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What happened in history on this day: April 20?
Since 1995, I have been collecting information on a variety of topics,
creating several timelines of history.
Here you will find specific events from those databases
for this day, on the topics of personal computers, video games, the Walt Disney Company,
Chevrolet Corvettes, A&W Root Beer, Sweden, and Canadian coins.
On April 20 in ...
- 1977 - Bill Gates and Paul Allen write to MITS complaining of overdue royalty payments on 8080 BASIC, and of MITS' failure to sub-license and promote the product to others. They state that if the situation is not remedied within ten days, the licensing agreement for 8080 BASIC would be terminated.
- 1982 - IBM opens its first personal computer product center store, in New York City.
- 1982 - Timex Computer and Sinclair Research announce an agreement for Timex to market a 2 kB version of the ZX81 as the Timex/Sinclair 1000 in North America. The computer includes a keyboard, and hooks up to a television set. Timex expects to ship the unit in July for US$99.95, the first personal computer for less than US$100. Size of the computer is 6 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches; weight is 12 ounces.
- 1998 - The COMDEX Spring '98 and Windows World shows are held, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, over four days.
- 1998 - At a public demonstration of Windows 98, Bill Gates crashes the operating system.
- 1999 - The Fox Broadcasting Company airs the Futurama TV show in the US. In a law court scene, the judge closely resembles an original Apple Macintosh computer. When the computer freezes, someone suggests "Try control-alt-delete".
- 2001 - The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Fairly Oddparents TV show in the US. A personal computer appears, with keyboard and mouse. A character types at a laptop computer.
- 2009 - Oracle announces it will acquire Sun Microsystems for US$7.4 billion.
- 1925 - Disney ships the 16th Alice Comedy film, Alice Loses Out, to M.J. Winkler Productions.
- 1926 - Disney ships the Alice Comedy film Alice's Monkey Business to M.J. Winkler Productions.
- 1935 - The Silly Symphony film The Robber Kitten is released to theaters.
- 1945 - The Goofy film African Diary is released to theaters.
- 1946 - Disney's animated feature film Make Mine Music premieres in New York.
- 1968 - The NBC TV network airs the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color show, entitled Nature's Charter Tours, with Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore. The film includes footage from films White Wilderness and Seal Island.
- 1980 - The NBC TV network airs the Disney's Wonderful World show, featuring Sultan and the Rock Star.
- 1986 - The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled Mr. Boogedy.
- 1989 - Disney releases the educational film The Children of Mexico.
- 1991 - The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant opens in the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World.
- 1992 - The Disney Channel premieres the animated TV series Goof Troop.
- 1999 - Hollywood Pictures Home Video releases the film Simon Birch on videocassette.
- 1999 - Walt Disney Home Video releases the film A Bug's Life on videocassette. Five different covers feature the characters Flik, Francis, Heimlich, Dot, and Hopper.
- 2001 - The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival begins, running for six weeks.
- 2001 - The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Fairly Oddparents TV show in the US. A character says "Welcome to Dimmsdale, the happiest place on the planet, or else!". This is a reference to Disneyland being "The Happiest Place on Earth".
- 2012 - Disney releases the Disney Nature film Chimpanzee to theaters.
- 1987 - General Motors files for a trademark of the name Corvette for toy cars, etc.
- 2001 - At the Phoenix International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona, the Grand-Am Cup 3 Hour Race is held.
- Finishing 6th in SGS class and 29th overall is the Phoenix American Motorsports #35 Corvette, driven by Bill Lester, Stuart Hayner, and John Heinricy.
- Finishing 9th in SGS class and 38th overall is the Powell Motorsport #11 Corvette, driven by Devon Powell and Doug Goad.
- 2002 - At the Phoenix International Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona, round 3 of the Grand-Am Cup series is held.
- Finishing 1st in GSI class and 1st overall is the Planet Earth Motorsports #43 Corvette, driven by Joe Nonnamaker and Shane Lewis.
