September 20

September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 102 days remaining until the end of the year.

In the Northern Hemisphere, astronomical Autumn starts on 20 September. In the Southern Hemisphere, astronomical Spring starts on this date.

Events

• 480 BC – Greeks defeat Persians in the Battle of Salamis
• 1066 – Battle of Fulford, viking Harold Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin (both died in the battle)
• 1058 – Agnes de Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border-zone in present-day Burgenland.
• 1187 – Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.
• 1260 – the Great Prussian Uprising among the old Prussians begins against the Teutonic Knights.
• 1378 – Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the Butcher of Cesena, is elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.
• 1498 – The 1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake generates a tsunami that washes away the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan; since then the Buddha has sat in the open air.
• 1519 – Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with about 270 men on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
• 1596 – Diego de Montemayor founds the city of Monterrey in New Spain.
• 1697 – The Treaty of Rijswijk is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic ending the Nine Years' War (1688–97).
• 1737 – The finish of the Walking Purchase which forces the cession of 1.2 million acres (4,860 km²) of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.
• 1792 – French troops stop allied invasion of France, during the War of the First Coalition at Valmy.
• 1835 – Ragamuffin rebels capture Porto Alegre, then capital of the Brazilian imperial province of Rio Grande do Sul, triggering the start of ten-year-long Farroupilha Revolution.
• 1848 – The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created.
• 1854 – Battle of Alma: British and French troops defeat Russians in the Crimea.
• 1857 – The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.
• 1860 – The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) visits the United States.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga ends.
• 1870 – Bersaglieri corps enter Rome through the Porta Pia and complete the unification of Italy.
• 1871 – Bishop John Coleridge Patteson is martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. He is the first bishop of Melanesia.
• 1881 – Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States following the assassination of James Garfield.
• 1893 – Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile.
• 1906 – Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
• 1909 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the South Africa Act 1909, creating the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony.
• 1910 – The ocean liner SS France, later known as the "Versailles of the Atlantic", is launched.
• 1911 – White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with British warship HMS Hawke.
• 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
• 1930 – Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is formed by Archbishop Mar Ivanios.
• 1942 – Holocaust in Letychiv, Ukraine. In the course of two days the German SS murders at least 3,000 Jews.
• 1961 – Greek general Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
• 1962 – James Meredith, an African-American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi.
• 1967 – RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland. It is operated by the Cunard Line.
• 1970 – Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen.
• 1971 – Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.
• 1973 – Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in The Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
• 1977 – The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.
• 1979 – A coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokasa I.
• 1982 – The National Football League players begin a 57-day strike.
• 1984 – A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.
• 1985 – Capital gains tax is introduced in Australia, one of a number of tax reforms by the Hawke/Keating government.
• 1990 – South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.
• 2000 – The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by unapprehended forces using a Russian-built RPG-22 anti-tank missile.
• 2001 – In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror".
• 2002 – The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide.
• 2003 – Maldives civil unrest: the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé.
• 2007 – Between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters marched on Jena, Louisiana, in support of six black youths who had been convicted of assaulting a white classmate.
• 2008 – A dump truck full of explosives detonates in front of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 54 people and injuring 266 others.
• 2011 – The United States ends its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.

