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Nuremberg trials begin

Born on This Day

Robert F. Kennedy

1925 - 1968

Social justice advocate and attorney general in his brother John's presidency. Killed in 1968 during his own presidential run.

Edwin Hubble

1889 - 1953

Astronomer whose discovery that the universe is expanding revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos.

Bo Derek

1956 -

Actress, model and sex icon best known for the provocative 1979 rom-com "10."

Robert F. KennedyNY Daily News via Getty Images

Edwin HubbleGetty Images

Bo DerekDaniele Venturelli/Getty Images

1983

NOV20

With Cold War tensions peaking, more than 100 million people watch "The Day After" on ABC, a controversial made-for-TV film about a nuclear bomb being dropped on Kansas. President Reagan wrote that it left him "greatly depressed."

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 November 20th

American vessel sunk by sperm whale

The American whaler Essex, which hailed from Nantucket, Massachusetts, is attacked by an 80-ton sperm whale 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America. The 238-ton Essex was in pursuit of sperm whales, specifically the precious oil and bone that could be derived from them, when an enraged bull whale rammed the ship twice […]

New York Committee of Vigilance founded

On November 20, 1835, David Ruggles, a Black abolitionist living in New York City, founds the New York Committee of Vigilance, an interracial collective working to protect free Black New Yorkers and fugitive former slaves from kidnappers and police. Its stated goal: to “protect unoffending, defenseless and endangered persons of color, by securing their rights […]

Pierre Lallement patents the modern pedal bicycle

On November 20, 1866, a Frenchman named Pierre Lallement receives a U.S. patent for the nation’s first pedal bicycle. Lallement had arrived in the United States the year before, carrying the plans and components for his invention. Lallement constructed and patented the first bicycle in the United States, but received no significant reward or recognition […]

Tom Horn is hanged in Wyoming for the murder of Willie Nickell

On November 20, 1903, the infamous hired killer Tom Horn is hanged for having allegedly murdered Willie Nickell, the 14-year-old son of a southern Wyoming sheep rancher. Some historians have since questioned whether Horn really killed the boy, pointing out that the jury convicted him solely on the basis of a drunken confession that Horn […]

British launch surprise tank attack at Cambrai

At dawn on the morning of November 20, 1917, six infantry and two cavalry divisions of the British Expeditionary Force—with additional support from 14 squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps—join the British Tank Corps in a surprise attack on the German lines near Cambrai, France. After the British debuted the first armored tanks during the […]

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Garrett Morgan patents three-position traffic signal

On November 20, 1923, the U.S. Patent Office grants Patent No. 1,475,074 to 46-year-old inventor and newspaperman Garrett Morgan for his three-position traffic signal. Though Morgan’s was not the first traffic signal (that one had been installed in London in 1868), it was an important innovation nonetheless: By having a third position besides just “Stop” […]

Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten

In a lavish wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, Princess Elizabeth marries her distant cousin, Philip Mountbatten, a dashing former prince of Greece and Denmark who renounced his titles in order to marry the English princess. Princess Elizabeth, heir to the British throne, was 21 years old. Philip Mountbatten, age 26, had fought as […]

Cal beats Stanford as band blocks field

On November 20, 1982, the UC Berkeley football team, referred to as Cal, wins an improbable last-second victory over Stanford when they complete five lateral passes around members of the Cardinal marching band, who had wandered onto the field a bit early to celebrate the upset they were sure their team had won, and score […]

Windsor Castle catches fire

On November 20, 1992, Windsor Castle, the historic English royal residence and home to Queen Elizabeth II, catches fire. The blaze comes during a particularly difficult year for the royal family. According to the Royal Collection Trust, at around 11:30 in the morning, a fire broke out in the Queen’s Private Chapel after a faulty […]

The first Transgender Day of Remembrance is held

November 20, 1999 marks the first Transgender Day of Remembrance, honoring the victims of transphobic violence. Now an annual observance, the first TDoR is a vigil commemorating Rita Hester, a 34-year-old African American trans woman murdered in Boston the previous year. Hester had been openly trans for nearly her whole life and was well-known in […]

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Music producer Phil Spector charged with murder of actress

On November 20, 2003, Phil Spector, the influential, eccentric music producer who worked with a long list of performers including The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, Ike and Tina Turner, John Lennon and the Ramones, is charged in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. Spector pleaded not guilty to the charges. The 40-year-old Clarkson was found […]

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