- Finishing 2nd in GSI class and 2nd overall is the Powell Motorsport #11 Corvette, driven by Devon Powell and Doug Goad.
- Finishing 9th in GSI class and 9th overall is the Powell Motorsport #02 Corvette, driven by Michael Weinberg and Stuart Hayner.
- 1940 - British steamship City of Simla unloads war material in Antwerp, Belgium, for use by British troops.
- 1941 - Greek armies on the Albanian front surrender to German forces.
- 1942 - Submarine U-154 torpedoes and shells Canadian merchant ship Vineland in the Caribbean. One man dies.
- 1943 - (evening) 339 British bombers attack Stettin, wrecking 100 acres of the town.
- 1945 - Soviet forces launch another major attack on southern Breslau.
- 1945 - In Berlin, Germany, Heinrich Himmler meets with Count Folke Bernadotte and another Swedish diplomat, suggesting that the time had come for Jews and Germans to "bury the hatchet". Himmler says that absolute secrecy must be used in the liberation of any Jews.
- 1985 - The USSR issues six postage stamps marking the 40th anniversary of victory over Fascism.
- 1995 - Australia issues four postage stamps depicting famous Australians from World War II.
- 2010 - Azerbaijan issues three postage stamps marking the 65th anniversary of victory in World War II.
- 2010 - Papua New Guinea issues 5 postage stamps marking the 68th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign in World War II.
- 1982 - Gabriel Industries, a division of CBS/Columbia, announces a four-year agreement with Bally Manufacturing to market home video game versions of Bally arcade games.
- 1999 - The Fox Broadcasting Company airs the Futurama TV show in the US. In a planet inhabited by robots, construction workers use cranes to build with colored bricks in shapes just like in Tetris. Security robots call out "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" in a voice just like in some video game.
- 2001 - The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Fairly Oddparents TV show in the US. While travelling back in time, a traveler passes a Pac-Man arcade video game.
- 2004 - Eidos releases the Hitman Contracts video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the US and Canada.
- 2008 - Nintendo releases the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness video game for the Nintendo DS in the US.
- 2008 - Nintendo releases the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time video game for the Nintendo DS in the US.
- 2010 - Capcom releases the Monster Hunter Tri video game for the Nintendo Wii in the USA.
- 1920 - (to September 12) The 7th Olympic Games are held in Antwerp, Belgium. Sweden wins 19 gold, 20 silver, and 25 bronze medals.
- 1966 - The final designs for the reverses of the 1967 coinage are chosen. Alex Colville wins $2500 for his designs.
- 1989 - The Canadian Bank Note Company prints the last batch of Canadian $1 bills.
- 1861 - Confederate troops occupy the Charlotte Mint.
- 1870 - Carson City Mint strikes its first quarter dollar coins.
- 1896 - Congress appropriates US$60,000 to purchase property to erect a mint facility in Denver, Colorado.
- 1912 - A bill is introduced in the House of Representatives to provide for a half-cent coin and a three-cent coin to be struck in nickel, and for the one-cent coin to be struck in 0.75 copper, 0.25 nickel.
- 1933 - US government suspends convertibility of paper money to gold, and forbids export, holding, and transactions in gold.
- 1938 - Felix Schlag is informed that his Jefferson design won the 5-cent coin design competition.
- 1943 - US Mint director Nellie Tayloe Ross replies to Robert Lloyd's inquiry about plastic coins, confirming that the mint experimented extensively in 1942 with composition alternatives for the cent.
- 2010 - The US Mint launches the first America the Beautiful quarter dollar coin, honoring the Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.
- 2013 - The US Mint launches the 2013 Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial quarter dollar at Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
- 1903 - 7th Boston Marathon won by John Lorden of Massachusetts in 2:41:29.8.
- 1903 - New York Highlanders play their first game, with Jack Chesbro losing 3-1 to Al Orth and Washington Nationals.
- 1908 - 12th Boston Marathon won by Tom Morrissey of New York in 2:25:43.2.
- 1910 - Cleveland Naps' Addie Joss second no-hitter, beats Chicago White Sox, 1-0.
