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What happened in history on this day: December 20?
On December 20 in ...
- 69 - General Vespasianus occupies Rome.
- 910 - Alfonso III de Great, king of Asturias, dies.
- 1046 - German king Heinrich III arrives in Rome. He deposes three Pope claimants: Gregory VI, Benedictus IX, and Silvester III.
- 1073 - Domingo Spanish monastery founder/abbot/saint, dies.
- 1192 - Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna.
- 1355 - Stefanus IX Uros IV Dusan king (1331-46)/Serbia (1346-55), dies.
- 1409 - Pope Alexander V issues Papal Bull condemning the doctrines of John Wycliffe and ordering seizure of his books and manuscripts.
- 1448 - Pope Nicolaas V named Utrechts bishop Rudolf of Diepholt, cardinal.
- 1539 - Birth of Paul Melissus [Paul Schede] German poet/composer.
- 1579 - Birth of John Fletcher Elizabethan dramatist (Phylaster) (baptized).
- 1582 - First day of Gregorian calendar in France.
- 1585 - English fleet and earl Robert Dudley van Leicester reach Vlissingen.
- 1590 - Ambroise Paré French surgeon, dies at age 80.
- 1594 - Birth of Giovanni Battista Gagliano composer.
- 1600 - Ottario Rinuccini/Giulio Caccini's opera "Euridice" published.
- 1606 - Birth of Christoph Schultze composer.
- 1626 - Emperor Ferdinand II/Transylvanian monarch Gábor Betlen signs Peace of Pressburg.
- 1629 - Birth of Pieter de Hoogh Dutch painter.
- 1659 - Birth of François Fagel Dutch lawyer/statesman.
- 1661 - Corporation Act enforced in England.
- 1669 - First jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection and sentenced to flogging, branding and slavery.
- 1679 - Johan Maurits, count of Nassau-Siegen, dies at age 75.
- 1688 - Prince Willem III's troops pull into London.
- 1694 - Frederik van Brandenburg flees Schweiben.
- 1699 - Peter the Great ordered Russian New Year changed-Sept 1 to January 1.
- 1749 - Pakubuwono II susuhunan of Mataram Java, dies.
- 1780 - England declares war on Netherlands.
- 1783 - Death of Antonio Francisco Jawer Jose Soler at age 54; Spanish composer (Fandango).
- 1790 - First successful US cotton mill to spin yarn (Pawtucket, Rhode Island).
- 1805 - Birth of Thomas Graham; father of colloid chemistry.
- 1807 - Birth of Richard Lucian Page; Brigadier-General (Confederate Army) (dies 1901).
- 1808 - Birth of Thomas Tinsley Craven; Commander (Union Navy) (dies 1887).
- 1812 - Death of Sacagawea Shoshone; interpreter for Lewis and Clark.
- 1813 - Birth of Samuel Jordan Kirkwood; Governor of Iowa, US Secretary of Interior (1881-82).
- 1815 - Giovanni Meli, Sicilian poet (Buccolica), dies at age 75.
- 1820 - Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men between ages 21 and 50.
- 1825 - Birth of Romeyn Beck Ayres; US Brevet Major General (Union Army) (dies 1888).
- 1830 - England, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia recognize Belgium.
- 1833 - Birth of Samuel A Mudd; doctor, convicted of giving medical aid to John Wilkes Booth.
- 1841 - Birth of Ferdinand-Èdouard Buisson in France; educator (Nobel Peace Prize 1927).
- 1848 - Slavery is abolished in Réunion.
- 1848 - President Bonaparte takes his Oath of Office in front of the French National Assembly.
- 1858 - Birth of Jean/Johannes T "Jan" Toorop; Dutch painter/graphic artist (Three Brides).
- 1860 - South Carolina's legislature votes 169-0 to pass the "Ordinance of Secession" declaring "the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other states, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved."
- 1862 - CSA Brigadier-General Nathan B Forrest occupies Trenton, Kentucky, USA.
- 1865 - Birth of Maude Gonne; Irish nationalist (Irish Joan of Arc).
