On This Day: 20 December

20 December in Indian history

• 1942World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.India

20 December in world history

• 2007Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later.
• 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.
• 1999Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.
• 1995Mandated by the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the NATO-led Implementation Force began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1987The deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history occurred when the MV Doña Paz sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, resulting in an estimated 4,385 deaths.
• 1980NBC aired the American football match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins without announcers.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1955Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
• 1952A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington, killing 87 of the 115 people on board.
• 1951Experimental 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.
• 1941World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers", in Kunming, China.
• 1940The superhero Captain America made his first published appearance in the comic book Captain America Comics #1.
• 1852Led 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.
• 1248Attempting to form an alliance with the Mongol Empire, Louis IX of France met with two of their envoys while en route to the Seventh Crusade.

Born on 20 December

• 1958Doug Nordquist, American high jumper
• 1945Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and author (died 2010)India
• 1929Milan Panić, Serbian businessman and politician, 1st Prime Minister of FR Yugoslavia (died 2026)
• 1909Vakkom Majeed, Indian journalist and politician (died 2000)India
• 1874Mary Ann Bevan, English nurse who, after developing acromegaly, toured the circus sideshow circuit as "the ugliest woman in the world" (died 1933)
• 1841Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1932)

Died on 20 December

• 2024Rickey Henderson, American baseball player (born 1958)
• 1915Upendrakishore Ray, Indian painter and composer (born 1863)India
• 1889George F. Durand, Canadian architect (born 1850)
• 1740Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Portsmouth (born 1675)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 20 December in history?

2007: Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later. 2004: A 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. 1999: Macau is handed over to China by Portugal. 1995: Mandated by the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the NATO-led Implementation Force began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

What happened on 20 December in Indian history?

1942: World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.

Which famous people were born on 20 December?

Doug Nordquist, American high jumper (1958); Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and author (died 2010) (1945); Milan Panić, Serbian businessman and politician, 1st Prime Minister of FR Yugoslavia (died 2026) (1929); Vakkom Majeed, Indian journalist and politician (died 2000) (1909).

Which day is observed on 20 December?

Abolition of Slavery Day, also known as Fête des Cafres (Réunion, French Guiana); Bo Aung Kyaw Day (Myanmar); Earliest date for Winter solstice's eve (Northern Hemisphere), and its related observances: Yaldā (Iran); International Human Solidarity Day (International); Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Macau).