Today in History - November 20th


  • 1789 - On this day in history, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. 
  • 1920 - The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to US president Woodrow Wilson.
  • 1945 - Today in history, 24 Nazi leaders went before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany
  • 1947 - Britain's Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, in Westminster Abbey. 
  • 1949 - On this day in history, the Jewish population of Israel reached 1,000,000.
  • 1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis ended. The Soviet Union removed its missiles and bombers from Cuba.

  • 1967 - Today in history, at 11 AM, The Census Clock at Department of Commerce ticked past 200 million.
  • 1969 - The Nixon administration announced a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phase-out of the substance. 
  • 1977 - On this day in history, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to address Israel's parliament. 
  • 1983 - An estimated 100 million people watched the controversial ABC-TV movie "The Day After." The movie depicted the outbreak of nuclear war.
  • 1984 - Today in history, McDonald's made its 50 billionth hamburger.
  • 1986 - Dr. Halfdan Maher, the director of the World Health Organization, announced the first coordinated global effort to fight AIDS. 
  • 1992 - On this day in history, a fire seriously damaged the northwest side of Windsor Castle in England. 
  • 1993 - The United States Senate passed the Brady Bill and legislation implementing NAFTA. 
  • 1995 - Today in history, Princess Diana admitted being unfaithful to Prince Charles in an interview that was broadcasted on BBC Television.
  • 1998 - Afghanistan's Taliban militia offered Osama bin Laden safe haven. Osama bin Laden had been accused of orchestrating two US embassy bombings in Africa and the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. 
  • 998 - On this day in history, forty-six states agreed to a $206 billion settlement of health claims against the tobacco industry. The industry also agreed to give up billboard advertising of cigarettes. 
  • 2001 - The US Justice Department headquarters building was renamed the Robert F. Kennedy building by President George W. Bush.

MUSIC HISTORY - Today in History, November 20th

  • 1962 - Today in history, The Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry" was released.
  • 1976 - George Harrison appeared on Saturday Night Live.
  • 1987 - "Sign 'O' The Times," Prince's third movie, opened. 
  • 1994 - On this day in history, David Crosby got a liver transplant. 
  • 1995 - A new Beatles recording, "Free as a Bird," began airing on radio stations.
  • 1995 - "Beatles' Anthology, Vol. 1" was released
  • 1998 - Today in history, a three-day World Conference on Music and Censorship began in Copenhagen. 
  • 2001 - Kiss Deluxe Edition 5 disc box set was released. The set included 92 tracks. 

CULTURE, LIFESTYLE - Today in History, November 20th

  • 1929 - Salvador Dali's first one-man show was staged.
  • 1947 - On this day in history, "Meet the Press" made network TV debut on NBC.

SCIENCE, INVENTIONS, PATENTS - Today in History, November 20th

  • 1866 - Pierre Lalemont patented the rotary crank bicycle.
  • 1931 - Commercial teletype service began (AT&T).
  • 1980 - Today in history, Steve Ptacek in Solar Challenger made the first solar-powered flight.

SPORTS - Today in History, November 20th

  • 1962 - Mickey Mantle was named the American League Most Valuable Player for the third time. 

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS - November 20th

  • Robert F. Kennedy 1925 
  • Estelle Parsons 1927 
  • Bo Derek 1956 
  • Dick Clark 1929