September 20
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Template:Linked-title is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). There are 102 days remaining.
Events
- 451 - According to some sources, this was the date of the Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' victory over Attila the Hun.
- 1187 - Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.
- 1378 - Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the Butcher of Cesena, is elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.
- 1519 - Ferdinand Magellan - set sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with about 270 men on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
- 1596 - Diego de Montemayor founded the city of Monterrey in New Spain.
- 1737 - Runner Edward Marshall completes his journey in the Walking Purchase forcing the cession of 1.2 million acres (4,860 km²) of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.
- 1835 - Farroupilha's Revolution begins in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
- 1854 - Battle of Alma: British and French troops defeat Russians in the Crimea.
- 1860 - The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) visits the United States.
- 1863 - American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga ends.
- 1870 - Bersaglieri corps enters Rome through Porta Pia and completes the unification of Italy.
- 1871 - Bishop John Coleridge Patteson martyred on the island of Nukapu a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands. He was the first bishop of Melanesia.
- 1879 - Cliftonville Football Club, the oldest club in Ireland, are founded by John McCredy McAlery.
- 1881 - Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States.
- 1891 - The first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
- 1906 - Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle, England.
- 1917 - Paraguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1920 - Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
- 1939 - A German Messerschmitt Bf 109 is shot down by Fairey Battle gunner Sgt. F. Letchard during a patrol near Aachen. This is the RAF's first aerial victory of the Second World War.
- 1940 - Genevieve Grotjan completes the decryption of the Japanese Purple code.
- 1942 - Holocaust in Letychiv, Ukraine. In the course of two days German SS murders at least 3.000 Jews
- 1946 - The first Cannes Film Festival is held.
- 1954 - New Zealand's Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents reports just ten days after concluding hearings.
- 1962 - James Meredith, an African-American, is barred from entering the University of Mississippi.
- 1967 - The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland. It is operated by the Cunard Line.
- 1970 - Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen. The Jordanians knock out 30 of the Syrian tanks.
- 1973 - Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in battle-of-sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
- 1977 - The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations
- 1979 - Lee Iacocca is elected president of the Chrysler Corporation.
- 1979 - A coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokasa I.
- 1979 - The Punjab wing of the Unity Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India (Marxist-Leninist) formally splits and constitutes a parallel UCCRI(ML).
- 1979 - Assassination of French left-wing militant Pierre Goldman.
- 1984 - A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.
- 1989 - Miss Saigon makes its world premiere in London.
- 1990 - South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.
- 1998 - Major League Baseball: Cal Ripken, Jr of the Baltimore Orioles takes a day off after playing a record 2,632 consecutive games.
- 2000 - The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building was attacked by a Russian-built Mark 22 anti-tank missile
- 2002 - Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide started.
- 2003 - A referendum is held in Latvia to decide the country's accession to the European Union.
- 2003 - Maldives civil unrest: the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé.
- 2006 - Richard Hammond of the television show Top Gear is critically injured while attempting to set a land speed record.
Births
- 1486 - Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VII of England (d. 1502)
- 1599 - Christian the Younger, German Protestant military leader (d. 1623)
- 1744 - Thomas Grosvenor, Revolutionary War hero (d. 1825)
- 1778 - Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian naval officer and explorer (d. 1852)
- 1833 - Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1918)
- 1842 - Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist (d. 1923)
- 1844 - William H. Illingworth, American photographer (d. 1893)
- 1853 - Chulalongkorn, Rama V, King of Thailand (d. 1910)
- 1861 - Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress (d. 1955)
- 1872 - Maurice Gamelin, French army general (d. 1958)
- 1873 - Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (d. 1949)
- 1873 - Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian-born race car driver (d. 1944)
- 1878 - Upton Sinclair, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1884 - Maxwell Perkins, American editor and publisher (d. 1947)
- 1886 - Charles Williams, British author (d.1945)
- 1889 - Charles Reidpath, American athlete (d. 1975)
- 1899 - Leo Strauss, German-born philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1902 - Stevie Smith, British poet (d. 1971)
- 1914 - Kenneth More, English actor (d. 1982)
- 1917 - Red Auerbach, American basketball coach and official (d. 2006)
- 1917 - Fernando Rey, Spanish-born actor (d. 1994)
