What Happened on March 20

Historical Events

1616 – Walter Raleigh released from Tower of London to seek gold in Guyana
1932 – Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Region in RSFSR becomes Kara-Kalpak ASSR
1954 – 16th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: La Salle beats Bradley, 92-76; Explorers’ small forward Tom Gola is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
1982 – France beats Ireland, 22-9 at the Parc des Princes, Paris but the Irish take the Five Nations Rugby Championship with a 3-1 record and also their 5th Triple Crown
1987 – FDA approves sale of AZT (AIDS treatment)
2000 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after a gun battle that leaves a Georgia sheriff’s deputy dead

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Famous Birthdays

1469 – Princess Cecily of York (d. 1507)
1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian-American piano virtuoso, conductor, and composer (Aleko; Piano Concerto No. 3), born in Oneg or Semyonovo, Russian Empire (d. 1943) [NS=Apr 1]
1883 – Karl Hasse, German composer, born in Dohna (d. 1960)
1922 – Larry Elgart, American big band jazz alto saxophonist, and bandleader (“Bandstand Boogie”; “Hooked On Swing”), born in New London, Connecticut (d. 2017)
1948 – John de Lancie, American actor (Star Trek Next Generation – “Q”; Days of Our Lives), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1986 – Dean Geyer, South African-Australian singer-songwriter (Australian Idol), and actor (Neighbours; Glee), born in Johannesburg, South Africa

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Famous Deaths

1937 – Harry Vardon, Jersey golfer (6 time British Open champion, US Open 1900), dies of lung cancer at 66
1969 – Henri Longchambon, French politician, dies at 72
1982 – Hendrik L van Beek, Dutch vice-admiral, dies at 52
1983 – Ivan Vinogradov, Russian mathematician (analytic number theory), dies at 91
1994 – Lewis Grizzard, American humorist (b. 1946)
2010 – Stewart Udall, American politician, environmentalist (b. 1920)

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