Calendar date · April

What happened on April 20

On April 20, 1152: After an eight-year conflict, Baldwin III of Jerusalem wins sole control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende.

Events

49

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Taurus

Featured moment · 1152

After an eight-year conflict, Baldwin III of Jerusalem wins sole control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende.

Baldwin III was the king of Jerusalem from 1143 until his death. Although he only took up sole rule in 1152 and died young, he was the longest-reigning of the 12th-century kings of Jerusalem. He expanded the borders of the kingdom, paved the way for the later kings' attempts to conquer Egypt, and acted as the defender of the other crusader states in the Levant.

People

Born on April 20

Tallyn Da Silva 2005– Australian rugby league player
Alexander Zverev 1997– German tennis player (born 1997)
Luke Kuechly 1991– American football player (born 1991)
Kyle Higashioka 1990– American baseball player (born 1990)
Jason Behrendorff 1990– Australian cricketer (born 1990)
Vannesa Rosales 1989– Venezuelan activist and teacher
Brandon Belt 1988– American baseball player (born 1988)
Jorge Pinto 1987– Portuguese politician (born 1987)
Harris Wittels 1984– American actor, comedian, writer, and musician (1984–2015)
Show 9 more — notable births on April 20
Miranda Kerr 1983– Australian model (born 1983)
Emma Husar 1980– Former Australian politician
Carl Greenidge 1978– English cricketer
Killer Mike 1975– American rapper and activist (born 1975)
Randy Fine 1974– American politician (born 1974)
Julie Powell 1973– American author (1973–2022)
Carmen Electra 1972– American actress and model (born 1972)
Stephen Marley 1972– American musician (born 1972)
Allan Houston 1971– American basketball player (born 1971)

People

Died on April 20

Luis Brandoni Argentine actor and politician (1940–2026)
Hugo Gatti Argentine footballer (1944–2025)
Antonio Cantafora Italian film and television actor (1944–2024)
Andrew Davis English conductor (1944–2024)
Roman Gabriel American football player (1940–2024)
Lourdes Portillo Mexican film director (1943–2024)
Gavin Millar Scottish critic, film director, and television presenter (1938–2022)
Idriss Déby Leader of Chad from 1990 to 2021
Monte Hellman American film director, producer and editor (1929–2021)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on April 20
Les McKeown Scottish pop singer (1955–2021)
Avicii Swedish DJ and music producer (1989–2018)
Victoria Wood British comedian (1953–2016)
Neville Wran Australian politician (1926–2014)
Bert Weedon English guitarist (1920–2012)
Tim Hetherington British photojournalist
Dorothy Height American activist (1912–2010)
Monica Lovinescu Romanian essayist
Andrew Hill American jazz pianist and composer (1931–2007)

Timeline

Every April 20 on record

  1. 1152 After an eight-year conflict, Baldwin III of Jerusalem wins sole control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende.

    King of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163

    Baldwin III was the king of Jerusalem from 1143 until his death. Although he only took up sole rule in 1152 and died young, he was the longest-reigning of the 12th-century kings of Jerusalem. He expanded the borders of the kingdom, paved the way for the later kings' attempts to conquer Egypt, and acted as the defender of the other crusader states in the Levant.

  2. 1303 The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.

    Public university in Rome, Italy

    The Sapienza University of Rome, also known as La Sapienza, is a public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is one of the world's oldest universities. With over 110,000 students, it is also the largest university in Europe.

  3. 1303 The Bahri Mamluks defeat the Ilkhanate in the battle of Marj al-Saffar, marking the end of the Mongol incursions into Syria.

    Egyptian dynasty (1250–1382)

    The Bahri Mamluks, sometimes referred to as the Bahri dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1250 to 1382, following the Ayyubid dynasty. The members of the Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves (mamluks) and manumitted, with the most powerful among them taking the role of sultan in Cairo. While several Bahri Mamluk sultans tried to establish hereditary dynasties through their sons, these attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, with the role of sultan often passing on to another powerful Mamluk.

  4. 1535 A complex halo display is observed over Stockholm, Sweden, inspiring the Vädersolstavlan ("The Sundog painting"), the earliest depiction of such an event, and the oldest colour depiction of the city.

    Painting by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas

    Vädersolstavlan is an oil-on-panel painting depicting a halo display, an atmospheric optical phenomenon, observed over Stockholm on 20 April 1535. It is named after the sun dogs appearing on the upper right part of the painting. While chiefly noted for being the oldest depiction of Stockholm in colour, it is arguably also the oldest Swedish landscape painting and the oldest depiction of sun dogs.

  5. 1653 Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament.

    English military and political leader (1599–1658)

    Oliver Cromwell was an English statesman, farmer and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially as a senior commander in the Parliamentarian army and later as a politician. A leading advocate of the execution of Charles I in January 1649, which led to the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector from December 1653 until his death.

  6. 1657 English Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet, under heavy fire from the shore, at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
  7. 1657 Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
  8. 1752 Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57).
  9. 1770 The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
  10. 1789 George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration.
  11. 1792 France declares war against the "King of Hungary and Bohemia", the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars.
  12. 1800 The Septinsular Republic is established.
  13. 1809 Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
  14. 1828 René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing. He would also be the first to return alive.
  15. 1836 U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
Show 15 earlier entries from April 20
  1. 1861 American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
  2. 1861 Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, attempting to display the value of balloons, makes record journey, flying 900 miles from Cincinnati to South Carolina.
  3. 1862 Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.
  4. 1865 Astronomer Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX's yacht, the L'Immaculata Concezion.
  5. 1876 The April Uprising begins. Its suppression shocks European opinion, and Bulgarian independence becomes a condition for ending the Russo-Turkish War.
  6. 1884 Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus, condemning Freemasonry.
  7. 1898 U.S. President William McKinley signs a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.
  8. 1902 Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
  9. 1908 Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.
  10. 1914 Nineteen men, women, and children participating in a strike are killed in the Ludlow Massacre during the Colorado Coalfield War.
  11. 1918 World War I: Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
  12. 1922 The Soviet government creates the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian SSR.
  13. 1945 World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
  14. 1945 World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
  15. 1945 Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school.

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