April 20
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Featured Event
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ppmsca-54232)
On this day in 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced plans to change the $20 bill: an image of Harriet Tubman, who had been enslaved before gaining her freedom and becoming a leading abolitionist and prominent member of the Underground Railroad, would replace that of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States and a slave owner. Whether the change will occur remains, a decade later, uncertain. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Featureflash/Shutterstock.com
Luther Vandross, born on this day in 1951, was a soul and pop singer, songwriter, and producer whose widespread popularity and reputation as a consummate stylist made him a leading recording artist beginning in the early 1980s.
Famous Birthdays
More on April 20
© Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
2021
Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder for his role, as a police officer, in the death of George Floyd in May 2020. Floyd’s murder had sparked mass protests across the United States, with Black Lives Matter demonstrators and other activists calling for an end to police brutality and racial injustice.
U.S. Coast Guard
2010
An explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, off the southern coast of the United States, that later sank the rig and produced in the largest oil spill in history. A slick eventually extended over more than 57,500 square miles (149,000 square km) of the Gulf of Mexico, and an estimated 1,100 miles (1,770 km) of shoreline were polluted. [What are 10 of the world’s worst industrial disasters?]
© Nick Laham—NASCAR/Getty Images
2008
Danica Patrick won the IndyCar 300 at Motegi, Japan, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar championship event. [Test your knowledge of auto racing.]
Laura Rauch—AP/Shutterstock.com
1999
Two students carried out a mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Fourteen people died and 21 were injured as a result of the attack.
Nationaal Archief
1968
Pierre Elliott Trudeau of the Liberal Party became prime minister of Canada; in that post, he discouraged the French separatist movement, oversaw the formation of a new constitution, and established relations with China. [Sort fact from fiction in our Canada quiz.]
© Matt Baron—BEI/REX/Shutterstock.com
1949
Actress Jessica Lange, known for her versatility and intelligent performances, was born in Minnesota. [Take our actors and acting quiz.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1924
Finalizing the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey’s Grand National Assembly voted to adopt a full republican constitution, with General Mustafa Kemal, who had first proclaimed the Turkish republic about six months earlier, becoming the first president of the republic. [Test your knowledge of Turkish and Ottoman history.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZC6-29)
1920
U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens was born in Chicago. [Why are there nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?]
© ewg3D—iStock/Getty Images
1919
In an ongoing dispute over the possession of Vilnius, Polish forces drove out Russia’s Red Army—which had previously ousted the newly established Lithuanian government—and occupied the city. [Sort fact from fiction in our European history quiz.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1914
Striking miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado, were attacked by the state’s National Guard and company guards, leaving 25 people dead, including 11 children. Miners retaliated, and in the ensuing violence as many as 50 more people died. [Test your knowledge of American history and politics.]
© Jason Figert/Shutterstock.com
1912
Navin Field (later called Tiger Stadium) in Detroit and Fenway Park in Boston officially opened as both hosted their first professional baseball games. Tiger Stadium closed in 1999, leaving Fenway as the oldest baseball stadium in Major League Baseball. [How much do you know about baseball?]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1871
Japan’s first government-operated postal service opened between Tokyo and Ōsaka. [Sort fact from fiction in our Japanese history quiz.]
Photograph by Trish Mayo. Museum of Modern Art, New York City, gift of Mrs. Werner E. Josten in memory of her husband
1840
Symbolist painter Odilon Redon was born in Bordeaux, France. [From symbolism to sculpture, test your knowledge of art.]
© DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI—De Agostini/Getty Images
1808
Napoleon III, president of the Second Republic (1850–52) and emperor of France (1852–70), was born in Paris. [Take our quiz about French history.]
© Matthew Corrigan/Shutterstock.com
1653
England’s Rump Parliament was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell and later replaced by the nominated Barebones Parliament, which was dissolved in the same year, leading to the declaration of the Protectorate. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Englishmen.]