December 20
Subject to Britannica's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Featured Event
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz
On this day in 1812 brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of stories that would make them famous. Among the 200 or so stories that became known collectively as Grimm’s Fairy Tales are “Hansel and Gretel,” “Snow White,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Sleeping Beauty.” [Read today’s edition of Today in History >>]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
In every bit of honest writing in the world…there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.
American writer John Steinbeck, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, whose protest novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) offered hope in the face of the dispossession of the Great Depression, died this day in 1968.
Famous Birthdays
More on December 20
U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich/U.S. Department of Defense
2019
U.S. President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which established the Space Force, a new branch of the U.S. military. Its motto is Semper Supra (“Always Above”). [Take our quiz about military history.]
© 1962 Universal Pictures Company, Inc.; photograph from a private collection
2008
Robert Mulligan, an American director whose credits most notably include the film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), died at age 83. [How much do you know about To Kill a Mockingbird?]
D. Normark—PhotoLink/Photodisc/Getty Images
1999
Centuries of Portuguese rule ended in Macau when it became a special administrative region under Chinese sovereignty, 12 years after China and Portugal reached an agreement on its status.
© Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images
1996
The horror classic Scream, directed by Wes Craven, was released in American theatres; it became especially known for using the genre’s clichés for comic effect. [Test your knowledge of scary movies.]
National Archives, Washington, D.C.
1989
The initial attack in Operation Just Cause, a U.S. military invasion of Panama, was launched. Its goal was to remove General Manuel Noriega as the country’s de facto leader and extradite him to face U.S. drug trafficking charges. [Take our quiz about Latin American history.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1974
Ethiopia was declared a socialist state under the leadership of Mengistu Haile Mariam. [Test your knowledge of African leaders.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1971
Following the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War and 1971 India-Pakistan War, President Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan of Pakistan transferred power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who put him under house arrest.
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1960
The National Liberation Front was formed with the purpose of overthrowing the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam and reunifying North and South Vietnam. Chaired by Nguyen Huu Tho, it was the political arm of the Viet Cong. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Southeast Asia.]
Culver Pictures
1946
Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, a drama starring Jimmy Stewart, premiered and later became a holiday classic. [Test your knowledge of famous movie quotes.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1860
Following Abraham Lincoln’s election as U.S. president, South Carolina became the first U.S. state to secede from the Union. [How much do you know about Abraham Lincoln?]
H. Roger-Viollet
1841
Educator Ferdinand-Édouard Buisson, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1927 (jointly with the German pacifist Ludwig Quidde), was born in Paris. [Take our quiz about the Nobel Prize.]