113 things happened on 20 December, from AD 69 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1192 · 834 years ago
King Richard I of England was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, while travelling home after the Third Crusade. Leopold had also fought in the Crusade, at the Siege of Acre. Richard was later held prisoner at Dürnstein Castle. He was known as Richard the…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
King Richard I of England was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, while travelling home after the Third Crusade. Leopold had also fought in the Crusade, at the Siege of Acre. Richard was later held prisoner at Dürnstein Castle. He was known as Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader.
UK story
The government announced that Cardiff would be regarded as the capital city of Wales. The Home Secretary, Gwilym Lloyd George, said so in the House of Commons, because so many people in Wales supported the idea. Caernarfon had also hoped to become the capital. Cardiff is the largest city in Wales.
UK story
Queen Elizabeth II became the oldest monarch in the history of the United Kingdom. She passed the age reached by Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and 243 days. Elizabeth reigned from 1952 until her death in 2022. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch.
UK story
Emperor Henry III convenes the synod of Sutri to mediate between different claimants to the papacy.
UK story
HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands.
UK story
Led 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.
At a ceremony in New Orleans, the United States completed the Louisiana Purchase from France. It paid 15 million dollars for a huge area of about 828,000 square miles, west of the Mississippi River. However, France controlled only a small part of this land, and most of it was home to Native Americans. The land is now part of the central United States.
A convention in South Carolina passed an Ordinance of Secession, declaring that the state was leaving the United States. Secession means a region breaking away to form a separate country. It came in the month after Abraham Lincoln was elected president. South Carolina was the first state to try to secede.
The superhero Captain America first appeared in the comic book Captain America Comics #1. He was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. In the stories, he is Steve Rogers, a frail man made super-fit and strong by an experimental serum. He carries a shield that is almost unbreakable and wears a costume inspired by the American flag.
It's a Wonderful Life, an American Christmas film directed by Frank Capra, had its premiere at the Globe Theatre in New York. Its first reviews were mixed. The film is based on a short story called 'The Greatest Gift'. That story was itself loosely based on Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
Experimental Breeder Reactor I, in the desert near Arco in Idaho, USA, made enough electricity to light four 200-watt light bulbs. It was one of the world's first nuclear power plants to generate electricity. Soon it was powering its own building and the nearby town of Arco. The reactor is now a museum that visitors can explore.
The first production version of the Boeing 707, called the 707-120, made its first flight. The 707 was the first jet airliner made by Boeing. It had four jet engines and room for six seats side by side in economy class. The airline Pan Am began regular passenger flights with the 707 in October 1958.
At midnight, Portugal handed control of Macau to the People's Republic of China. Portugal had run Macau since the middle of the 1500s. The handover ended 442 years of Portuguese rule there. It came two years after the United Kingdom handed Hong Kong over to China.
Antonius Primus enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor for Nero's former general Vespasian.
Attempting 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.
Cardinal Jacques Fournier, a Cistercian monk, is elected Pope Benedict XII.
Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
French presidential election: Having won the popular vote in a landslide, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is inaugurated in the chamber of the National Assembly as the first (and only) president of the French Second Republic.
World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.
Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.
World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers", in Kunming, China.
Indonesian National Revolution: The Dutch military captures Yogyakarta, the temporary capital of the newly formed Republic of Indonesia.
Vietnam 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.
With 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.
NBC aired the American football match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins without announcers.
Pope John Paul II announces the creation of World Youth Day.
The United States invasion of Panama deposes Manuel Noriega.
Mandated by the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the NATO-led Implementation Force (troops pictured) began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The United States Space Force becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Cardiff is named the capital city of Wales”?
A: 1955. 1955 — that’s 71 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in British history”?
C: 2007. 2007 — that’s 19 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: Richard the Lionheart is captured on his way home from the Crusade. 1192: Richard the Lionheart is captured on his way home from the Crusade · 2007: Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in British history · 1955: Cardiff is named the capital city of Wales Find it on the page
“Richard the Lionheart is captured on his way home from the Crusade” happened in 1192. How many years ago was that?
A: 834 years. 2026 − 1192 = 834. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 20 December.
Well-known people who died on 20 December.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 20 December somewhere in the world.
International Human Solidarity Day is held each year by the United Nations and its member countries. Solidarity means people standing together and supporting each other. The day reminds countries of shared goals, especially reducing poverty around the world. It also encourages them to share their plans for doing so.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “December 20” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.