2024 Magdeburg car attack
Six people are killed and over 200 are injured when an anti-Islam activist drives a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.
What happened on December 20
29 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1248 to 2024.
Standout on December 20
2024
2024 Magdeburg car attack
Six people are killed and over 200 are injured when an anti-Islam activist drives a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.
About December 20
December 20 is the 354th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 354 of 365 (355 in leap years)11 days left in the year (11 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Sunday in 2026, Monday in 2027, Wednesday in 2028, Thursday in 2029, Friday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 51 of 2026 · Q4
- Zodiac sign
- ♐ Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)Cusp date — the exact boundary shifts by a day in some years.
- Season
- Autumn in the north · Spring in the south
- December birthstone
- Turquoise / Tanzanite / Zircongood fortune, wisdom and success
- December birth flower
- Narcissus / Holly / Poinsettiarespect, hope and good wishes
- Next occurrence
- In 54 days
- Roman numerals
- XX.XIIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 75thExperimental Breeder Reactor I1951
- 40thChay Genoway1986
- 30thJarrod Bowen1996
- 25thFacundo Pellistri2001
- 20thAnne Rogers Clark2006
- 10thAerosucre Flight 1572016
December 20 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Aerosucre Flight 157
- 25 years ago2001
- Facundo Pellistri
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on December 20 — ages this year
- 2007Gavin McKennaturns 19
- 2001Facundo Pellistriturns 25
- 2000Gaboroturns 26
- 1998Kylian Mbappéturns 28
- 1997De'Aaron Foxturns 29
- 1997Suzuka Nakamototurns 29
Historical events 29
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Zagreb school stabbing
A mass stabbing occurs in a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia, in which a 7-year-old pupil is killed and six more are injured by a knife-wielding 19-year-old male.
United States Space Force
The United States Space Force becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.
Aerosucre Flight 157
Aerosucre Flight 157 crashes during takeoff from Germán Olano Airport in Puerto Carreño, Colombia, killing five people.
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and 243 days.
Portrait of Suzanne Bloch
The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil. Both will be recovered a few weeks later.
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later.
Northern Bank robbery
A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.
Handover of Macau
Portugal transferred the sovereignty over Macau, which it had administered since the mid–16th century, to China.
Macau
Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.
Dayton Agreement
Mandated by the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the NATO-led Implementation Force (troops pictured) began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
American Airlines Flight 965
American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Buga, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 people on board.
Murder of Tina Isa
A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
United States invasion of Panama
The United States invasion of Panama deposes Manuel Noriega.
War on drugs
War on drugs: The United Nations agrees upon and promulgates the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, one of three major drug control treaties currently in force.
MV Doña Paz
In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait of the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
List of maritime disasters
The deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history occurred when the MV Doña Paz (pictured) sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, resulting in an estimated 4,385 deaths.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II announces the creation of World Youth Day.
Summit Tunnel fire
The Summit Tunnel fire, one of the largest transportation tunnel fires in history, burns after a freight train carrying over one million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines.
Murder of Jonelle Matthews
Twelve-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colorado; her body was not discovered until 2019.
NBC
NBC aired the American football match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins without announcers.
State Council of China
With the approval of the State Council, China's two largest newspapers, the People's Daily and the Guangming Daily, publish in full for the first time the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme.
Assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco
Assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco: A car bomb planted by ETA in Madrid kills three people, including the Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco.
Koza riot
Koza riot: After a series of hit-and-runs and other vehicular incidents involving American service personnel, roughly 5,000 Okinawans take to the streets, clashing with American law enforcement in protest against the U.S. occupation of Okinawa.
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer murders his first two officially confirmed victims, David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, on Lake Herman Road in Benicia, California, United States.
Experimental Breeder Reactor I
Experimental Breeder Reactor I near Arco, Idaho, U.S., became the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it became able to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs.
Captain America
The superhero Captain America made his first published appearance in the comic book Captain America Comics #1.
George Cathcart
Led by George Cathcart, British troops defeated Basuto and Taung forces at the Battle of Berea in present-day Lesotho, leading to an offer of peace from King Moshoeshoe I.
Franco-Mongol alliance
Attempting to form an alliance with the Mongol Empire, Louis IX of France met with two of their envoys while en route to the Seventh Crusade.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
John Freeman (British politician)
John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (born 1915)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Philogonius
Christian feast day: Philogonius
Dominic of Silos
Christian feast day: Dominic of Silos
Bo Aung Kyaw Day
Bo Aung Kyaw Day (Myanmar)
Katharina von Bora
Christian feast day: Katharina von Bora (Lutheran)
Michał Piaszczyński
Christian feast day: Blessed Michał Piaszczyński
Cafres
Abolition of Slavery Day, also known as Fête des Cafres (Réunion, French Guiana)
O Antiphons
Christian feast day: O Clavis
Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne
Christian feast day: Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne
Spread across the centuries
- 13th century1
- 19th century1
- 20th century37
- 21st century30
Earliest: Franco-Mongol alliance (1248). Most recent: 2024 Magdeburg car attack (2024).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about December 20
What day of the year is December 20?
December 20 is the 354th day of the year, with 11 days left after it.
What star sign is December 20?
December 20 falls under Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21), a fire sign ruled by Jupiter. The birthstone for the month is Turquoise or Tanzanite or Zircon.
How many things happened on December 20?
We record 77 entries for December 20: 29 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1248 to 2024.
Who was born on December 20?
Gavin McKenna (2007) is among the notable births on December 20. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the December 20 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like December 20
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.