- 1920 - Jay Ward, American animated cartoonist (d. 1989)
- 1922 - William Kapell, American pianist (d. 1953)
- 1923 - Geraldine Clinton Little, Irish-born poet (d. 1997)
- 1924 - Gogi Grant, American singer
- 1925 - Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand (d. 1946)
- 1926 - Donald Hall, American poet and US Poet Laureate
- 1927 - Johnny Dankworth, English musician and composer
- 1927 - Rachel Roberts, English actress (d. 1980)
- 1928 - Joyce Brothers, American psychologist and advice columnist
- 1928 - Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (d. 2000)
- 1929 - Anne Meara, American comic and actress
- 1934 - Sophia Loren, Italian actress
- 1935 - Jim Taylor, National Football League player
- 1937 - Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (d. 2005)
- 1939 - Robert L. Gerry III, American businessman
- 1941 - Dale Chihuly, American glass artist
- 1942 - Gérald Tremblay, Québec politician
- 1947 - Mia Martini, Italian singer (d. 1995)
- 1947 - Bruce Pasternack, American CEO
- 1948 - George R. R. Martin, American writer
- 1948 - Chuck Panozzo and John Panozzo (d. 1996), American musicians (Styx)
- 1951 - Guy Lafleur, Canadian hockey player
- 1951 - Javier Marías, Spanish novelist
- 1954 - Henry Samueli, American NHL team owner
- 1956 - Gary Cole, American actor
- 1958 - Charlie Kaufman, American screenwriter
- 1959 - Danny Devos, Belgian artist
- 1964 - Maggie Cheung, Hong Kong actress
- 1965 - Robert Rusler, American actor
- 1966 - Nuno Bettencourt, Portuguese-born rock musician
- 1967 - Kristen Johnston, American actress
- 1967 - Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, American musicians (Nelson)
- 1968 - Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress
- 1968 - Darrell Russell, American race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1969 - Victoria Dillard, American actress
- 1971 - Henrik Larsson, Swedish footballer
- 1975 - Asia Argento, Italian actress
- 1975 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian race car driver
- 1976 - Reuben Singh, British entrepreneur
- 1977 - Namie Amuro, Japanese pop singer
- 1978 - Jason Bay, Canadian Major League Baseball player
- 1978 - Sarit Hadad, Israeli singer
- 1978 - T.J. Tucker, professional baseball player
- 1979 - Phil Waugh, Australian Rugby Union player
- 1980 - Mariacarla Boscono, Italian fashion model
- 1981 - Joanie Dodds, America's Next Top Model contestant
- 1981 - Feliciano López, Spanish tennis player
- 1981 - Dimitrios Papadopoulos, Greek football player
- 1983 - Yuna Ito, Japanese singer and actress
- 1991 - Spencer Locke, American actress
Deaths
- 1246 - Mikhail of Chernigov, ruler of Kiev
- 1384 - King Louis I of Naples (b. 1339)
- 1460 - Gilles Binchois, Flemish composer
- 1586 - Chidiock Tichborne, English conspirator and poet (executed) (b. 1558)
- 1590 - Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer (b. 1534)
- 1625 - Heinrich Meibom, German historian and critic (b. 1555)
- 1627 - Jan Gruter, Dutch critic (b. 1560)
- 1630 - Claudio Saracini, Italian composer (b. 1586)
- 1639 - Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1579)
- 1643 - Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland, English politician and writer
- 1721 - Thomas Doggett, Irish actor
- 1803 - Robert Emmet, Irish patriot (b. 1780)
- 1815 - Nicolas Desmarest, French geologist (b. 1725)
- 1852 - Philander Chase, American university founder (b. 1775)
- 1863 - Jacob Grimm, German folklorist (b. 1785)
- 1884 - Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (b.1802)
- 1898 - Theodor Fontane, German writer (b. 1819)
- 1906 - Robert R. Hitt, American politician (b. 1834)
- 1908 - Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (b. 1844)
- 1932 - Wovoka, Paiute visionary
- 1946 - Raimu, French actor (b. 1883)
- 1947 - Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor of New York City (b. 1882)
- 1957 - Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (b. 1865)
- 1971 - Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
- 1973 - Jim Croce, American singer and songwriter (b. 1943)
- 1975 - Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1979 - Ludvík Svoboda, President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1895)
- 1980 - Sanpei Hayashiya, Japanese comedian (b. 1925)
- 1989 - Richie Ginther, American racing driver (b. 1930)
- 1993 - Erich Hartmann, German pilot (b. 1922)
- 1994 - Jule Styne, American songwriter (b. 1905)
- 1994 - Abioseh Nicol, Sierra Leonean diplomat and noted author (b. 1924)
- 1996 - Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1913)
- 2000 - Gherman Titov, cosmonaut (b. 1935)
- 2003 - Lord Williams of Mostyn, British politician (b. 1941)
- 2003 - Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwe politician (b. 1922)
- 2004 - Brian Clough, English footballer and football manager (b. 1935)
- 2004 - Townsend Hoopes, American politician (b. 1922)
- 2005 - Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian-Polish Nazi hunter (b. 1908)
- 2006 - Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (b. 1932)
- 2006 - John W. Peterson, American songwriter (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances
- Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul only - Farroupilha's Revolution (1835)
- In ancient Greece, the seventh day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion began.
- Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
- The Korean Martyrs
- Eustace
- Vincent Madelgaire
- Yves Mayeuc
- Francis de Posadas
- Thomas Johnson, John Davy, and companions (martyrs).
- Feast day of the following saint(s) in the Anglican Church:
- Also see September 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).