Births

• 524 – Kan B'alam I, Mayan ruler (d. 583)
• 1161 – Emperor Takakura of Japan (d. 1181)
• 1486 – Arthur, Prince of Wales (d. 1502)
• 1593 – Gottfried Scheidt, German composer and organist (d. 1661)
• 1599 – Christian the Younger of Brunswick, German military leader (d. 1623)
• 1608 – Jean-Jacques Olier, French priest, founder of Society of Saint-Sulpice (d. 1657)
• 1685 – Giuseppe Matteo Alberti, Italian violinist (d. 1751)
• 1746 – Maurice Benyovszky, Hungarian explorer and writer (d. 1786)
• 1758 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian emperor (d. 1806)
• 1778 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian navy officer and explorer (d. 1852)
• 1800 – Benjamin Franklin White, American singer and composer (d. 1879)
• 1820 – John F. Reynolds, American general (d. 1863)
• 1831 – Kate Harrington, American teacher and poet (d. 1917)
• 1833 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian soldier and journalist, recipient of the Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1918)
• 1842 – Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (d. 1923)
• 1844 – William H. Illingworth, American photographer (d. 1893)
• 1851 – Henry Arthur Jones, English playwright (d. 1929)
• 1853 – Chulalongkorn, Thai king (d. 1910)
• 1861 – Herbert Putnam, American lawyer, publisher, and librarian (d. 1955)
• 1872 – Maurice Gamelin, French general (d. 1958)
• 1873 – Sidney Olcott, Canadian director (d. 1949)
• 1873 – Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian race car driver (d. 1944)
• 1878 – Upton Sinclair, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
• 1880 – Louise Peete, American murderer (d. 1947)
• 1884 – Maxwell Perkins, American publisher and editor (d. 1947)
• 1885 – Enrico Mizzi, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1950)
• 1885 – Jelly Roll Morton, American pianist, bandleader and composer (Red Hot Peppers and New Orleans Rhythm Kings) (d. 1941)
• 1886 – Charles Williams, English author (d. 1945)
• 1889 – Charles Reidpath, American runner (d. 1975)
• 1892 – Roy Turk, American songwriter (d. 1934)
• 1893 – Colin Fraser Barron, Scottish-Canadian soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1958)
• 1893 – Hermann Lux, German footballer (d. 1962)
• 1899 – Leo Strauss, German-American philosopher (d. 1973)
• 1902 – Stevie Smith, English author and poet (d. 1971)
• 1906 – Jean Dréville, French director (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Shriram Sharma, Indian philosopher (d. 1991)
• 1913 – John Collins, American guitarist (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Kenneth More, English actor (d. 1982)
• 1915 – K. H. Ting, Chinese bishop (d. 2012)
• 1916 – Malik Meraj Khalid, Pakistani politician, Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 2003)
• 1917 – Red Auerbach, American basketball coach (d. 2006)
• 1917 – Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (d. 1994)
• 1917 – Don Starr, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (d. 2011)
• 1920 – Alberto de Lacerda, Portuguese poet (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Jay Ward, American cartoonist (d. 1989)
• 1921 – Chico Hamilton, American drummer and bandleader
• 1922 – William Kapell, American pianist (d. 1953)
• 1923 – Geraldine Clinton Little, Irish-American poet (d. 1997)
• 1923 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (d. 1992)
• 1924 – Gogi Grant, American singer
• 1924 – Albert Marre, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Jackie Paris, American singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Indian actor
• 1925 – James Bernard, English composer (d. 2001)
• 1925 – Ananda Mahidol, Thai king (d. 1946)
• 1925 – Bobby Nunn, American singer (The Coasters and The Robins) (d. 1986)
• 1927 – Colette Bonheur, Canadian singer (d. 1966)
• 1927 – Johnny Dankworth, English musician and composer (d. 2010)
• 1927 – Red Mitchell, American bassist, composer, and poet(d. 1992)
• 1927 – Rachel Roberts, Welsh actress (d. 1980)
• 1928 – Olga Ferri, Argentine dancer and choreographer (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Donald Hall, American poet
• 1928 – Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (d. 2000)
• 1929 – Anne Meara, American actress
• 1930 – Eddie Bo, American singer and pianist (d. 2009)
• 1931 – Cherd Songsri, Thai director and producer (d. 2006)
• 1933 – Dennis Viollet, English footballer (d. 1999)
• 1933 – Steve McCall, American drummer (Air) (d. 1989)
• 1934 – Takayuki Kubota, Japanese martial artist
• 1934 – Sophia Loren, Italian actress
