April 20 April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). There are 255 days remaining. Events 600-1899 636 - Battle of Yarmuk: Arabs take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Empire. 1653 - Oliver Cromwell disbands Parliament. 1657 - Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City) granted freedom of religion 1689 - The former King James II of England, now deposed, lays siege to Derry 1775 - American Revolutionary War: British troops begin siege of Boston, Massachusetts 1792 - France declares war on Austria 1836 - U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory 1861 - American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia 1862 - The first pasteurization test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard. 1900-1999 1902 - Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride (not fully purified to the isolated element). They thought they had isolated it. 1908 - Opening day of competition of the New_South_Wales_Rugby_League 1914 - Ludlow Massacre of striking Colorado coal miners. 1926 - Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film 1967 - A Swiss Britannia turboprop crashes at Nicosia, Cyprus killing 126 1968 - A South African Airways Boeing 707 crashes during takeoff at Windhoek, South-West Africa killing 122 1968 - The Liberal Party of Canada led by Pierre Trudeau wins the Canadian Federal Election 1968 - English politician Enoch Powell makes controversial Rivers of Blood Speech 1972 - Apollo 16 lands on the Moon 1979 - President of the United States Of America, Jimmy Carter, is 'attacked' by a fluffy Rabbit 1992 - An all-star concert in memory of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is held at Wembley Stadium in London 1997 - The San Diego Padres face the St. Louis Cardinals in the first Major League Baseball game ever played in Hawaii 1998 - An Air France Boeing 727-200 crashes into mountain after takeoff from Bogotá, Colombia, killing 53 1999 - Columbine High School massacre 2000-2099 2001 - The anti-globalization movement holds a People's Summit and large protest marches, some of which are forcibly put down by police, against the FTAA summit in Quebec City, Quebec Births 500-1899 571 - Muhammad (Likely) (d. 634) 702 - Jafar Sadiq, Muslim scholar (d. 765) 1633 - Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan (d. 1654) 1745 - Philippe Pinel, physician (d. 1826) 1808 - Emperor Napoleon III of France (d. 1873) 1818 - Heinrich Goebel, inventor (d. 1893) 1832 - Ernst von Leyden, physician (d. 1910) 1871 - Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croat inventor, (d. 1922) 1879 - Paul Poiret, French couturier (d. 1944) 1889 - Albert Jean Amateau, businessman and social activist (d. 1996) 1889 - Adolf Hitler, German (Austrian-born) dictator, "Führer" and Reichskanzler (d. 1945) 1893 - Joan Miró, painter (d. 1983) 1893 - Harold Lloyd, actor (d. 1971) 1895 - Emile Christian, jazz musician (d. 1973) 1900-1999 1900 - Fred Raymond, composer (d. 1954) 1908 - Lionel Hampton, musician (d. 2002) 1915 - Joseph Wolpe, psychotherapist (d. 1997) 1920 - John Paul Stevens, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 1923 - Rita Frances Rizzo, in Canton, Ohio. She became Mother Angelica, Foundress of Eternal Word Television Network 1925 - Tito Puente, musician (d. 2000) 1928 - Gerald S. Hawkins, astronomer (d. 2003) 1939 - Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway 1939 - Peter S. Beagle, author 1940 - George Takei, actor, Star Trek 1941 - Ryan O'Neal, actor 1943 - John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor 1943 - Edie Sedgwick, actress (d. 1971) 1949 - Jessica Lange, actress 1951 - Luther Vandross, singer 1956 - Pablo Emilio Tercero Montes Vergara, Electronic Engineer 1961 - Don Mattingly, baseball player 1964 - Crispin Glover, actor 1964 - Rosalynn Sumners, figure skater 1964 - Andy Serkis, actor 1972 - Hank The Angry Drunken Dwarf, radio and television personality (d. 2001) 1976 - Joey Lawrence, actor 2000 - Funny Cide, winner of the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes Deaths 1300-1899 1314 - Pope Clement V (b. 1264) 1534 - Elizabeth Barton, Christian prophet, executed (b. ~ 1506) 1769 - Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawa tribe (b. ~ 1720) 1900-1999 1912 - Bram Stoker, author (b. 1847) 1932 - Giuseppe Peano, mathematician (b. 1858) 1947 - King Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870) 1982 - Archibald MacLeish, poet and writer (b. 1892) 1984 - Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer 1992 - Benny Hill, comedian (b. 1924) 2000-2099 2002 - Alan Dale, singer (b. 1925) Holidays and observances In Canada and the United States, April 20th is a ceremonial day to "smoke up" (smoke marijuana). See: 420 (drug culture) 1992, 2003, 2014 - Easter April 19 - April 21 - March 20 - May 20 -- listing of all days Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_20