April 20
1769 - Ottawa Indian chief Pontiac was murdered.
1792 - France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars.
1812 - Vice President George Clinton, a former New York governor, died at age 73.
1836 - The Wisconsin Territory was established by Congress.
1841 - Edgar Allan Poe published the first detective story, Murders in the Rue Morgue.
1889 - Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.
1898 - The United States moved closer to war with Spain as President William McKinley signed a congressional resolution passed the day before recognizing Cuban independence and authorizing U.S. military intervention to achieve that goal.
1902 - Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.
1914 - The Ludlow Massacre took place when the Colorado National Guard opened fire on a tent colony of striking miners; about 20 (accounts vary) strikers, women and children died.
1940 - RCA publicly demonstrated its new electron microscope.
1971 - The Supreme Court upheld the practice of busing for racial desegregation.
1971 - National Public Radio made its on-air debut with live coverage of a U.S. Senate hearing on the Vietnam War.
1972 - The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
1977 - The Supreme Court, in Wooley v. Maynard, ruled 6-3 that car owners could refuse to display state mottoes on license plates, such as New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die".
1980 - The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida.
1988 - Gunmen who had hijacked a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet were allowed safe passage out of Algeria under an agreement that freed the remaining 31 hostages and ended a 15-day siege in which two passengers were slain.
1992 - The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness took place at London's Wembley Stadium.
1999 - Fourteen students (including the killers) and one teacher were killed and 23 others wounded at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in the nation's deadliest school shooting.
2003 - U.S. Army forces took control of Baghdad from the Marines in a changing of the guard that thinned the military presence at the capital.
2009 - In Geneva, the United Nations opened its first anti-racism conference in eight years; dozens of Western diplomats walked out as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel the most cruel and repressive racist regime. (Nine countries, including the United States and Israel, were already boycotting the conference.)
2010 - An explosion on a BP oil drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana killed 11 people and injured 17 others. Experts estimate that 13,000 gallons of crude oil per hour began pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil flowed into the gulf for nearly three months.
2018 - Wells Fargo agreed to pay 1 billion to federal regulators to settle charges stemming from misconduct at its mortgage and auto lending businesses; it was the latest punishment levied against the banking giant for widespread customer abuses.
2018 - The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks and Trump's son and son-in-law of conspiring to undercut Democrats in the 2016 election by stealing tens of thousands of emails and documents.
Birthdays
28 - Luke Kuechly (football player)
30 - Carlos Valdes (actor)
34 - Curt Hawkins (professional wrestler)
35 - Tim Jo (actor)
36 - Miranda Kerr (model)
40 - Ruth Connell (actress)
41 - Clayne Crawford (actor)
43 - Joey Lawrence (actor)
47 - Stephen Marley (singer)
47 - Carmen Electra (actress/model)
49 - Shemar Moore (actor)
50 - Wade Hayes (country singer)
51 - William deVry (actor)
55 - Andy Serkis (actor)
55 - Crispin Glover (actor)
60 - Clint Howard (actor)
70 - Veronica Cartwright (actress)
70 - Jessica Lange (actress)
71 - Gregory Itzin (actor)
74 - Judith O'Dea (actress)
78 - Ryan O'Neal (actor)
82 - George Takei (actor)
95 - Leslie Phillips (actor)
99 - John Paul Stevens (former Supreme Court justice)
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Today in Sports History - April 20
1903 - The New York Highlanders (now Yankees) play their first game, a 3-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.
1912 - The Boston Red Sox played their first game at Fenway Park, a facility they continue to use to this day. The Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders (who became the New York Yankees in 1913) by a score of 7-6. On the same day, Tiger Stadium in Detroit opened and hosted its first game as well, with the Tigers defeating Cleveland 6-5.
1916 - Wrigley Field in Chicago hosts its first National League game as the Cubs defeat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6.
1939 - Future hall of famer Ted Williams made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox.
1944 - The NFL legalizes coaching from the bench.
1958 - The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
1982 - With their 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves set a new major league record for best start to a season at 12-0.
1986 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls sets an NBA playoff game record with 63 points in a game.
1988 - The Baltimore Orioles set a major league record for worst start to a season at 0-14 (they would go 0-21 before getting their first win of the season).
1990 - Eight and 2/3 inning perfect game pitched by Brian Holman of the Oakland Athletics is spoiled by a home run hit by Ken Philips.
1996 - The Chicago Bulls set an NBA record for best regular season record at 72-10. (The Golden State Warriors broke that record in 2016, going 73-9.)
1997 - The Chicago Cubs defeat the New York Mets to snap a National League record 0-14 start to the season.
2008 - Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.
