Did you know
The French Second Republic was established after the February Revolution of 1848, which overthrew King Louis Philippe.
December 20 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
December 20 spans 44 recorded events across recorded history, from 69 to 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
44 events
69 – 2024
Today in history
More major events on December 20
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 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
- 1960 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. Source
- 1917 Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded. Source
Did you know
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte's landslide victory in the presidential election was a significant factor in the end of the July Monarchy.
Did you know
The National Assembly, where Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was inaugurated, was the governing body of France during the Second Republic.
Did you know
The 1848 French presidential election was the first time a president was elected by popular vote in France, with over 84% of eligible voters participating.
Did you know
The Second Republic lasted only until 1852, when Louis Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France, marking the beginning of the Second Empire.
69
Antonius Primus enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor for Nero's former general Vespasian.
Calendar year
944
Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos is arrested by two of his sons, forced to abdicate and to live as a monk for the rest of his life.
1046
Emperor Henry III convenes the synod of Sutri to mediate between different claimants to the papacy.
Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 to 1056
1192
Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade.
King of England from 1189 to 1199
1334
Cardinal Jacques Fournier, a Cistercian monk, is elected Pope Benedict XII.
Senior church official
1803
The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
1803 acquisition of region of Middle America land by the U.S. from France
1808
Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
1807–1814 war against Napoleon in Iberia
1832
HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands.
Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy
1860
South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States with the South Carolina Declaration of Secession.
U.S. state
1915
World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
1917
Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.
Soviet secret police (1917–1922)
1924
Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison.
Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945
1940
Captain America Comics #1, containing the first appearance of the superhero Captain America, is published.
Comic book series (1941–1949, 1954)
1941
World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers", in Kunming, China.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1942
World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.
Aerial warfare branch of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1912 to 1945
1946
It's a Wonderful Life premieres at the Globe Theatre in New York to mixed reviews.
1946 film by Frank Capra
1946
An earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan causes a tsunami which kills at least one thousand people and destroys 36,000 homes.
Magnitude 8.1–8.4 earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan
1948
Indonesian National Revolution: The Dutch military captures Yogyakarta, the temporary capital of the newly formed Republic of Indonesia.
1945–1949 Indonesian conflict and diplomatic struggle against Dutch rule
1951
The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity.
The electricity powered four light bulbs.
1952
A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington, killing 87 of the 115 people on board.
Air service branch of the U.S. military
1955
Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
Capital and largest city of Wales
1957
The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.
Four-engined single-aisle airliner family
1960
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.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1968
The Zodiac Killer murders his first two officially confirmed victims, David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, on Lake Herman Road in Benicia, California, United States.
Serial killer in California in the 1960s
1970
Koza 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.
1973
Assassination 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.
1973 murder in Madrid, Spain
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.
Chief administrative authority of China
1984
The Summit Tunnel fire, one of the largest transportation tunnel fires in history, burns after a freight train carrying over one million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines.
1984 railway disaster near Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England
1984
Disappearance of Jonelle Matthews from Greeley, Colorado.
Her remains were discovered on July 23, 2019, located about 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Jonelle's home. The cause of death "was a gunshot wound to the head."
1985
Pope John Paul II announces the creation of World Youth Day.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005
1987
In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait of the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
Ship involved in deadliest peacetime maritime disaster
1988
War on drugs: The United Nations agrees upon and promulgates the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, one of three major drug control treaties currently in force.
U.S.-led campaign against illegal drug use and trade
1989
The United States invasion of Panama deposes Manuel Noriega.
1989 military action in Panama
1991
A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
1989 honor killing of an American teen in St. Louis, Missouri
1995
American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 people on board.
1995 aviation accident in Colombia
1999
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.
Large bank robbery in Belfast, Northern Ireland
2007
Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and 243 days.
Queen of the United Kingdom from 1952 to 2022
2007
The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil.
Both will be recovered a few weeks later.
2016
Aerosucre Flight 157 crashes during takeoff from Germán Olano Airport in Puerto Carreño, Colombia, killing five people.
2016 aviation accident in Colombia
2019
The United States Space Force becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.
Space service branch of the U.S. military
2024
Six people are killed and over 200 are injured when an anti-Islam activist drives a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.
Vehicle-ramming attack in Germany
2024
A mass stabbing occurs in a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia, in which a 7-year-old pupil is killed and six more are injured by a knife-wielding 19-year-old male.
Mass stabbing in Croatia