Did you know about Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy's breakthrough role was Tai Frasier in Clueless (1995), followed by supporting roles in independent films such as Freeway (1996) and Bongwater (1998).
Notable Deaths on December 20
December 20 has 98 recorded notable deaths across history, from 69 to 2024. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
2009 — Brittany Murphy
American actress and singer (born 1977)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
98 source records
69 – 2024
Today in history
Major events on December 20
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1848 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. Source
- 1977 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. Source
Did you know about Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for The Dragons of Eden.
Did you know about Rickey Henderson
In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Did you know about Erich Ludendorff
After his appointment as First Quartermaster General of the Great General Staff in 1916, Ludendorff oversaw virtually all decisions regarding Germany's strategy and war effort until the country's defeat in 1918.
Did you know about Madge Sinclair
A five-time Emmy Award nominee, Sinclair won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as "Empress" Josephine in Gabriel's Fire in 1991.
More major people who died on December 20
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1996
Carl Sagan
American astronomer, astrophysicist, and cosmologist (born 1934)
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. Initially an assistant professor at Harvard, Sagan later moved to Cornell, where he was the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. He played an active role in the Mariner, Viking and Voyager programs. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and several popular science books, starting with The Cosmic Connection. He won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for The Dragons of Eden.
2024
Rickey Henderson
American baseball player (born 1958)
Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson, nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. He is widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner in the history of baseball. He holds MLB records for career stolen bases, runs, unintentional walks, and leadoff home runs. At the time of his last major league game in 2003, the 10-time American League (AL) All-Star ranked among the sport's top 100 all-time home run hitters and was its all-time leader in walks. In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
1937
Erich Ludendorff
German general (born 1865)
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a Prussian-born German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. After his appointment as First Quartermaster General of the Great General Staff in 1916, Ludendorff oversaw virtually all decisions regarding Germany's strategy and war effort until the country's defeat in 1918. Later during the years of the Weimar Republic, he took part in the failed 1920 Kapp Putsch and Adolf Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, thereby contributing significantly to Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
1995
Madge Sinclair
Jamaican-American actress (born 1938)
Madge Dorita Sinclair CD was a Jamaican actress best known for her roles in Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975), Convoy (1978), Coming to America (1988), Trapper John, M.D. (1980–1986), and the ABC TV miniseries Roots (1977). Sinclair also voiced the character of Sarabi, Mufasa's mate and Simba's mother, in the Disney animated feature film The Lion King (1994). A five-time Emmy Award nominee, Sinclair won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as "Empress" Josephine in Gabriel's Fire in 1991.
1993
W. Edwards Deming
American statistician, author, and academic (born 1900)
William Edwards Deming was an American business theorist, composer, economist, industrial engineer, management consultant, statistician, and writer. Educated initially as an electrical engineer and later specializing in mathematical physics, he helped develop the sampling techniques still used by the United States Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He is also known as the father of the quality movement, known as "Lean manufacturing" today, and was hugely influential in post-WWII Japan, credited with revolutionizing Japan's industry and making it one of the most dominant economies in the world. He is best known for his theories of management.
1976
Richard J. Daley
American lawyer and politician, 48th Mayor of Chicago (born 1902)
Richard Joseph Daley was an American politician who served as the mayor of Chicago from 1955, and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953, until his death. He has been called "the last of the big city bosses" who controlled and mobilized American cities. He was the patriarch of a powerful Chicago political family. His son Richard M. Daley went on to serve as mayor of Chicago, and another son, William M. Daley, served as United States Secretary of Commerce and White House Chief of Staff.
2009
Arnold Stang
American actor (born 1918)
Arnold Sidney Stang was an American actor and comedian. Recognized by his small stature and squawky, Brooklyn-accented speaking voice, he steadily worked on the stage, radio, and television and provided animation voice-over for 70 years. He was the voice of Top Cat in the cartoon series, Frank Sinatra's best friend in The Man with the Golden Arm, and one of the hapless gas station owners in the all-star comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Perhaps he is most famous for his iconic commercials for the Chunky chocolate bar, "Chunky, what a chunk o' chocolate!"
1862
Robert Knox
Scottish surgeon and zoologist (born 1791)
Robert Knox was a Scottish anatomist and ethnologist best known for his involvement in the Burke and Hare murders. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Knox eventually partnered with anatomist and former teacher John Barclay and became a lecturer on anatomy in the city, where he introduced the theory of transcendental anatomy. However, Knox's incautious methods of obtaining cadavers for dissection before the passage of the Anatomy Act 1832 and disagreements with professional colleagues ruined his reputation in Scotland. Following these developments, he moved to London, though this did not revive his career.