• 1935 – David Pegg, English footballer (d. 1958)
• 1935 – Keith Roberts, English author (d. 2000)
• 1935 – Jim Taylor, American football player
• 1936 – Salvador Reyes Monteón, Mexican footballer (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Birgitta Dahl, Swedish politician
• 1937 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (d. 2005)
• 1938 – Eric Gale, American guitarist and producer (Stuff) (d. 1994)
• 1939 – Robert L. Gerry III, American businessman
• 1940 – Taro Aso, Japanese politician, 92nd Prime Minister of Japan
• 1941 – Dale Chihuly, American sculptor
• 1941 – Jim Cullum, Jr., American cornet player (Jim Cullum Jazz Band)
• 1941 – Alix de Lannoy, Belgian mother of Stéphanie de Lannoy (d. 2012)
• 1942 – Gérald Tremblay, Canadian politician, 41st Mayor of Montreal
• 1946 – Pete Coors, American businessman
• 1946 – Markandey Katju, Indian judge
• 1947 – Billy Bang, American singer and composer (d. 2011)
• 1947 – Jude Devereaux, American author
• 1947 – Steve Gerber, American writer and editor (d. 2008)
• 1947 – Wojciech Kurtyka, Polish mountaineer
• 1947 – Mia Martini, Italian singer (d. 1995)
• 1947 – Chris Ortloff, American politician
• 1947 – Bruce Pasternack, American businessman
• 1947 – Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, French journalist and author
• 1948 – George R. R. Martin, American screenwriter and author
• 1948 – Chuck Panozzo, American bass player (Styx)
• 1948 – John Panozzo, American drummer (Styx) (d. 1996)
• 1949 – Mahesh Bhatt, Indian director
• 1949 – Anthony Denison, American actor
• 1951 – Cornelia Behm, German politician
• 1951 – Mike Graham, American wrestler (d. 2012)
• 1951 – Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1951 – Javier Marías, Spanish author, translator, and academic
• 1954 – Henry Samueli, American businessman, co-founded Broadcom
• 1956 – Gary Cole, American actor
• 1956 – Steve Coleman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
• 1956 – John Harle, English saxophonist, composer, conductor, and producer
• 1956 – Debbi Morgan, American actress
• 1957 – Alannah Currie, New Zealand singer-songwriter (Thompson Twins)
• 1957 – Michael Hurst, New Zealand actor and director
• 1958 – Arn Anderson, American wrestler and author
• 1959 – Joanna Domańska, Polish pianist and educator
• 1960 – Deborah Roberts, American journalist
• 1960 – Dave Hemingway, English singer-songwriter (The Beautiful South and The Housemartins)
• 1961 – Lisa Bloom, American lawyer
• 1964 – Randy Bradbury, American bass player (Pennywise and One Hit Wonder)
• 1964 – Maggie Cheung, Hong Kong actress
• 1965 – Robert Rusler, American actor
• 1966 – Nuno Bettencourt, Portuguese singer-songwriter and guitarist (Extreme, Satellite Party, DramaGods, and Mourning Widows)
• 1967 – Martin Harrison, American football player
• 1967 – Kristen Johnston, American actress
• 1967 – Gunnar Nelson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nelson)
• 1967 – Matthew Nelson, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Nelson)
• 1968 – Van Jones, American attorney and activist
• 1968 – Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress
• 1968 – Darrell Russell, American race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1968 – Ben Shepherd, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Soundgarden, Hater, and Wellwater Conspiracy))
• 1969 – Victoria Dillard, American actress
• 1969 – Megumi Kudo, Japanese wrestler
• 1969 – Patrick Pentland, Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Sloan)
• 1969 – Tim Rogers, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (You Am I)
• 1969 – Richard Witschge, Dutch footballer
• 1971 – Todd Blackadder, New Zealand rugby player
• 1971 – Masashi Hamauzu, Japanese composer
• 1971 – Henrik Larsson, Swedish footballer
• 1971 – Dominika Peczynski, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers and Nouveau Riche)
• 1972 – Sergio Di Zio, Canadian actor
• 1973 – Ronald McKinnon, American football player
• 1974 – Michael Waddington, American lawyer
• 1975 – Asia Argento, Italian actress
• 1975 – Moon Bloodgood, American actress
• 1975 – Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian race car driver
• 1975 – Jason Robinson, American saxophonist and composer (Cosmologic, Cross Border Trio, Groundation, and Trummerflora Collective)
• 1976 – Jon Bernthal, American actor
• 1976 – Agata Buzek, Polish actress
• 1976 – Yo Hitoto, Japanese singer
• 1976 – Yui Horie, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1976 – Enuka Okuma, Canadian actress
• 1976 – Reuben Singh, English businessman
