What Happened On This Day – April 20
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2010 The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes
The explosion of the British Petroleum (BP) platform operated by Transocean killed 11 workers and led to the largest accidental marine oil spill in history.
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1999 15 die in the Columbine High School massacre
A further 24 victims were injured when two teenagers opened fire on students and teachers in the high school south of Denver.
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1978 Soviet air defense shoots down Korean Air Lines Flight 902
The Boeing 707's crew had miscalculated their route, taking them into Soviet airspace at the height of the Cold War. The jet made an emergency landing on a frozen lake. Two passengers were killed in the incident.
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1951 A human organ is surgically reconstructed for the first time
Romanian surgeon Dan Gavriliu used a section of the stomach to bypass the esophagus.
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1902 Pierre and Marie Curie discover the radioactive element radium
In 1903, the French couple received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research.
Births On This Day,
April 20
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1969 Felix Baumgartner
Austrian skydiver
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1939 Gro Harlem Brundtland
Norwegian physician, politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway
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1893 Joan Miró
Spanish painter
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1889 Adolf Hitler
Austrian/German politician, Chancellor of Germany
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1808 Napoleon III
French politician, 1st President of France
Deaths On This Day,
April 20
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1993 Cantinflas
Mexican actor, screenwriter, producer
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1991 Don Siegel
American film director
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1991 Steve Marriott
English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor
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1918 Karl Ferdinand Braun
German/American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
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1521 Zhengde Emperor
of China