Events on Apr 20
- 0850Guntherus becomes Bishop of Cologne
- 11392nd Lateran Council (10th ecumenical council) opens in Rome
- 1505Jews are expelled from Orange Burgandy by Philibert of Luxembourg
- 1551John Dudley becomes English Earl Marshal
- 1650VOC-management sets new guidelines
- 1653Cromwell routes English parliament to house
- 1657Battle in Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife: English fleet under Robert Blake sinks Spanish silver fleet
- 1702Comet C / 1702 H1 approaches within 0.0437 AUs of Earth
- 1770Captain Cook arrives in New South Wales
- 1775British begin siege of Boston
- 1777New York adopts new constitution as an independent state
- 1792France declares war on Austria, Prussia and Sardinia
- 1799Napoleon issues a decree calling for establishing Jerusalem for Jews
- 1809Napoleon I defeats Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria
- 1836Territory of Wisconsin created
- 1853Harriet Tubman starts Underground Railroad
- 1861Battle of Norfolk, Virginia
- 1861Colonel Robert E Lee resigns from Union army
- 18713rd Enforcement Act (President can suspend writ of habeas corpus)
- 1872San Francisco Bar Association organized
- 18791st mobile home (horse drawn) used in a journey from London and Cyprus
- 1884Pope Leo XIII encyclical "On Freemasonry"
- 1888246 reported killed by hail in Moradabad, India
- 1894136,000 mine workers strike in Ohio for pay increase
- 1898US Assay Office in Deadwood, South Dakota opens
- 1902Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radioactive element radium
- 19037th Boston Marathon won by John Lorden of Mass in 2:41:29.8
- 1903New York Highlanders play their 1st game, with Jack Chesbro losing 3-1 to Al Orth and Washington
- 1904Louisiana Purchase Exposition opens in St. Louis
- 190812th Boston Marathon won by Tom Morrissey of New York in 2:25:43.2
Born on Apr 20
- 1494John Agricola [Schneider]: German theologist / Prime Minister
- 1592John Eliot: St. Germans, Cornwall -- English MP / author
- 1594Matthaus Apelles von Lowenstern: Composer
- 1705Balthasar Schmid: Composer
- 1725Johann Friedrich Kloffler: Composer
- 1726Jozef de Ferraris: French / Austrian Earl / General / cartographer
- 1745Philippe Pinel: Physician (founder of psychiatry)
- 1748Georg Michael Telemann: Composer
- 1748Guillaume Albert Teniers: Composer
- 1761Johann Gottlieb Karl Spazier: Composer
- 1808Louis-Napoleon [Napoleon III]: Emperor of France (1852-71)
- 1809John Smith Preston: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1881
- 1824Alfred Holt Colquitt: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1894
- 1826Dina M Craik: Writer
- 1827John Gibbon: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1896
- 1839Carol I: King of Romania (1881-1914)
- 1850Daniel Chester: French / American sculptor (Minute Man)
- 1857Charles LP "Philip" Zilcken: Painter / author (HW Knife Day)
- 1857Hermann Bang: Writer
- 1858Auguste Chapuis: Composer
- 1860Charles Gordon Curtis: US attorney / inventor (Curtis Turbine)
- 1860Pieter Jelles Troelstra: Dutch MP (SDAP)
- 1866Victor Hollaender: Composer
- 1870Simeon Roncal: Composer
- 1871William Henry Davies: Wales, United Kingdom -- Poet (Autobiography of a Super Tramp)
- 1876Gerard J Arbous: Actor / publicist (Prince William of Orange)
- 1879Robert Lynd: Irish writer / critic (Pleasures of Ignorance)
- 1881Nikolai Miaskovsky: Novogeorievsk, Poland -- Composer (Kirov is With Us)
- 1881Sem Dresden: Composer / conductor
- 1893Harold Lloyd: Burchard, Nebraska -- Silent comic (Why Worry, Safety Last)
Died on Apr 20
- 1164Victor IV [Ottaviano Montecello]: Italian antipope (1159-64)
- 1314Clement V [Bertrand Got]: Pope (1305-14) move papacy to Avignon
- 1317Agnes van Montepulciano: Italian mystic / saint
- 1534Elizabeth Barton [St Magd van Kent]: British prophet
- 1632Nicolas Antione: Converted to Judiasm, burned at the stake
- 1643Christoph Demantius: Composer, dies at 75
- 1662Gerard Terborch [the Elder]: Painter
- 1695Georg Caspar Weckler: Composer, dies at 63
- 1768Giovanni AC Canaletto: Italian Painter / cartoonist (Rialto), dies at 70
