On this day: March 20

Events on March 20

• 1724 Following the death of Pope Innocent XIII, a papal conclave convened in Rome to elect a new pope. Wikipedia
• 1760 A fire of unknown cause broke out in Boston, Massachusetts, destroying 349 buildings. Wikipedia
• 1815 After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule. Wikipedia
• 1888 The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia. Wikipedia
• 1890 Emperor Wilhelm II dismissed Otto von Bismarck as the chancellor of the German Empire. Wikipedia
• 1890 Chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck is dismissed by Emperor Wilhelm II. Wikipedia
• 1916 Albert Einstein submits his paper, "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity", which establishes his general theory of relativity, to the journal Annalen der Physik. Wikipedia
• 1921 The Upper Silesia plebiscite, mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland, is held. Wikipedia
• 1923 The Arts Club of Chicago hosted the opening of Pablo Picasso's first solo United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso. Wikipedia
• 1923 The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso's first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States. Wikipedia
• 1926 Chiang Kai-shek initiated a purge of communist elements within the National Revolutionary Army in Guangzhou, China. Wikipedia
• 1926 Chiang Kai-shek initiates a purge of communist elements within the National Revolutionary Army in Guangzhou. Wikipedia
• 1933 Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler orders the creation of Dachau concentration camp as Chief of Police of Munich and appoints Theodor Eicke as the camp commandant. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: After being forced to flee the Philippines for Australia, US Army general Douglas MacArthur announced: "I came through and I shall return." Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: "I came out of Bataan and I shall return". Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: U.S. Marines made a landing on Emirau Island in the Bismarck Archipelago to develop an airbase as part of Operation Cartwheel. Wikipedia
• 1951 Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded. Wikipedia
• 1956 Tunisia gains independence from France. Wikipedia
• 1964 The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962. Wikipedia
• 1972 The Troubles: The first car bombing by the Provisional IRA in Belfast kills seven people and injures 148 others in Northern Ireland. Wikipedia
• 1987 The antiretroviral drug zidovudine became the first treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for HIV/AIDS. Wikipedia
• 1987 The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT. Wikipedia
• 2000 Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after murdering Georgia sheriff's deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English. Wikipedia
• 2006 Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Déby. Wikipedia
• 2012 At least 52 people are killed and more than 250 injured in a wave of terror attacks across ten cities in Iraq. Wikipedia
• 2021 La Plume noire, an anarchist bookstore in Lyon, is targeted by an attack of the far-right, provoking a shock in Lyon's far-left circles. Wikipedia

Born on March 20

• 43 BC Ovid, Roman poet (died 17) Wikipedia
• 1639 Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat, Hetman of Ukraine (died 1709) Wikipedia
• 1725 Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (died 1789) Wikipedia
• 1811 Napoleon II, French emperor (died 1832) Wikipedia
• 1828 Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian poet, playwright, and director (died 1906) Wikipedia
• 1856 Frederick Winslow Taylor, American tennis player and engineer (died 1915) Wikipedia
• 1882 René Coty, French lawyer and politician, 17th President of France (died 1962) Wikipedia
• 1904 B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and author (died 1990) Wikipedia
• 1911 Alfonso García Robles, Mexican lawyer and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991) Wikipedia
• 1916 Pierre Messmer, French lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 2007) Wikipedia
• 1919 Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter ace (died 1983) Wikipedia
• 1928 Fred Rogers, American television host and author Wikipedia
• 1939 Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Canada (died 2024) Wikipedia
• 1948 John de Lancie, American actor Wikipedia
• 1950 William Hurt, American actor (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1956 Catherine Ashton, English politician, Vice-President of the European Commission Wikipedia
• 1957 Spike Lee, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1958 Holly Hunter, American actress Wikipedia
• 1976 Chester Bennington, American singer and songwriter (died 2017) Wikipedia
• 1984 Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer Wikipedia
• 1989 Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor and director Wikipedia
• 1990 Marcos Rojo, Argentine footballer Wikipedia

Died on March 20

• 842 Alfonso II, king of Asturias (Spain) (born 759) Wikipedia
• 1191 Pope Clement III (born 1130) Wikipedia
• 1390 Alexios III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (born 1338) Wikipedia
• 1413 Henry IV of England (born 1367) Wikipedia
• 1894 Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian lawyer, journalist and politician (born 1802) Wikipedia
• 1925 George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (born 1859) Wikipedia
• 1929 Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (born 1851) Wikipedia
• 1931 Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (born 1876) Wikipedia
• 1968 Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (born 1889) Wikipedia
• 1990 Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 1993 Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911) Wikipedia
• 2004 Juliana of the Netherlands (born 1909) Wikipedia
• 2015 Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (born 1930) Wikipedia
• 2020 Kenny Rogers, American singer (born 1938) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Alexandra Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed John of Parma Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Clement of Ireland Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Cuthbert of Lindisfarne Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Herbert of Derwentwater Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: John of Nepomuk Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Józef Bilczewski Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: María Josefa Sancho de Guerra Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Martin of Braga Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Michele Carcano Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Wulfram Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: March 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Great American MeatOut (United States) Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Tunisia from France in 1956. Wikipedia
• International Day of Happiness (United Nations) Wikipedia
• International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), and its related observances: UN French Language Day (United Nations) Wikipedia
• National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States) Wikipedia
• World Sparrow Day Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “March 20” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.