - Suleiman The Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights Of Rhodes , who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually re-settle on Malta and become known as the Knights Of Malta .
- 1803 - Louisiana Purchase completed at a ceremony in New Orleans .
- 1860 - South Carolina becomes first state to Secede from the United States .
- 1915 - Last Australia n troops evacuated from Gallipoli .
- 1917 - Cheka , first Soviet secret police, founded.
- 1951 - Nuclear power first harvested when EBR-1 powers four light bulbs.
- 1952 - United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake , Washington killing 87.
- 1960 - National Front For The Liberation Of Vietnam is formed.
- 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 .
- 1988 - The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic In Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna .
- to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega .
- 1995 - NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia .
- 1995 - An American Airlines Flight 965 Boeing 757 crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali , Colombia killing 160.
- 1996 - NeXT merges with Apple Computer , starting the path to Mac OS X .
- 1999 - Vermont 's Supreme Court rules that Homosexual couples are entitled to same benefits and protections as married Heterosexual couples.
- 1999 - Macau is handed over to the People's Republic Of China by Portugal .
- Fernando De La Rúa is forced out of office.
- 2002 - US Senator Trent Lott resigns as Majority Leader .
- 's Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services.
- 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 )
- 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 )
- 1881 - Branch Rickey , baseball executive (d. 1965 )
- 1886 - Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman , American tennis player (d. 1974 )
- 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 )
- 1917 - David Bohm , American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (d. 1992 )
- 1922 - George Roy Hill , American film director (d. 2002 )
- 1926 - Sir Geoffrey Howe , British politician
- 1926 - Otto Graf Lambsdorff , German politician
- 1927 - Kim Young-sam , President Of South Korea
- 1933 - Jean Carnahan , U.S. Senator
- 1938 - John Harbison , American composer
- 1944 - Bobby Colomby , American musician ( Blood, Sweat & Tears )
- 1945 - Peter George Criscoula , American drummer and singer ( KISS )
- 1946 - Uri Geller , Israeli psychic
- 1946 - John Spencer , American Emmy Award winning actor (d. 2005 )
- 1946 - Dick Wolf , American television series creator
- 1947 - Gigliola Cinquetti , Italian singer and Eurovision Song Contest winner
- 1949 - Soumaïla Cissé , Malian politician
- 1952 - Jenny Agutter , English actress
- 1954 - Michael Badalucco , American actor
- 1957 - Billy Bragg , English singer and songwriter
- 1957 - Mike Watt , American bassist
- 1957 - Joyce Hyser , American actress
- 1957 - Anna Vissi , Greek singer
- 1960 - Nalo Hopkinson , Canadian writer
- 1963 - Infanta Elena Of Spain , Duchess of Lugo
- 1965 - Rich Gannon , American football player
- 1966 - Chris Robinson , American singer ( Black Crowes )
- 1970 - Nicole DeBoer , Canadian actress
- 1976 - Aubrey Huff , baseball player
- 1978 - Njitap Geremi , Cameroon footballer
- 1980 - Ashley Cole , English footballer
- 1983 - Lucy Pinder , British model
- 1990 - JoJo , American child singer
- 217 - Pope Zephyrinus
- 860 - King Ethelbald Of Wessex
- 910 - Alfonso III Of Leon
- 1022 - Elvira Mendes , wife of Alfonso V Of Castile (b. 996 )
- 1355 - Stefan Dušan , Serb king and tsar (b. circa 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 )
- 1812 - Sacagawea , Shoshone guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
- 1929 - Émile Loubet , 7th President Of France (b. 1838 )
- 1937 - Erich Ludendorff , German general (b. 1865 )
- 1941 - Igor Severyanin , Russian poet (b. 1887 )
- 1954 - James Hilton , American author (b. 1900 )
- 1961 - Moss Hart , American author (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 , Mayor of Chicago (b. 1902 )
- 1982 - Arthur Rubinstein , Polish-born pianist (b. 1887 )
- 1984 - Gonzalo Márquez , Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1946 )
- 1989 - Kurt Böhme , German bass (b. 1908 )
- 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 )
- 1998 - Irene Hervey , American actress (b. 1910 )
- 1998 - Alan Lloyd Hodgkin , British scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine (b. 1916 )
- 1999 - Hank Snow , Canadian singer (b. 1914 )
- 2000 - Mirza Ghulam Hafiz , Indian statesman, politician, and philanthropist (b. 1920 )
- 2001 - Foster Brooks , American actor and comedian (b. 1912 )
- 2001 - Léopold Sédar Senghor , first President Of Senegal (b. 1906 )
December 19 - December 21 - November 20 - January 20 -- Listing Of All Days
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