- 1769Pontiac: Indian chief to Ottawa, murdered
- 1786John Goodricke: English deaf and dumb astronomer, dies at 21
- 1812George Clinton: 4th US VP, dies at 73, 1st VP to die in office
- 1820Arthur Young: Author (Annals of Agriculture)
- 1821Franz K Achard: German physicist / chemist, dies at 67
- 1836Johan I Jozef: Monarch of Liechtenstein / Field Marshal, dies at 75
- 1839Giuseppe Rossini: Father of Italian Composer Gioacchino Rossini
- 1869Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe: Composer, dies at 72
- 1869Piotr Studzinski: Composer, dies at 42
- 1872Ljudwit Gaj: Croatian writer / Poet (Pjesma iz Zagorja), dies at 62
- 1900Mebel Mercer: Popular British singer
- 1906Australian wombat; oldest known marsupial: Dies in London Zoo at 26
- 1908Henry Chadwick: Sports reporter (baseball), dies at 85
- 1912Bram Stoker: Irish theater manager / writer (Dracula)
- 1932Giuseppe Peano: Mathematician
- 1935Juliaan de Vriendt: Flemish painter, dies at 92
- 1941Barend ter Haar: Dutch lawyer, dies in Buchenwald at 49
- 1947Christian X: King of Denmark (1912-47), dies at 76
- 1953Erich Weinert: Writer, dies at 62
- 1956Jaap Vranken: Organist / Composer (Stabat mater)
- 1956Lieven Duvosel: Flemish music Composer (Levensschets), dies at 78
Historical events on April 21
- 0953Otto I the Great gives Utrecht fishing rights
- 1420Treaty of Saint Maartens Dike
- 1453Turkish fleet sinks ships Golden Receiver in Constantinople
- 1509Henry the VIII becomes King of England
- 1521Battle at Villalar: Emperor Charles I beats Communards
- 1526Battle at Panipat: Mogol Emperor Babur beats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi
- 1572France and England sign anti-Spanish military covenant
- 1649Maryland Toleration Act passed, allowing all freedom of worship
- 1654England and Sweden sign trade agreement
- 1689William III and Mary Stuart proclaimed King and Queen of England
- 1739Spain and Naples-Austria sign peace accord
- 1785Russian tsarina Catharina II ends noble privileges
- 1789John Adams sworn in as 1st US VP (9 days before Washington)
- 1794New York City formally declares coast of Ellis Island publically owned, so they can build forts to protect NYC from British
- 1828Noah Webster publishes 1st American dictionary
- 1857Alexander Douglas patents the bustle
- 1862Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Colorado
- 1878New York installs 1st firehouse pole
- 1878Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Inscrutabili
- 1878Ship Azor leaves Charleston with 206 blacks for Liberia
- 1884Potters Field reopened as Madison Park
- 1892Black Longshoremen strike for higher wages in St. Louis, Missouri
- 1898Spanish-American War begins
- 1904Ty Cobb makes his pro debut for Augusta (South Atlantic League)
- 1910Cleveland Naps play 1st game at League Park, lose to Detroit Tigers 5-0
- 1913German passenger ship Imperator runs aground
- 1913Gideon Sundback of Sweden patents the zipper
- 1914US marines occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico, stay 6 months
- 1925Chuvash Autonomous Region in RSFSR becomes Chuvash ASSR
- 1930Fire at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 322
Born on April 21
- 1488Ulrich von Hutten: German poet / humanist / patriot
- 1546Arcangelo Crivelli: Composer
- 1619John A van Riebeeck: Colonial director / founder (Cape Colony)
- 1672Johann Philipp Kafer: Composer
- 1713Louis Duke de Noailles: Marshal of France
- 1729Catharina II [the Great]: Writer / emperess of Russia (1762-96)
- 1730Antonin Kammel: Composer
- 1749Johann Michael Malzat: Composer
- 1774Jean-Baptiste Biot: French physicist / astronomer (balloonist)
- 1775Alexander Anderson: United States -- Engraver / illustrator (Shakespeare)
- 1779William Knyvett: Composer
- 1795Vincenzo Pallotti: Italian Saint
- 1803Levin Minn Powell: Commander (Union Navy), died in 1885
- 1806Peter van Schendel: Dutch painter
- 1809Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter: Secy State (Confederacy)
- 1814Beni Egressy: Composer
- 1816Louis Trezevant Wigfall: Confederate Army, died in 1874
- 1824Anselmo Clave: Composer
