# On this day: November 20

November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years), with 41 days left until the end of the year.

## November 20 in one line

Headline entries for November 20, from Wikipedia: in 1945, The Nuremberg trials of 24 leading Nazis involved in the Holocaust and various war crimes during World War II began in Nuremberg, Germany; born 1942: Joe Biden, American politician, 46th President of the United States; died 1910: Leo Tolstoy, Russian author and playwright (born 1828). In 2026 it is a Friday, in 2027 a Saturday.

## Events on November 20

- 1739 War of Jenkins' Ear: A British naval force arrived at the settlement of Portobello in the Spanish Main, capturing it the next day. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Porto_Bello_(1739))
- 1776 American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Fort Lee saw the invasion of New Jersey by British and Hessian forces and the subsequent general retreat of the Continental Army. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lee_Historic_Park)
- 1815 The Second Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1790 extent, imposing large indemnities, and prolonging the occupation by troops of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia for several more years. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1815))
- 1820 The American whaleship Essex sank 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of the western coast of South America after it was attacked by a sperm whale, an event which inspired the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship))
- 1861 American Civil War: A secession ordinance is filed by Kentucky's Confederate government. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky)
- 1900 The French actress Sarah Bernhardt receives the press at the Savoy Hotel in New York at the outset of her first visit since 1896. She talked about her impending tour with a troupe of more than 50 performers and her plans to play the title role in Hamlet. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Bernhardt)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Revolution)
- 1917 First World War: The Battle of Cambrai began with British forces having initial success over Germany's Hindenburg Line. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cambrai_(1917))
- 1940 World War II: Hungary becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripartite_Pact)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tarawa)
- 1945 The Nuremberg trials of 24 leading Nazis involved in the Holocaust and various war crimes during World War II began in Nuremberg, Germany. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials)
- 1947 Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King George VI, married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who was given the title Duke of Edinburgh. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy)
- 1969 A group of Native American activists began a 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_Alcatraz)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Begin)
- 1979 Armed insurgents attacked and took over the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, declaring that one of their leaders was the Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Mosque_seizure)
- 1985 Windows 1.0, the first version of Microsoft Windows available to the public, was released. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_1.0)
- 1989 Velvet Revolution: The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia, swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovakia)
- 1990 Andrei Chikatilo, one of the Soviet Union's most prolific serial killers, was arrested in Novocherkassk. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Chikatilo)
- 1991 First Nagorno-Karabakh War: An Azerbaijani military helicopter carrying a peacekeeping mission team was shot down in Nagorno-Karabakh, disrupting ongoing peace talks. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Azerbaijani_Mil_Mi-8_shootdown)
- 1994 In accordance with the Lusaka Protocol, the Angolan government signed a ceasefire with UNITA rebels in a failed attempt to end the Angolan Civil War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusaka_Protocol)
- 1998 The first space station module component, Zarya, for the International Space Station is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_embassy_bombings)
- 2003 Suicide bombers blew up the British consulate and the headquarters of HSBC Bank in Istanbul, killing 31 people, including consul general Roger Short and actor Kerem Yılmazer. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Istanbul_bombings)
- 2015 Following a hostage siege, at least 19 people are killed in Bamako, Mali. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radisson_Blu_Bamako_attack)
- 2022 The 2022 FIFA World Cup begins in Qatar. This is the first time the tournament was held in the Middle East. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup)

## Born on November 20

- 270 Maximinus II, Roman emperor (died 313) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximinus_Daza)
- 1602 Otto von Guericke, German physicist and politician (died 1686) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Guericke)
- 1750 Tipu Sultan, Indian ruler (died 1799) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipu_Sultan)
- 1761 Pope Pius VIII (died 1830) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_VIII)
- 1858 Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish author and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1940) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_Lagerl%C3%B6f)
- 1869 Zinaida Gippius, Russian writer and editor (died 1945) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinaida_Gippius)
- 1886 Karl von Frisch, Austrian-German ethologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1982) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_von_Frisch)
- 1889 Edwin Hubble, American astronomer and cosmologist (died 1953) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble)
- 1912 Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary (died 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Habsburg)
- 1923 Nadine Gordimer, South African novelist, short story writer, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2014) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadine_Gordimer)
- 1924 Benoit Mandelbrot, Polish-American mathematician and economist (died 2010) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benoit_Mandelbrot)
- 1925 Robert F. Kennedy, US Navy officer, lawyer, and politician, 64th United States Attorney General (died 1968) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy)
- 1925 Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (died 2015) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Plisetskaya)
- 1927 Mikhail Ulyanov, Soviet and Russian actor (died 2007) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Ulyanov_(actor))
- 1936 Don DeLillo, American novelist, essayist, and playwright [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_DeLillo)
- 1940 Arieh Warshel, Israeli-American biochemist and biophysicist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arieh_Warshel)
- 1942 Joe Biden, American politician, 46th President of the United States [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden)
- 1946 Patriarch Kirill of Moscow [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Kirill_of_Moscow)
- 1948 John R. Bolton, American lawyer and diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bolton)
- 1957 Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodluck_Jonathan)
- 1962 Gerardo Martino, Argentine footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardo_Martino)
- 1996 Denis Zakaria, Swiss footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Zakaria)

