Title: September 20 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 331 BC Alexander the Great crosses the Tigris on his way to conquering the Persians. * 1058 Agnes de Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to talk about the border zone in present-day Burgenland. * 1187 Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem. * 1260 The Great Prussian Uprising among the old Prussians begins against the Teutonic Knights. * 1459 First documented mention of Bucharest. * 1498 An earthquake and tsunami washes away the building housing the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in in Kamagura, Kanagawa, Japan. Since then, the Buddha statue has sat in open-air. * 1519 Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Spain with 270 crew members, of whom only 18 return home in 1522. Magellan is killed in the Philippines in 1521. * 1596 Diego de Montemayor founds the city of Monterrey, Mexico. * 1697 The Treaty of Rijswijk is signed by France, England, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, ending the Nine Years' War. * 1848 The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created. * 1854 Crimean War: British and French troops defeat the Russians in the Battle of Alma. * 1859 For the electric oven, American George B. Simpson is given a US patent. * 1860 Future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (then the Prince of Wales), visits the United States. * 1863 American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga ends in Confederate victory. * 1870 The Unification of Italy is completed. * 1881 Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States. This is after the death of James Garfield the previous day, as a result of injuries from being shot on July 2 by Charles J. Guiteau. * 1893 The first gasoline-powered car in America debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts. === 1901 2000 === * 1906 The Cunard Line's ship RMS Mauretania is launched in Newcastle upon Tyne. * 1908 Near Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska, the barque (a type of ship) Star of Bengal collides with a rock and sinks, killing 110 people. * 1909 The British Parliament passes the South Africa Act of 1909, creating the Union of South Africa from the British colonies of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River and Transvaal. * 1910 The Ocean Liner SS France is launched. * 1911 The White Star line's RMS Olympic collides with British warship HMS Hawke. * 1914 World War I: The cathedral in Reims, France, is severely damaged by German artillery. * 1920 Foundation of the Spanish Legion. * 1932 Mahatma Gandhi begins a hunger strike in prison in Pune, India. * 1942 Holocaust: In Letychev, Ukraine, the SS murders 3,000 Jews in two days. * 1946 The first Cannes Film Festival is held. It still takes place every year, in May. * 1961 Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece. * 1962 African American James Meredith is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi. * 1967 The ship RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at Clydebank near Glasgow. * 1971 Hurricane Irene crosses the Caribbean Sea, through Nicaragua, to the Pacific Ocean to become Hurricane Olivia; This is the first time a hurricane is known to have crossed from the Caribbean to the Pacific. * 1973 Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in a 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match in Houston, Texas. * 1977 The Socialist Republic of Vietnam joins the UN. * 1978 Johannes Rau, future President of Germany, is chosen as Minister-President of North Rhine- Westphalia, a position he will hold for 20 years. * 1979 In the present-day Central African Republic, Jean Bedel Bokassa, self-declared Emperor Bokassa I, is overthrown. * 1982 NFL players begin a 57-day strike. * 1984 A bomb attack targets the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. * 1990 South Ossetia declares its independence from the Republic of Georgia. === From 2001 === * 2001 George W. Bush declares War on Terror. * 2002 A Rock-Ice Slide occurs with the partial collapse of the Kolka Glacier in North Ossetia, southern Russia. The resulting avalanche kills 125 people. * 2003 Voters in Latvia approve entry to the EU in a referendum. * 2004 Wikipedia publishes articles in its 100th language. * 2008 A bomb attack