On This Day in History for December 20
Events in History
- 69 General Vespasian's troops occupy Rome after defeating the Emperor Vitellius
- 1046 Pope Gregory VI abdicates at the Council of Sutri, ending a conflict between himself, Benedict IX and Sylvester III; Clement II becomes the new Pope
- 1192 Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna
- 1448 Pope Nicholas V appoints Rudolf of Diepholt, Bishop of Utrecht, as cardinal
- 1522 Suleiman the Magnificent accepts surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle in Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
- 1585 English fleet & Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, reach Vlissingen
- 1606 The English colonial expedition to America, consisting of the ships Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant, departs Blackwall, London to found Jamestown, Virginia
- 1626 Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Prince of Transylvania Gabor Bethlen sign Peace of Pressburg (Bratislava)
- More Events in History
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Harvey S. Firestone
Robert MenziesWeddings in History
- 1832 Inventor William Henry Fox Talbot (32) weds Constance Mundy
- 1964 Fashion designer Ralph Lauren (25) weds Ricky Anne Loew-Beer in NYC, New York
- 1989 Business magnate Richard Branson (39) weds Joan Templeman in British Virgin Islands
More Weddings in History
Sacagawea
Erich Ludendorff
Moss Hart
John Steinbeck
Carl Sagan
Léopold Sédar SenghorDecember in History
Wuthering Heights Author Dies at 30
Emily Brontë, author of the classic novel Wuthering Heights, died on this day. Like her sisters Anne and Charlotte, she passed away at a tragically young age.
December 19, 1848
Slavery Divide Triggers America’s Civil War
South Carolina voted to secede from the United States on this day. The move was quickly followed by other Southern states and led to the American Civil War.
December 20, 1860
Rumpelstiltskin
Illustration from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book (1889)
December 20, 1812
'Good Sport' in The Trenches
Prime Minister's son, Raymond Asquith tells his wife of life and death on the battlefront in World War I on this day in 1915.
December 21, 1915