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20 December 2026
Holidays, observances, history and sky information for this date.
Holidays
No listed India public holiday for this date.
Observances
No UN observance in the current list for this date.
Selected anniversaries
Anniversary
2007 - Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later.Spanish painter and sculptor (1881–1973)
Anniversary
1999 - Portugal transferred the sovereignty over Macau, which it had administered since the mid–16th century, to China.1999 handover of Macau from Portugal to China
Anniversary
1995 - Mandated by the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the NATO-led Implementation Force (troops pictured) began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.1995 treaty ending the Bosnian War
Anniversary
1995 - American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Buga, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 people on board.1995 aviation accident in Colombia
Anniversary
1987 - The deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history occurred when the MV Doña Paz (pictured) sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, resulting in an estimated 4,385 deaths.Historical events
History
2024 - Six people are killed and over 200 are injured when an anti-Islam activist drives a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.Vehicle-ramming attack in Germany
History
2024 - A mass stabbing occurs in a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia, in which a 7-year-old pupil is killed and six more are injured by a knife-wielding 19-year-old male.Mass stabbing in Croatia
History
2019 - The United States Space Force becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.Space service branch of the U.S. military
History
2016 - Aerosucre Flight 157 crashes during takeoff from Germán Olano Airport in Puerto Carreño, Colombia, killing five people.2016 aviation accident in Colombia
History
2007 - Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and 243 days.Queen of the United Kingdom from 1952 to 2022
History
2007 - The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil. Both will be recovered a few weeks later.1904 painting by Pablo Picasso
History
2004 - A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.Large bank robbery in Belfast, Northern Ireland
History
1999 - Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.Special administrative region of China
History
1995 - American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 people on board.1995 aviation accident in Colombia
History
1991 - A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.1989 honor killing of an American teen in St. Louis, Missouri
Notable births
Born
2007 - Gavin McKenna, Canadian ice hockey playerCanadian ice hockey player (born 2007)
Born
2001 - Facundo Pellistri, Uruguayan footballerUruguayan footballer (born 2001)
Born
2000 - Gaboro, Assyrian Swedish rapper and songwriter (died 2024)Swedish rapper (2000–2024)
Born
1997 - De'Aaron Fox, American basketball playerAmerican basketball player (born 1997)
Born
1995 - Anžejs Pasečņiks, Latvian basketball playerLatvian basketball player (born 1995)
Notable deaths
Died
2024 - George Eastham, English footballer (born 1936)English footballer (1936–2024)
Died
2024 - Rickey Henderson, American baseball player (born 1958)American baseball player (1958–2024)
Died
2022 - Franco Harris, American football player (born 1950)American football player (1950–2022)
Died
2020 - Fanny Waterman, British pianist (born 1920)English musician (1920–2020)
Died
2020 - Ezra Vogel, American sociologist (born 1930)American sociologist of East Asia (1930–2020)
Died
2014 - Per-Ingvar Brånemark, Swedish surgeon and academic (born 1929)Swedish anatomist (1929–2014)
Died
2014 - John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (born 1915)British politician and army officer (1915–2014)
Sky
Moon phase
Waxing Gibbous
85.2% illuminated
Lunar age: 11.1 days
Sun zodiac
Sagittarius
28.61 degrees
Constellation: Sagittarius
Moon zodiac
Taurus
9.09 degrees
Constellation: Aries
Astronomy events
No major astronomy event in the current calendar for this date.