Vintage News · Odd history for December 20

What Happened On December 20

Q: What happened on December 20?

1852: Led by George Cathcart, British troops defeated Basuto and Taung forces at the Battle of Berea in present-day Lesotho, leading to an offer of peace from King Moshoeshoe I. 1860: South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States with the South Carolina Declaration of Secession. 1848: French presidential election: Having won the popular vote in a landslide, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is inaugurated in the chamber of the National Assembly as the first (and only) president of the French Second Republic. 2007: Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later. 1984: Twelve-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colorado; her body was not discovered until 2019. 1951: Experimental Breeder Reactor I near Arco, Idaho, U.S., became the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it became able to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs. 2019: The United States Space Force becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947. 2007: The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil. Both will be recovered a few weeks later. 1985: Pope John Paul II announces the creation of World Youth Day. 1984: Disappearance of Jonelle Matthews from Greeley, Colorado. Her remains were discovered on July 23, 2019, located about 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Jonelle's home. The cause of death "was a gunshot wound to the head."

44 events and 174 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 20 December →

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10 odd things that happened on December 20

1852 Oddly true
Led by George Cathcart, British troops defeated Basuto and Taung forces at the Battle of Berea in present-day Lesotho, leading to an offer of peace from King Moshoeshoe I.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1860 First ever
South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States with the South Carolina Declaration of Secession.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1848 First ever
French presidential election: Having won the popular vote in a landslide, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is inaugurated in the chamber of the National Assembly as the first (and only) president of the French Second Republic.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2007 Oddly true
Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1984 Oddly true
Twelve-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colorado; her body was not discovered until 2019.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1951 First ever
Experimental Breeder Reactor I near Arco, Idaho, U.S., became the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it became able to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2019 First ever
The United States Space Force becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2007 Oddly true
The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil. Both will be recovered a few weeks later.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1985 Oddly true
Pope John Paul II announces the creation of World Youth Day.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1984 Oddly true
Disappearance of Jonelle Matthews from Greeley, Colorado. Her remains were discovered on July 23, 2019, located about 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Jonelle's home. The cause of death "was a gunshot wound to the head."
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2024Six people are killed and over 200 are injured when an anti-Islam activist drives a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Wikipedia →
2024A mass stabbing occurs in a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia, in which a 7-year-old pupil is killed and six more are injured by a knife-wielding 19-year-old male. Wikipedia →
2019The United States Space Force becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947. Wikipedia →
2016Aerosucre Flight 157 crashes during takeoff from Germán Olano Airport in Puerto Carreño, Colombia, killing five people. Wikipedia →
2007Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and 243 days. Wikipedia →
2007The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil. Both will be recovered a few weeks later. Wikipedia →
2004A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history. Wikipedia →
1999Macau is handed over to China by Portugal. Wikipedia →
1995American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 people on board. Wikipedia →
1991A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina. Wikipedia →
1989The United States invasion of Panama deposes Manuel Noriega. Wikipedia →
1988War on drugs: The United Nations agrees upon and promulgates the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, one of three major drug control treaties currently in force. Wikipedia →
1987In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait of the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official). Wikipedia →
1985Pope John Paul II announces the creation of World Youth Day. Wikipedia →
1984The Summit Tunnel fire, one of the largest transportation tunnel fires in history, burns after a freight train carrying over one million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines. Wikipedia →
1984Disappearance of Jonelle Matthews from Greeley, Colorado. Her remains were discovered on July 23, 2019, located about 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Jonelle's home. The cause of death "was a gunshot wound to the head." Wikipedia →
1977With the approval of the State Council, China's two largest newspapers, the People's Daily and the Guangming Daily, publish in full for the first time the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme. Wikipedia →
1973Assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco: A car bomb planted by ETA in Madrid kills three people, including the Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco. Wikipedia →
1970Koza riot: After a series of hit-and-runs and other vehicular incidents involving American service personnel, roughly 5,000 Okinawans take to the streets, clashing with American law enforcement in protest against the U.S. occupation of Okinawa. Wikipedia →
1968The Zodiac Killer murders his first two officially confirmed victims, David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, on Lake Herman Road in Benicia, California, United States. Wikipedia →
1960Vietnam War: The National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, popularly known as the Viet Cong, is formally established in Tân Lập village, present day Tây Ninh province. Wikipedia →
1957The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight. Wikipedia →
1955Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom. Wikipedia →
1952A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington, killing 87 of the 115 people on board. Wikipedia →
1951The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs. Wikipedia →
1948Indonesian National Revolution: The Dutch military captures Yogyakarta, the temporary capital of the newly formed Republic of Indonesia. Wikipedia →
1946It's a Wonderful Life premieres at the Globe Theatre in New York to mixed reviews. Wikipedia →
1946An earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan causes a tsunami which kills at least one thousand people and destroys 36,000 homes. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers", in Kunming, China. Wikipedia →
1940Captain America Comics #1, containing the first appearance of the superhero Captain America, is published. Wikipedia →
1924Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison. Wikipedia →
1917Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded. Wikipedia →
1915World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli. Wikipedia →
1860South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States with the South Carolina Declaration of Secession. Wikipedia →
1848French presidential election: Having won the popular vote in a landslide, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is inaugurated in the chamber of the National Assembly as the first (and only) president of the French Second Republic. Wikipedia →
1832HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands. Wikipedia →
1808Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins. Wikipedia →
1803The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans. Wikipedia →
1334Cardinal Jacques Fournier, a Cistercian monk, is elected Pope Benedict XII. Wikipedia →
1192Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade. Wikipedia →
1046Emperor Henry III convenes the synod of Sutri to mediate between different claimants to the papacy. Wikipedia →
944Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos is arrested by two of his sons, forced to abdicate and to live as a monk for the rest of his life. Wikipedia →
69Antonius Primus enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor for Nero's former general Vespasian. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.