- 1828Hippolyte Taine: French philosopher / historian (Voyage in Italy)
- 1834William Rufus Terrill: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
- 1837Fredrik Bajer: Denmark -- Politican / feminist / pacifist (Nobel 1908)
- 1840Franz Xaver Haberl: German priest / musicologist (Magister choralis)
- 1849Oskar Hertwig: Germany -- Embryologist - discovered fertilization
- 1853Charles-Theodore Malherbe: Composer
- 1854Eusapia Palladino: Napolitanse with parergische phenomenons
- 1854Wladyslaw Rzepko: Composer
- 1864Max Weber: German sociologist / economist / historian (Ancient Judaism)
- 1867Benjamin A Jesurun: Antillian literary
- 1871Leo Blech: Composer
- 1871Vojtech Rihovsky: Composer
Died on April 21
- 1073Alexander II [Anselmo da Baggio]: Pope (1061-73)
- 1109Anselmus: Philosopher / Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1509Henry VII: 1st Tudor King of England (1485-1509), dies at 52
- 1552Peter Apianus [Bennewitz / Bienewitz]: German astronomer, dies at 50
- 1652Pietro Della Valle: Composer, dies at 66
- 1696Andres de Sola: Composer, dies at 61
- 1730Jan Palfijn: Flemish Physician / inventor (forceps), dies at 79
- 1736Frans Eugenius: Duke / prince of Savoye, dies at 72
- 1871Elisabeth Grube: Writer
- 1878Temistocle Solera: Composer, dies at 62
- 1898Louis Theodore Gouvy: Composer, dies at 78
- 1899Heinrich Kiepert: German cartographer / geographer, dies at 80
- 1900Heinrich Vogl: Composer, dies at 55
- 1910Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens]: Auther (Huckleberry Finn), dies at 74
- 1918"Red Baron" [Manfred von Richtofen]: Shot down in WWI at 25
- 1924Eleanora Duse: Ital actress (La Gioconda, La Locandiera), dies at 64
- 1930Christine [Elizabeth C] Poolman: Dutch actress (Mother), dies at 79
- 1930Robert S Bridges: Poet laureate (Testament of beauty), dies at 85
- 1938Muhammad Iqbal: Brt E Indies lawyer / Pakistan national hero, dies at 65
- 1939Herman Finck: Composer, dies at 66
- 1946John M Keynes: English economist (How to pay for the war?), dies at 62
- 1948Carlos Lopez Buchardo: Composer, dies at 66
- 1952[Richard] Stafford Cripps: English Minister of Plane-manufacturing, dies at 62
- 1952Leslie Banks: Actor (Henry V, 21 Days, Eye Witness), dies at 61
- 1961James Melton: Opera tenor (Ford Festival), dies at 57
- 1962Frederick Handley Page: Designer of 1st big airplane (40 seats)
- 1965Edward V Appleton: English physicist (Nobel Prize 1947), dies at 72
- 1968Norman Demuth: Composer, dies at 69
- 1968Toby Halicki: Car-crash film producer 48, killed shooting stunt
- 1971Edmund Lowe: Actor (Front Page Detective), dies at 81
Events on Apr 22
- 0296St. Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0536St. Agapitus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1056Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye
- 1073Pope Alexander II buried / Ildebrando chosen as Pope Gregory VII
- 1164Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope Paschalis III
- 1370Bastille begins being built in Paris
- 1500Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil and claims it for Portugal
- 1509Henry VIII ascended to throne of England
- 1521French King Francois I declares war on Spain
- 15261st slave revolt occurs in South Carolina
- 1529Treaty of Saragosa: Spain and Portugal divide eastern hemisphere
- 1648English army claims King Charles I responsible for bloodshed
- 1659Lord protector Cromwell disbands English parliament
- 1662Royal Society incorporates
- 1671King Charles II sits in on English parliament
- 1676Battle of Etna - Netherlands / Spain vs. France, M de Ruyter fatally wounded
- 1677Battle at Catania: between French and Dutch fleet
- 1692Edward Bishop is jailed for proposong flogging as cure for witchcraft
- 172219 VOC "komplotteurs" in Batavia executed
- 1796Napoleon defeats Piedmontese at Battle of Mondovi
- 1804Gioacchino Rossini (12) performs in Imola
- 1817Curacao prohibits use of white paint due to fierce sunlight
- 1823Baltic Club (Exchange) forms in London
- 1823R J Tyers patents roller skates
- 1838English steamship "Sirius" docks in NYC after Atlantic crossing
