On This Day December 20th
OTD
December 20th is the 354th day of the year in the Gregorian
calendar; 11 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
1192 – Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by
Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade.
1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in
New Orleans.
1860 – South Carolina became the first state to attempt to
secede from the United States with the South Carolina Declaration of Secession.
1915 – World War I: The last Australian troops were
evacuated from Gallipoli.
1940 – Captain America Comics #1, containing the first
appearance of the superhero Captain America, is published.
1946 – It's a Wonderful Life premieres at the Globe Theatre
in New York to mixed reviews.
1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho, became the first nuclear
power plant to generate electricity—the electricity-powered four light bulbs.
1989 – The United States' invasion of Panama deposes Manuel
Noriega.
2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in the history
of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and
243 days.
2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in the
history of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81
years and 243 days.
1792 – Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, French painter and
educator (d. 1845)
1841 – Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician,
Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
1868 – Harvey Samuel Firestone, American businessman,
founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (d. 1938)
1881 – Branch Rickey, American baseball player and manager
(d. 1965)
1902 – Sidney Hook, American philosopher and author (d.
1989)
1922 – Beverly Pepper, American sculptor and painter (d.
2020)
1932 – John Hillerman, American actor (d. 2017)
1942 – Bob Hayes, American sprinter and football player (d.
2002)
1945 – Peter Criss, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and
producer
1958 – James Thomson, American biologist and academic
1980 – Ashley Cole, English footballer
1997 – Suzuka Nakamoto, Japanese singer
Sacagawea Day
Sacagawea was born
in May 1788 in the Lemhi Valley, near the Salmon River and the Rocky Mountains,
in present-day Lemhi County, Idaho. She was kidnapped at the age of 12 by
enemies of the Shoshones, the ‘Hidatsa’ tribe, and was taken to a
Hidatsa-Mandan settlement in North Dakota. Sacagawea then became the property
of French Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau, who took her as one of his
wives in 1804. The name ‘Sacagawea’ has been disputed over time as some believe
it is of Hidatsa origin, meaning ‘bird woman,’ while others think it is of
Shoshone origin, meaning ‘boat pusher.’
President Thomas
Jefferson sanctioned the Lewis and Clark expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark after purchasing 828,000 square miles of almost entirely
unexplored territory from France. They met with Charbonneau and Sacagawea, who
provided a language link between English, French, Hidatsa, and Shoshone, which
would be useful. They journeyed with the Corps of Discovery on the northern
plains, across the Rocky Mountains, to the Pacific Ocean, and back again.
Sacagawea was with her two-month-old son, Jean Baptiste, and was just 16 when
they left. She was the only woman on the expedition.
Her numerous
contributions to the expedition, like her knowledge of some terrain, her
ability to identify edible plants, and her calming presence when the group faced strangers amongst a host of others, brought about her being
celebrated today. She died of Putrid fever in December 1812 at Fort Manuel in
what is now Kennel, South Dakota, at 24. Although some say she lived much
longer
Cathode Ray Tube Day
Dot Your I's Day
Games Day
Go Caroling Day
International Human Solidarity Day
Mudd Day
National Fried Shrimp Day
National Sangria Day
Poet Laureate Day
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