Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/April 20

Eligible

 * 1537 – Bacatá, the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation in present-day Colombia, was conquered by Spanish conquistadors led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
 * 1657 – Anglo-Spanish War: The English navy sank much of a Spanish treasure fleet at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife off the Canary Islands, but was unable to capture the treasure.
 * 1809 – War of the Fifth Coalition: Commanded by Napoleon, Franco-German forces defeated a reinforced Austrian corps at the Battle of Abensberg.
 * 1828 – French explorer René Caillié reached Timbuktu in present-day Mali, and later received a 9,000-franc prize from the Société de Géographie for being the first European to return with a description of the city.
 * 1914 – A fire and a gun battle between the Colorado National Guard and striking coal miners led to 17 deaths in the Ludlow Massacre.
 * 1939 – Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday was celebrated as a national holiday in Nazi Germany.
 * 1939 – Billie Holiday recorded the song "Strange Fruit", which later became an emblem of the civil rights movement.
 * 1968 – Pierre Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada, succeeding Lester B. Pearson.
 * 1968 – Enoch Powell (pictured), a British Conservative member of Parliament, made a controversial speech in opposition to immigration and anti-discrimination legislation, resulting in his removal from the shadow cabinet.
 * 1978 – Korean Air Lines Flight 902 was shot down after violating Soviet airspace and was forced to make an emergency landing.
 * 1999 – Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out a massacre at Columbine High School, killing 13 people before committing suicide.
 * 2004 – An incomplete tunnel leading to Singapore's Nicoll Highway MRT station collapsed that led to four deaths and the station's relocation.
 * 2008 – American racing driver Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar auto race.
 * 2008 – Fernando Lugo became the first candidate not from the Colorado Party candidate to be elected President of Paraguay in 61 years.
 * Born/died this day: | Cædwalla of Wessex |d|689| Elizabeth Barton|d|1534| William Bedloe|b|1650| David Brainerd|b|1718| John Abernethy|d|1831| Paul Poiret|b|1879| Dave Bancroft|b|1891| Frances Ames|b|1920| Elmer Gedeon|d|1944| Vjekoslav Luburić|d|1969| Nina Davuluri|b|1989| Kojo Laing|d|2017

April 20: First day of Ridván (Baháʼí Faith, 2024); 420 (cannabis culture)


 * 1535 – Sun dogs were observed over Stockholm, Sweden, inspiring the painting Vädersolstavlan (depicted), the oldest coloured depiction of the city.
 * 1818 – Four days after the Court of King's Bench upheld an English murder suspect's right to a trial by battle in Ashford v Thornton, the plaintiff declined to fight, allowing the defendant to go free.
 * 1942 – World War II: German and Italian forces began a large-scale counter-insurgency operation in occupied Yugoslavia.
 * 1968 – South African Airways Flight 228 crashed shortly after take-off from Windhoek in South West Africa, resulting in 123 deaths.
 * 2010 – An explosion on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico, resulted in the largest marine oil spill in history.