• 1977 – Namie Amuro, Japanese singer, dancer, and actress (Super Monkey's and Suite Chic)
• 1977 – Chris Mooney, American journalist
• 1978 – Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player
• 1978 – Patrizio Buanne, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1978 – Héctor Camacho, Jr., Puerto Rican boxer
• 1978 – Sarit Hadad, Israeli singer
• 1978 – Dante Hall, American football player
• 1978 – T.J. Tucker, American baseball player
• 1979 – Sean Davis, English footballer
• 1979 – Dan Gillespie Sells, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Feeling and Speedway)
• 1979 – Wilfried Tevoedjre, Beninese swimmer
• 1980 – Mariacarla Boscono, Italian model
• 1980 – Vladimir Karpets, Russian cyclist
• 1980 – Jonathan Le Billon, English actor
• 1980 – Mehrzad Marashi, German singer
• 1980 – Madison Young, American porn actress and director, founded Femina Potens Art Gallery
• 1980 – Ryan Donowho, American actor
• 1981 – Joanie Dodds, American model
• 1981 – Feliciano López, Spanish tennis player
• 1981 – Jordan Tata, American baseball player
• 1982 – Jason Bacashihua, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Aaron Burkart, German race car driver
• 1982 – Brian Fortuna, American dancer and choreographer
• 1982 – Sarah Glendening, American actress
• 1982 – Athanasios Tsigas, Greek footballer
• 1983 – Yuna Ito, American-Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
• 1983 – Freya Murray, Scottish runner
• 1983 – Ángel Sánchez, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1983 – A-Lin, Taiwanese Mandopop singer of Amis descent.
• 1984 – Brian Joubert, French figure skater
• 1986 – Aldis Hodge, American actor
• 1987 – Jack Lawless, American drummer (Ocean Grove)
• 1987 – Sarah Natochenny, American actress and model
• 1987 – Tito Tebaldi, Italian rugby player
• 1987 – Son Ga-In, Member of Korean girlgroup Brown Eyed Girls
• 1990 – Marilou, Canadian singer
• 1990 – Erich Gonzales, Filipino actress
• 1990 – Phillip Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1990 – John Tavares, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1991 – Isaac Cofie, Ghanaian footballer
• 1991 – Spencer Locke, American actress
• 1992 – Amidu Salifu, Ghanaian footballer
• 1995 – Laura Dekker, Dutch sailor
• 1995 – Sammi Hanratty, American actress and singer

Deaths

• 911 – Louis the Child of the East Franks (b. 893)
• 1246 – Michael of Chernigov (b. 1185)
• 1384 – Louis I, Duke of Anjou (b. 1339)
• 1460 – Gilles Binchois, Flemish composer (b. 1400)
• 1586 – John Ballard, English priest, conspirator in the Babington Plot
• 1586 – Chidiock Tichborne, English poet, conspirator in the Babington Plot (b. 1558)
• 1590 – Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer (b. 1534)
• 1625 – Heinrich Meibom, German historian and poet (b. 1555)
• 1627 – Jan Gruter, Dutch critic (b. 1560)
• 1630 – Claudio Saracini, Italian composer (b. 1586)
• 1639 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch scholar (b. 1579)
• 1643 – Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland, English politician and author (b. 1610)
• 1684 – Kim Seok-ju, Korean scholar, politician, and author (b. 1634)
• 1721 – Thomas Doggett, Irish actor (b. 1640)
• 1793 – Fletcher Christian, English navy officer (b. 1764)
• 1803 – Robert Emmet, Irish army officer (b. 1780)
• 1815 – Nicolas Desmarest, French geologist (b. 1725)
• 1839 – Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English navy officer (b. 1769)
• 1840 – José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguayan politician (b. 1766)
• 1845 – Matvei Gedenschtrom, Russian explorer (b. 1780)
• 1852 – Philander Chase, American bishop and educator, founded Kenyon College (b. 1775)
• 1855 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran priest and educator (b. 1797)
• 1863 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist, jurist, and author (b. 1785)
• 1884 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (b. 1802)
• 1898 – Theodor Fontane, German author and poet (b. 1819)
• 1906 – Robert R. Hitt, American politician (b. 1834)
• 1908 – Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (b. 1844)
• 1927 – George Nichols, American actor and director (b. 1864)
• 1930 – Gombojab Tsybikov, Russian explorer (b. 1873)
• 1932 – Wovoka, American religious leader, founded the Ghost Dance Movement (b. 1856)
• 1933 – Annie Besant, English activist (b. 1847)
• 1939 – Paul Bruchési, Canadian archbishop (b. 1855)
• 1945 – Augusto Tasso Fragoso, Brazilian politician (b. 1869
• 1945 – Jack Thayer, American survivor of the Sinking of the RMS Titanic (b. 1894)