1889
George F. Durand
Canadian architect (born 1850)
George Ferguson Durand was a Canadian architect. Born in London, Canada West, to a Scottish immigrant, he showed an interest in the arts from a young age. He apprenticed under William Robinson before working with Thomas Fuller on the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa and the New York State Capitol in Albany, New York. Returning to London by 1878, he joined Robinson, Tracy, & Company as a junior partner, being made partner in 1880; with the departure of Thomas Henry Tracy in 1882, Durand became the lead architect for the firm. He received many commissions in London and throughout Southwestern Ontario, including several from the federal government, and helped establish the Ontario Association of Architects in 1889.
1940
Sarita Colonia
Peruvian folk saint (born 1914)
Sara Colonia Zambrano, popularly known as Sarita Colonia, was a Peruvian woman who became a folk saint after her death. Born into poverty, she moved to Lima and worked various jobs until her death at age 26. Her burial site became a common place for prayers, and she became associated with tales of miracles and piety. She became especially popular among the poor, and she also came to be associated with other marginalized groups such as migrants, sex workers, criminals, and people of the LGBT community. A shrine was built in her honor at the height of her popularity in 1983, and her image was commonly seen in Lima during this period.
1740
Richard Boyle
2nd Viscount Shannon, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Portsmouth (born 1675)
Field Marshal Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, PC was a British army officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of the Boyne during the Williamite War in Ireland and at the Battle of Landen during the Nine Years' War, he commanded a brigade of grenadiers during the storming of Vigo during the War of the Spanish Succession. During this engagement the entire French-Spanish fleet was either captured or destroyed. He also took part in a successful raid on Barcelona three years later. He went on to serve as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland during the 1720s and 1730s.
1925
João Ferreira Sardo
the founder of Gafanha da Nazaré, also known as Prior Sardo (born 1873).
João Ferreira Sardo, known as Prior Sardo, was a Portuguese presbyter, civic leader, and entrepreneur who founded the parish of Gafanha da Nazaré during the final years of the Kingdom of Portugal and the early Portuguese First Republic. His life intertwined devout religious service with social entrepreneurship, community development, and diplomatic engagement, spanning a transformative period in Portuguese history marked by the Republican Revolution of 1910, the regicide of King Carlos I in 1908, and the subsequent exile of King Manuel II.
1993
Nazife Güran
Turkish composer and educator (born 1921)
Avniye Nazife Aral Güran was a Turkish composer and pianist, born in Vienna of a diplomat father. She is one of the first Turkish female composers to write classical music. She studied music as a child with her mother and completed primary education in Ankara and high school in Istanbul. She continued her music education at the Berlin Hochschule Music Academy, studying with Rudolph Schmidt for piano and Paul Hoffer for composition. After returning to Ankara, she studied with Ernst Praetorius.
1820
John Bell
American farmer (born 1750)
John Bell Sr was an American farmer whose death was attributed to supernatural causes. He is a central figure in the Bell Witch ghost story of southern American folklore. In 1817, Bell contracted a mysterious affliction that worsened over the next three years, ultimately leading to his death. According to the story, the Bell Witch took pleasure in tormenting him during his affliction, finally poisoning him one December morning as he lay unconscious after suffering a number of violent seizures.
2022
Franco Harris
American football player (born 1950)
Franco Harris was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 1972 NFL draft. Harris spent his first 12 seasons with Pittsburgh, earning nine Pro Bowl selections, and was a member of the Seattle Seahawks in his last.
1765
Louis-Ferdinand
Dauphin of France (born 1729)
Louis, Dauphin of France was the elder and only surviving son of King Louis XV and Queen Marie Leszczyńska. As the son of the king, Louis was a fils de France. As heir apparent, he became Dauphin of France. Although he died before ascending to the throne himself, all three of his sons who made it to adulthood would go on to be King: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.
1919
Philip Fysh
English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Tasmania (born 1835)
Sir Philip Oakley Fysh was an English-born Australian politician. He arrived in Tasmania in 1859 and became a leading merchant in Hobart. He served two terms as premier of Tasmania and became a leader of the colony's federation movement. He subsequently won election to the new federal House of Representatives (1901–1910) and was invited to represent Tasmania in the first federal ministry, serving as minister without portfolio (1901–1903) and Postmaster-General (1903–1904).
1590
Ambroise Paré
French physician and surgeon (born 1510)
Ambroise Paré was a French barber surgeon who served in that role for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. He is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology and a pioneer in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially in the treatment of wounds. He was also an anatomist, invented several surgical instruments, and was a member of the Parisian barber surgeon guild.
1939
Hans Langsdorff
German captain (born 1894)
Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff was a German naval officer, most famous for his command of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee before and during the Battle of the River Plate off the coast of Uruguay in 1939. After the Panzerschiff was unable to escape a pursuing squadron of Royal Navy ships, Langsdorff scuttled his ship. Three days later he died by suicide in his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.