- 1865 - De Clear-Alkmaar railway opens.
- 1868 - Birth of Harvey S Firestone; industrialist, self-named tire company.
- 1869 - Birth of Charley Grapewin in Xenia, Ohio, USA; actor (Wizard of Oz, Libeled Lady).
- 1870 - Birth of Pieter C Boutens; Dutch poet (Voices, Carmina).
- 1875 - Birth of T F Powys in Wales; writer (Captain Patch, Goat Green).
- 1875 - Michail P Pogodin, Russian historian/writer (Povesti), dies at age 75.
- 1876 - Birth of Jan Van Oudshoorn [Jan K Feylbrief]; Dutch writer (Maze of Senses).
- 1876 - Birth of Walter S Adams; US astronomer/director of Mount Wilson (1923-46).
- 1876 - Hannah Omish, at age 12, is youngest ever hanged in US.
- 1880 - Battle at Bronker's Spruit, Transvaal: Farmers beat Britten.
- 1880 - New York's Broadway is lit by electricity, becomes known as "Great White Way".
- 1881 - Birth of Branch Rickey; baseball executive (Brooklyn Dodgers).
- 1883 - International cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls.
- 1884 - Birth of Marius HLW "Max" Blokzijl; Dutch nazi collaborator/traitor.
- 1886 - Birth of Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman in California, USA; tennis player (US Open 1909-11).
- 1891 - Strongman Louis Cyr withstands the pull of four horses.
- 1892 - Pneumatic automobile tire is patented, in Syracuse, New York, USA.
- 1894 - Birth of Robert Menzies; Australian Prime Minister (1939-41, 1949-66).
- 1894 - England beats Australia by ten runs in the first six-day Test Cricket.
- 1895 - Birth of Susanne Langer; US philosopher/educator (Philosophy in a New Key).
- 1898 - Birth of Irene [Marie] Dunne Louisville Kentucky, actress (Show Boat, I Remember Mama, My Favorite Wife).
- 1900 - Birth of Gabby Harnett; American baseball player, National League Most Valuable Player 1935.
- 1900 - Giacobini discovers a comet (will be first comet visited by spacecraft).
- 1901 - Birth of Robert Van de Graaff in Alabama, USA; physicist (Mobility of Gaseous Ions).
- 1902 - Birth of Max Lerner; US columnist (New York Post).
- 1902 - Birth of Sidney Hook; anticommunist philosopher (Paradoxes of Freedom).
- 1904 - Birth of Albert Van Dekker in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Dr Cyclops, Beau Gesture).
- 1905 - Birth of "Tiger" Bill O'Reilly; cricket player (mighty Australian leg-spinner).
- 1906 - Birth of Dick White; head of British secret service (MI-5/MI-6).
- 1906 - Birth of Lowell Gilmore in Minnesota, USA; actor (Living Christ Series).
- 1906 - Venezuela (under Vice-President Juan Vincente Gómez) attacks Dutch fleet.
- 1907 - Explosion at coal mine in Yolande, Alabama, USA, kills 91.
- 1911 - Birth of Hortense Calisher in New York City, New York, USA; novelist (Arts and Letters 1967).
- 1912 - Albania is recognized as independent state during Conference of Ambassadors in London, England
- 1915 - Russian troops overrun Qom, Persia.
- 1917 - Russian secret police in Czechoslovakia forms under Felix Dzerzjinski.
- 1918 - Birth of Audrey Totter in Joliet, Illinois, USA; actress (Carpetbaggers, Set-Up).
- 1919 - Canadian National Railways is established (North America's longest, 50,000 km).
- 1919 - US House of Representatives restricts immigration.
- 1920 - Bert Collins scores 104 on Test Cricket debut versus England at Sydney Cricket Ground.
- 1921 - American League votes to return to best-of-7 World Series of Baseball, while National League votes best-of-9. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts deciding vote for best-of-7.
- 1922 - Fourteen republics form Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics (USSR).
