What Happened on March 20
Important 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
Mar 20 in Film & TV
- 1952 24th Academy Awards: "An American in Paris", Humphrey Bogart & Vivian Leigh win
Mar 20 in Music
- 1991 Michael Jackson signs $65M 6 album deal with Sony records
Mar 20 in Sport
- 1973 Roberto Clemente elected to Hall of Fame, 11 weeks after his death in a plane crash
Famous Birthdays
Frederick Winslow Taylor
(1856 - 1915)- Carl Reiner
(1922 - 2020) - Fred Rogers
(1928 - 2003) - Bobby Orr
72 Years Old - Holly Hunter
62 Years Old - David Thewlis
57 Years Old
Frederick Winslow Taylor
Carl Reiner
Fred Rogers
Bobby Orr
Holly Hunter
David ThewlisWould 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
Henry IV of England
Albert of Prussia
A. E. Douglass
Brendan Behan
Malcolm Fraser
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, 1942A 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, 1992Obama Family Visit Cuba
Barack and Michelle Obama walk through the rainy streets of Havana, Cuba
March 20, 2016Weekly 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?
March in History
The First People To Hop On A Bus
It was an idea probably two centuries years ahead of its time, but public buses first took to the streets of Paris on this day in history.
March 18, 1662Dr Livingstone, I Presume?
Explorer David Livingstone, born on this day, spawned one of the most famous encounters when he was found in Africa by journalist Henry Stanley.
March 19, 1813The Most Expensive Divorce in History
Beautiful and rich, Eleanor of Aquitaine had one fault according to the King of France: she had not produced a son. So on this day they were divorced.
March 21, 1152Have You Heard The One About Johann Goethe?
With his collected works amounting to 143 volumes, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who died on this day, is considered to be one of the world’s great writers
March 22, 1832