- 1912 - Boston's Fenway Park officially opens, Boston Red Sox beat New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11 innings.
- 1912 - Tiger Stadium in Detroit opens, Detroit Tigers beat Cleveland Naps 6-5.
- 1914 - 18th Boston Marathon won by James Duffy of Canada in 2:25:01.2.
- 1916 - First National League game at Weeghman Park (Wrigley Field) in Chicago opens, Chicago Cubs beat Cincinnati Reds 7-6.
- 1920 - (to September 12) The Games of the VII Olympiad are held in Antwerp, Belgium.
- 1920 - Philadelphia Phillies' manager Gravvy Cravath puts himself in as pinch hitter, makes a three-run homer and beats New York Giants 3-0.
- 1925 - 29th Boston Marathon won by Charles Mellor of Illinois in 2:33:00.6.
- 1931 - 35th Boston Marathon won by Jim Henigan of Massachusetts in 2:46:45.8.
- 1931 - British House of Commons agrees to allow sports play on Sunday.
- 1936 - 40th Boston Marathon won by Ellison Brown of Rhode Island in 2:33:40.8.
- 1944 - NFL legalizes coaching from the bench.
- 1945 - Cleveland Browns' organization formed by Arthur "Mickey" McBride.
- 1946 - First televised baseball broadcast in Chicago, Illinois, Saint Louis Cardinals versus Chicago Cubs.
- 1946 - 50th Boston Marathon won by Stylianos Kyriakides of Greece in 2:29:27.
- 1949 - Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins his first race, in Albany, California.
- 1950 - Baltimore's Memorial Stadium opens - Orioles of International League.
- 1953 - 57th Boston Marathon won by Keizo Yamada of Japan in 2:18:51.
- 1957 - 61st Boston Marathon won by John J Kelley of Connecticut in 2:20:05.
- 1957 - New York Yankees' Bill Skowron becomes third player to hit a ball out of Fenway Park.
- 1958 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open.
- 1958 - Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins 4 games to two for the Stanley Cup.
- 1959 - 63rd Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:22:42.
- 1964 - 68th Boston Marathon won by Aurele Vandendriessche of Belgium in 2:19:59.
- 1967 - New York Mets' Tom Seaver's first victory, beats Chicago Cubs, 6-1.
- 1969 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Lady Carling Golf Open.
- 1970 - 74th Boston Marathon won by Ron Hill of Great Britain in 2:10:30 (new US marathon record).
- 1972 - Kallicharran scores his second Test century in his second Test Cricket.
- 1975 - 4th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Sandra Palmer.
- 1980 - Donna White wins LPGA Florida "Lady Citrus" Golf Tournament.
- 1981 - 85th Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:09:26.
- 1981 - 10th Boston Women's Marathon won by Allison Roe of New Zealand in 2:26:46.
- 1982 - With a 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves record their 12th consecutive victory to establish a major-league record for the most victories from the beginning of the season.
- 1985 - Carlos Lopes runs world record marathon (2:07:12).
- 1985 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mark Williams.
- 1985 - Karyn Marshall of New York City, New York lifts 303 pounds in a clean-and-jerk lift.
- 1986 - Michael Jordan sets NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game.
- 1987 - 16th Boston Women's Marathon won by Rosa Mota of Portugal in 2:25:21.
- 1987 - 91st Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:11:50.
- 1988 - Baltimore Orioles set worst record to start a season 0-14 (will go 0-21).
- 1988 - New Jersey Devils' first playoff hat trick-Eric Broten.
- 1988 - New York Yankees homerun 9,999 (Dave Winfield), 10,000 (Claudell Washington), and 10,001 (Jack Clark).
- 1990 - Eight and 2/3 inning perfect game pitched by Brian Holman of the Oakland Athletics is spoiled by a home run hit by Ken Philips.
- 1990 - Pete Rose pleads guilty to hiding $300,000 in income.
- 1991 - Mark Lenzi is first diver to score 100 points on a dive (101.85).