at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad kills 54 people. * 2011 Former President of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani is assassinated. * 2014 Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key wins a third term in office, after his New Zealand National Party wins the parliamentary election. * 2017 Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico, where it kills thousands of people and cuts the whole island's electricity supply. * 2019 Led by school pupils, worldwide protests take place calling for politicians to act on climate change. == Births == === Up to 1900 === * 524 Kan B'alam I, ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque (d. 583) * 1486 Arthur Tudor, son of Henry VII of England (d. 1502) * 1503 Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Polish scholar, humanist and theologian (d. 1572) * 1593 Gottfried Scheidt, German composer and organist (d. 1661) * 1599 Christian the Younger of Brunswick, German Protestant military leader (d. 1626) * 1685 Giuseppe Matteo Alberti, Italian baroque composer and violinist (d. 1751) * 1710 Thomas Simpson, English mathematician (d. 1761) * 1735 James Keir, Scottish chemist, geologist and inventor (d. 1820) * 1746 Maurice Benyovszky, Hungarian explorer and writer (d. 1786) * 1758 Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Emperor of Haiti (d. 1806) * 1778 Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian naval officer and explorer (d. 1852) * 1800 Benjamin Franklin White, American singer and composer (d. 1879) * 1815 Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1869) * 1820 John F. Reynolds, American general (d. 1863) * 1830 Yoshida Shoin, Japanese intellectual, teacher and revolutionary (d. 1859) * 1831 Kate Harrington, American teacher, writer and poet (d. 1917) * 1832 Johann Joseph Abert, German-Bohemian composer and conductor (d. 1915) * 1833 Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist (d. 1918) * 1842 James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (d. 1923) * 1843 Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia (d. 1865) * 1851 Henry Arthur Jones, English writer (d. 1929) * 1853 Rama V, King of Siam (d. 1910) * 1860 James Gillett, 22nd Governor of California (d. 1937) * 1861 Herbert Putnam, American Librarian of Congress (d. 1955) * 1872 Maurice Gamelin, French army general (d. 1958) * 1873 Sidney Olcott, Canadian movie director (d. 1949) * 1873 Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian racing driver (d. 1944) * 1875 Matthias Erzberger, German publicist and politician (d. 1921) * 1878 Upton Sinclair, American writer (d. 1968) * 1884 Maxwell Perkins, American editor and publisher (d. 1947) * 1885 Jelly Roll Morton, American jazz pianist (d. 1941) * 1885 Enrico Mizzi, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1950) * 1889 Charles Reidpath, American city planner and athlete (d. 1975) * 1890 Linda Eenpalu, Estonian politician and activist (d. 1962) * 1893 Hans Scharoun, German architect (d. 1972) * 1897 Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, President of Brazil (d. 1967) * 1899 Leo Strauss, German-born philosopher (d. 1973) * 1900 Nikolay Timofeev-Ressowski, Russian geneticist (d. 1981) === 1901 1950 === * 1908 Ernest Manning, Canadian preacher and politician, Premier of Alberta (d. 1996) * 1911 Pandit Shri Ram Sharma Acharya, Indian philosopher (d. 1991) * 1914 Kenneth More, English actor (d. 1982) * 1916 Malik Meraj Khalid, Pakistani politician (d. 2003) * 1917 Red Auerbach, American basketball coach (d. 2006) * 1917 Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (d. 1994) * 1917 Obdulio Varela, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1996) * 1920 Alberto de Lacerda, Portuguese poet (d. 2007) * 1920 Jay Ward, American animator, producer and screenwriter (d. 1989) * 1921 Chico Hamilton, American jazz drummer and bandleader (d. 2013) * 1921 Carlo Parola, Italian footballer (d. 2000) * 1923 Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Indian actor and producer (d. 2014) * 1924 Gogi Grant, American singer (d. 2016) * 1925 Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand (d. 1946) * 1925 James Bernard, English movie composer (d. 2001) * 1925 Bobby Nunn, American singer (d. 1986) * 1926 Libero Liberati, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 1962) * 1927 John Dankworth, English