- 1922 - Birth of Charita Bauer in Newark, New Jersey, USA; actress (Guiding Light, Aldrich Family).
- 1922 - Birth of George Roy Hill; director (Slap Shot, Little Drummer Girl, Little Romance).
- 1922 - Polish parliament selects Stanislaw Wojcieckowski as president.
- 1924 - Birth of Charlie Callas in Brooklyn, New York, USA; comedian/actor (High Anxiety, Hysterical).
- 1924 - Birth of Errol John in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad; actor (PT-109, Assault on a Queen).
- 1924 - Birth of Inge[borg] Beekman; actress (Horizon).
- 1924 - Birth of Sam McKim in Canada; child actor, 20th Century Fox, Disney Studios, film storyboard artist, Walt Disney World, retires 1987, named Disney Legend 1996.
- 1925 - Birth of Bob de Moor; Flemish comic strip artist (Kuifje, Lion of Flanders).
- 1925 - Birth of Datuk Seri Mahathir bin Mahamad; premier of Malaysia (1981-).
- 1926 - Saint Louis Cardinals trade Roger Hornsby to New York Giants for Frankie Frisch and Jimmy Ring.
- 1928 - First international dogsled mail leaves Minot, Maine, USA for Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- 1928 - Birth of Jack Christiansen in Kansas, USA; NFL hall of famer defensive back (Detroit Lions).
- 1929 - Birth of Milan Panic; premier of little Yugoslavia.
- 1929 - Emile Loubet, French premier (1892)/President (1899-1906), dies at age 90.
- 1929 - Heinie Wagner replaces Bill Carrigan as Boston Red Sox manager.
- 1930 - Learie Constantine cricket 100 in 52 minutes West Indies versus Tasmania (10x4, 1x6, 1x5).
- 1931 - Birth of Mala [Mary Ellen] Powers in San Francisco, California, USA; actress (Cyrano de Bergerac, Death in Small Doses).
- 1932 - Birth of John Hillerman in Denison, Texas, USA; actor (Higgins - Magnum PI, Blazing Saddles, Audrey Rose).
- 1932 - Queensland all out 74 versus Victoria, Bert Ironmonger (age 50) 7-13.
- 1933 - Birth of Rik Van Looy; Belgian cyclist (world champion, 1961).
- 1933 - Bolivia and Paraguay sign weapon cease fire.
- 1935 - Birth of Khalid "Billy" Ibadulla; cricket player (166 on debut Pakistan versus Australia 1964).
- 1935 - Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Ad Catholici Sacerdotii.
- 1936 - Baron De Borchgrave, Belgian ambassador, is murdered in Madrid, Spain.
- 1937 - Bill O'Reilly takes 9-41 for New South Wales in cricket against South Australia.
- 1937 - Erich Ludendorff, German general (WWI), dies at age 72.
- 1938 - Vladimir K Zworykin (Pennsylvania, USA) receives patent on the Iconoscope TV system.
- 1939 - Birth of Agatha N "Kim" Weston; American gospel/singer ("It Takes Two").
- 1939 - Hans Langsdorff, German captain (Admiral Graf Spee), commits suicide.
- 1939 - Radio Australia begins overseas short-wave service.
- 1940 - Birth of Larry Willis; rock keyboardist (Blood, Sweat and Tears).
- 1940 - Connie Mack acquires controlling interest in the Philadelphia Athletics for US$42,000.
- 1941 - Free France under Admiral Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquélon.
- 1941 - Japanese troops lands on Mindanao.
- 1942 - First Japanese bombing of Calcutta, India.
- 1942 - Birth of Robert L Hayes in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; 100 metre/4x100 metre runner (Olympics-2 gold-1964).
- 1943 - "International" is no longer USSR National Anthem.
- 1943 - Birth of Angel Tompkins in Albany, California, USA; actress (Gloria - Search).
- 1944 - Abbas Hilmi II, viceroy of Egypt (1892-1914), dies at age 70.
- 1944 - Battle of Bastogne, Germans surround US 101st Airborne.
