November 20

November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 41 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).

Events

• 284 – Diocletian is chosen as Roman emperor.
• 762 – During the An Shi Rebellion, the Tang dynasty, with the help of Huihe tribe, recaptures Luoyang from the rebels.
• 1194 – Palermo is conquered by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1407 – A truce between John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans is agreed upon under the auspices of John, Duke of Berry. Orléans would be assassinated three days later by Burgundy.
• 1695 – Zumbi, the last of the leaders of Quilombo dos Palmares in early Brazil, is executed by the forces of Portuguese bandeirante Domingos Jorge Velho.
• 1739 – Start of the Battle of Porto Bello between British and Spanish forces during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: British forces land at the Palisades and then attack Fort Lee. The Continental Army starts to retreat across New Jersey.
• 1789 – New Jersey becomes the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
• 1805 – Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, premieres in Vienna.
• 1820 – An 80-ton sperm whale attacks the Essex (a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts) 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America. (Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick is in part inspired by this story.)
• 1845 – Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata: Battle of Vuelta de Obligado.
• 1861 – American Civil War: A secession ordinance is filed by Kentucky's Confederate government.
• 1910 – Mexican 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.
• 1917 – World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins: British forces make early progress in an attack on German positions but are later pushed back.
• 1917 – Ukraine is declared a republic.
• 1936 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Falange, is killed by a republican execution squad.
• 1940 – World War II: Hungary becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.
• 1943 – World War II: Battle of Tarawa (Operation Galvanic) begins: United States Marines land on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands and suffer heavy fire from Japanese shore guns and machine guns.
• 1945 – Nuremberg trials: Trials against 24 Nazi war criminals start at the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg.
• 1947 – The Princess Elizabeth marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who becomes the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London.
• 1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis ends: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation.
• 1968 – A total of 78 miners are killed in an explosion at the Consolidated Coal Company’s No. 9 mine in Farmington, West Virginia in the Farmington Mine disaster
• 1969 – Vietnam War: The Plain Dealer publishes explicit photographs of dead villagers from the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam.
• 1969 – Occupation of Alcatraz: Native American activists seize control of Alcatraz Island until being ousted by the U.S. Government on June 11, 1971.
• 1974 – The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System.
• 1977 – Egyptian 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.
• 1979 – Grand Mosque seizure: About 200 Sunni Muslims revolt in Saudi Arabia at the site of the Kaaba in Mecca during the pilgrimage and take about 6000 hostages. The Saudi government receives help from Pakistani special forces to put down the uprising.
• 1980 – Lake Peigneur drains into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe had been drilled into the Diamond Crystal Salt Mine, causing water to flow down into the mine, eroding the edges of the hole.
• 1985 – Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.
• 1989 – Velvet Revolution: The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million.
• 1989 – Mega Channel, the first Greek privately owned television channel, is founded and launches for the first time.
• 1990 – Andrei Chikatilo, one of the Soviet Union's most prolific serial killers, is arrested; he eventually confesses to 56 killings.
• 1991 – An Azerbaijani MI-8 helicopter carrying 19 peacekeeping mission team with officials and journalists from Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is shot down by Armenian military forces in Khojavend District of Azerbaijan.
• 1992 – In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage.
• 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.
• 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.)
• 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 module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched.
• 2001 – In Washington, D.C., U.S. President George W. Bush dedicates the United States Department of Justice headquarters building as the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Building, honoring the late Robert F. Kennedy on what would have been his 76th birthday.
• 2003 – After the November 15 bombings, a second day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings occurs in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Bank AS and the British consulate.
