December 20

Events
Up to 1950
69 - Vespasian enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.
1192 - Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria.
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.
1606 - The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and set sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
1803 - Louisiana Purchase is completed.
1808 - Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
1860 - South Carolina becomes first state to secede from the United States.
1870 - The Cape Blanco lighthouse goes into operation at the western tip of Oregon.
1915 - The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli during World War I.
1917 - Cheka, first Soviet secret police, is founded.
1924 - Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison.
1942 - World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta.
1942 - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Erbaa, Turkey, kills around 3,000 people.
1946 - The popular Christmas movie It's a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.
1946 - The Tonankai earthquake in Japan kills around 1,300 people.
1951 2000
1951 - The EBR in Arco, Idaho, becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity.
1952 - United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington, killing 87.
1955 - Cardiff is officially proclaimed as the capital city of Wales.
1957 - The European Nuclear Energy Agency is founded.
1957 - The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.
1960 - National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
1961 - The Dominican Republic holds its first elections.
1967 - A Pennsylvania Railroad metroliner reaches over the limit of 155 miles per hour in speed on its New York Division.
1968 - The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
1971 - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes the 4th President of Pakistan.
1973 - Spanish Prime Minister Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco is assassinated by a car bomb in Madrid.
1977 - Djibouti and Vietnam join the UN.
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, England.
1985 - Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.
1988 - The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
1989 - Operation Just Cause: United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega.
1991 - Paul Keating becomes the 24th Prime Minister of Australia.
1995 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (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.
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.
1999 - NASA starts the ACRIMSat satellite to study the Sun.
From 2001
2002 - US Senator Trent Lott resigns as majority leader.
2004 - A gang of thieves steal 26.5 million pounds from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
2007 - Elizabeth II overtakes Queen Victoria as the UK's oldest-ever monarch, having reached an age of 81 years, 7 months and 29 days. As of December 2014, Elizabeth is 88 years of age.
2015 - Spain holds its parliamentary election, with no party winning overall control.
2016 - A fireworks market explosion near Mexico City kills at least 30 people.
Births
Up to 1900
1537 - King John III of Sweden (d. 1592)
1579 - John Fletcher, English dramatist (d. 1625)
1629 - Pieter de Hooch, painter (d. 1684)
1633 - Abbas II of Persia (d. 1666)
1648 - Tommaso Ceva, Italian poet and mathematician (d. 1736)
1717 - Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French politician and diplomat (d. 1787)
1740 - Arthur Lee, American diplomat (d. 1792)
1786 - Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d. 1853)
1792 - Nicolas Charlet, painter (d. 1845)
1805 - Thomas Graham, Father of colloid chemistry (d. 1869)
1833 - Samuel Mudd, physician, possible conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1883)
1838 - Edwin Abbott Abbott, schoolmaster/theologian/writer of Flatland (d. 1926)
1841 - Ferdinand Buisson, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1927 (d. 1932)
1856 - Ferdinand Avenarius, writer (d. 1923)
1858 - Kuno Meyer, German scholar (d. 1919)
1860 - Dan Leno, English entertainer (d. 1904)
1861 - Ivana Kobilca, Slovene painter (d. 1926)
1865 - Elsie De Wolfe, aka Lady Mendl, actress & interior decorator (d. 1950)
1868 - Arturo Alessandri, President of Chile (d. 1950)
1868 - Harvey Firestone, automobile pioneer (d. 1938)
1873 - Mahmet Akif Ersoy, Turkish poet, writer, academic and politician (d. 1936)
1876 - Walter Sydney Adams, American astronomer (d. 1956)
1881 - Branch Rickey, baseball executive (d. 1965)
1886 - Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis star (d. 1974)
1890 - Yvonne Arnaud, French actress (d. 1958)
1890 - Jaroslav Heyrovsky, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 1967)