- 1991 - Raghib "Rocket" Ismael signs with Toronto Argonauts for $26.2 million.
- 1992 - 21st Boston Women's Marathon won by Olga Markova of Russia in 2:23:43.
- 1992 - 96th Boston Marathon won by Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya in 2:08:14.
- 1994 - Sohail and Inzamam make world record ODI partnership of 263.
- 1996 - Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season.
- 1997 - First baseball game in Hawaii, Saint Louis Cardinals beat San Diego Padres in doubleheader.
- 1997 - 58th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Hale Irwin.
- 1997 - Chicago Cubs beat New York Mets ending National League worst opening, lost 14 straight games.
- 1997 - Karrie Webb wins LPGA Susan G Komen International.
- 1997 - Mark McGwire is fourth to homerun on Detroit Tigers' left field roof (others are Frank Howard, Harmon Killibrew, and Cecil Fielder).
- 1997 - Nick Price wins golf MCI Classic.
- 1997 - PGA Seniors Championship; Hale Irwin wins.
- 2009 - Ethiopia's Deriba Merga wins the Boston Marathon (2:08:42), while Kenya's Salina Kosgei wins the women's race (2:32:16).
- 2022 - At T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Seattle Mariners beats Texas Rangers by score 4-2.
- 2022 - At Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Kansas City Royals beats Minnesota Twins by score 2-0.
- 2022 - At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Toronto Blue Jays beats Boston Red Sox by score 6-1.
- 2022 - At Citi Field in New York City, New York, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: San Francisco Giants beats New York Mets by score 5-2.
- 2022 - At Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Arizona Diamondbacks beats Washington Nationals by score 11-2.
- 2022 - At LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, USA , Major League Baseball regular season game: Saint Louis Cardinals beats Miami Marlins by score 2-0.
- 2022 - At Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: New York Yankees beats Detroit Tigers by score 5-3.
- 2022 - At Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Los Angeles Angels beats Houston Astros by score 6-0.
- 2022 - At Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Tampa Bay Rays beats Chicago Cubs by score 8-2.
- 2022 - At RingCentral Coliseum, Oakland, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Baltimore Orioles beats Oakland Athletics by score 1-0.
- 2022 - At Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: San Diego Padres beats Cincinnati Reds by score 6-0.
- 2022 - At Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Philadelphia Phillies beats Colorado Rockies by score 9-6.
- 2022 - At Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Los Angeles Dodgers beats Atlanta Braves by score 5-1.
- 2022 - At Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Major League Baseball regular season doubleheader game 1: Cleveland Guardians beats Chicago White Sox by score 11-1.
- 2022 - At Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Major League Baseball regular season doubleheader game 2: Cleveland Guardians beats Chicago White Sox by score 2-1.
- 2022 - At American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Milwaukee Brewers beats Pittsburgh Pirates by score 4-2.
- 2022 - At Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, USA, NHL regular season game: Seattle Kraken beats Colorado Avalanche by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, NHL regular season game: Vegas Golden Knights beats Washington Capitals by score 4-3.
- 2022 - At Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA, NHL regular season game: Chicago Blackhawks beats Arizona Coyotes by score 4-3.
- 2022 - At Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, NHL regular season game: Edmonton Oilers beats Dallas Stars by score 5-2.
- 295 - Eighth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
- 1702 - Comet C/1702 H1 approaches within 0.0437 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth.
- 1910 - Halley's Comet passes 29th recorded perihelion at 87.9 million km.
- 1961 - American Harold Graham makes first rocket belt flight.
- 1967 - US Surveyor 3 lands on Moon.
- 1972 - Apollo 16 with John Young and Charles Duke lands on Moon with Boeing Lunar Rover #2.
- 1973 - Canadian ANIK A2 becomes first commercial satellite in orbit.
- 1983 - Soyuz T-8 launched; mission aborted when capsule fails to dock.
- 1990 - STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
- 1993 - Uranus passes Neptune (this occurs once every 171 years).
- 1994 - Space shuttle STS-59 (Endeavour 6), lands.
