September 20

Events

• 451 - Atilla, king of the Huns, invades Gaul, but is defeated by Aetius with the help of Roman Foederati in the Battle of Chalons
• 1519 - Ferdinand Magellan begins his voyage around the world.
• 1596 - Diego de Montemayor founded the city of Monterrey, Mexico.
• 1643 - English Civil War: Battle of Newbury - Parliamentarian Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex defeats a Royalist army commanded by Charles I of England at Newbury.
• 1644 - Shunzhi Emperor of China moved the capital city from Shenyang to Beijing.
• 1565 - Spaniards capture French Fort Caroline, near present-day Jacksonville, Florida
• 1792 - Battle of Valmy - France defeats Prussia
• 1797 - The USS Constitution is launched in Boston, Massachusetts
• 1850 - Slave trading is abolished in the District of Columbia
• 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 - Battle of Chickamauga ends
• 1870 - Bersaglieri corps enters Rome at Porta Pia and completes the unification of Italy
• 1881 - Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States.
• 1946 - First Cannes Film Festival
• 1954 - First FORTRAN program runs
• 1962 - James Meredith, an African-American, is barred from entering the University of Mississippi
• 1973 - Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in battle-of-sexes tennis match
• 1979 - Lee Iacocca elected president of the Chrysler Corporation
• 1979 - Coup in Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokasa I
• 1984 - Suicide bomber in a car attacks the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twelve people
• 2000 - After playing 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles, baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr takes a day off.
• 2003 - Referendum in Latvia over the joining of the European Union

Births

• 356 BC - Alexander the Great († 323 BC)
• 1842 - Sir James Dewar, chemist
• 1853 - Chulalongkorn (Rama V), king of Thailand
• 1861 - Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress
• 1873 - Sidney Olcott, pioneer film director
• 1878 - Upton Sinclair, writer, politician
• 1890 - Jelly Roll Morton, composer
• 1899 - Elliott Nugent, actor, director
• 1917 - Red Auerbach, National Basketball Association coach
• 1918 - Peg Phillips, actress
• 1922 - William Kapell, pianist
• 1924 - Gogi Grant (Audrey Brown), singer
• 1925 - James Galanos, fashion designer
• 1927 - Johnny Dankworth, musician, composer
• 1927 - Rachel Roberts, actress
• 1928 - Doctor Joyce Brothers, psychologist, advice columnist
• 1928 - Donald A. Hall, author
• 1929 - Anne Meara, comedienne, actress
• 1931 - Peter Palmer, actor
• 1934 - Sophia Loren, actress
• 1938 - Pia Lindstrom, journalist
• 1948 - George R. R. Martin, science fiction writer
• 1951 - Guy Lafleur, National Hockey League star
• 1956 - Gary Cole, actor
• 1975 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Formula 1 racer
• 1975 - Asia Argento, actress

Deaths

• 1460 - Gilles Binchois, composer
• 1863 - Jacob Grimm, folklorist
• 1908 - Pablo de Sarasate, violinist
• 1947 - Fiorello LaGuardia, former mayor of New York City
• 1949 - Nikolaos Skalkottas, composer
• 1957 - Jean Sibelius, composer
• 1973 - Jim Croce, singer-songwriter
• 1996 - Paul Erdös, mathematician
• 1999 - Raisa Gorbachev, First Lady of the Soviet Union
• 2000 - Gherman Titov, cosmonaut
• 2003 - Simon Muzenda, vice president of Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe

Holidays

• In ancient Greece, the seventh day of the Eleusinian mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion began.

See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December - more historical anniversaries

Referenced By