• 2015 – Following a hostage siege, at least 19 people are killed in Bamako, Mali

Births

• 270 – Maximinus II, Roman emperor (d. 313)
• 1602 – Otto von Guericke, German physicist and politician (d. 1686)
• 1620 – Avvakum, Russian priest and saint (d. 1682)
• 1625 – Paulus Potter, Dutch painter (d. 1654)
• 1660 – Daniel Ernst Jablonski, Czech-German theologian and reformer (d. 1741)
• 1750 – Tipu Sultan, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
• 1761 – Pope Pius VIII (d. 1830)
• 1765 – Thomas Fremantle, English admiral and politician (d. 1819)
• 1781 – Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German captain and jurist (d. 1854)
• 1813 – Franc Miklošič, Slovenian linguist and philologist (d. 1891)
• 1839 – Christian Wilberg, German painter and illustrator (d. 1882)
• 1841 – Victor D'Hondt, Belgian mathematician, lawyer, and jurist (d. 1901)
• 1841 – Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1919)
• 1851 – Margherita of Savoy (d. 1926)
• 1858 – Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish author and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)
• 1866 – Kenesaw Mountain Landis, American lawyer and judge (d. 1944)
• 1869 – Clark Griffith, American baseball player and manager (d. 1955)
• 1874 – James Michael Curley, American lawyer, politician, 53rd Governor of Massachusetts, and criminal (d. 1958)
• 1877 – Herbert Pitman, English sailor (d. 1961)
• 1880 – George McBride, American baseball player and manager (d. 1973)
• 1881 – Arthur Marshall, American pianist and composer (d. 1968)
• 1882 – Andy Coakley, American baseball player and coach (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Norman Thomas, American minister and politician (d. 1968)
• 1885 – Olive Dennis, American engineer (d. 1957)
• 1886 – Bray Hammond, American historian and author (d. 1968)
• 1886 – Robert Hunter, American golfer (d. 1971)
• 1886 – Karl von Frisch, Austrian-German ethologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
• 1889 – Edwin Hubble, American astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1953)
• 1892 – James Collip, Canadian biochemist and academic, co-discovered insulin (d. 1965)
• 1900 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist and author, created Dick Tracy (d. 1985)
• 1903 – Alexandra Danilova, Russian-American ballerina and choreographer (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Minoo Masani, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 1998)
• 1907 – Fran Allison, American actress and singer (d. 1989)
• 1907 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
• 1908 – Alistair Cooke, British-born American journalist and author (d. 2004)
• 1910 – Willem Jacob van Stockum, Dutch mathematician, pilot, and academic (d. 1944)
• 1913 – Judy Canova, American actress and comedian (d. 1983)
• 1913 – Kostas Choumis, Greek footballer (d. 1981)
• 1914 – Emilio Pucci, Italian fashion designer and politician (d. 1992)
• 1915 – Kon Ichikawa, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1916 – Michael J. Ingelido, American general (d. 2015)
• 1916 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1917 – Robert Byrd, American lawyer and politician (d. 2010)
• 1917 – Bobby Locke, South African golfer (d. 1987)
• 1918 – Corita Kent, American nun, illustrator, and educator (d. 1986)
• 1919 – Lucilla Andrews, Egyptian-Scottish nurse and author (d. 2006)
• 1919 – Alan Brown, English race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Phyllis Thaxter, American actress (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Jim Garrison, American lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
• 1923 – Danny Dayton, American actor and director (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Nadine Gordimer, South African novelist, short story writer, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Benoit Mandelbrot, Polish-American mathematician and economist (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Henk Vredeling, Dutch agronomist and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Kaye Ballard, American actress and singer
• 1925 – George Barris, American engineer and car designer (d. 2015)
• 1925 – June Christy, American singer (d. 1990)
• 1925 – Robert F. Kennedy, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 64th United States Attorney General (d. 1968)
• 1925 – Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (d. 2015)
• 1926 – John Gardner, English soldier and author (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Terry Hall, English ventriloquist and actor (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Tôn Thất Đính, Vietnamese general (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Ed Freeman, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Estelle Parsons, American actress and director
• 1928 – Aleksey Batalov, Russian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1928 – Franklin Cover, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1929 – Penelope Hobhouse, Irish gardener, author, and educator
• 1929 – Don January, American golfer and architect
• 1930 – Bernard Horsfall, English-Scottish actor (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Curly Putman, American country music songwriter (d. 2016)
• 1932 – Richard Dawson, English-American actor and game show host (d. 2012)
