This Day in History on 20 December
The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam.
On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 20 December. The students can refer to them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.
Important Days
International Human Solidarity Day (International)
Important Events
1686: After clashes with Mughal soldiers, Jaub Chaarnak left Hoogly and settled in Sutnati.
1757: Clauk became Governor of Bengal.
1757: Lord Clive was made the Governor of Bengal.
1924: Adolf Hitler was released from Landsberg prison.
1929: The Indian State Air Service, an extension of Imperial Airways’ routes, opens its inaugural service from Karachi to Delhi.
1931: Leela Nag (Leela Roy), freedom fighter and editor of Jayshri, was arrested in Bengal for her association with “Depali Sangh” who supported Chatgang Ammunition Plot against the Bengal Government.
1945: Mumbai-Bangalore passenger airline launched.
1946: Gandhiji completes his month-long sojourn at Srirampur.
1955: Formation of Indian Golf Association.
1957: Kalinga Prize for 1957 awarded to Lord Bertrand Russell.
1957: Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ is declared the best film at the San Francisco Film Festival.
1959: Jasu Patel takes 9-69 during India vs Australia tour at Kanpur.
1967: Indira Gandhi gets powers to outlaw groups that question sovereignty.
1971: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the fourth President of Pakistan.
1978: Riots in many Indian cities in protest against Indira Gandhi’s imprisonment.
1987: Sweden beats India in Gothenburg (5-0) in 76th Tennis Davis Cup .
1988: The Constitution (62nd Amendment) Bill for reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 years receives Parliamentary approval.
1990: India and Pakistan agree not to attack each other’s nuclear installations.
1990: Supreme Court stays Delhi High Court judge Justice Chawla’s orders on the Bofors issue.
1990: India and Pakistan agreed not to carry out nuclear attacks on each other.
1992: BJP launches campaign to oust Rao government; Vajpayee goes on fast.
1993: Bangarappa expelled from Congress for 6 years.
1993: India and Council of European Union sign a co-operation agreement in Brussels.
1993: A cooperation agreement was signed in Brussels between India and the European Union.
1994: President Dr. Shankardayal Sharma presented the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Reconciliation to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
1994: The last batch of troops of IAF left the capital city of Mogadishu. The First batch reinducted was of 10 IAF personnel. Cpl Nasir was left as a lying casualty due to injuries sustained in the RPG explosion by AN-124 contracted by UN.
1998: Dr. B. V. Raman (86), a reputed astrologer, dies in Bangalore following a cardiac arrest. He was the Editor of The Astrological Magazine.
1999: Portugal returned Macau to China.
1999: Win Chadha ready to come to India to face trial in the Bofors case.
1999: The Delhi HC dismisses a plea from Rajendra Yadav challenging his retirement from the Prachar Bharati Board.
1999: The Government rejects underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s conditional offer to surrender.
1999: Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party Chief, opposes signing of CTBT.
2000: The Government accepts the Eleventh Finance Commission recommendation to extend grants to all the States from the Incentive Fund.
2000: Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister, announces the Government’s decision to extend J&K ceasefire till January 26, 2001.
Birth/Birth Anniversary
1850: Atma Dev, social reformer and religious leader, was born.
1866: Panchkadi Banerjee, famous journalist and editor, was born.
1868: Harvey Firestone, an American businessman, and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
1876: Bankinchrandra Chattopadhyay wrote “Vande Mataram”.
1890: Jaroslav Heyrovský, a Czech chemist, and inventor.
1901: Robert Jemison Van de Graaff, an American physicist.
1909: Vakkom Majeed, an Indian freedom fighter, and politician.
1920: Justice Ali Sayyed Murtuza Fazal was born.
1940: Mungara Yamini Krishnamurthy, an Indian dancer of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi styles of dancing.
1942: Rana Bahubhali Bhagwandas, a Pakistani jurist and the first Hindu chief justice of Pakistan.
1955: Ajay Piramal, an Indian billionaire industrialist, and the chairman of the Piramal Group.
1970: Sohail Khan, an Indian film actor, director, and producer.
1970: Todd Phillips, an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.
1945: Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and author (d. 2010)
Death/ Death Anniversary
1731: Maharaja Chhatrasal, a medieval Indian warrior from the Bundela Rajput clan.
1915: Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, a Bengali writer, and painter.
1942: Gangu Bai, freedom fighter from Kolhapur, died at Hinlang Jail because of police beating.
1948: Ladha Ramji, brother of Amar Singh and played his only Test vs Eng in 1933-34, died at Rajkot.
1956: Gadge Maharaj, a mendicant-saint and social reformer from the Indian state of Maharashtra.
1969: Nihalsingh Gurumukh, former Chief Minister of Dehli and Governor of Rajasthan, died.
1971: Roy Oliver Disney, an American businessman, and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company.
1993: William Edwards Deming, an American engineer.
1993: Jaichandran Nair, Colonel Neelkantan, died.
1996: Daya Pawar, an Indian Marathi language author, and poet was known for his contributions to Dalit literature.
1996: Carl Edward Sagan, an American astronomer.
1998: Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, an English physiologist, and biophysicist.
1998: Bangalore Venkata Raman, an Indian astrologer in modern India.