jazz musician (d. 2010) * 1927 Rachel Roberts, Welsh actress (d. 1980) * 1928 William J. Edwards, American politician (d. 2019) * 1928 Donald Hall, American poet (d. 2018) * 1929 Anne Meara, American comic and actress (d. 2015) * 1929 Hans von Borsody, Austrian-German actor (d. 2013) * 1929 Joe Temperley, Scottish jazz saxophonist (d. 2016) * 1934 Sophia Loren, Italian actress * 1935 Walter Eschweiler, German football referee * 1936 Andrew Davies, Welsh writer * 1937 Birgitta Dahl, Swedish politician * 1937 Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (d. 2005) * 1940 Taro Aso, former Prime Minister of Japan * 1942 Gerald Tremblay, 41st Mayor of Montreal * 1942 Rose Francine Rogombé, Interim President of Gabon (d. 2015) * 1943 Sani Abacha, President of Nigeria (d. 1998) * 1946 Dorothy Hukill, American politician (d. 2018) * 1947 Wojciech Kurtyka, Polish mountaineer * 1947 Mia Martini, Italian singer and actress (d. 1995) * 1948 George R. R. Martin, American writer, screenwriter and producer * 1948 Chuck Panozzo, American musician * 1948 John Panozzo, American musician (d. 1996) * 1949 Anthony Denison, American actor * 1949 Mahesh Bhatt, Indian director, producer and screenwriter * 1949 Victoria Mallory, American singer and actress (d. 2014) === 1951 1975 === * 1952 Manuel Zelaya, former President of Honduras * 1954 Anne McIntosh, Scottish politician * 1956 Gary Cole, American actor * 1956 Steve Coleman, American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer * 1959 Joseph Alessi, American trombonist * 1960 Dave Hemingway, English singer-songwriter * 1961 Caroline Flint, English politician * 1962 Jim Al-Khalili, English physicist, writer and broadcaster * 1966 Nuno Bettencourt, Portuguese guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer * 1966 Douglas Gordon, Scottish artist * 1967 Kristen Johnston, American actress * 1967 Gunnar Nelson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1967 Matthew Nelson, American singer-songwriter and bass player * 1969 Richard Witschge, Dutch footballer * 1971 Tinna Björk Baldvinsdóttir, Icelandic footballer and psychologist * 1971 Henrik Larsson, Swedish footballer * 1972 Victor Ponta, former Prime Minister of Romania * 1973 Jo Pavey, English runner * 1975 Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian race car driver * 1975 Asia Argento, Italian actress === From 1976 === * 1976 Jon Bernthal, American actor * 1977 Namie Amuro, Japanese pop singer * 1979 Dan Gillespie Sells, British musician (The Feeling) * 1980 Judith Schalansky, German writer, book designer and publisher * 1980 Robert Koren, Slovenian footballer * 1980 Igor Vori, Croatian handball player * 1981 Feliciano López, Spanish tennis player * 1981 Ryan Tandy, Australian rugby league player (d. 2014) * 1982 Aaron Burkart, German rally driver * 1982 Brian Fortuna, American dancer and choreographer * 1983 Freya Murray, Scottish athlete * 1984 Brian Joubert, French figure skater * 1987 Gain, South Korean singer, actress and entertainer * 1987 Deon McCaulay, Belizean footballer * 1987 Reza Ghoochannejhad, Iranian footballer * 1988 Sergei Bobrovsky, Russian ice hockey player * 1990 John Tavares, Canadian ice hockey player * 1990 Phillip Phillips, American Idol winner * 1990 Waylon Francis, Costa Rican footballer * 1991 Spencer Locke, American actress * 1992 Safura Alizadeh, Azerbaijani singer * 1992 Peter Prevc, Slovenian ski jumper * 1993 Julian Draxler, German footballer * 1995 Laura Dekker, Dutch-New Zealand sailor * 1995 Sammi Hanratty, American actress * 1996 Marlos Moreno, Colombian footballer == Deaths == === Up to 1950 === * 911 Louis the Child, King of the East Franks (b. 893) * 1328 Ibn Taymiyyah, Syrian theologian and scholar (b. 1263) * 1384 King Louis of Naples (b. 1339) * 1460 Gilles Binchois, Flemish composer (b. 1400) * 1590 Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer (b. 1534) * 1629 Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Dutch colonial governor (b. 1587) * 1630 Claudio Saracini, Italian composer (b. 1586) * 1684 Kim Seok-ju, Korean scholar, politician and author (b. 1634) * 1793 Fletcher Christian, English mutineer (b. 1764) * 1839 Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, British admiral (b. 1769) * 1840 Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, Paraguayan politician (b. 1766) * 1845 Matvei Gedenschtorm, Russian