Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/March 20
This is a list of selected March 20 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Images
Use only ONE image at a time
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Harriet Beecher Stowe
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Harriet Beecher Stowe <--requires undeletion
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Harriet Beecher Stowe
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An illustration from an 1880s edition of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
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Chemical structure of zidovudine (AZT)
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Douglas MacArthur
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Cyclone Larry
Ineligible
| Blurb | Reason |
|---|---|
| 1602 – The Dutch East India Company—the first company to issue stock, one of the first multinational corporations, and possibly the first megacorporation—was established. | refimprove section |
| 1848 – Due to the European Revolutions, King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicated in favour of his son, Maximilian. | refimprove |
| 1854 – At a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, US, an anti-slavery political party decided to name itself the Republican Party. | refimprove section |
| 1883 – Eleven countries signed the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, one of the first intellectual property treaties. | refimprove section |
| 1995 – The Aum Shinrikyo sect carried out a poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 12 people and injuring thousands of others with sarin. | refimprove |
| 2003 – A U.S.-led coalition force invaded Iraq, beginning the Iraq War. | too long |
Eligible
- 1852 – Uncle Tom's Cabin by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe (pictured) was first published, profoundly affecting attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the United States.
- 1942 – World War II: After being forced to flee the Philippines, U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur announced in Terowie, South Australia, "I shall return."
- 1760 – A fire of unknown cause broke out in Boston, Massachusetts, destroying 349 buildings and leaving over a thousand people homeless.
- 1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosted the opening of Pablo Picasso's first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the U.S.
- 1987 – The antiretroviral drug zidovudine (AZT) became the first antiviral drug approved for use against HIV and AIDS.
- 2006 – Cyclone Larry made landfall in Far North Queensland, eventually causing nearly AU$1 billion in total damage and destroying over 80 percent of Australia's banana crop.
Notes
- Napoleon's escape from Elba appears on February 26 so Hundred Days should not appear in the same year
- Severus Alexander (also year 235) appears on March 19, so Maximinus Thrax should not appear in the same yaer
March 20: March equinox (10:28 UTC, 2017); Nowruz in Iran, Central Asia, the Bahá'í Faith, and Zoroastrianism (2017); Independence Day in Tunisia (1956)
- 235 – Maximinus Thrax succeeded to the throne of the Roman Empire, a so-called barracks emperor who gained power by virtue of his command of the army.
- 1600 – Five advisers to Polish–Swedish king Sigismund III Vasa were publicly executed, effectively ending his reign in Sweden.
- 1815 – After escaping from exile in Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured) entered Paris, beginning the period known as the "Hundred Days".
- 1944 – World War II: Four thousand U.S. Marines made a landing on Emirau Island in the Bismarck Archipelago to develop an airbase as part of Operation Cartwheel.
- 1993 – The Troubles: The second of two bomb attacks by the Provisional IRA in Warrington, England, killed two children.
Isaac Newton (d. 1726) · Amanda Clement (b. 1888) · Fernando Torres (b. 1984)