- 1944 - Birth of Robert Colomby in New York City, New York, USA; rock drummer (Blood Sweat and Tears - "When I Die").
- 1945 - Charles Eady, cricket player (Tasmanian player for Australia 1896-1901), dies.
- 1945 - Rationing of auto tires ends in US.
- 1946 - Birth of John Spencer; actor (Tommy Mullanney - L.A. Law).
- 1946 - Birth of Uri Geller in Israel; psychic (supposedly bends forks).
- 1947 - Birth of Peter Criss[coula] in Brooklyn, New York, USA; rocker (Kiss - "Beth").
- 1947 - St-Georges de Bouchélier, French author (Children's Carnival), dies at age 71.
- 1948 - Birth of "Little" Stevie Wright; rocker (Easybeats).
- 1948 - Birth of Alan Parsons in England; musician/producer/engineer (Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd, The Beatles).
- 1948 - C Aubrey Smith, actor (Prisoner of Zenda), dies at age 85.
- 1948 - Ladha Ramji, cricket player (brother of Amar Singh, Test India 1933-34), dies.
- 1948 - Birth of Angela Marie Buchanan in Washington, D.C., USA; US Treasurer.
- 1948 - Second Chamber accepts second Police Action in Indonesia.
- 1948 - James Thomas Mangan of Chicago, Illinois, USA declares creation of the Nation of Celestial Space.
- 1952 - Birth of Jenny Agutter in Taunton, England; actress (Logan's Run, Equus, Amy).
- 1952 - Birth of Sergio Vastano; Italian actor (Nightclub, Prete Bello).
- 1954 - James Hilton, English author (Lost Horizon), dies at age 54.
- 1955 - Birth of Ed Kuepper; German/Australian singer/songwriter (Saints).
- 1955 - Birth of Pierre Bokma; Dutch actor (Avonden, Leedvermaak).
- 1955 - Birth of Sammy Mitchell; US computer programmer (Qedit/TSE/Semware).
- 1956 - Birth of Blanche Baker in New York City, New York, USA; Carroll Baker's Daughter, actress (French Postcard).
- 1956 - Military coup under colonel Simbolon in Sumatra.
- 1956 - Montgomery, Alabama, removes race-based seat assignments on its buses.
- 1957 - Birth of Anita Baker [Ward] in Detroit, Michigan, USA; vocalist (Rapture).
- 1957 - Birth of Billy Bragg, in Barking, Essex, England; singer/songwriter ("It Says Here", "Ideology").
- 1957 - Birth of Mike Watt; US bassist (Rockband Firehose).
- 1957 - Rock-and-roll star Elvis Presley receives his draft notice for the United States Army.
- 1959 - Birth of David Lutz; NFL guard/tackle (Detroit Lions).
- 1959 - Jasu Patel takes 9-69, India versus Australia at Kanpur.
- 1960 - Former Auschwitz-commandant Richard Bär arrested in German Federal Republic.
- 1960 - Birth of Carolyn Seaward in Devonshire, England; Miss United Kingdom (1979).
- 1960 - Birth of Piet Keur; Dutch soccer player/trainer, (SC Heerenveen).
- 1961 - Birth of Gale Gilbert; NFL quarterback (San Diego Chargers).
- 1961 - Birth of Nate Newton; NFL guard (Dallas Cowboys).
- 1961 - Moss Heart, US dramatist (You can't take it with you), dies at age 57.
- 1962 - Birth of Thomas Newberry; NFL guard (Pittsburgh Steelers).
- 1962 - The Osmond brothers debut on the Andy Williams Show.
- 1963 - Berlin Wall opens for first time to West Berliners.
- 1963 - Birth of Karen Moncrieff in Sacramento, California, USA; actress (Xtro 3, Days of Our Lives).
- 1963 - Birth of Pam Casale in Camden, New Jersey, USA; tennis player (Marco Island finals 1985).
- 1963 - Massemba-Debate elected President of Congo-Brazzaville.
- 1963 - Trial against 21 camp guards of Auschwitz begins.