explorer (b. 1780) * 1852 Philander Chase, American bishop and educator (b. 1775) * 1863 Jacob Grimm, German writer and folklorist (b. 1785) * 1898 Theodor Fontane, German writer (b. 1819) * 1908 Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (b. 1844) * 1919 Ramón Barros Luco, President of Chile (b. 1835) * 1927 George Nichols, American actor (b. 1864) * 1930 Gombojab Tsybikov, Russian anthropologist and explorer (b. 1873) * 1932 John Ellis, English executioner (b. 1874) * 1933 Annie Besant, British writer, philosopher and journalist (b. 1847) * 1945 Augusto Tasso Fragoso, President of Brazil (b. 1869) * 1945 William Seabrook, American occultist, journalist and explorer (b. 1884) * 1946 Raimu, French actor (b. 1883) * 1947 Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City (b. 1882) * 1948 Husain Salaahudin, Maldivian scholar, poet and writer (b. 1881) === 1951 2010 === * 1957 Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (b. 1865) * 1970 Alexandros Othonaios, Greek general and Prime Minister (b. 1879) * 1971 Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet (b. 1900) * 1973 Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943) * 1975 Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and writer (b. 1887) * 1979 Ludvik Svoboda, Czechoslovakian politician (b. 1895) * 1993 Erich Hartmann, German pilot and fighter ace (b. 1922) * 1994 Abioseh Nicol, Sierra Leonean diplomat and author (b. 1921) * 1996 Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1913) * 1996 Reuben Kamenga, 1st Vice president of Zambia (b. 1929) * 1998 Muriel Humphrey Brown, United States Senator and wife of Hubert Humphrey (b. 1912) * 1999 Raisa Gorbachova, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1932) * 2002 Sergei Bodrov, Jr., Russian actor (b. 1971) * 2003 Gordon Mitchell, American actor (b. 1923) * 2003 Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwean politician (b. 1922) * 2004 Brian Clough, English football manager (b. 1935) * 2005 Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor (b. 1908) * 2006 Sven Nykvist, Swedish cameraman and director (b. 1922) * 2010 Fud Leclerc, Belgian singer (b. 1924) === From 2011 === * 2011 Burhanuddin Rabbani, President of Afghanistan (b. 1940) * 2012 Fortunato Baldelli, Italian cardinal (b. 1935) * 2014 Anatoly Berezovoy, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut (b. 1942) * 2014 Polly Bergen, American actress (b. 1930) * 2014 Rob Bironas, American football player (b. 1978) * 2014 Vince Callahan, American politician (b. 1931) * 2014 Pino Cerami, Italian-Belgian cyclist (b. 1922) * 2014 Takako Doi, Japanese politician (b. 1928) * 2014 George Sluizer, Dutch film director (b. 1932) * 2015 Jack Larson, American actor, screenwriter and producer (b. 1928) * 2015 C. K. Williams, American poet (b. 1936) * 2015 Siegfried Gottwald, German mathematician (b. 1943) * 2016 Richie Dunn, American ice hockey player (b. 1957) * 2016 Peter Leo Gerety, American bishop (b. 1912) * 2016 Curtis Hanson, American movie director and screenwriter (b. 1945) * 2017 Ene Mihkelson, Estonian novelist (b. 1944) * 2017 Lillian Ross, American journalist and author (b. 1918) * 2017 Teddy Taylor, British politician (b. 1937) * 2017 Arne Solli, Norwegian military officer (b. 1938) * 2018 Fadhil Jalil al-Barwari, Iraqi military officer (b. 1966) * 2018 John Cunliffe, English children's writer (b. 1933) * 2018 Inge Feltrinelli, German-Italian publisher and photographer (b. 1930) * 2018 George N. Hatsopoulos, Greek-born American chemical engineer (b. 1927) * 2018 Laurie Mitchell, American actress (b. 1928) * 2018 K-Run's Park Me In First, American-bred show dog (b. 2005) * 2018 Mohamed Sahnoun, Algerian politician and diplomat (b. 1931) * 2018 Reinhard Tritscher, German skier (b. 1946) * 2018 Henry Wessel Jr., American photographer (b. 1942) * 2019 Robert Boyd, American journalist (b. 1928) * 2019 Howard Cassady, American football player (b. 1934) * 2019 Séamus Hegarty, Irish Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1940) * 2019 Jan Merlin, American actor (b. 1925) * 2019 Gregorio Martínez Sacristán, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1946) * 2019 Yonrico Scott, American drummer (b. 1955) * 2019 Su Beng, Taiwanese dissident (b. 1918) == Observances == * National Youth Day (Thailand) * Constitution Day (Nepal) Category:Days of the year