- 1861Robert E Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces
- 1864US mints 2 cent coin (1st appearance of "In God We Trust")
- 18761st NL game, Boston Braves beat Philadelphia Athletics 6-5
- 1876Tsjaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake" ballet
- 1884Thomas Stevens starts 1st bike trip around world (2 yrs 9 mos)
Born on Apr 22
- 1357Johan I: King of Portugal (1383-1433)
- 1451Isabella I [of Castile]: Spain -- Queen of Spain (1479-1504), Patron of Columbus
- 1610Alexander VIII [Pietro Ottoboni]: Italy -- Lawyer / Pope (1689-91)
- 1640Mariana Alcoforado: Portugal -- Nun
- 1658Giuseppe Torelli: Italy -- Composer (Concert Grossi op 8)
- 1682Willem I Kerricx the Young: Flemish architect / sculptor / painter
- 1690John Carteret: Earl Granville (C), English Chief Minister (1722-42)
- 1707Henry Fielding: England, United Kingdom -- Novelist (Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones)
- 1724Immanuel Kant: Konigsberg, Germany -- Philosopher (Critique of Pure Reason)
- 1773Jean V Baron de Rebecque: Swiss / Dutch army leader
- 1775Georg Hermes: German philosopher / theologist (Hermenianen)
- 1781Christian Friedrich Hermann Uber: Composer
- 1799Jean Poiseuille: Physician / physiologist (blood pressure)
- 1816Philip James Bailey: English poet (Festus)
- 1818Cadwallader Colden Washburn: Major General (Union volunteers)
- 1823Alfred Gibbs: Major General (Union Army), died in 1868
- 1827William Hopkins Morris: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1900
- 1828Guilherme Antonio Cossoul: Composer
- 1831Alexander McDowell McCook: Major General (Union volunteers)
- 1832Julius Sterling Morton: Nebraska, United States -- Governor of Nebraska that started Arbor Day
- 1839August W Eichler: German Botanist
- 1853Alphonse Bertillon: France -- Anthropologist - devised crime ID system
- 1854Henri-Marie Lafontaine: Belgium -- International lawyer (Nobel 1913)
- 1856[Marie] Louise Hens: Flemish actress (Two Orphans)
- 1858Ethel Mary Smyth: Composer
- 1863Cornelis A J van Dishoeck: Dutch publisher
- 1864Phil May: Wortley Yorkshire, United Kingdom -- Cartoonist
- 1866Hans von Seeckt: German General (Future of the Reich)
- 1868Jose Vianna da Motta: Composer
- 1873Ellen Anderson Glasgow: United States -- Novelist (Ancient Law, Pulitzer-1942)
Died on Apr 22
- 0536Agapitus I: Italian Pope (535-36)
- 1253Elias van Cortona: Italian General (1232-39), dies at about 53
- 1355Eleonora Plantagenet: Daughter of King Edward II, dies at 36
- 1462Gilbert of Lannoy: Master of Villerval / Tronchiennes / Santes
- 1592Bartolommeo Ammanati: Italian Sculptor / architect, dies at 80
- 1648Catharina Belgian van Nassau: Daughter of Willem, dies at 69
- 1662John Tradescant: Traveller / gardener
- 1672Georg Stiernhielm: Swed Scholar / Author / Poet (Hercules), dies at 73
- 1699Hans A baron von Abschatz: Silesian poet, dies at 53
- 1722Pieter Erberfeld: German / Thais Merchant on Java
- 1776Johann Adolph Scheibe: German music theroist / composer, dies at 67
- 1778James Hargreaves: Inventor (spinning jenny)
- 1782Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger: Composer, dies at 66
- 1788Zacharias H Alewijn: Dutch poet, dies at 46
- 1821John Crome [Old Crome]: English landscape Painter / etcher, dies at 52
- 1827Thomas Rowlandson: Caricaturist
- 1830Knud L Rahbek: Danish literary / historian, dies at 69
- 1833Richard Trevithick: Inventor (steam locomotive), dies at 62
- 1844Henri-Montan Berton: Composer, dies at 76
- 1864Joseph Gilbert Totten: US Union General Major, dies at 76
- 1865Francis Washburn: US Union Colonel / General Major, dies of injuries
- 1883Octave Fouque: Composer, dies at 38
- 1892Edouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo: Composer, dies at 69
- 1901William Stubbs: Historian / Bishop
- 1908Henry Campbell-Bannerman: British Premier (1905-08)
- 1925Andre Caplet: Composer, dies at 46
- 1929Odon Peter Jozsef de Mihalovich: Composer, dies at 86
- 1933Frederick Henry Royce: Motorcar pioneer
- 1944Mezio Agostini: Composer, dies at 68
- 1946Harlan Fiske Stone: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1941-46), dies at 73