Elvis Presley during national military service duty 1958-1960

Elvis Presley is drafted

Born on This Day

Tire Industrialist Harvey Samuel Firestone

Harvey S. Firestone

1868 - 1938

Industrialist and founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company who played a significant role in the early auto industry.

"Mid 90's" Photocall - 69th Berlinale International Film Festival

Jonah Hill

1983 -

Actor known for his energetic roles in films "Superbad," "21 Jump Street" and "The Wolf of Wall Street."

NBCUniversal Events - Season 2017

Dick Wolf

1946 -

Television producer best known for creating the "Law & Order" and "Chicago" TV franchises.

Harvey S. FirestoneBettmann Archive

Jonah HillGetty Images

Dick WolfNBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via

1880

DEC20

A section of Broadway between Union Square and Madison Square is illuminated by Brush arc lamps, making it one of the first electrically lighted streets in the US—and earning it the nickname “The Great White Way.”

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 20th

Hitler to Halder: No retreat!

In one of his first acts as the new commander in chief of the German army, Adolf Hitler informs General Franz Halder that there will be no retreating from the Russian front near Moscow. “The will to hold out must be brought home to every unit!” Halder was also informed that he could stay on […]

1:52m read read

National Liberation Front formed

North Vietnam announces the formation of the National Front for the Liberation of the South at a conference held “somewhere in the South.” This organization, more commonly known as the National Liberation Front (NLF), was designed to replicate the success of the Viet Minh, the umbrella nationalist organization that successfully liberated Vietnam from French colonial […]

1:34m read read

Berlin Wall opened for first time

More than two years after the Berlin Wall was constructed by East Germany to prevent its citizens from fleeing its communist regime, nearly 4,000 West Berliners are allowed to cross into East Berlin to visit relatives. Under an agreement reached between East and West Berlin, more than 170,000 passes were eventually issued to West Berlin […]

1:28m read read

Man chased to his death in Howard Beach hate crime

On December 20, 1986, three Black men are attacked by a group of white teenagers yelling racial slurs in Howard Beach, a predominately white, middle-class, Italian-American neighborhood in Queens, New York. Earlier that night, the men were driving from Brooklyn to Queens, when their car broke down near Howard Beach. They walked several miles to […]

1:36m read read

“Roger & Me” opens in U.S. theaters

Documentarian Michael Moore’s first film, Roger & Me, opens in theaters on December 20, 1989. The film follows the economic impact of GM shutting down several auto factories in Moore’s hometown of Flint, Michigan. Though Moore leavened his movie with goofy anecdotes and absurdist set-pieces, the humor did not disguise his rage at what had […]

1:06m read read

The U.S. invades Panama

The United States invades Panama in an attempt to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega, who had been indicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and was accused of suppressing democracy in Panama and endangering U.S. nationals. Noriega’s Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) were promptly crushed, forcing the dictator to seek asylum with the Vatican […]

2:52m read read

NATO assumes peacekeeping duties in Bosnia

During a brief military ceremony in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, French General Bernard Janvier, head of the United Nations peacekeeping force, formally transfers military authority in Bosnia to U.S. Admiral Leighton Smith, commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Southern Europe. The solemn ceremony cleared the path for the deployment of 60,000 NATO troops to […]

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