What Happened on March 20
Historical Events
- 1602 United Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) forms
- 1800 Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London
- 1815 Napoleon enters Paris after escape from Elba, begins 100-day rule
- 1900 US Secretary of State John Hay announces that all nations to whom he sent notes calling for an 'open door' policy in China have essentially accepted his stand
- 1933 Dachau the first Nazi concentration camp, is completed
- 2016 Barack Obama becomes the first US President to visit Cuba since 1928, arriving for a 3 day tour
- More Historical Events
Mar 20 in Film & TV
- 1952 24th Academy Awards: "An American in Paris", Humphrey Bogart & Vivien Leigh win
Mar 20 in Music
- 1991 Michael Jackson signs $65M deal with Sony Records to produce 6 albums
Mar 20 in Sport
- 1973 Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame, 11 weeks after his death in a plane crash
Henrik Ibsen
Frederick Winslow Taylor
Carl Reiner
Fred Rogers
Bobby Orr
David Thewlis
Would You Believe?
Indian rivers Yamuna and the Ganges declared "living entities" by court in the state of Uttarakhand
On March 20, 2017
Famous Weddings
- 1848 King Louis I of Bayern abdicates to marry dancer Lola Montez
- 1878 53rd UK Prime Minister Archibald Primrose (31) weds heiress Hannah de Rothschild (27) at the Board of Guardians in Mount Street, London
- 1934 Vietnam emperor Bảo Đại (20) weds empress Nam Phương (19) at the imperial city of Huế
Famous Divorces
- 2009 "Dawson's Creek" actor Kerr Smith (37) divorces actress Harmoni Everett (34) due to irreconcilable differences after 6 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Henry IV of England
Albert of Prussia
Harry Vardon
A. E. Douglass
Brendan Behan
Kenny RogersArticles, Photos and Quiz
Welcome Shoppers, But No Whistling Please
Burlington Arcade, one of London's finest shopping streets, was opened on this day, partly as a deterrent to litter louts.
March 20, 1819
'I Shall Return'
A statue in the Philippines commemorating the promised return of American commander Douglas MacArthur in World War II
March 20, 1942
A First Lady Goes Shoplifting
While former Panama military dictator Manuel Noriega was awaiting his fate on racketeering charges, his wife Felicidad was having her own run-in with the law.
March 20, 1992
Obama Family Visit Cuba
Barack and Michelle Obama walk through the rainy streets of Havana, Cuba
March 20, 2016
Weekly Quiz for March 16 - 22
Who discovered the electric battery this week in 1800? Which country holds the Emerald Buddha sacred? What island did Napoleon escape from in 1815?