## Died on November 20

- 1316 John I, king of France and Navarra (born 1316) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_I_of_France)
- 1894 Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1829) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Rubinstein)
- 1910 Leo Tolstoy, Russian author and playwright (born 1828) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy)
- 1925 Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Consort of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Empress Consort of India (born 1844) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_of_Denmark)
- 1936 Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish mechanic and activist (born 1896) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenaventura_Durruti)
- 1936 José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician (born 1903) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Primo_de_Rivera)
- 1945 Francis William Aston, English chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1877) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_William_Aston)
- 1952 Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and politician (born 1866) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedetto_Croce)
- 1975 Francisco Franco, Spanish general and dictator, Prime Minister of Spain (born 1892) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Franco)
- 1978 Giorgio de Chirico, Greek-Italian painter and sculptor (born 1888) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_de_Chirico)
- 1999 Amintore Fanfani, Italian journalist and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Italy (born 1908) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amintore_Fanfani)
- 2006 Robert Altman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Altman)
- 2007 Ian Smith, Rhodesian lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (born 1919) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Smith)
- 2018 Aaron Klug, Lithuanian-English chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1926) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Klug)

## Holidays and observances

- 20-N (Spain) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20-N)
- Africa Industrialization Day (international) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_holidays)
- Black Awareness Day (Brazil) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Zumbi_and_Black_Consciousness)
- Children's Day (World Children's Day) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day)
- Christian feast day: Agapius [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agapius_(died_306))
- Christian feast day: Ambrose Traversari [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Traversari)
- Christian feast day: Ampelus and Caius [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelus)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Anacleto González Flores, José Sánchez del Río, and companions (Martyrs of Cristero War) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacleto_Gonz%C3%A1lez_Flores)
- Christian feast day: Bernward of Hildesheim [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernward_of_Hildesheim)
- Christian feast day: Dasius of Durostorum [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasius_of_Durostorum)
- Christian feast day: Edmund the Martyr [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_the_Martyr)
- Christian feast day: Felec (or Felix) of Cornwall [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felec)
- Christian feast day: Gregory of Dekapolis [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Dekapolis)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josaphata_Hordashevska)
- Christian feast day: Solutor, Octavius, and Adventor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solutor)
- Christian feast day: Theonestus of Vercelli [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theonestus_of_Vercelli)
- Christian feast day: November 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Christ_the_King)
- National Sovereignty Day (Argentina) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sovereignty_Day)
- Day of the Mexican Revolution (Mexico) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_Day_(Mexico))
- Royal Thai Navy Day (Thailand) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Thai_Navy)
- Saint Verhaegen (Brussels) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Verhaegen)
- Teachers' Day or Ngày nhà giáo Việt Nam (Vietnam) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Teachers'_Days)
- Transgender Day of Remembrance (LGBTQ community) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_Day_of_Remembrance)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “November 20”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_20) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/November 20”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/November_20) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“November 20”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_20) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_20?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for November 20 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. The 1945 entry comes first in the one-line summary: a short list, checked by hand, names the event a date is best known for where the order above would put a lesser one first. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## November 20 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Friday | 2026-W47 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2027 | Saturday | 2027-W46 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Monday | 2028-W47 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2029 | Tuesday | 2029-W47 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Wednesday | 2030-W47 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on November 20

- [🇧🇷 Brazil](https://whathappen.today/holidays/brazil/): National Day of Zumbi and Black Awareness (2026 and 2027)
- [🇦🇷 Argentina](https://whathappen.today/holidays/argentina/): National Sovereignty Day (estimated) (2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← November 19](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/november-19/) · [November 21 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/november-21/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/november-20/