- 1964 - Levi Eshkol forms Israeli government.
- 1966 - Birth of Chris Robinson in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; rocker (Black Crowes - "Shake Your Money Maker").
- 1966 - Birth of Ed de Goey; Dutch soccer goalie (Feyenoord).
- 1966 - Birth of Tim Hauck; NFL safety (Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks).
- 1966 - Brussels: Nuclear Planning Group established.
- 1966 - NBA awards Seattle Supersonics a franchise for 1967-68 season.
- 1966 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1967 - The Graduate film, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, premieres.
- 1967 - Birth of Duncan Kennedy in Burlington, California, USA; luger (Olympics-1994).
- 1967 - Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick form rock group Jethro Tull.
- 1968 - John Steinbeck, author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel Prize 1962), dies in New York at age 66.
- 1969 - Birth of Bobby Phills; NBA guard (Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets).
- 1969 - Peter, Paul and Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" reaches #1.
- 1970 - Birth of Dino Felicetti; hockey forward (Team Italy 1998).
- 1970 - Birth of Grant Flower; cricket player (brother of Andy Zimbabwe Test opening batsman).
- 1970 - Birth of Jason Simmons; Canadian Football League/WLAF defensive tackle (Saskatchewan Roughriders, Scottish Claymores).
- 1970 - Birth of Scott Slutzker; tight end (Indianapolis Colts).
- 1970 - Birth of Tony Semple; NFL guard (Detroit Lions).
- 1970 - Birth of Travis Green in Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada; NHL center (New York Islanders).
- 1970 - Edward Gierek succeeds Wladyslaw Gomulka as Poland's party leader.
- 1971 - Birth of Jerry Ellison; NFL running back (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
- 1971 - Pakistan President Yahya Khan resigns.
- 1971 - Roy Oliver Disney, co-founder of Walt Disney Company, dies of a massive brain hemorrhage, at age 78.
- 1972 - Birth of Jan Caloun; hockey forward (Team Czechoslovakia Olympics-gold-1998).
- 1972 - Birth of Jonathan Wyatt in Lower Hutt, New Zealand; 5000 metre (Olympics-1996).
- 1972 - Günter Eich, German literary (Botschaften des Regens), dies at age 65 in Salzburg, Austria.
- 1973 - American League President Joe Cronin refuses to allow Dick Williams to manage New York Yankees.
- 1973 - Birth of Barry Stokes; WLAF offensive linesman (Rhein Fire).
- 1973 - Birth of Cory Stillman in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; NHL center (Calgary Flames).
- 1973 - Birth of Jenny Boucek; WNBA guard (Cleveland Rockers).
- 1973 - Birth of Muadianvita Kazadi; linebacker (Saint Louis Rams).
- 1973 - Bobby Darin, singer ("Mack the Knife"), dies of heart failure at age 37.
- 1973 - Dutch Antillean government of Evertsz forms.
- 1973 - Luis Carrero Blanco, Prime Minister of Spain (1973), assassinated by ETA.
- 1973 - Montreal Canadiens' Henri Richard scores his 1,000th NHL point.
- 1974 - André Jolivet, French composer (L'eunuque), dies at age 69.
- 1974 - Birth of Augie Ojeda in Los Angeles, California, USA; baseball infielder (Olympics-bronze-1996).
- 1974 - Ethiopia becomes socialist one-party state.
- 1975 - Joe Walsh recruited to join music group The Eagles.
- 1975 - Pope Paul VI names J Willebrands archbishop of Utrecht.
- 1975 - Vincent Lopez, orchestra leader (Welcome Aboard), dies at age 76.
- 1975 - Death of William Lundigan at age 61 of heart failure; announcer/host (Climax TV show, Shower of Stars), actor (Men into Space TV series).
- 1976 - Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin resigns.
- 1976 - Richard J Daley, Chicago mayor, dies at age 74.
- 1976 - Walter Fitzgerald, actor (Adventures of Sadie, Fallen Idol), dies at age 80.
- 1977 - First space walk made by G Grechko from Salyut.