1769 - Ottawa Indian chief Pontiac was murdered.
1792 - France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars.
1812 - Vice President George Clinton, a former New York governor, died at age 73.
1836 - The Wisconsin Territory was established by Congress.
1841 - Edgar Allan Poe published the first detective story, Murders in the Rue Morgue.
1889 - Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.
1898 - The United States moved closer to war with Spain as President William McKinley signed a congressional resolution passed the day before recognizing Cuban independence and authorizing U.S. military intervention to achieve that goal.
1902 - Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.
1914 - The Ludlow Massacre took place when the Colorado National Guard opened fire on a tent colony of striking miners; about 20 (accounts vary) strikers, women and children died.
1940 - RCA publicly demonstrated its new electron microscope.
1971 - The Supreme Court upheld the practice of busing for racial desegregation.
1971 - National Public Radio made its on-air debut with live coverage of a U.S. Senate hearing on the Vietnam War.
1972 - The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
1977 - The Supreme Court, in Wooley v. Maynard, ruled 6-3 that car owners could refuse to display state mottoes on license plates, such as New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die".
1980 - The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida.
1988 - Gunmen who had hijacked a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet were allowed safe passage out of Algeria under an agreement that freed the remaining 31 hostages and ended a 15-day siege in which two passengers were slain.
1992 - The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness took place at London's Wembley Stadium.
1999 - Fourteen students (including the killers) and one teacher were killed and 23 others wounded at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in the nation's deadliest school shooting.
2003 - U.S. Army forces took control of Baghdad from the Marines in a changing of the guard that thinned the military presence at the capital.
2009 - In Geneva, the United Nations opened its first anti-racism conference in eight years; dozens of Western diplomats walked out as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel the most cruel and repressive racist regime. (Nine countries, including the United States and Israel, were already boycotting the conference.)
2010 - An explosion on a BP oil drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana killed 11 people and injured 17 others. Experts estimate that 13,000 gallons of crude oil per hour began pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil flowed into the gulf for nearly three months.
2018 - Wells Fargo agreed to pay 1 billion to federal regulators to settle charges stemming from misconduct at its mortgage and auto lending businesses; it was the latest punishment levied against the banking giant for widespread customer abuses.
2018 - The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks and Trump's son and son-in-law of conspiring to undercut Democrats in the 2016 election by stealing tens of thousands of emails and documents.
Birthdays
28 - Luke Kuechly (football player)
30 - Carlos Valdes (actor)
34 - Curt Hawkins (professional wrestler)
35 - Tim Jo (actor)
36 - Miranda Kerr (model)
40 - Ruth Connell (actress)
41 - Clayne Crawford (actor)
43 - Joey Lawrence (actor)
47 - Stephen Marley (singer)
47 - Carmen Electra (actress/model)
49 - Shemar Moore (actor)
50 - Wade Hayes (country singer)
51 - William deVry (actor)
55 - Andy Serkis (actor)
55 - Crispin Glover (actor)
60 - Clint Howard (actor)
70 - Veronica Cartwright (actress)
70 - Jessica Lange (actress)
71 - Gregory Itzin (actor)
74 - Judith O'Dea (actress)
78 - Ryan O'Neal (actor)
82 - George Takei (actor)
95 - Leslie Phillips (actor)
99 - John Paul Stevens (former Supreme Court justice)
=================================
Today in Sports History - April 20
1903 - The New York Highlanders (now Yankees) play their first game, a 3-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.
1912 - The Boston Red Sox played their first game at Fenway Park, a facility they continue to use to this day. The Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders (who became the New York Yankees in 1913) by a score of 7-6. On the same day, Tiger Stadium in Detroit opened and hosted its first game as well, with the Tigers defeating Cleveland 6-5.
1916 - Wrigley Field in Chicago hosts its first National League game as the Cubs defeat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6.
1939 - Future hall of famer Ted Williams made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox.
1944 - The NFL legalizes coaching from the bench.
1958 - The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
1982 - With their 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves set a new major league record for best start to a season at 12-0.
1986 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls sets an NBA playoff game record with 63 points in a game.
1988 - The Baltimore Orioles set a major league record for worst start to a season at 0-14 (they would go 0-21 before getting their first win of the season).
1990 - Eight and 2/3 inning perfect game pitched by Brian Holman of the Oakland Athletics is spoiled by a home run hit by Ken Philips.
1996 - The Chicago Bulls set an NBA record for best regular season record at 72-10. (The Golden State Warriors broke that record in 2016, going 73-9.)
1997 - The Chicago Cubs defeat the New York Mets to snap a National League record 0-14 start to the season.
2008 - Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.
