December 20 in history — What Happened Today in History

In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait of the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).

Pope John Paul II announces the creation of World Youth Day.

The Summit Tunnel fire, one of the largest transportation tunnel fires in history, burns after a freight train carrying over one million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines.

Disappearance of Jonelle Matthews from Greeley, Colorado. Her remains were discovered on July 23, 2019, located about 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Jonelle's home. The cause of death "was a gunshot wound to the head."

With the approval of the State Council, China's two largest newspapers, the People's Daily and the Guangming Daily, publish in full for the first time the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme.

Assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco: A car bomb planted by ETA in Madrid kills three people, including the Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco.

Koza riot: After a series of hit-and-runs and other vehicular incidents involving American service personnel, roughly 5,000 Okinawans take to the streets, clashing with American law enforcement in protest against the U.S. occupation of Okinawa.

The Zodiac Killer murders his first two officially confirmed victims, David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, on Lake Herman Road in Benicia, California, United States.

Vietnam War: The National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, popularly known as the Viet Cong, is formally established in Tân Lập village, present day Tây Ninh province.

The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.

Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.

A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington, killing 87 of the 115 people on board.

The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.

Indonesian National Revolution: The Dutch military captures Yogyakarta, the temporary capital of the newly formed Republic of Indonesia.

It's a Wonderful Life premieres at the Globe Theatre in New York to mixed reviews.

An earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan causes a tsunami which kills at least one thousand people and destroys 36,000 homes.

World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.

World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers", in Kunming, China.

Captain America Comics #1, containing the first appearance of the superhero Captain America, is published.

Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison.

Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.

World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.

South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States with the South Carolina Declaration of Secession.

French presidential election: Having won the popular vote in a landslide, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is inaugurated in the chamber of the National Assembly as the first (and only) president of the French Second Republic.

HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands.

Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.

The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

Rachael Boyle, Scottish footballer

Jorginho, Brazilian footballer

Jillian Rose Reed, American actress

Fabian Schär, Swiss footballer

JoJo, American singer and actress

Marta Xargay, Spanish basketball player

Malcolm Jenkins, American football player

Chay Genoway, Canadian ice hockey player

Bob Morley, Australian actor

David Tavaré, Spanish singer and DJ

Jonah Hill, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

Mohammad Asif, Pakistani cricketer

David Cook, American singer-songwriter

Barry Reckord, Jamaican playwright and screenwriter (born 1926)

K. P. Ratnam, Sri Lankan academic and politician (born 1914)

Brittany Murphy, American actress and singer (born 1977)

Arnold Stang, American actor (born 1918)

Adrian Mitchell, English author, poet, and playwright (born 1932)

Robert Mulligan, American director and producer (born 1925)

Igor Troubetzkoy, Russian aristocrat and racing driver (born 1912)

Anne Rogers Clark, American dog breeder and trainer (born 1929)

Raoul Bott, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic (born 1923)

Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet and politician, 1st President of Senegal (born 1906)

Riccardo Freda, Egyptian-Italian director and screenwriter (born 1909)

Hank Snow, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1914)

Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1916)