• 1935 – Imre Makovecz, Hungarian architect (d. 2011)
• 1936 – Don DeLillo, American novelist, essayist, and playwright
• 1936 – Charles R. Larson, American admiral (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Rhys Isaac, South African-Australian historian and author (d. 2010)
• 1937 – Ruth Laredo, American pianist and educator (d. 2005)
• 1937 – Eero Mäntyranta, Finnish skier (d. 2013)
• 1937 – Viktoriya Tokareva, Russian author and screenwriter
• 1939 – Dick Smothers, American actor and comedian
• 1940 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1940 – Ediz Hun, Turkish actor and politician
• 1941 – Haseena Moin, Pakistani screenwriter and playwright
• 1941 – Oliver Sipple, American soldier and activist (d. 1989)
• 1942 – Joe Biden, American lawyer and politician, 47th Vice President of the United States
• 1942 – Bob Einstein, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1942 – Norman Greenbaum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Meredith Monk, American composer and choreographer
• 1943 – Veronica Hamel, American actress and producer
• 1944 – Louie Dampier, American basketball player and coach
• 1944 – Donald DiFrancesco, American lawyer and politician, 51st Governor of New Jersey
• 1944 – Mike Vernon, English record producer, founded Blue Horizon
• 1945 – Paul Langford, English historian and academic
• 1945 – Rick Monday, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Duane Allman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1971)
• 1946 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
• 1946 – Judy Woodruff, American journalist and educator
• 1946 – Samuel E. Wright, American actor, voice actor and singer
• 1947 – Joe Walsh, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
• 1947 – Peter Mellor, English goalkeeper
• 1948 – John R. Bolton, American lawyer and diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
• 1948 – Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1948 – Barbara Hendricks, American-Swedish soprano and actress
• 1948 – Richard Masur, American actor and director
• 1948 – Gunnar Nilsson, Swedish race car driver (d. 1978)
• 1949 – Jeff Dowd, American film producer and activist
• 1949 – Thelma Drake, American politician
• 1951 – Rodger Bumpass, American actor and singer
• 1951 – David Walters, American businessman and politician, 24th Governor of Oklahoma
• 1952 – John Van Boxmeer, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1954 – Berit Andnor, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister of Social Affairs
• 1954 – Steve Dahl, American radio host and actor
• 1954 – Frank Marino, Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter
• 1956 – Gareth Chilcott, English rugby player
• 1956 – Bo Derek, American actress and producer
• 1956 – Mark Gastineau, American football player and boxer
• 1956 – Natasha Vlassenko, Russian-Australian pianist and educator
• 1957 – Stefan Bellof, German race car driver (d. 1985)
• 1957 – Mike Craven, English footballer
• 1957 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer (d. 2002)
• 1958 – Rickson Gracie, Brazilian mixed martial artist and choreographer
• 1959 – Orlando Figes, English historian and academic
• 1959 – James McGovern, American lawyer and politician
• 1959 – Sean Young, American actress and dancer
• 1960 – Marc Labrèche, Canadian actor
• 1961 – Jim Brickman, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1961 – Tim Harvey, English race car driver and sportscaster
• 1961 – Larry Karaszewski, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Dave Watson, English footballer and manager
• 1963 – Tim Gavin, Australian rugby player
• 1963 – Timothy Gowers, English mathematician and academic
• 1963 – Ming-Na Wen, Macanese-American actress
• 1964 – Boris Dežulović, Croatian journalist and author
• 1964 – Sophie Fillières, French director and screenwriter
• 1964 – Doug Ford, Jr., Canadian businessman and politician
• 1964 – John MacLean, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1964 – Mark Taylor, English footballer and physiotherapist
• 1965 – Yoshiki, Japanese drummer, songwriter, and producer
• 1965 – Mike D, American rapper and drummer
• 1965 – Sen Dog, Cuban-American rapper
• 1965 – Jimmy Vasser, American race car driver
• 1966 – Jill Thompson, American author and illustrator
• 1966 – Kevin Gilbert, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1996)
• 1967 – Teoman, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1967 – Chris Childs, American basketball player
• 1967 – Tarique Rahman, Bangladeshi businessman and politician
• 1968 – Tommy Asinga, Surinamese runner and veterinarian
• 1968 – Robin Canup, American astrophysicist and astronomer
• 1968 – Jeff Tarango, American tennis player
• 1969 – Chris Harris, New Zealand cricketer
• 1969 – Callie Thorne, American actress and producer
• 1970 – Matt Blunt, American lieutenant and politician, 54th Governor of Missouri
• 1970 – Phife Dawg, American rapper (d. 2016)
• 1970 – Delia Gonzalez, American boxer
• 1970 – Geoffrey Keezer, American pianist and educator
• 1970 – Sabrina Lloyd, American actress
• 1970 – Joe Zaso, American actor and producer
• 1971 – Joey Galloway, American football player and sportscaster
• 1971 – Joel McHale, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1971 – Dion Nash, New Zealand cricketer