• 1945 – William Seabrook, American occultist, journalist, and explorer (b. 1884)
• 1945 – Eduard Wirths, German nazi physician (b. 1909)
• 1946 – Raimu, French actor (b. 1883)
• 1947 – Fiorello La Guardia, American politician, 99th Mayor of New York City (b. 1882)
• 1948 – Husain Salaahuddin, Maldivian scholar, poet, and writer (b. 1881)
• 1957 – Heino Kaski, Finnish composer and pianist (b. 1885)
• 1957 – Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (b. 1865)
• 1958 – Oscar O'Brien, Canadian priest, composer, and pianist (b. 1892)
• 1970 – Alexandros Othonaios, Greek general, 126h Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1879)
• 1971 – Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
• 1972 – Pierre-Henri Simon, French historian and author (b. 1903)
• 1973 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
• 1975 – Saint-John Perse, French poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
• 1979 – Ludvík Svoboda, Czech general and politician, 8th President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1895)
• 1980 – Sanpei Hayashiya I, Japanese comedian (b. 1925)
• 1984 – Steve Goodman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
• 1985 – Ruhi Su, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1987 – Michael Stewart, American playwright (b. 1924)
• 1989 – Richie Ginther, American race car driver (b. 1930)
• 1993 – Erich Hartmann, German pilot, highest-scoring fighter ace of all time (b. 1922)
• 1994 – Abioseh Nicol, Sierra Leonean diplomat and author (b. 1924)
• 1994 – Jule Styne, English-American songwriter (b. 1905)
• 1996 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1913)
• 1996 – Reuben Kamanga, Zambian politician, 1st Vice President of Zambia (b. 1929)
• 1996 – Max Manus, Norwegian resistance fighter (b. 1914)
• 1996 – Paul Weston, American conductor and arranger (b. 1912)
• 1997 – Matt Christopher, American author (b. 1917)
• 1997 – Nick Traina, American singer-songwriter (Link 80) (b. 1978)
• 1998 – Muriel Humphrey Brown, American politician (b. 1912)
• 1999 – Raisa Gorbachova, Russian wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1932)
• 1999 – Robert Lebel, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1905)
• 2000 – Gherman Titov, Russian astronaut (b. 1935)
• 2002 – Sergei Bodrov, Jr., Russian actor (b. 1971)
• 2003 – Gordon Mitchell, American actor (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwe politician, 1st Vice President of Zimbabwe (b. 1922)
• 2003 – Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn, Welsh politician (b. 1941)
• 2004 – Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Townsend Hoopes, American historian (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian holocaust survivor and nazi hunter (b. 1908)
• 2006 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (b. 1932)
• 2006 – John W. Peterson, American songwriter (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (b. 1928)
• 2010 – Kenny McKinley, American football player (b. 1987)
• 2010 – Leonard Skinner, American educator, namesake of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd (b. 1933)
• 2011 – Burhanuddin Rabbani, Afghan politician, 10th President of Afghanistan (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Fortunato Baldelli, Italian cardinal (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Robert G. Barrett, Australian author (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Richard H. Cracroft, American academic and author (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Gianfranco Dell'Innocenti, Italian footballer (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Paul O'Connor, Irish hurler (b. 1963)
• 2012 – Dinesh Thakur, Indian actor and director (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Dorothy Wedderburn, English academic (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Agapitus (Western Christianity)
  • Eustace (Western Christianity)
  • John Coleridge Patteson (Anglicanism)
  • Korean Martyrs, including Andrew Kim Taegon and Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert
  • September 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Farroupilha Revolution (Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul)
• Independence Day of South Ossetia (not fully recognized)
• National Youth Day (Thailand)
• The seventh day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion began. (Ancient Greece)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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