- 1905 - A typhoon hits the Caroline Islands, causing immense damage to trees, buildings, birds, fish. 12 people killed, 2 ships sunk.
- 1920 - Tornadoes kill 219 in Alabama and Mississippi, USA.
- 1777 - New York adopts new constitution as an independent state.
- 1832 - US Congress passes legislation making the Hot Springs Reservation in Arkansas the first nationally protected area in the USA. This is also the first effort in the world to set aside protected lands.
- 1861 - Battle of Norfolk, Virginia.
- 1861 - Confederates seize the Charlotte Mint.
- 1865 - Chicago's Crosby Opera House opens.
- 1871 - Third Enforcement Act (President can suspend writ of habeas corpus).
- 1894 - 136,000 mine workers strike in Ohio for pay increase.
- 1896 - Congress appropriates $60,000 to purchase property to erect a mint facility in Denver, Colorado.
- 1896 - First public film showing in US: John Philip Sousa's El Capitán, premieres in New York City.
- 1898 - US Congress adopts a Joint Declaration of War against Spain.
- 1898 - US Assay Office in Deadwood, South Dakota, opens.
- 1914 - 33 killed by soldiers during mine strike in Ludlow, Colorado, USA.
- 1920 - Tornadoes kill 219 in Alabama and Mississippi, USA.
- 1933 - US government suspends convertibility of paper money to gold, and forbids export, holding, and transactions in gold.
- 1939 - New York World's Fair opens.
- 1940 - RCA demonstrates its new electron microscope in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- 1945 - US 7th Army and Allied forces capture Nuremberg and Stuttgart in Germany.
- 1945 - US forces conquer Motobu peninsula on Okinawa.
- 1948 - United Auto Workers' president Walter P Reuther shot and wounded at his home in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- 1950 - Baltimore's Memorial Stadium opens - Orioles of International League.
- 1951 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak Atoll.
- 1955 - The Riviera casino opens on Highway 91 in Nevada.
- 1961 - American Harold Graham makes first rocket belt flight.
- 1964 - 86 percent of black students boycott Cleveland, Ohio schools.
- 1969 - 23rd Tony Awards: Great White Hope and 1776 win.
- 1971 - US Supreme Court upholds use of bussing to achieve racial desegregation.
- 1972 - Apollo 16 with John Young and Charles Duke lands on Moon with Boeing Lunar Rover #2.
- 1975 - 29th Tony Awards: Equus and The Wiz win.
- 1980 - The Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana. 125,000 Cubans flee by the end of the exodus in October, with 27 deaths.
- 1982 - Timex Computer announces the Timex/Sinclair 1000, the first personal computer to retail for under $100. The unit is an improved Sinclair ZX81 with 2 kB RAM.
- 1986 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1987 - US deports Karl Linnas, charged with German war crimes, to USSR.
- 1988 - US accuses Renamo of killing 100,000 Mozambiquians.
- 1990 - STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
- 1992 - Madonna signs $60-million deal with Time Warner.
- 1994 - American Telephone & Telegraph changes its company name to AT&T Corporation.
- 1994 - Danny Harold Rolling sentenced to death in Florida for killing five.
- 1997 - 27th Easter Seal Telethon raises $47,392,682.
- 1999 - Two Littleton, Colorado teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, open fire on their Columbine High School teachers and classmates, killing 12 students and one teacher, and then themselves.
- 2009 - Oracle announces it will acquire Sun Microsystems for more than US$7 billion.
- 2010 - The Deepwater Horizon oil platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers.
- 2020 - Price of crude oil drops from $18 to -$38 per barrel, due to lack of storage space brought on by the pandemic.
- 2020 - The Industrial Bank of Korea agrees to pay US$86 million and will enter a two-year deferred prosecution agreement to settle lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of New York over a 2011 scheme to help transfer US$1 billion to Iran.
- 2021 - Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is found guilty of the murder of George Floyd.
Other history:
- 1968 - Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn-in as Canada's Prime Minister.
- 1999 - Deadliest school shooting in US history at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, 13 killed, 23 wounded.
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