November 20 in History

• 1805

  November 20, 1805:

  The only opera composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, “Fidelio” is premiered at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria.

• 1820

  November 20, 1820:

  A sperm whale jams into Essex, an American whaling ship, causing it to sink.

• 1902

  November 20, 1902:

  26-year-old sports journalist Géo Lefèvre originates the idea of the Tour de France bicycle race by presenting it at an editorial meeting of the L’Auto newspaper, the eventual organizers of the race.

• 1910

  November 20, 1910:

  Leo Tolstoy, the Russian author, dies from heart attack triggered by pneumonia at a railroad station.

• 1923

  November 20, 1923:

  Garrett A. Morgan is granted a patent for his invention of the three-position traffic signal.

• 1947

  November 20, 1947:

  Elizabeth, yet to be Queen of England, marries Philip Mountbatten.

• 1969

  November 20, 1969:

  Native American activists start occupying Alcatraz Island to protest against the US government’s purported neglect of Native Americans economically, politically and socially.

• 1983

  November 20, 1983:

  The television film, “The Day After” is broadcast for the first time by ABC. 

• 1984

  November 20, 1984:

  McDonald’s celebrates the cooking of its 50 billionth burger.

• 2015

  November 20, 2015:

  Jonathan Jay Pollard, an American civil defense analyst who stayed in prison for 30 years for selling secret information to Israel, is released.