• 1971 – Marco Oppedisano, American guitarist and composer
• 1972 – Sheema Kalbasi, Iranian poet and activist
• 1973 – Angelica Bridges, American actress and singer
• 1973 – Neil Hodgson, English motorcycle racer and sportscaster
• 1974 – Taavi Veskimägi, Estonian businessman and politician
• 1975 – Dierks Bentley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1975 – Ryan Bowen, American basketball player and coach
• 1975 – J. D. Drew, American baseball player
• 1975 – Davey Havok, American singer-songwriter
• 1976 – Mahmud A. Asrar, Turkish illustrator
• 1976 – Dominique Dawes, American gymnast and actress
• 1976 – Laura Harris, Canadian actress
• 1977 – Rudy Charles, American wrestling referee
• 1977 – Daniel Svensson, Swedish drummer and producer
• 1977 – Josh Turner, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1978 – Freya Lim, Taiwanese-Malaysian singer and radio host
• 1978 – Nadine Velazquez, American actress and model
• 1979 – Maree Bowden, New Zealand netball player
• 1979 – Joseph Hallman, American composer and academic
• 1979 – Jacob Pitts, American actor
• 1980 – James Chambers, English footballer
• 1980 – Eiko Koike, Japanese actress
• 1981 – Carlos Boozer, American basketball player
• 1981 – Sam Fuld, American baseball player
• 1981 – İbrahim Toraman, Turkish footballer
• 1981 – Andrea Riseborough, English actress
• 1984 – Tashard Choice, American football player
• 1984 – Ferdinando Monfardini, Italian race car driver
• 1984 – Justin Hoyte, English footballer
• 1985 – Juan Cruz Álvarez, Argentinian race car driver
• 1986 – Ashley Fink, American actress and singer
• 1986 – Özer Hurmacı, Turkish footballer
• 1986 – Oliver Sykes, English singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Max Pacioretty, American ice hockey player
• 1989 – Agon Mehmeti, Swedish footballer
• 1989 – Sergei Polunin, Ukrainian ballet dancer
• 1990 – Mark Christian, Manx cyclist
• 1991 – Anthony Knockaert, French footballer
• 1991 – Tim Simona, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1992 – Maiha Ishimura, Japanese singer and actress
• 1992 – Gaku Matsuda, Japanese actor
• 1993 – Junior Paulo, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1993 – Sumire Satō, Japanese singer and actress
• 1994 – Andrew Dawber, English footballer
• 1995 – Michael Clifford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist in 5 Seconds of Summer
• 2000 – Connie Talbot, English singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 811 – Li Fan, Chinese politician (b. 754)
• 855 – Theoktistos, Byzantine courtier
• 869 – Edmund the Martyr, English king (b. 841)
• 1022 – Bernward of Hildesheim, German bishop and saint (b. 960)
• 1314 – Albert II, Margrave of Meissen (b. 1240)
• 1316 – John I of France (b. 1316)
• 1437 – Thomas Langley, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1363)
• 1518 – Marmaduke Constable, English courtier and soldier (b. 1458)
• 1518 – Pierre de la Rue, Belgian singer and composer (b. 1452)
• 1591 – Christopher Hatton, English academic and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1540)
• 1612 – John Harington, English courtier and author (b. 1561)
• 1651 – Mikołaj Potocki, Polish soldier (b. 1595)
• 1662 – Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (b. 1614)
• 1695 – Zumbi, Brazilian king (b. 1655)
• 1704 – Charles Plumier, French botanist and painter (b. 1646)
• 1737 – Caroline of Ansbach (b. 1683)
• 1742 – Melchior de Polignac, French cardinal and poet (b. 1661)
• 1758 – Johan Helmich Roman, Swedish violinist and composer (b. 1694)
• 1764 – Christian Goldbach, Prussian mathematician and theorist (b. 1690)
• 1778 – Francesco Cetti, Italian priest, zoologist, and mathematician (b. 1726)
• 1856 – Farkas Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1775)
• 1864 – Albert Newsam, American painter and illustrator (b. 1809)
• 1886 – William Bliss Baker, American painter (b. 1859)
• 1894 – Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1829)
• 1898 – Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, English engineer (b. 1817)
• 1903 – Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat, French race car driver (b. 1867)
• 1908 – Georgy Voronoy, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1868)
• 1910 – Leo Tolstoy, Russian author and playwright (b. 1828)
• 1918 – John Bauer, Swedish painter and illustrator (b.1882)
• 1925 – Alexandra of Denmark (b. 1844)
• 1934 – Willem de Sitter, Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1872)
• 1936 – Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish mechanic and activist (b. 1896)
• 1936 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician (b. 1903)
• 1938 – Maud of Wales (b. 1869)
• 1941 – Elmar Muuk, Estonian linguist and author (b. 1901)
• 1945 – Percy Perrin, English cricketer (b. 1876)
• 1945 – Francis William Aston, English chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
• 1950 – Francesco Cilea, Italian composer (b. 1866)
• 1951 – Thomas Quinlan, English businessman (b. 1881)
• 1954 – Clyde Vernon Cessna, American pilot and engineer, founded the Cessna Aircraft Corporation (b. 1879)
• 1957 – Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Russian-American painter and illustrator (b. 1875)
• 1965 – Johannes Kaiv, Estonian soldier and diplomat (b. 1897)
