DECEMBER 20 ~ ON THiS DAY in History

1192 – Richard the Lion-Heart was captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on the 20th December 1192, while he was on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third crusade.

1915 – The last Australian troops were evacuated from Gallipoli on the 20th December 1915, during World War I.

1917 – Cheka the first Soviet secret police force was founded on the 20th December 1917.

1924 – Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison on the 20th December 1924.

1946 – It’s a Wonderful Life the Christmas film was first released in New York City on the 20th December 1946.

1948 ~ Alan Parsons the English musician, audio engineer, and record producer, from the The Alan Parsons Project was born on the 20th December 1948. Alan Parsons was involved with the production of The Beatles‘ Abbey Road and Let It Be albums, and Pink Floyd‘s The Dark Side of the Moon album. YouTube video: Alan Parsons Project – 1982 song Eye in the Sky with Sirius instrumental intro (live 1995)…

1948 – Stevie Wright the English-Australian singer-songwriter from The Easybeats was born on the 20th December 1948.

1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho became the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity on the 20th December 1951. The electricity powered 4 light bulbs.

1955 – Cardiff waas proclaimed the capital city of WalesUnited Kingdom on the 20th December 1955.

1955 – Ed Kuepper the German-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from The SaintsLaughing Clowns and The Apartments was born on the 20th December 1955.

1957 – Billy Bragg the English singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 20th December 1957.

1966 – Chris Robinson the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from The Black Crowes was born on the 20th December 1966.

1969Alain de Botton (FRSL) the Swiss/British writer, philosopher, television presenter and entrepreneur was born in Zurich on the 20th December 1969. Alain de Botton online: official website:  AlainDeBotton.com | Twitter.com/AlainDeBotton (verified) | Facebook.com/AlainDeBotton (verified)

1973 – The Spanish Prime MinisterAdmiral Luis Carrero Blanco, was assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid on the 20th December 1973.

1987 – History’s worst peacetime sea disaster was on the 20th December 1987, when the passenger ferry Doña Paz sank after colliding with the Vector 1 oil tanker, in the Philippines, killing up to 4,000 people (1,749 officially recorded).

1988 – The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was signed in Vienna on the 20th December 1988.

1995 – NATO began peacekeeping in Bosnia on the 20th December 1995.

1996 – NeXT merged with Apple Computer on the 20th December 1996, starting the path to Mac OS X.

1999 – Macau was handed over to the People’s Republic of China by Portugal on the 20th December 1999.

2004 – A gang of thieves stole £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland on the 20th December 2004, becoming one of the largest bank robberies in UK history.

2005 – Aleksander Moisiu University was founded in DurrësAlbania on the 20th December 2005.

2007 – Elizabeth II became the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom on the 20th December 2007, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

2007 – The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch by Pablo Picasso was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art on the 20th December 2007, along with O Lavrador de Café by Candido Portinari.

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