- 1977 - RAF terrorist Knut Folkerts sentenced to 20 years.
- 1978 - Harry R Haldeman, President Richard Nixon's White House chief of staff released from jail.
- 1978 - Don Blasingame becomes the first American not of Japanese descent to be named as a manager of a Japanese team. The former major league second baseman will pilot the Hanshin Tigers.
- 1980 - Birth of Ashley Cole; English football player.
- 1980 - Birth of Fitz Hall; English football player.
- 1980 - NBC broadcasts New York Jets' 24-17 win over Miami Dolphins without audio.
- 1980 - USSR formally announces death of Alexei Kosygin.
- 1981 - Cleveland Browns set team records for most fumbles (9) and most turnovers (10).
- 1981 - Doug Small (Winnipeg Jets) ties NHL record scoring at 5 second mark.
- 1981 - Harry Krieger/Tom Eyen's musical Dreamgirls premieres at Imperial Theater in New York City for 1522 performances.
- 1982 - Super Bowl XX is awarded to the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
- 1982 - Birth of David Wright; New York Mets third baseman.
- 1982 - Artur Rubinstein, pianist (My Young Years), dies in Geneva, Switzerland at age 95.
- 1983 - El Salvador adopts constitution.
- 1983 - Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadians, becomes 10th NHL player to score 500 goals.
- 1983 - New York Islanders score their most goals (11) versus Pittsburgh Penguins.
- 1983 - Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat and 4,000 loyalists evacuate Lebanon.
- 1984 - Death of Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (born 1946).
- 1984 - 33 unknown keyboard (piano) works of Johann Sebastion Bach are found in the Yale library.
- 1984 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1985 - Denis Potvin passes Bobby Orr as NHL defenseman scorer (916 points).
- 1985 - Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC.
- 1985 - Position of American Poet Laureate established (Robert Warren is first).
- 1985 - Warner Bros. releases the film The Color Purple to theaters.
- 1985 - Universal releases the film Out of Africa to theaters.
- 1986 - Three African Americans are assaulted by a group of white teens in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York. One of the victims, Michael Griffith, is run over and killed by a motorist while attempting to flee the attackers.
- 1987 - 76th Davis Cup: Sweden beats India in Gothenburg (5-0).
- 1987 - Nancy Lopez/Miller Barber win LPGA Mazda Golf Championship.
- 1987 - The ferry Doña Paz collides with the oil tanker Vector I in the Philippines, both ships burning and sinking. 1,500 confirmed deaths (reportedly closer to 4,000 due to unregistered passengers). Worst peacetime shipping disaster.
- 1988 - Animal rights terrorists fire-bomb Harrod's department store, London, England.
- 1988 - Death of Max Robinson of AIDS at age 49; newsman (World News Tonight).
- 1988 - The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna, Austria.
- 1988 - NBC signs lease to stay in New York City for 33 more years.
- 1988 - Premier Ranasinghe Premadasa elected President of Sri Lanka.
- 1989 - Audrey Christie, actress (Splendor in the Grass), dies at age 77.
- 1989 - Premier Lubbers sees CDA-party leader Elco Brinkman as successor.
- 1989 - American forces launch Operation Just Cause in an attempt to overthrow Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. 13,000 U.S. troops are sent to occupy Panama City, along with the 12,000 already there.
- 1989 - Death of Kurt Böhme, German bass (born 1908).
- 1990 - Pentagon warns Saddam Hussein that US air power is ready to attack on January 15.
- 1990 - Robert F X Sillerman purchases WAFL New York-New Jersey Knights for $11 million.
- 1990 - Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze resigns.
- 1991 - Andries D Copier, Dutch glass designer (Guild glass), dies.
- 1991 - Fop[pe] I Brouwer, biologist (Everything That Lives and Grows), dies.
- 1991 - Helene Heigh, actress (Undercover Woman, Teen Age Thunder), dies at age 86.
- 1991 - NHL grants permanent membership to Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators.
- 1991 - Warner Bros. releases the film JFK to theaters.
