20 April 1661

A Wednesday in history

Weekday

Wednesday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

17th century

Records

292

  1. 2023

    SpaceX's Starship launched for the first time before exploding four minutes into flight.

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  2. 2021

    Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd by a Minnesota court.

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  3. 2010

    An explosion on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico, resulted in the largest marine oil spill in history.

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  4. 2008

    American racing driver Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar auto race.

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  5. 2008

    Fernando Lugo became the first candidate not from the Colorado Party candidate to be elected President of Paraguay in 61 years.

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  6. 2004

    An incomplete tunnel leading to the Nicoll Highway MRT station in Singapore collapsed, resulting in four deaths and the station's relocation.

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  7. 1999

    Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out a massacre at Columbine High School, killing 13 people before committing suicide.

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  8. 1985

    The Animal Liberation Front raided a laboratory at the University of California, Riverside, rescuing 467 animals and causing $700,000 in damage.

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  9. 1978

    Korean Air Lines Flight 902 was shot down after violating Soviet airspace and was forced to make an emergency landing.

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  10. 1968

    Enoch Powell, a British Conservative member of Parliament, made a controversial speech in opposition to immigration and anti-discrimination legislation, resulting in his removal from the shadow cabinet.

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  11. 1968

    Pierre Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada, succeeding Lester B. Pearson.

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  12. 1968

    South African Airways Flight 228 crashed shortly after take-off from Windhoek in South West Africa, resulting in 123 deaths.

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  13. 1942

    World War II: German and Italian forces began a large-scale counter-insurgency operation in occupied Yugoslavia.

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  14. 1939

    Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday was celebrated as a national holiday in Nazi Germany.

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  15. 1939

    Billie Holiday (pictured) recorded the song "Strange Fruit", which later became an emblem of the civil rights movement.

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  16. 1922

    The Soviet government created the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian SSR.

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  17. 1914

    A fire and a gun battle between the Colorado National Guard and striking coal miners led to 17 deaths in the Ludlow Massacre.

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  18. 1828

    French explorer René Caillié reached Timbuktu in present-day Mali, and later received a 9,000-franc prize from the Société de Géographie for being the first European to return with a description of the city.

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  19. 1818

    Four days after the Court of King's Bench upheld an English murder suspect's right to a trial by battle in Ashford v Thornton, the plaintiff declined to fight, allowing the defendant to go free.

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  20. 1809

    War of the Fifth Coalition: Commanded by Napoleon, Franco-German forces defeated a reinforced Austrian corps at the Battle of Abensberg.

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  21. 1657

    Anglo-Spanish War: The English navy sank much of a Spanish treasure fleet at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife off the Canary Islands, but was unable to capture the treasure.

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  22. 1537

    Bacatá, the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation in present-day Colombia, was conquered by Spanish conquistadors led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.

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  23. 1535

    Sun dogs were observed over Stockholm, Sweden, inspiring Vädersolstavlan, the oldest coloured depiction of the city.

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Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.