• 1973 – Allan Sherman, American actor, comedian, and producer (b. 1924)
• 1975 – Francisco Franco, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1892)
• 1976 – Trofim Lysenko, Ukrainian-Russian biologist and agronomist (b. 1898)
• 1978 – Giorgio de Chirico, Greek-Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1888)
• 1978 – Vasilisk Gnedov, Russian soldier and poet (b. 1890)
• 1980 – John McEwen, Australian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Marcel Dalio, French actor and playwright (b. 1900)
• 1984 – Kristian Djurhuus, Faroese politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (b. 1895)
• 1984 – Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Pakistani journalist and poet (b. 1911)
• 1992 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (b. 1920)
• 1994 – Jānis Krūmiņš, Latvian basketball player (b. 1930)
• 1995 – Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (b. 1967)
• 1995 – Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (b. 1919)
• 1997 – Dick Littlefield, American baseball player (b. 1926)
• 1997 – Robert Palmer, American saxophonist, producer, and author (b. 1945)
• 1998 – Galina Starovoytova, Russian ethnographer and politician (b. 1946)
• 1999 – Amintore Fanfani, Italian journalist and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1908)
• 2000 – Mike Muuss, American computer programmer, created Ping (b. 1958)
• 2000 – Kalle Päätalo, Finnish author (b. 1919)
• 2003 – David Dacko, African educator and politician, 1st President of the Central African Republic (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Eugene Kleiner, American businessman, co-founded Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Manouchehr Atashi, Iranian journalist and poet (b. 1931)
• 2005 – Chris Whitley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1960)
• 2006 – Robert Altman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Zoia Ceaușescu, Romanian mathematician and academic (b. 1950)
• 2006 – Donald Hamilton, American author (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Andre Waters, American football player and coach (b. 1962)
• 2007 – Ian Smith, Rhodesian lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (b. 1919)
• 2008 – Bennie Gonzales, American architect, designed the Heard Museum (b. 1924)
• 2008 – Sven Inge, Swedish painter (b. 1935)
• 2010 – Roxana Briban, Romanian soprano and actress (b. 1971)
• 2010 – Chalmers Johnson, American author and scholar (b. 1931)
• 2010 – Rob Lytle, American football player (b. 1954)
• 2010 – Danny McDevitt, American baseball player (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Kaspars Astašenko, Latvian ice hockey player (b. 1975)
• 2012 – David C. Copley, American publisher and philanthropist (b. 1952)
• 2012 – William Grut, Swedish pentathlete (b. 1914)
• 2012 – David O'Brien Martin, American soldier and politician (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Peter Griffiths, English lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Dieter Hildebrandt, Polish-German actor and screenwriter (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Frank Lauterbur, American football player and coach (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Oleg Minko, Ukrainian painter and educator (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Klaus Praefcke, German chemist and academic (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Arthur Butterworth, English composer and conductor (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Ray Farabee, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Jimmy Heung, Hong Kong director and producer (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Samuel Klein, Polish-Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, founded Casas Bahia (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Peter Dimmock, English sportscaster and producer (b. 1920)
• 2015 – Keith Michell, Australian-English actor (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Carlos Oroza, Spanish poet (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Jim Perry, American-Canadian singer and game show host (b. 1933)
• 2015 – Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (b. 1953)
• 2016 – Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, Greek statesman (b. 1926)
• 2016 – William Trevor Irish novelist, playwright, and short story writer (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

• 20-N (Spain)
• Africa Industrialization Day (international)
• Black Awareness Day (Brazil)
• Christian feast day:
  • Bernward of Hildesheim
  • Blessed Anacleto González Flores, José Sánchez del Río, and companions (Martyrs of Cristero War)
  • Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
  • Edmund the Martyr
  • November 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• 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. (Roman Catholic Church)
• National Sovereignty Day (Argentina)
• Revolution Day (Mexico)
• Teachers' Day or Ngày nhà giáo Việt Nam (Vietnam)
• Transgender Day of Remembrance (LGBT community)
• Universal Children's Day (International)
• Wedding day of Elizabeth II (United Kingdom)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to November 20.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History