- 1991 - Stephen Birnbaum, US tourism writer, dies at age 54.
- 1991 - Thomas Newman, actor/composer (Cape Fear), dies of heart attack at age 60.
- 1991 - A Missouri court passes the death sentence on Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
- 1991 - Walter Chiari, actor (Girl Under Sheet), dies of heart attack at age 67.
- 1992 - Northwest and KLM introduce a new joint logo "Worldwide Reliability".
- 1992 - Slobodan Milosevic re-elected President of Serbia.
- 1992 - The Folies Bergere music hall in Paris, France closes.
- 1993 - Moses Gunn, actor (Shaft), dies at age 64.
- 1993 - W Edwards Deming, US economist (helped Japan after WWII), dies at age 93.
- 1993 - United Nations General Assembly votes unanimously to appoint a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- 1994 - Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State (1961-69), dies at age 85.
- 1994 - J C "Jody" Bateman, fiddler, dies at age 75.
- 1995 - American Flight 965 crashes in Colombia, 159 die, five survive.
- 1995 - Madge Sinclair, actress (Star Trek IV, Conrack, Convoy), dies at age 55.
- 1996 - Amata Kabua, President of Marshall Islands (1979-96), dies.
- 1996 - Carl Sagan, American astronomer (Contact), dies at age 62 (born 1934).
- 1996 - Apple Computer announces it will buy the NeXT Software company for about US$400 million in cash and Apple stock. NeXT Software CEO Steve Jobs will become an advisor to Apple chairman and CEO Gilbert Amelio.
- 1996 - German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec meet in Prague, and initial a document in which German appologizes for Adolf Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the Czech Republic expresses regret for the postwar expulsion of Germans from the Sudetenland.
- 1997 - Dawn Steel, film maker (When Harry Met Sally), dies at age 51.
- 1997 - Vincent Ciccone, inventor (Blow-Pops candy), dies at age 81.
- 1998 - Death of Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1914).
- 1999 - Death of Hank Snow AKA Clarence Eugene Snow at age 85; country and western singing star (Hank The Yodeling Ranger, Grand Ole Opry, "I'm Movin' On", over 85 singles on the Billboard best seller list, sold nearly 90 million records).
- 1999 - Portugal returns Macau to the People's Republic of China.
- 1999 - The Vermont Supreme Court orders the state to legalize same-sex unions.
- 2001 - Death of Léopold Sédar Senghor, first president of Senegal (born 1906).
- 2003 - Libya admits to building a nuclear bomb.
- 2005 - New York City's Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike for three days, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services.
- 2006 - In Somalia, Islamic Courts Union fighters begin attacking the government-held town of Baidoa.
- 2007 - A group of activist Lakota Indians send a letter to the United States State Department declaring their secession from the Union.
- 2007 - An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 ML hits the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, causing one death and significant damage in the town of Gisborne.
- 2007 - The painting Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, is stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art, together with O Lavrador de Café, by the major Brazilian modernist painter Candido Portinari.
- 2007 - Death of Arabella Spencer-Churchill, English philanthropist (born 1949).
- 2008 - At the Bonhams' Gstaad sale, a 1955 Ferrari 4.4-litre 121 LM sells for US$3,646,488.
- 2008 - Olga Lepeshinskaya, Russian ballerina who danced with the Bolshoi for over 30 years dies at age 92 in Moscow.
- 2008 - Death of Robert Mulligan, American director (born 1925).
- 2009 - Death of American actress Brittany Murphy (Clueless, Sin City, 8 Mile, The Dead Girl) at age 32, in Los Angeles, California, possibly of cardiac arrest.
- 2017 - Sony releases the film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle to theaters.
- 2019 - The United States founds the United States Space Force, a branch of the United States Air Force, dedicated to space warfare.
- 2020 - In Hawaii, USA, Kilauea volcano erupts.
- 2020 - Death of Doug Anthony, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (born 1929).
- 2022 - Death of Franco Harris at age 72 at home in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA; football player (NFL, running back, Pittsburgh Steelers, four Super Bowl wins).
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