History for April 20

History for April 20 - On-This-Day.com

Adolf Hitler 1889 - German leader during World War II

• 1534 - Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, set sail from St. Malo to explore the North American coastline.
• 1769 - Ottawa Chief Pontiac was murdered by an Illinois Indian in Cahokia.
• 1775 - American troops began the siege of British-held Boston.
• 1792 - France declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. It was the start of the French Revolutionary wars.
• 1832 - Hot Springs National Park was intially created by an act of the U.S. Congress. It was the first time a piece of land was set aside by the U.S. government to preserve the area for recreation. The area was made a national park on March 4, 1921.
• 1865 - Safety matches were first advertised.
• 1902 - Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.
• 1942 - Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of "true reconciliation with Germany."
• 1961 - FM stereo broadcasting was approved by the FCC.
• 1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.