On This Day: 20 November

20 November in world history

• 1998A court in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan declares accused terrorist Osama bin Laden "a man without a sin" in regard to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
• 1998The first space station module component, Zarya, for the International Space Station is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
• 1994The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war. (Localized fighting resumes the next year.)
• 1993Savings and loan crisis: The United States Senate Ethics Committee issues a stern censure of California senator Alan Cranston for his "dealings" with savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating.
• 1993North Macedonia's deadliest aviation disaster occurs when Avioimpex Flight 110, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Ohrid Airport, killing all 116 people on board.
• 1991First Nagorno-Karabakh War: An Azerbaijani military helicopter carrying a peacekeeping mission team was shot down in Nagorno-Karabakh, disrupting ongoing peace talks.
• 1979Armed insurgents attacked and took over the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, declaring that one of their leaders was the Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam.
• 1977Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement.
• 1974The first fatal crash of a Boeing 747 occurs when Lufthansa Flight 540 crashes while attempting to takeoff from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 59 out of the 157 people on board.
• 1969A group of Native American activists began a 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
• 1969Vietnam War: The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) publishes explicit photographs of dead villagers from the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam.
• 1947Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King George VI, married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who was given the title Duke of Edinburgh.
• 1945The Nuremberg trials of 24 leading Nazis involved in the Holocaust and various war crimes during World War II began in Nuremberg, Germany.
• 1940World War II: Hungary becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.
• 1917First World War: The Battle of Cambrai began with British forces having initial success over Germany's Hindenburg Line.
• 1910Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero issues the Plan de San Luis Potosí, denouncing Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, calling for a revolution to overthrow the government of Mexico, effectively starting the Mexican Revolution.
• 1820The American whaleship Essex sank 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of the western coast of South America after it was attacked by a sperm whale, an event which inspired the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.
• 1776American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Fort Lee saw the invasion of New Jersey by British and Hessian forces and the subsequent general retreat of the Continental Army.

Born on 20 November

• 1989Babita Kumari, Indian wrestlerIndia
• 1953Nirmal Selvamony, Indian Tamil academician and ecocriticIndia
• 1924Michael Riffaterre, French literary critic and theorist (died 2006)
• 1913Libertas Schulze-Boysen, German opponent of the Nazis (died 1942)
• 1871Augusto Weberbauer, German naturalist (died 1948)
• 1750Tipu Sultan, Indian ruler (died 1799)India

Died on 20 November

• 2012Pete La Roca, American jazz drummer (born 1938)
• 1935John Jellicoe, Royal Navy officer and First Sea Lord (born 1859)
• 1925Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Consort of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Empress Consort of India (born 1844)India
• 855Theoktistos, Byzantine courtier

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 20 November in history?

1998: A court in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan declares accused terrorist Osama bin Laden "a man without a sin" in regard to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. 1998: The first space station module component, Zarya, for the International Space Station is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 1994: The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war. (Localized fighting resumes the next year.). 1993: Savings and loan crisis: The United States Senate Ethics Committee issues a stern censure of California senator Alan Cranston for his "dealings" with savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating.

Which famous people were born on 20 November?

Babita Kumari, Indian wrestler (1989); Nirmal Selvamony, Indian Tamil academician and ecocritic (1953); Michael Riffaterre, French literary critic and theorist (died 2006) (1924); Libertas Schulze-Boysen, German opponent of the Nazis (died 1942) (1913).

Which day is observed on 20 November?

20-N (Spain); Africa Industrialization Day (international); Black Awareness Day (Brazil); Children's Day (World Children's Day); Earliest day on which the Feast of Christ the King can fall, while November 26 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday before Advent. (.