1891 - Erik Almlof, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1971)
1893 - Charlotte Buhler, psychologist
1894 - Sir Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1978)
1898 - Irene Dunne, American actress (d. 1990)
1898 - Konstantinos Dovas, Greek general and politician (d. 1973)
1899 - Martin Lloyd-Jones, Welsh preacher and physician (d. 1981)
1901 1950
1901 - Robert Van de Graaff, physicist, inventor (d. 1967)
1902 - Sidney Hook, American philosopher (d. 1989)
1902 - Max Lerner, American educator (d. 1992)
1902 - George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent (d. 1942)
1904 - Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian writer (d. 1977)
1908 - Dennis Morgan, American actor (d. 1994)
1914 - Harry F. Byrd, Jr., American politician (d. 2013)
1916 - Gonzalo Rojas, Chilean poet (d. 2011)
1917 - David Bohm, American-born philosopher, physicist and neuropsychologist (d. 1992)
1918 - Audrey Totter, American actress (d. 2013)
1918 - Jean Marchand, Canadian trade union leader and politician (d. 1988)
1922 - George Roy Hill, American movie director (d. 2002)
1923 - James Leasor, mystery writer
1924 - Judy LaMarsh, Canadian soldier, lawyer and politician (d. 1980)
1924 - Friederike Mayrocker, writer
1924 - Charlie Callas, American comedian (d. 2011)
1925 - Benito Lorenzo, Italian footballer (d. 2007)
1926 - Sir Geoffrey Howe (Lord Howe of Aberavon), British politician (d. 2015)
1926 - Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician (d. 2009)
1927 - Kim Young-sam, President of South Korea (d. 2015)
1927 - Jim Simpson, American sportscaster (d. 2016)
1927 - Michael Beaumont, 22nd Seigneur of Sark (d. 2016)
1930 - Noel Ferrier, producer and actress
1932 - John Hillerman, American actor (d. 2017)
1933 - Jean Carnahan, US Senator
1934 - Julius Darmaatmadja, Indonesian cardinal
1939 - Kathryn Joosten, American actress (d. 2012)
1942 - Jean-Claude Trichet, French economist and banker
1942 - Bob Hayes, track and field star, American football star (d. 2002)
1944 - Bobby Colomby, American drummer and producer
1945 - Peter Criss, American musician
1945 - Tom Tancredo, American politician
1945 - Pierre Burcher, Swiss bishop
1946 - Dick Wolf, American TV drama series creator
1946 - Uri Geller, Israeli-British psychic TV presenter
1946 - Sonny Perdue, American politician, former Governor of Georgia and 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture
1946 - John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
1947 - Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer
1951 1975
1951 - Kate Atkinson, English writer
1951 - Lynne Featherstone, English politician
1951 - Peter May, Scottish author and screenwriter
1951 - Christopher Le Brun, English painter and sculptor
1952 - Jenny Agutter, English actress
1952 - Sky Gilbert, Canadian drag queen performer, actor and producer
1954 - Michael Badalucco, actor
1954 - Sandra Cisneros, American writer
1955 - Lonesome Bob, singer, songwriter
1955 - Binali Yildirim, Prime Minister of Turkey
1955 - Martin Schulz, German politician, President of the European Parliament
1956 - Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of Mauritania
1957 - Anna Vissi, Greek singer
1957 - Billy Bragg, English singer, songwriter
1957 - Mike Watt, bassist
1958 - Jurgen Raab, German footballer
1959 - Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, former Prime Minister of Poland
1960 - Nalo Hopkinson, science fiction writer
1963 - Infanta Elena of Spain
1963 - Mats Gren, Swedish footballer
1965 - Rich Gannon, American football quarterback
1970 - Nicole DeBoer, actress (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Dead Zone)
1972 - Anders Odden, Norwegian musician
1975 - Bartosz Bosacki, Polish footballer
From 1976
1976 - Aubrey Hoff, American baseball player
1976 - Nenad Vuckovic, Croatian footballer
1977 - Sonja Alden, Swedish singer
1978 - Andrei Markov, Russian-Canadian ice hockey player
1978 - Bouabdellah Tahri, French runner
1979 - George Lamb, English television presenter
1980 - Ashley Cole, English footballer
1980 - Martin Demichelis, Argentine footballer
1981 - Julien Benneteau, French tennis player
1982 - David Cook, American singer
1982 - David Wright, American baseball player
1982 - Keny Arkana, French singer and rapper
1982 - Mohammed Asif, Pakistani cricketer
1983 - Lara Stone, Dutch model
1983 - Jonah Hill, American actor
1983 - Lucy Pinder, English model and actress
1983 - Mapei, Swedish-American singer
1987 - Michihiro Yasuda, Japanese footballer
1990 - Joanna Levesque, AKA JoJo, American singer
1990 - Marta Xargay, Spanish basketball player
1991 - Hunter Gomez, American actor
1992 - Ksenia Makarova, Russian-American figure skater
1995 - Feliks Zembegs, Australian speed cuber
