On This Day in History

April 20

Historical Events

The Winchester Round Table bears the names of various knights of King Arthur's court around the edge such as Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristan

1290 Round Table tournament held near Winchester, England, in imitation of King Arthur, to commemorate betrothal of daughter of Edward I, and attended by the king.

1862 First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard.

1902 Marie and Pierre Curie isolate the radioactive compound radium chloride.

1968 British politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech.

1980 Climax of the Berber Spring in Algeria sees hundreds of Berber political activists arrested.

2010 The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes, killing 11 and causing the rig to sink, causing a massive oil discharge into the Gulf of Mexico and an environmental disaster.

More Historical Events

Famous Birthdays

Philippe Pinel 1745 - 1826 Napoleon III 1808 - 1873

Paul Poiret 1879 - 1944 Miranda Kerr 41st Birthday

Also Adolf Hitler, Don Mattingly (63) and Carmen Electra (52).

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Famous Deaths

George Clinton 1739 - 1812 Avicii 1989 - 2018

Also Bram Stoker and Tom Lester.

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World's First Motor Race

It was hardly the stuff of today's adrenalin-pumping Formula 1 match ups, but on this day two men climbed aboard their machine for "the world’s first motor race”.

The First Motor Race