April 20: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1534 - Jacques Cartier begins the voyage during which he discovers Canada and Labrador.
2. 1775 - American Revolutionary War: the Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
3. 1789 - President George Washington arrives in Philadelphia after inauguration to elaborate welcome at Gray's Ferry just after noon First inauguration of George Washington
4. 1836 - U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
5. 1926 - Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.
6. 1939 - Billie Holiday records the first Civil Rights song "Strange Fruit".
7. 1946 - The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
8. 1972 - Apollo 16, commanded by John Young, lands on the moon.
9. 1999 - Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
10. 2010 - The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.
11. Famous Birthdays: Charles Plumier (French botanist), Daniel Chester French (American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue), George Stibitz (American computer scientist), Kai Siegbahn (Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate), K. Alex Müller (Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: April 19

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: April 21

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.