1997 - Suzuka Nakamoto, Japanese singer and model
1998 - Kylian Mbappe, French footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
69 - Vitellius, Roman Emperor
217 - Pope Zephyrinus
860 - Ethelbald of Wessex (b. 834)
910 - King Alfonso III of Leon (b. 848)
1022 - Elvira Mendes, Queen of Castile (b. 996)
1295 - Margaret of Provence (b. 1221)
1355 - Stefan Dusan, Emperor of Serbia (b. 1308)
1494 - Matteo Maria Boiardi, Italian poet (b. 1434)
1524 - Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician (b. 1460)
1539 - Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer (b. 1506)
1552 - Katharina von Bora, wife of Martin Luther (b. 1499)
1722 - Kangxi Emperor of China (b. 1654)
1765 - Louis, Dauphin of France, son of Louis XV of France (b. 1729)
1768 - Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni, Italian poet and academic (b. 1692)
1783 - Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (b. 1729)
1812 - Sacagawea, Native American member of the Lewis and Clark expedition (b. 1788)
1856 - Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (b. 1820)
1901 2000
1915 - Upendrakishore Ray, Indian writer, painter and composer (b. 1863)
1917 - Lucien Petit-Breton, French racing cyclist (b. 1882)
1927 - Frederick Semple, American golfer and tennis player (b. 1872)
1929 - Emile Loubet, French statesman (b. 1838)
1937 - Erich Ludendorff, German general (b. 1865)
1941 - Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887)
1944 - Abbas II of Egypt (b. 1874)
1950 - Enrico Mizzi, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1885)
1961 - Earle Page, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880)
1961 - Moss Hart, American dramatist (b. 1904)
1968 - Max Brod, Austrian-Israeli writer and composer (b. 1884)
1968 - John Steinbeck, American writer (b. 1902)
1971 - Roy O. Disney, American entertainment industry executive (b. 1893)
1971 - Shigeyoshi Suzuki, Japanese footballer (b. 1902)
1973 - Bobby Darin, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1936)
1973 - Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish politician (b. 1904)
1976 - Richard J. Daley, American politician (b. 1902)
1982 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist (b. 1887)
1989 - Kurt Bohme, German bass (b. 1908)
1994 - Dean Rusk, United States Secretary of State (b. 1909)
1996 - Carl Sagan, American astronomer and writer (b. 1934)
1997 - Juzo Itami, Japanese actor and director (b. 1933)
1998 - Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist (b. 1916)
2000 - Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, Bangladeshi statesman and philanthropist (b. 1920)
From 2001
2001 - Leopold Sedar Senghor, 1st President of Senegal (b. 1906)
2009 - Brittany Murphy, American actress (b. 1977)
2010 - Brian Hanrahan, British journalist (b. 1949)
2011 - Hana Andronikova, Czech writer (b. 1967)
2012 - Jimmy McCracklin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1921)
2013 - Nelly Omar, Argentine actress and singer (b. 1911)
2014 - John Freeman, English politician, diplomat and broadcaster (b. 1915)
2014 - Bob Lanier, American businessman and politician, Mayor of Houston (b. 1925)
2015 - Ray Mathews, American football player (b. 1929)
2015 - Patricia Elliott, American actress (b. 1938)
2016 - Michele Morgan, French actress (b. 1920)
2017 - William Agee, American business executive (b. 1938)
2017 - Florence Bjelke-Petersen, Australian politician (b. 1920)
2017 - Henryk Cioch, Polish lawyer and politician (b. 1951)
2017 - Annie Goetzinger, French comic artist (b. 1951)
2017 - Bernard Francis Law, American cardinal (b. 1931)
2017 - Red Murrell, American basketball player (b. 1933)
2017 - Stan Pilecki, Polish-born Australian rugby player (b. 1947)
2017 - Randolph Quirk, British linguist and life peer (b. 1920)
2018 - F. W. Bernstein, German poet and cartoonist (b. 1938)
2018 - Klaus Hagerup, Norwegian author (b. 1946)
2018 - Donald Moffat, English-American actor (b. 1930)
2019 - Fazle Hasan Abed, Bangladeshi philanthropist (b. 1936)
2019 - Matti Ahde, Finnish politician (b. 1945)
2019 - Zilda Cardoso, Brazilian actress (b. 1936)
2019 - Thomas Chandy, Indian politician (b. 1947)
2019 - Junior Johnson, American racing driver (b. 1931)
2019 - Eduard Krieger, Austrian footballer (b. 1946)
2019 - Roland Matthes, German swimmer (b. 1950)
2019 - Yuri Pshenichnikov, Uzbek-Russian handball player (b. 1940)
2019 - Daniel Selvaraj, Indian writer (b. 1938)
2020 - Nicette Bruno, Brazilian actress (b. 1933)
2020 - Doug Anthony, Australian politician (b. 1929)
2020 - Fanny Waterman, British pianist (b. 1920)
2020 - Ezra Vogel, American sociologist (b. 1930)
Observances
Earliest possible date for the December Solstice (usually on December 21 or 22)
International Day of Human Solidarity
Days of the year