April 20 in History: Columbine Shooting, Deepwater Horizon Disaster, and Nutella Introduced

Discover what happened on April 20 in history, along with notable events that shaped tragedy, innovation, and everyday life.

What Happened on April 20 in History?

From a devastating school shooting to one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history and the debut of a global favorite spread, April 20 reflects moments that left lasting impacts in very different ways.

APRIL 20 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1775 – American troops began the siege of British-held Boston, MA.

1832 – Hot Springs National Park, in Hot Springs, AR, was established by an act of Congress. It was the first National Park in the U.S.

1836 – The U.S. territory of Wisconsin was created by Congress.

1837 – Erastus B. Bigelow was granted a patent for his power loom.

1841 – In Philadelphia, PA, Edgar Allen Poe’s first detective story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, was published in Graham’s Magazine.

1861 – Robert E. Lee resigned from U.S. Army.

1865 – Safety matches were first advertised.

1879 – First mobile home (horse drawn) was used in a journey from London to Cyprus.

1896 – At the Koster and Bials Music Hall in New York, NY, the first movie was shown. Until this time, people watched films by looking into a kinetoscope. This was the first time that an audience sat in a theater and saw a film together.

1902 – Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.

1909 – The first mile of concrete highway as poured at Woodward Avenue between 6 & 7 Mile roads in Detroit, MI.

1912 – At the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in Detroit it was opening day for the Detroit Tigers. The field was originally called Navin Field but was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938. In 1961 it was renamed Tiger Stadium in Detroit, MI.

1916 – In Chicago, IL, the Chicago Cubs played their first game at Weeghman Park (now Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.

1926 – Western Electric and Warner Brothers announced Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.

1940 – The First electron microscope was demonstrated by RCA.

1951 – Don Gavriliu performed the first surgical replacement of a human organ.

1959 – “Desilu Playhouse” on CBS-TV presented a two-part show titled “The Untouchables.”

1961 – FM stereo broadcasting was approved by the FCC.

1964 – The first jar of Nutella left the factory in Alba, Italy. We eat about 350,000 tons of this stuff a year.

1965 – The movie “The Pawnbroker”, starring Rod Steiger, opened and broke an American mainstream movie taboo by baring female breasts for the first time.

1971 – The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that busing of students may be ordered to achieve racial desegregation

1972 – The crewed lunar module, commanded by John Young, from Apollo 16 landed on the Moon.

1977 – Woody Allen’s film “Annie Hall” premiered.

1982 – The Activision game “Pitfall!” was released for the Atari 2600 game system.

1988 – The U.S. Air Forces’ Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially unveiled.

1989 – Scientist announced the successful testing of high-definition TV.

1990 – Janet Jackson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1995 – The Frederik Meijer Gardens opened in Grand Rapids, MI.

1999 – Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shoot and kill 12 classmates and a teacher, and injured 24 others, before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO.

1999 – Jane Seymour received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2007 – William Phillips barricaded himself in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. He shot and killed a male hostage with a handgun before killing himself.

2008 – Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.

2010 – The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that lasted six months.

2020 – President Donald Trump announced that he was suspending immigration to the U.S. due to COVID-19.

2021 – Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd by the Fourth Judicial District Court of Minnesota.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON APRIL 20:

Pat Roberts – 90 years old (1936) – Captain, journalist, and politician

George Takei – 89 years old (1937) – Actor

Peter S. Beagle – 87 years old (1939) – Author and screenwriter

Michael Brandon – 81 years old (1945) – Actor and director

Steve Spurrier – 81 years old (1945) – Football player and coach

Veronica Cartwright – 77 years old (1949) – English-American actress

Jessica Lange – 77 years old (1949) – Actress

Donald Pettit – 71 years old (1955) – Engineer and astronaut

Don Mattingly – 65 years old (1961) – Baseball player, coach, and manager

John Carney – 62 years old (1964) – Football player

Crispin Glover – 62 years old (1964) – Actor and filmmaker

Rosalynn Sumners – 62 years old (1964) – Figure skater

David Filo – 60 years old (1966) – Businessman, co-founded Yahoo!

Lara Jill Miller – 59 years old (1967) – Actress

Mike Portnoy – 59 years old (1967) – Drummer and songwriter

Shemar Moore – 56 years old (1970) – Actor

Allan Houston – 55 years old (1971) – Basketball player

Carmen Electra – 54 years old (1972) – Model and actress

Stephen Marley – 54 years old (1972) – Jamaican-American musician

Randy Fine – 52 years old (1974) – Politician and former gambling industry executive

Killer Mike – 51 years old (1975) – Rapper

Brandon Belt – 38 years old (1988) – Baseball player

Kyle Higashioka – 36 years old (1990) – Baseball player

Luke Kuechly – 35 years old (1991) – Football player

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR APRIL 20:

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.